From “an open field” to established “waves”: Public relations scholarship through the lens of Public Relations Review

Public Relations Review is the oldest academic journal of public relations, celebrating its 45th year in 2020. This research analyzes the journal through a bibliometric census and co-citation analysis of every article in its history. Initial findings were shared with 17 senior scholars, who provided their insights on the history of the journal and its impact on the growth of the discipline. The interviews produced multiple themes regarding the impact of the journal and the evolution of research. Findings from the mixed-methods analysis include that research in the journal has grown exponentially and become more cohesive over time, that Public Relations Review has been a responsive vehicle for scholarly growth, that a wide variety of economic incentives have driven the agendas of the journal (and of researchers), and that fostering healthy disagreement among researchers is among the next steps forward for the discipline.     

When to Make the Sensory Social: Registering in Face‐to‐Face Openings

This article analyzes naturally occurring video‐recorded openings during which participants make the sensory social through the action of registering—calling joint attention to a selected, publicly perceivable referent so others shift their sensory attention to it. It examines sequence‐initial actions that register referents for which a participant is regarded as responsible. Findings demonstrate a systematic preference organization which observably guides when and how people initiate registering sequences sensitive to ownership of, and displayed stance toward, the target referent. Analysis shows how registering an owned referent achieves intersubjectivity and puts involved participants' face, affiliation, and social relationship on the line. A video abstract is available at https://youtu.be/rNL70vawG3o     

Adolescent Socialization in Rural Appalachia: The Perspectives of Teens,Parents, and Significant Adults

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the social networks of Appalachian adolescents to understand socialization strategies and goals. A total of 46 interviews were conducted with five families (mothers, fathers, and adolescents) and 11 socialization agents the families identified as exerting significant influence in the lives of the adolescents. Interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using principles of grounded theory. Five themes developed from the interviews: the importance of community to the socialization process, adult involvement and support, adolescent monitoring, teaching respect and responsibility, and adolescent autonomy. Results suggest the need for in-depth investigation of adolescent development within a variety of cultural and social contexts to more fully understand these processes.     

Meta-stereotypes and meta-prejudice: Some suggestions for future research

Abstract

The present paper shows a process directly related with meta-stereotypes and that may influence intergroup relations: meta-prejudice. Meta-prejudice refers to the way in which people expect other groups to feel about their group. The main question is whether the obtained findings about meta-stereotypes are just the consequence of activated meta-stereotypes, or whether it is meta-prejudice that caused the effects. Previous research by Gordijn and colleagues about the relation between meta-stereotypes and meta-prejudice, how they are activated and their effect on intergroup relations are analyzed and discussed.     

Tweeting democracy? Examining Twitter as an online public relations strategy for congressional campaigns’

Considering the integral relationship between public relations and democracy (Martinelli, 2011) coupled with the growing use of social media for democratic aims (Smith, 2011) the current study examines the effectiveness of Twitter as a public relations communications tool for congressional campaigns. Specifically, as a means of testing Twitter's effectiveness in informing and engaging voters, congressional candidate and political party Twitter use for all 435 U.S. House of Representatives races (N = 1284) are compared with 2010 election outcomes. Results indicate that candidates’ Twitter use significantly increased their odds of winning, controlling for incumbency and Party ID. Additionally, significant differences between incumbents’ and challengers’ Twitter use during the election cycle emerged, which has important implications for public relations practices aimed at achieving democratic outcomes.     

Digital natives and social media

Digital natives (also known as “Generation Y” and “Millennials”), a generation born during of after introduction of digital technologies, 1980s and after, have mixed preferences for media use in personal and professional lives. A study by Friedl and Tkalac Ver?i? (2011) showed that even though digital natives prefer digital media in their personal lives, this is not necessarily reflected in their business lives. This study addressing preferences of “traditional” vs. “the new media” in a university setting found an opposite result.     

Developing a Personal Program for Continuing Education

Abstract

The increasing number of field expeditions studying or working abroad each year is currently unparalleled by medical research efforts or data from which health professionals can make meaningful recommendations about how to keep personnel in the field healthy. The medical planning, organizing, and data are presented from a geology expedition to Guatemala involving 25 persons. Only minor medical problems were encountered, and less than 1% of the total person days at risk were lost due to illness. Eight guidelines are presented as a tool to assist any health professional in the planning and preparing of a team for the field.     

Dynamic preference revelation and expression of personal frames: how Weibo is used in an anti-nuclear protest in China

This study explores the use of Weibo in a protest against a nuclear fuel processing plant in China. This study argues that social media play an important role in the development of protests in non-democratic societies through the mechanism of preference revelation, which blurs the boundary between offline protests and the individualized expression of preferences on social media. Of Weibo tweets which were posted prior to the occurrence of the offline protest, 11,788 protest-related were examined with the aid of a supervised machine learning technique. The results showed that the revelation of personal preferences in the form of individualized expressions of opposition were more common than mobilization and coordination, and such preferences were legitimized by the personal frames of risk and the distrust in government. The use of Weibo to mobilize potential opponents to the project, primarily by calling for the expression of opposition, was less frequent than the use of Weibo to express personal frames. Furthermore, the prevalence of Weibo usage changed dramatically. In the first few days of the protest, the revelation of personal preferences and personal frames of risk were prominent, whereas personal frames of distrust in government were common in the days leading to the street protest.     

Framing the Sino–US–Thai relations in the post-global economic crisis

Based on the frame analysis, this study conducted a content analysis of Thailand's two English-language newspapers, Bangkok Post and the Nation, to examine the relationships among the world's two largest economies, the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, and the emerging economy of Thailand in the wake of the subprime housing loan crisis. The study has established five generic news frames: economic consequence, human interest, morality, conflict and cooperation. It was found that such cultural values as individualism – collectivism, materialism – spiritualism and conflict – harmony have influenced the frame-building process. As a consequence of the subprime crisis, the US was portrayed as the old power waning in hegemony while China an emerging power with a fast growing economy. The Thai press played up a sound Sino–US relationship based on cooperation rather than conflict which would shape the 21st century. Thailand, where the Asian financial crisis broke out in 1997, offered morality or ethics as a remedy frame for the global economic crisis.