Too Cool for School? The Relationship between Coolness and Academic Reputation in Early Adolescence

The relationship between peer‐nominated coolness and academic reputation was examined at two time points spanning the first year of middle school (N = 807; 52 percent female; 52 percent African‐American; 48 percent European American). Students predominantly nominated peers who were from their same gender and ethnic group as being cool. Associations between coolness and academic reputation differed across subgroups, were contingent upon level of disruptive behavior, and changed over time from fall to spring of the academic year. In the fall, patterns differed by gender, not by ethnicity. For both white and African‐American boys, hierarchical regressions evidenced a null association between coolness and academic reputation; for both white and African‐American girls, this association was positive. In the spring, findings for white girls were similar to findings from the fall. For the three remaining groups—white boys and African‐American boys and girls—conditions worsened over time, albeit in slightly dissimilar ways. For white boys, fall coolness did not predict significant declines in academic reputation over time; nonetheless, as a group, the coolness–academic reputation was negative by the end of the year. For African‐American boys and girls, fall coolness significantly predicted declines in academic reputation from fall to spring, although the concurrent coolness–academic reputation association was not significantly negative for either group in the spring.     

Cyber warriors in the Middle East: The case of the Syrian Electronic Army

This paper investigates the online hacking group, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), and examines its goals. The study argues that it is not a hacktivist group but is made up of cyber warriors who are closely connected to the Syrian government in order to serve two main goals: serving as a public relations tool for the Syrian government to draw the world's attention to the official Syrian version of events taking place in the country and countering the impact of Syrian oppositional groups. The study investigates the online reaction to SEA by analyzing the comments posted on its YouTube videos in order to better understand the group's aims and strategies and the public perception.     

The role of corporate social responsibility in online identity construction: An analysis of Turkey's banking sector

This study focuses on Turkey's banking sector and investigates the role of public relations and corporate social responsibility practices in constructing organizational identities through a thematic content analysis of banks’ corporate websites. Based on social identity theory, the research reveals that regardless of its core business function, an organization must communicate non-economic social concerns to construct a public identity and gain legitimacy.     

“Cheap labor” speaks: PR adjuncts on pedagogy and preparing Millennials for careers

In-depth interviews were conducted among 32 adjunct public relations instructors across the U.S. to discover their unique contributions in preparing today's undergraduates for entry-level positions. Research questions probed teaching philosophy, practice-to-classroom transition, and any challenges faced. Amidst adjuncts’ voices, two overarching themes emerged – omnipresent economic forces, and academic/practitioner dichotomy. Findings fill a significant gap in the public relations body of knowledge and offer several suggestions for further research.     

The new water cooler: Implications for practitioners concerning the NLRB's stance on social media and workers’ rights

This study examines the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) recent decision in Hispanics United (2012), which prohibits employers from firing employees for social media posts that contain work-related grievances. Given that social media has become a large part of corporate image on the Internet, this recent ruling has direct impact on corporate image, social media communication, and public relations. Implications for public relations practitioners and human resource management are discussed and standards for evaluating social media posts in light of this recent decision are provided.     

The effects of cross-cultural competence on my teaching and studying in the UK context

In this paper, I reflect on my experiences as a Chinese educator, attempting to take my previous experiences into a new situation: teaching in the UK. These reflections take me down a path that shows how my Chinese cultural background and experiences created both challenges and opportunities for my teaching. I attempt to show how important it is to gain cross-cultural competence if one is to take one’s teaching into new cultural environments.     

当前公共政治文化建构含义

当今公共领域最引人注意的现象是异质性但价值混乱，这根源于公共政治文化的缺位。单位社会治理无法解决公共社会治理的价值共享和利益共享问题，（所以）也不能在个体与公共组织之间建立新的文化和政治联系，换言之，对于公共领域而言，公共法律的功能是调整人们的基本关系，但公共政治文化才使公共领域具有价值和意义。因此，建构公共领域价值的关键在于重塑公共政治文化，这要求公共组织的基本任务是建构现代公共性社会关系，而且后者形成的政治与文化联合体建立在利益组织化协调机制与社会公正维护机制紧密无间的政治联系上。     

论“中国网络威胁论”

"中国网络威胁论"实质上是"中国威胁论"的衍生物,其产生的根本原因是网络领域国家行为体之间力量对比和力量消长变化,直接原因是中美在互联网领域的结构性矛盾。"中国网络威胁论"对中国的危害主要表现在经济利益的损害、网络安全的威胁、国际形象的抹黑三个方面。应对"中国网络威胁论",我们必须以身作则,树立大国责任;加强公共外交,消除他国民众误解;积极参与网络安全领域的国际合作,以实际行动赢得国际社会的信任与支持。     

Paths towards Family‐friendly Working Time Arrangements: Comparing Workplaces in Different Countries and Industries

Although studies have examined the distribution and conditions of employer‐provided work–family arrangements, we still lack a systematic investigation of how these vary for different countries and industries. Based on the European Working Conditions Survey 2010, this study examines the conditions under which firms provide family‐friendly working time arrangements and what the differences are across four countries (Austria, Denmark, Italy and the UK) and four industries. The impact of employee representatives, employee involvement, manager support and female managers varies across countries and industries because of the institutional environment (prevailing family model, industrial relations) and workforce composition (gender). The impact of employee representatives depends on their co‐determination rights, and the direction of their effect on the prevailing family model (e.g. negative in conservative countries such as Austria) and the gender composition of the workforce (negative in male‐dominated production, but positive in services). Employee involvement in the work organization is significantly positive in Austria and Denmark (both with co‐operative industrial relations), while manager support has the strongest effect in the UK (liberal regime). At the industry level, female supervisors are positively associated with family‐friendly working time arrangements only in the male‐dominated production industry. These findings suggest that the effects of agency variables and their direction vary depending on the institutional context.     

地方治理视野下中国政府间关系研究——欧盟“开放式协调法”的借鉴与思考

中国单一制体制下,地方治理的理论建构和实践发展仍困难重重,当前中国政府间关系的问题现状成为地方治理的最根本制约因素.中国政府间关系在单一制体制下主要呈现出纵向政府间关系的"相悖"与横向政府问关系的"分割"两方面的问题.这种问题现状则根源于固有的政治传统和财政安排--职责同构与分税制,在两者的共同影响下,中国政府间关系变得复杂而问题又难以解决."开放式协凋法"作为欧盟社会的新型治理模式,其软性治理方式"政治命令的软化"和"政策学习的推动"在中国政府间关系的治理实践中具有借鉴意义,其有效性也有待思考.