The transference of theoretical models to productive transdisciplinary intersections in public relations management: Eight case studies addressing wicked problems

This work aims at offering a trans-disciplinary, critical and realistic perspective of the intervention of Public Relations (PR) in Wicked Problems (WP). WPs are complex problems with perverse effects on social issues which affect all the components of the socio-economic system: public and private organizations, their stakeholders and citizens. First, we deeply review the academic literature for analysing the controversy between rhetoric and realistic approaches in WPs management. Later, we present a set of real-world experiences developed from the humble intelligence of PR. In these cases, PR play an important role both, as facilitators of the dialogue between knowledges and ignorances, and by enabling the participation of involved actors, including, in some cases, undergraduate students in PR.The outcomes of these 8 action research cases share the resignification of PR’s practice and discourse. In addition, all they show evidence that 1) it is possible to go beyond habitus and 2) that PR, from a critical and trans-disciplinary perspective, can serve as a stimulus for collective intelligence and improve social and organizational quality.     

Comparative Political Economy of Long‐Term Care for Elderly People: Political Logic of Universalistic Social Care Policy Development

Despite there being common socio‐demographic pressures across advanced industrialized countries, the public elder care programmes therein tend to vary. While the current literature on social care devotes itself to describing the care arrangements of each country and pigeonholing welfare/gender regime types, it does not sufficiently address this empirical puzzle. This study looks to specify the causal relationship between political institutions and public long‐term care programmes. It argues that countries with personal‐vote‐oriented electoral systems and/or fragmented party systems have difficulties in developing universalistic public elder care programmes, whereas countries with party‐vote‐oriented electoral systems and cohesive party systems are likely to develop generous elder care programmes. For whilst the former types of political institutions prioritize patronage‐based, particularistic benefits, the latter types encourage political actors to appeal to broader constituencies through universalistic welfare programmes. This study tests this claim by examining pooled time‐series and cross‐section data of advanced democracies, from 1980 until 2001. The empirical results suggest that politicians' reliance on personal votes and the fragmentation of ruling coalitions impede the expansion of public spending for elder care.     

The never changing story: Eight decades of the government public relations department of Thailand

The Government Public Relations Department (GPRD) of Thailand has existed in various forms since the country’s governing system changed from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one in 1932. This study reflects on how the GPRD’s practices have been affected by the country’s governing and political environments over time. It has periodized the eighty-four-years of development of the GPRD into sequential phases based on a continuum approach. The GPRD’s roles and duties are detailed based on four periods: Beginning Period, Growth Period, Full Expansion Period, and Weak Period. The GPRD was firstly positioned to be the primary government tool for introducing the concept of democracy to the Thai populace and disseminating information about government policies, activities and propagandistic campaigns. Through Thailand’s periods of political instability, World War II, the Cold War and rise of communism in Indochina, globalization, and the current digital age, the GPRD has expanded in its role within the government as the center of communication for a wide variety of governmental organizations. However, even as it has expanded and undergone re-organization, it has been criticized for being a government mouthpiece rather that a reliable source of factual information. Working under the direct oversight of the various governments led by the military, as well as both appointed and elected politicians, the GPRD has struggled to maintain a balanced public relations role at the juncture of Thai politics and public interest.     

Urban–rural disparity in the satisfaction with public sports services: Survey-based evidence in China

As part of the national project of advancing citizens’ fitness and developing mass sports in China, public sports services (PSS) have been implemented rapidly throughout the country. However, how citizens of different social backgrounds evaluate PSS is still an open question. Drawing on the survey data from the Study of Community Sports in China collected in 2012, this article detects a significant urban–rural disparity in the satisfaction with PSS. Relative to urbanites, rural residents show a significantly lower level of satisfaction with PSS. This urban–rural difference primarily concentrates on the provision of supporting services such as sports consulting, but least on the availability and price. In terms of regional variations, the rural–urban gap in the satisfaction of PSS is less severe in eastern provinces, relative to either middle or western provinces. Implications of the urban–rural differential in the appraisal of PSS are discussed.     

The beginning of the end of Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral Ministry: A towering failure in crisis management as reflected through media narratives of financial crisis,family conflict,and follower dissent

In 2010–2011, the Crystal Cathedral Ministry, one of the world's most respected Christian megachurches (Frankl, 1990), endured a series of crisis events culminating with a court ordered sale of its property. This signaled the end of Robert H. Schuller's ministry. This research analyzes dozens of news stories published during the crisis, documenting that the ministry failed to effectively use the media to communicate on vital issues. This failure exacerbated the crisis by allowing, unchecked, a proliferation of news stories portaying the ministry as out of touch, and Schuller family members as quarreling spendthrifts. Despite Schuller's decades of service, national prominence, and ‘positive thinking’ focus, his ministry was overcome by the materialism he purported to stand against. The rapid downfall is an extraordinary event within Christian televangelism. Examining media reporting of it allows important conclusions to be reached about any organization's communication with media gatekeepers in a time of crisis.     

An evaluation of undergraduate public administration programs at Turkish Universities: Reviewing the literature and proposing a model of cultural competence development

This study aims to identify the main predictors of cultural competence (CC). In the study, the cultural competence of the public administration students was analyzed. A total of 599 public administration students from twenty public and two foundation universities in eighteen different provinces of Turkey responded to a survey. The questionnaire survey was derived from a literature review; validated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The study proposes a CC evaluation model with five principal attributes: political awareness, civic action, belief in collective action, social justice attitudes, and ethical leadership. Accordingly, the model included 29 items that address all aspects of cultural competence. The model can be used to evaluate the CC level of public administration students. Besides, this model can also be applied in public organizations to evaluate their responsiveness to the public. Because public institutions today are supposed to be responsive to the cultural needs of citizens.     

Americans and Iraq,twelve years apart: Comparing support for the US wars in Iraq

Significant differences exist in Americans’ support for force between the 1991 Persian Gulf War and 2003 Iraq War, even when holding all demographic variables constant. Nearly every group decreased their support from 1991 to 2003, including men and women, Whites and racial minorities, people with high school degrees or higher, nearly all age categories, and Democrat and Independent affiliated individuals. When examining potential causes for decreased support in the 2003 Iraq War, the “nature of the conflict” presents the strongest argument and evidence. The Persian Gulf War aimed to force the Iraqi army from Kuwait, while the Iraq War was aimed at changing the governmental regime of Iraq. The latter conflict was less socially acceptable than the former to Americans. These differences between the conflicts are the best explanation for the change in support, while other explanations, including the changing composition of the population and a less pro-military populace, are insufficient.     

Financial reporting in Europe: Prospects for research

This paper is a commentary on the future of financial reporting in Europe and on how research into accounting issues can be relevant to policy makers. Combining scholarship in accounting with scholarship in management can offer insight into national and global issues where accounting communicates information that affects managerial decisions at the microeconomic level and political decisions at the macroeconomic level. The paper cites examples of recent research in financial reporting and points to the current work plans of leading policy makers to illustrate the potential for researchers to influence policy directions. The context of financial reporting, nationally and globally, and the data available in the public domain, provide continued opportunities for researchers investigating accounting issues in the private sector and the public sector.     

城市基本公共服务面向农民工开放度测量研究

2016年1月起实施的《居住证暂行条例》从根本上摒弃了农民工享有城市基本公共服务的制度桎梏，但农民工实际所能享有的水平尚取决于城市政府开放其公共服务的程度，包括“承诺”服务的领域多少和所设置的约束“条件”高低。本文以各城市居住证管理制度文件为依据，运用全国流动人口调查数据，测量城市基本公共服务面向农民工群体的开放度。结果显示：（1）城市基本公共服务全部领域超过一半面向农民工开放，开放度0.5076。即便在排他性服务领域，也超过1/3面向农民工开放，开放度达到0.3569，农民工开始实质性享有城市基本公共服务，但离平等权利仍有距离；（2）开放度在区域间的分布表现为东部城市低于中部城市更低于西部城市、直辖市低于省会城市更低于其他地级市，珠三角、长三角和京津冀城市低于三大经济圈外城市。相对发达的城市开放度更低，反映出开放度高低主要取决于城市政府的开放意愿而非提供服务的能力；（3）开放限制主要来源于“条件”约束，城市政府在排他性服务领域的承诺度0.7703，承诺服务的领域超过3/4。但约束度达0.4502，城市政府只向其中54.98%能满足约束条件的农民工开放所承诺的服务，源自约束条件的限制占到开放限制的60%以上。城市政府遵循居住证制度规范面向外来人口统一“承诺”服务，但通过“条件”约束选择性地限制了农民工获得城市基本公共服务的机会，农民工平等权利的最终实现尚需要政策制度的系统性配套改革。