The re-enchantment of social institutions: Max Weber and public relations

The German sociologist Max Weber is rarely referred to in public relations theory and research. In this article it is argued that his concepts of legitimacy and legitimation are relevant for understanding and analyzing public relations activities. Legitimacy, i.e. having sufficient external support to continue to exist, is seen as the ultimate purpose of public relations, and legitimation is seen as the efforts which are aimed at acquiring organizational legitimacy. The article discusses both theoretical and practical implications of these ideas for the field of public relations.     

高校应运用公共关系塑造与传播其外部形象

高校应运用公共关系知识塑造与传播良好的外部形象,创设有利的外部发展环境,以促进自身的健康发展。     

Help or hype: Symbolic or behavioral communication during Hurricane Katrina

Public relations professionals increasingly rely on the World Wide Web to communicate with their publics on a variety of issues, including the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts the organization has undertaken. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there is an opportunity to discover how the Best 100 Global Brands used their corporate websites and the power of their brand equity to help the victims of the disaster, as well as to communicate their own CSR efforts. Results show that 51% of these Top 100 firms had messages on their homepages about Hurricane Katrina, and 86% of those firms made donations totaling $105,000,000. The remaining 14% of firms exhibited symbolic communication only, with links to philanthropic organizations aiding rescue efforts.     

An analysis of other countries’ international public relations in the U.S.

The purpose of this study was to examine the various aspects of international public relations by other countries in the U.S. Based on the Foreign Agency Registration Act (FARA) report in 2002, this study analyzed client, activity types, purpose of activity, and key U.S. partners for activity. This study found that (1) business organizations and central governments were major clients of international public relations in the U.S., (2) meeting with governmental officials and congressional leaders was the primary type of activity followed by information dissemination, and (3) economic purpose led by trade promotion was the primary motive for these activities.     

Qualified privilege: A defense for the public relations function

Technology continues to challenge the public relations practitioner to find ways to inform key constituents. The new technology has given rise to the “new journalism” that includes a declining traditional media and exploding internet media filled with websites and bloggers. The question posed by this research asks: Does the public relations practitioner inherit the same protection offered by “qualified privilege” that is most often associated with the traditional “press” or “reporter?” The research lays a foundation with an examination of defamation and the defense of qualified privilege. The research concludes that if information gathered by the public relations practitioner meets the “intent” and “content” tests, the information qualifies as news. Passing the “news” test, the defense of “qualified privilege” also attaches to the public relations practitioner.     

构建我国企业和谐劳资关系的思考

要建立和谐社会,必须要有和谐的劳资关系作基础。从西方劳资关系由激烈对抗趋于制度化、法律化的历史演变的启示,对转型期我国企业劳资矛盾的突出表现及其原因进行剖析,提出构建我国企业和谐劳资关系的治本之策。     

Proportional reversed hazard rate model and its applications

The purpose of this paper is to study the structure and properties of the proportional reversed hazard rate model (PRHRM) in contrast to the celebrated proportional hazard model (PHM). The monotonicity of the hazard rate and the reversed hazard rate of the model is investigated. Some criteria of aging are presented and the inheritance of the aging notions (of the base distribution) by the PRHRM is studied. Characterizations of the model involving Fisher information are presented and the statistical inference of the parameters is discussed. Finally, it is shown that several members of the proportional reversed hazard rate class have been found to be useful and flexible in real data analysis.     

制度与制度权威

制度本质上是建立在一定社会生产力和社会关系基础之上的行为规范,它能够约束人们的行为符合某种秩序的要求。制度权威的本质是人们对一定社会物质生产过程和社会交往过程内在秩序性要求的服从。制度和制度权威建设,必须使制度符合一定社会的生产力、社会关系和人的状况。     

博弈与一夫一妻婚姻制度的演变

博弈论又称对策论,是研究理性人之间互动的行为。一夫一妻制的形成即是社会成员间博弈的结果。然而博弈不会随一夫一妻制的建立而终止,当代的一夫一妻制不同于以往,它变得更有弹性。社会成员间的博弈还会继续,一夫一妻制的变化也还会继续。     

Racial differences in urban neighboring

Despite mixed expectations generated by existing theories and evidence, this analysis documents clear racial differences in urban neighboring behavior. Using data from a survey of Nashville, Tennessee, residents, we show that blacks interact with their neighbors more often than whites do, and in a greater variety of ways. The only noteworthy similarity between the two groups is the positive impact of neighboring on feelings of community affect. Overall, our results support the view that neighbor relations — like other kinds of informal participation — have helped blacks cope with constrained social opportunities and provided them with access to resources unavailable through formal institutional channels.Revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, August 1989.