Corporate Historical Responsibility (CHR): Addressing a Corporate Past of Forced Labor at Volkswagen

This article introduces corporate historical responsibility (CHR), a concept that can guide organizations when addressing dark corporate histories. CHR holds that organizations have responsibilities toward victims of past corporate practices and toward present reconciliatory discourse. Volkswagen's discourse about its history of forced labor during WW II serves as an example of CHR. The rhetorical analysis illustrates that CHR hinges on the recognition of the past as a moral issue and on the organization's ability to create historical accountability, take responsibility, make public acknowledgements, and remember its past. It further illustrates that CHR creates sustainable policies that can strengthen corporate citizenship and serve as a means of (re-)legitimation. In order to repair broken relationships, the article concludes, organizational leaders need to overcome primary concerns with liability and invest in a shared and long-term CHR process that creates spaces for ongoing discourse about the past.     

Implications of Stealing Thunder for the Impact of Expressing Emotions in Organizational Crisis Communication

This study examines if and when spokespersons of an organization in crisis can express their genuine emotions as opposed to appearing rational. The impact of emotional (sadness) versus rational message framing on perceptions of an organization in crisis is studied by means of a 2 (crisis timing strategy: ex-antecrisis timing strategy vs. ex-postcrisis timing strategy)×2 (message framing: rational vs. emotional) between-subjects factorial experimental design with 168 participants. The findings first show that organizations can restore their reputation in times of crisis better by means of an ex-antecrisis timing strategy than by means of an ex-postcrisis timing strategy. In addition, the study illustrates that an ex-antecrisis timing strategy leads to more effective use of organizational message framing. In the case of an organizational self-disclosure, expressing sadness as a discrete negative emotion results in a better postcrisis reputation than rational message framing, whereas no impact of message framing is found for an ex-postcrisis timing strategy. Finally, the results indicate that organizations can benefit from allowing their spokespersons to express sadness because consumers will consider them more sincere.     

企业社会责任传播与公共关系制度化——解析香港中华电力案

本文从公共关系学的角度探讨企业社会责任的行为模式,解析企业社会责任行为以论证公关制度化的必要性,以及通过公关制度化的过程以强调企业社会责任战略传播的可行性。本文在讨论企业社会责任的理论假设的基础上,引入公关制度化的要求,分析香港中华电力控股有限公司的案例,认为公关在引领企业社会责任战略形成与实施方面,具有独特的作用;一个能够有效引领企业社会责任长效行为的公关,是制度化的公关。     

国家形象危机中的传播策略分析

国家形象危机的出现一般有两种情况:一种是与危机事件相伴随的形象危机;一种是传播失当(当传不传和不正确地传播)造成的形象危机。无论哪一种情况出现,国家形象的受损都是不可避免的。为了减轻国家形象受损的程度,或者从根本上避免形象危机的出现,制定科学、有效的危机应对和传播策略是十分必要的。为此需要改变旧有的传播观念;树立危机传播意识;尊重国际传播规律;掌握有效传播的方法与技巧。     

The Influence of Thinking Styles on Responses to Supportive Messages

Cognitive-experiential self-theory suggests that individuals with different thinking styles may respond differently to various forms of support during times of stress or difficulty. This possibility was examined in an experiment in which 365 participants read a hypothetical scenario in which they were experiencing a problematic situation, and a friend offered one of three forms of support (advice, emotional support, or emotional support plus advice). The results of the study indicated that highly rational participants tended to respond to advice more positively than less rational participants. In addition, highly experiential participants tended to rate emotional support as higher in quality than less experiential participants.     

The Most Integrated Hour in America: Reframing the Organizational Discourses of Church Purpose

Religious organizations have increasingly drawn the attention of communication scholars. This interest is due in part to the significant role these organizations have in building social capital – particularly in regard to improving racial/ethnic relations. This potential has remained largely unrealized, however, since the Civil Rights Movement over 50 years ago. Consequently, this study seeks to understand how church pastors frame the ambiguous discourse of organizational purpose. Building on an earlier research phase that included 42 pastoral interviews, this study adds to our understanding of framing practices via three dialectical tensions: integration-segregation, belief-practice, and vertical-horizontal. The analysis also reveals how these dialectics were framed through improbability, double bind, alternation, selection, connection, and transcendence, as well as their impact upon ethnic relationships. Theoretic and practical implications are provided.     

The Relationship Between Counseling Self-Efficacy and Communication Skills of Volunteer Rape Crisis Advocates

This research examines the relationships between communication competence, communication anxiety, and five subdimensions of counseling self-efficacy. The sample consists of volunteers trained at two rape crisis centers (n = 63) over a one-year period. As hypothesized, communication anxiety was negatively related and communication competence positively related to the subdimensions of counseling self-efficacy. Results suggest that training programs need to be aware of how personality characteristics may affect a volunteer's ability to become an efficacious counselor. Implications for how rape crisis centers can integrate these communication issues into their training programs and improve the self-efficacy of their advocates are discussed.     

德国企业档案馆的发展及其启示

文章简述了德国企业档案馆的起源与发展历程,介绍了德国西门子公司、巴斯夫公司、拜耳公司、德固萨公司和德累斯顿银行等5家世界知名企业的档案馆建设情况,总结了德国企业档案馆发展的特点及其对中国企业档案馆的启示。     

Analyzing Postcrisis Challenges and Strategies Associated With School Shootings: An Application of Discourse of Renewal Theory

In recent years, the need to understand and identify effective data-driven strategies for the communication challenges faced by schools associated with school shootings has become paramount. The current study reports findings from 10 face-to-face interviews conducted with school crisis team members at the P–12 level who experienced school shooting events. The findings, which extend discourse of renewal theory, identify six primary communication-related challenges that districts face postcrisis and offer effective strategies for overcoming these challenges.     

新冠疫情早期的媒介使用、风险感知与个体行为

暴发于2019年末并迅速发展的新冠肺炎疫情已成为全球性的公共卫生事件。本研究开展于大众媒体信息尚且不充裕的疫情早期,通过对全国32省(自治区、直辖市)243市1265名受访者的在线调查,考察疫情初期人们在媒体使用、疫情感知和个体行为等方面的总体情况。研究显示,人们对新媒体(微信公众号和微博)的使用频率明显高于传统媒体,而对其可信度评价却显著低于传统媒体。个体风险感知和社会风险感知构成了公众对疫情风险感知的总体估量,且人们对疫情的认知和行动彼此关联。受社交媒体使用和参与的影响,个人层面风险感知指向更积极的人际传播;受大众化媒体使用和信息获取的影响,社会层面的风险感知则更多的导向抽象的疾病知识和符合社会利益期待的个体行为。     

论“风险社会”危机的跨文化传播

世界已经进入“风险社会,”风险并非自然的风险,乃是“人造风险”。风险具有全球性、知识依赖性和“不确定性”等特征,对危机的跨文化传播研究显得尤为必要和紧迫。传媒具有风险认知和沟通功能,预测、凸现隐形的风险并对现实危机进行“定义”、“冠名,”以提高不同文化背景下的人们对同一危机的“在场感”以及经验、认知的相互交流。大众传媒要尽量减少传播的悖论和破除话语中心论,同时,对危机的跨文化传播研究应该从研究“误传”、“误读”转向研究如何协调合作与建构意义。     

深圳图书馆法人治理结构试点探索及思考

深圳图书馆作为公共文化服务机构被列为中央编办与深圳市共抓的法人治理结构试点单位。2007年正式启动试点工作,经过文献调研,制定实施方案,拟定理事会章程和配套制度草案,以及理事推选,2010年组建了理事会。法人治理结构试点运行至今,初步建立了分权制衡的组织架构,进行了政事分开的有益尝试,促进了开放民主的治理取向。但也存在一些问题,如法人地位未能完全落实,配套制度衔接不力导致改革后劲不足,法人章程与地方立法修订未能及时跟进,理事会决策缺乏专业委员会支撑等。下一步将继续完善理事会构成机制、推举机制、决策机制和监督机制,培育理事的社会基础,推进法人治理建设。参考文献8。     

Presence,Sex, and Bad News: Exploring the Responses of Men and Women to Tragic News Stories in Varying Media

This study explores the interplay of sex, presence, and enjoyment of nonfictional tragic news content; an experiment was conducted in which participants viewed a news story about Hurricane Katrina's devastation to the Gulf Coast on a standard definition television, high definition television, or a video iPod. The results indicate that women reported more sadness regardless of condition, though they seemed especially moved in the iPod condition. Women also reported more information seeking, and reported highest levels of presence in the iPod condition. The results are discussed both in terms of implications for crisis message practitioners, and in terms of what the results may mean for our understanding of the enjoyment of tragedy.     

When Corporate Social Responsibility Messages Enter the News: Examining the Effects of CSR-Framed News on Product Purchasing Intentions and the Mediating Role of Company and Product Attitudes

Journalists are frequently reporting about new and innovative products in news articles. Oftentimes, journalists use specific company and product information provided by enterprises that highlight a corporation’s social responsibility (CSR) activities. Based on framing theory and theory of reasoned action, an experiment was conducted to examine how types of CSR-framed news (either highlighting ethical, ecological, or philanthropic responsibilities of a company) affect news recipients’ product purchasing intentions. A mediation analysis showed that CSR-framed news indirectly and positively affected individuals’ purchasing intentions via company and product attitudes. No relevant differences could be detected for the specific type of CSR frame. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Emergency Communication Challenges in Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

In response to Hurricane Katrina's extensive destruction and related public health threats, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deployed more than 1,000 staff to its emergency operations center and to affected areas. Among them were members of CDC's Emergency Communication System. This paper describes the strategies and tactics used by health communication specialists during the pre-event, response, and post-event stages to address a range of emergency communication exigencies. It highlights three difficult challenges for CDC communication specialists during Hurricane Katrina: rapid dissemination of health messages; adaptation of health messages for diverse audiences, locations, and circumstances; and phasing of key risk messages during the emergency response.     

Emergency Communication Challenges in Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

In response to Hurricane Katrina's extensive destruction and related public health threats, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deployed more than 1,000 staff to its emergency operations center and to affected areas. Among them were members of CDC's Emergency Communication System. This paper describes the strategies and tactics used by health communication specialists during the pre-event, response, and post-event stages to address a range of emergency communication exigencies. It highlights three difficult challenges for CDC communication specialists during Hurricane Katrina: rapid dissemination of health messages; adaptation of health messages for diverse audiences, locations, and circumstances; and phasing of key risk messages during the emergency response.     

Responding to Outreach and Training Challenges in Health Information: A Case Study from Africa

This article shares the experience and lessons learned by Information Training and Outreach Center for Africa (ITOCA) in rolling out an on-line distance learning course. Key objectives were to explore the efficacy of online courses in increasing skills and awareness of electronic resources access initiatives. This is in the context of responding to limited funding alongside low awareness and usage of the resources. The initiative involved several stake-holders including ITOCA, Research 4 Life (R4Life), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The process used to set up the course and the results are described. Challenges and lessons learned are highlighted. Various recommendations for improving future courses are proposed. It is concluded that on-line learning is the fastest, least expensive, and most convenient mode of training and outreach, especially when compared with face-to-face delivery. It should be acknowledged that this mode of training requires much time, planning, and effective communication between the different parties.     

The web of shyness: A network analysis of communicative correlates

This investigation was designed to explore the use of network analysis in an investigation of the communicative behaviors of shy individuals. Twenty‐three subjects were categorized as high, moderate, or low‐shy, and the friendship networks of these individuals were compared.

The results suggest that the communication networks of high‐shy subjects are structurally different than the networks of less‐shy individuals. Specifically, shy individuals had smaller, more interconnected networks. The evidence also suggests that shy subjects tend to have longer average length of relationships with their network links, less frequent interaction, and less role diversity in their friendships. Although structural and behavioral differences were found between high and low‐shy subjects, shy subjects did not report being any less satisfied with their friendship networks than less‐shy individuals.

Overall, communication network analysis was found to be a tool that can provide insight into the behavioral and perceptual correlates of shyness.     

A Use of Space: The Unintended Messages of Academic Library Web Sites

Academic library home pages are not only access points to the resources and services of a library, they are virtual representations of the library itself. The content placed on the page, where it is placed, and the amount of space allotted are all choices that send a message about the character of the library, the resources a user should start with, and the library's attitude toward its users. This study explores the messages being sent by the content selection and design of the home pages of 49 of the 50 largest academic libraries in the United States. By looking at the area allocated to different content types and the number and location of different content types, the researchers discovered that design elements and promotion/public relations receive a large amount of page space. The researchers also identified the prominently positioned multi-search box as the apparent de facto standard access point to library resources. Many sites are clearly designed to direct users to specific, presumably important resources. Other sites are more obscure in their site structure and design, increasing the options and visual clutter for users without providing much guidance.     

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? Internet Communication, Geographic Community, and Social Capital in Crisis

This study investigated Internet communication and use in a crisis situation, Hurricane Katrina, to explore the role of the Internet in supporting or diminishing geographically-based community during a crisis. The researchers conducted an online survey of Internet users (n=1192) from the dispersed metropolitan New Orleans area. The survey focused on amount, type, function, and importance of Internet use to creating and maintaining social capital, supporting geographically-based communities, activating social networks, reducing uncertainty, and achieving both expressive and instrumental communication goals. The results indicated that Internet users in a crisis situation went online to seek interactive fora specific to their neighborhoods and to activate weak ties in their social networks. They engaged in more uncertainty reduction behavior when experiencing higher degrees of damage. They turned to the Internet in place of other media as a result of disruptions caused by the crisis. Women valued online expressive communication more than men did. The findings suggest that social capital theorists would benefit from a communication perspective on the Internet. The study also led to the formation of suggestions for emergency preparedness agencies, shelter providers, crisis victims, and online news providers that can improve emergency response.