Este trabalho visa estudar a mudança sígnica que se opera nas marcas para uma nova produção de sentido. Tal mudança é observada no decorrer do histórico dos anúncios publicitários de mídia impressa que contemplem uma mudança no modo de divulgar a marca e seus atributos para o público. Como é feita a transição de um conceito para o outro, quais são os signos simbólicos que estão por trás da mensagem. Qual o novo apelo gerado na ressignificação marcária? Essas questões aliada a teoria semiótica (peirceana e greimasiana) nos permitirão alcançar o objetivo desse trabalho que é de entender a ressignificação das marcas e a geração de uma nova produção de sentido para persuadir o público-alvo. / This work aims to study the semiotic change which takes place in the tags for a new production of meaning. Such a change is observed throughout the history of print media advertisements that include a change in the way of disseminating the brand and its attributes to the public. How is the transition from one concept to another, which are symbolic signs behind the message. What the new call generated in reframing mark? These issues combined with semiotics (Greimas and Peirce) allow us to achieve the objective of this work is to understand the reinterpretation of the brands and the creation of a new production order to persuade the target audience.

Communication scholars are in disagreement over the presence of online public speaking courses in higher education. Despite limited research on the Online Public Speaking model, it is quickly replacing the traditional public speaking model in American colleges and universities. This study used Burkean Cluster-Agon Analysis to uncover core concepts from four contemporary public speaking textbooks used in various classroom models (traditional, online and hybrid). Concepts were then compared with traditional core concepts of early speech communication to determine if technology has influenced contemporary core concepts. Results determined that contemporary core concepts from three of the four public speaking textbooks reflected traditional core concepts of early speech communication. The fourth textbook revealed similar contemporary core concepts with expanded definitions to technologically mediated speech situations. / by Shaundi C. Newbolt. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

This dissertation focuses on the use of strategic communication in the context of contemporary environmental activism. It examines the case of Bold Nebraska, a grassroots advocacy group opposing the construction of TransCanada’s Keystone XL oil pipeline in the state of Nebraska. Such an analysis of activist communication informs several areas of research, including public relations theory and practice, social movement theory, and environmental communication. To understand the construction of strategic communication within such activism, this study employs a movement framing analysis, a media framing analysis, and a rhetorical analysis. A quantitative framing analysis of Bold Nebraska’s website communication against the pipeline during the five-year period of 2011 to 2015 assesses how activists craft and project strategic messages. A framing analysis of Bold Nebraska’s national media coverage during the same timeframe highlights the relationship between activist framing and mainstream news coverage. Finally, a rhetorical analysis of Bold Nebraska’s 2014 Harvest the Hope concert is provided to understand the role of rhetorical appeals in building an environmental activism metanarrative or master frame. Taken together, these three approaches provide both a more holistic means to considering environmental activism campaigns in the context of strategic communication, and fill in the gaps for understanding the interplay of social movement organizations, public relations, and persuasion. This study brings a framework of strategic advocacy framing to the realm of environmental politics, and builds upon this framework by considering the dynamic of populism in activism. It also explores the role of strategic communication in evolving a movement organization’s metanarrative as it toggles between short- and long-term goals. Finally, it identifies a civic environmental persuasion built upon the attributes of narrative, hyperlocalization, engagement, and bipartisanship in order to build broad support and influence public policy.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Laura A. Brannon / Sun exposure, with its link to the development of skin cancer and other health issues, can be a serious health hazard. In particular, those who primarily work outdoors and are consistently exposed to the sun’s rays are at elevated risk for such health problems. Previous research efforts have focused on appealing to these outdoor workers to practice sun protection behaviors, such as using sunscreen, wearing a hat, or wearing items of clothing that reduce the amount of skin exposed to the sun’s rays. In an effort to promote such sun protection behaviors, study 1 used a 3 X 2 between-subjects design to investigate the effects of tailored messaging and the inclusion of content regarding financial consequences of skin cancer on outdoor workers’ intention to practice sun protection behaviors. Results from study 1 suggest that tailored messaging was equally as effective as targeted messaging, with both being more effective than generic messaging. This finding indicates that some degree of personalization is necessary when promoting safe sun practices to outdoor workers, but that tailoring to individuals is unnecessary. Additionally, the inclusion of financial content in messaging resulted in participants having greater intentions to practice sun protection behaviors. In study 2, managers and supervisors of outdoor workers were studied in determining the importance of consequences related to employee well-being and financial consequences for employers when it comes to encouraging sun protection behaviors in their employees. Using a four-level between-subjects intervention, it was found that managers and supervisors who received messages that emphasized the financial consequences of employee sun exposure had greater intentions to encourage sun protection behaviors in their employees than those who received a message focused solely on employee well-being. This finding indicates that employers may be most concerned with financial consequences when it comes to promoting employee health. Together, studies 1 and 2 provide insight into the most effective methods for promoting sun protection for outdoor workers.

This study investigates the relationship between social learning and perceived realism in the context of an entertainment media text, the 2015 movie San Andreas. As a fictional natural disaster movie, this film depicts several safety and survival techniques that could potentially be observed and adopted by audience members should they face a similar situation (i.e. major earthquake). While the majority of these techniques align with professionally recommended behaviors, a few are misleading. This study investigates the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral intentions different groups of audience members hold concerning the behaviors they observed in the film. Participants were grouped by geologically-based knowledge levels and levels of perceived realism. While the findings of this study reveal minimal differences based on knowledge and perceived realism, results clearly show that the film triggered high levels of curiosity and thinking about earthquakes and earthquake safety across the board. Furthermore, all audience members appeared to be persuaded on both a conscious and even more so on a subconscious level to behave as the characters in the film did, assuming the consequences of those actions were positive. These findings suggest that entertainment media texts can be a powerful educational and persuasive tool.

No description available.

While humor has been extensively studied in commercial marketing, there is less known about how humor functions in the context of a public health campaign. This dissertation addresses that gap by exploring the use of humor in public health messaging through (1) a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature, (2) a content analysis of public-health related print ads from the Ad Council, and (3) an experiment testing the role of humor styles in the effectiveness of humorous anti-binge drinking messages. The systematic review and meta-analysis assembled all the currently known research on humor in public health messaging. Overall, the success of humor depended on many factors, including the health topic and characteristics of the audience, and humor was found to not differ drastically from other appeal types in its influence on key persuasion outcomes. The meta-analytic component of this review found that humor had a positive impact on ad liking and behavior and a negative impact on perceived self-efficacy and intention, with only self-efficacy demonstrating a statistically significant difference between the appeal types. In the content analysis, Ad Council ads spanning 70 years of public health messaging were evaluated in order to understand the utilization of important communication elements in health communication campaigns. A sample of print ads was assembled, and ads were coded for theoretical constructs, ecological level, emotional appeal, and the presence of humor. The sample included a variety of campaign topics, ranging from drunk driving to polio vaccination to child abuse. Overall, campaigns were found to most often lack response efficacy information, and the presence of specific behavioral suggestions regarding the health issue decreased over time in favor of contact information. Most campaigns targeted the individual level, with few targeting organizational, policy or other systems-level changes necessary to facilitate most (if not all) public health behaviors. The experiment examined the role of matching ad humor styles to individual humor styles in humorous anti-binge drinking ads aimed at college students. Those with detrimental humor styles were found to perceive messages matched to their humor style as more humorous than messages not matched to their humor style. Perceived humor was found to be negatively associated with message rejection and positively associated with likelihood of sharing the message. This study re-affirms the importance of ensuring humor campaigns are actually perceived as humorous by the audience. Overall, this dissertation suggests that humor should be used in well-tested public health campaigns in order to realize its potential benefits for affecting health behaviors.

No description available.

La gamification est le processus conduisant à l’emploi d’éléments de jeux adaptés au profil des utilisateurs dans des systèmes professionnels numériques afin d’accroître leur motivation, leur engagement avec un accent mis sur des interactions agréables voire de l’amusement. Ce concept récent questionne l’ergonomie, a fortiori dans un contexte professionnel. Il y a un besoin de définition, de mise en œuvre, d’évaluation et de réflexion sur ce qui engage l’utilisateur et sur son sens. L'expérience 1 analyse la perception de la gamification chez des concepteurs qui doivent identifier et catégoriser les éléments ludiques d’interfaces. Deux dimensions apparaissent : cosmétique et implicative. L'expérience 2 s’intéresse à la perception de la gamification chez des utilisateurs finaux avec un comparatif système gamifié / non gamifié. Les analyses révèlent que la gamification possède un impact primaire positif et un impact secondaire non désirable. Ensuite, un guide de conception est construit avec une description du processus de conception et une boîte à outils (principes généraux, arbres de décision, grille de conception). Il est validé lors de l’expérience 3 où des sujets doivent gamifier un système avec ou sans le guide. Les résultats indiquent qu’il favorise la fluidité, la flexibilité, l’originalité et l’élaboration. En définitive, ces travaux apportent des précisions conceptuelles et des clés de réflexion autour de l’idéologie de la gamification et des ressorts psychologiques employés pour engager, motiver mais aussi persuader, induire des comportements et contrôler. Pour finir, les suites à donner à ces travaux et l'avenir de la gamification sont abordés. / Gamification is the process of using game elements in professional digital systems, elements which are tailored to users’ profiles in order to increase their motivation and commitment with an emphasis on appealing, even amusing, interactions. This digital interface design modality questions ergonomics, especially when applied to professional contexts. Gamification needs to be defined, designed for and evaluated. Furthermore, the mechanism behind user commitment and the meaning of gamification needs to be carefully considered. The first experiment analyzes the perception of gamification by designers. They have to identify the ludic parts of gamification interfaces and then to categorize it. Two dimensions are identified: cosmetic and involvement. The second experiment analyzes the perception of gamification by end users through a comparison between gamified and non gamified versions of an interface. Analyses reveal that gamification has a primary impact, which affects positively the interaction, and an unwanted secondary impact. Then, a design guide is created which consists of a description of the design process and a toolbox (main principles, decision trees, design grid). It is validated through a third experiment: subjects, split into two groups (with / without the guide) are asked to gamify a system. The results show that the guide favors fluidity, flexibility, novelty and details. To conclude, this work provides conceptual details as well as a discussion about the ideological part of gamification and the psychological techniques, which are used to commit and motivate as well as to persuade, change behavior and control. Finally, next steps for research are suggested.

This thesis examined framing practices used by leaders who participated in the Capacity Day 2007 event, which is organized by the World Bank Institute, as part of its Leadership Development Program. The study examined strategic uses of framing as a meaning-making tool. The framing strategies identified in this study were accomplished through the strategic use of language. Furthermore, the study recognized the implied negotiations of frames made by the skilled 'framers' and found that situations are continuously 'reframable'. Unsuccessful framing attempts were correlated with the contradictions between what was said and what was eventually understood. The positive outcomes that followed from successful strategic framing were easily observable. The study also recognized instances of what I describe as manipulative framing and uses different examples to draw a distinction between ethical and unethical manipulation in framing.