Future public relations practitioners may not be as well-equipped as their predecessors due to a faculty shortage. The shortage “is severe because we are faced with a critical gap between available qualified full-time faculty and an enrollment of students that continues to climb year after year” (B. F. Neff, personal communication, September 7, 2006). Additionally, low salaries, limited training, inadequate number of Ph.D. programs and stricter faculty requirements has contributed to this shortage. How do we persuade more practitioners to transition to the classroom? The purpose of this study was to look at the practitioner/professor transition experiences to provide answers to the question above. An examination of the messages, motivators and obstacles was studied using in-depth interviews. Twenty public relations faculty representing ten states were asked to discuss their transitional journeys. Using Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) coding paradigm, five themes evolved in the analysis including mentoring, love of academe, rewards, calling and obstacles. Findings indicated that practitioners turned professors made the career transition based on perceived self-efficacy and self-determination. Those who are considering a transition from one career to another, particularly one with less tangible benefits, can be explained by not only self-efficacy as a predictor of “career decision-making intentions and behavior” (Betz & Voyton, 1997, p. 180), but also by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). In addition to the fulfillment of the three psychological needs of self-determination theory--competence, autonomy and relatedness--the study found an additional need, situation, also had to be met. Self-efficacy and self-determination theory with the added element of situation, presents a good model for determining success and fulfillment in career transitions.

Developed from the public relations process model, the purpose of this study was to identify parental perceptions of university drinking norms and their relationship with parental perceptions of the organizational legitimacy of the university. This study used a web-based survey to assess an N = 173 parents of current university students at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. The results of this study identified that parents have exaggerated misperceptions of college drinking that are related to their overall perceptions of the university in terms of organizational legitimacy. The study also found that parental awareness of university prevention efforts were strongly correlated with parental perceptions of organizational legitimacy. This study advocates the importance for universities to approach alcohol prevention from an issues management perspective that includes the use of two-way symmetrical communication with parents as well as the possible benefits of using social marketing as a public relations tool.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 15, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

This study evaluates the impacts of brand storytelling on customers of a craft brewery and distillery in East Tennessee. Brand storytelling is well researched, but has not been applied to niche sectors and customer response. The study consisted of a 15-question survey distributed to customers of Tennessee Hills Distillery and Brewstillery (TN Hills), and received 139 responses. The results were that despite a seeming trend of lack of engagement with the business, respondents value brand stories and can identify unique brand characteristics. Respondents’ answers reflected a personal connection with TN Hills, and connected the brand to grander ideals like the American Dream, community acceptance, and legacy. Thus, customers’ feelings toward a business are influenced by brand storytelling.

Every passing year is witness to increases in Internet use among younger populations. The amount of time spent online among children ages two to 11 is increasing at a faster rate than that of the entire online population. The rise in Internet use among children has resulted in marketing and advertising efforts aimed at increasing brand awareness, involvement and immersion. The use of branded entertainment and advergames is a popular practice when attempting to increase brand awareness and loyalty among children. Advergames offer a combination of entertainment and advertising that are designed to appeal to younger populations that have difficulty distinguishing persuasive messages from entertainment content. Past research on parental attitudes towards children’s television advertising indicates parenting style influences subsequent attitudes towards advertisements. The purpose of this study, utilizing parental socialization theory, examines parenting style and how it affects attitudes towards children’s advergaming. This study analyzes results from a nationwide online survey (N=214) and examines differences between authoritarian, authoritative, neglecting, and indulgent parents in their attitudes towards children’s advergaming. Findings indicate that differences in attitudes towards advergaming do exist among the four parenting styles in the hypothesized direction yet these differences were not significant.

Hulu, a video-on-demand service that is rapidly growing in popularity, has been particularly effective at adapting the traditional television experience to the interactive internet medium. According to the U.S. Digital Consumer Report, Hulu is second only to Netflix among video-on-demand services in terms of their share of online video time, which amount to 6.9% and 10.7% respectively. Note that this excludes YouTube, as their content is not as comparable to typical television programming. This growing trend is not going unnoticed by advertisers, as the year-over-year increase in advertising expenditures through this medium amounted to 24% according to the Global AdView Pulse (compared to 10.1% for television). However, the empowerment that Hulu's revolutionary advertising strategy provides its viewers is arguably more important than the diversion of advertising from television to the internet. In this paper I conduct an extensive, qualitative exploration of various theoretical components of advertising, their effects on consumer behavior and television markets, and how video-on-demand services like Hulu have the potential to shift the focus of the television industry from advertisers back to consumers as progressive technology provides them with more attractive, alternative sources of content.

Every passing year is witness to increases in Internet use among younger populations. The amount of time spent online among children ages two to 11 is increasing at a faster rate than that of the entire online population. The rise in Internet use among children has resulted in marketing and advertising efforts aimed at increasing brand awareness, involvement and immersion. The use of branded entertainment and advergames is a popular practice when attempting to increase brand awareness and loyalty among children. Advergames offer a combination of entertainment and advertising that are designed to appeal to younger populations that have difficulty distinguishing persuasive messages from entertainment content. Past research on parental attitudes towards children’s television advertising indicates parenting style influences subsequent attitudes towards advertisements. The purpose of this study, utilizing parental socialization theory, examines parenting style and how it affects attitudes towards children’s advergaming. This study analyzes results from a nationwide online survey (N=214) and examines differences between authoritarian, authoritative, neglecting, and indulgent parents in their attitudes towards children’s advergaming. Findings indicate that differences in attitudes towards advergaming do exist among the four parenting styles in the hypothesized direction yet these differences were not significant.

This study explores the status of public relations in the fledgling democratic Russian Federation. The purpose was to determine: whether public relations practitioners in Russia practice Grunig and Hunt's (1984) press agentry, public information, two-way asymmetrical, and two-way symmetrical models of public relations; how public relations has contributed to the political and economic transformation in Russia; and how the former communist propaganda has affected contemporary public relations. Telephone interviews were conducted with 10 Russian public relations practitioners. The findings revealed that the 4 models of public relations are practiced in Russia; communist propaganda affected contemporary public relations; and, the field of public relations contributed to the political and economic transformation. This study adds a Russian perspective to the global theory of public relations and provides practical implications for public relations practitioners that could be the basis for further study concerning typical aspects of public relations in Russia.

Religiosity has largely been ignored by consumer research as a factor in the negotiation of meaning from magazine advertisements containing lifestyle messages. A meaning based study was undertaken to seek to identify its presence and emergence within a religious audience. A qualitative methodology employing in-depth, phenomenological interviewing was designed. Six members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, three men and three women, were invited to give their interpretations, thoughts, and feelings towards four magazine advertisements. A second in-depth phenomenological interview was conducted with each participant to provide individual lifeworld contexts. Analysis employed a previously tested conceptual construct, Life Themes, to identify a paramount, existential motivator unique to each participant. Life Themes were consequently examined for influences of personal and institutional religiosity. Expressions of religiosity were found to be influenced by individual Life Themes. Though findings indicate conflicts with personal values derived from religiosity, interpretive consensus was not found in particular incidences or on particular values. Findings also suggest that proximity to Christian lifestyle values, rather than to simply “Mormon” lifestyle values, more fully suggest incidence of shared interpretive strategy in evaluating lifestyle appeals within advertising messages. The study indicates that aligning a product with messages containing values that promote lifestyle conflict is not serving the best interests of the product, nor its intended market.

The intent of this thesis is to explore the relationship between social media use and mental health in the young adult population. Current research indicates that there is a connection between increased social media use and deteriorated mental health. Unfortunately, young adults, the most active social media users, have a predominantly high risk for developing mental health issues, making this connection particularly concerning. At present, it is unclear how social media and mental health are connected; therefore this thesis explores the individual and social theories that may give reason for this connection. Theories that are discussed include: the impact of sedentary behaviors on mental health, displaced behavior, sleep interruption due to blue light exposure, social media's effects on romantic relationships, and social media's effects on platonic relationships.