Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

The goal of the study was to develop a framework for public relations practice in the financial services sector. The study was based on four key objectives. In line with the first objective, chapters 2 and 3 reviewed how public relations was conceptualised and practiced by reviewing literature. Three worldviews, the North American, the European and African worldviews, were discussed by looking at their similarities and differences. The literature also reviewed the development of public relations from these three perspectives. Literature revealed that different models influence practices in different cultural settings and that effective PR practice cannot be premised on a single model. Objectives 2, 3 and 4 empirically analysed the conceptualisation and practice of public relations in terms of the purpose (models) and roles (activities). The study employed the one-on-one interview technique to gauge the views of communication managers in the financial services sector. The result of the study was discussed and analysed in chapter 5. Findings showed that PR was not strategic and mostly had a marketing orientation. Significantly, most of the communication managers had marketing backgrounds, which invariably affected their concept and practice of public relations. Another key finding was that public relations measurement and evaluation was based on outputs and outtakes more than outcomes. Moreover, methods used were mostly unscientific in nature. PR strategies were based on audience satisfaction surveys rather than perception and attitudinal research. Practitioners are not part of the dominant coalition. The findings showed that practitioners faced a number of challenges that compromised the effectiveness of their work, including management’s value and perception of their work, lack of in-depth knowledge about the profession itself, budgetary constraints and inability to sometimes influence decisions because of their position in the organisational structure. The findings of the study, together with findings in the literature, were used to develop a framework for effective PR practice in the sector. The framework differs in certain aspects from some of the recommendations made by literature for excellent public relations practice. The framework also incorporates recommendations aligning to the reality of public relations practice within the Ghanaian cultural and political environment. / Communication Science / D. Litt. et Phil.(Communication)

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Diplomová práce se zabývá aktivitami Public Relations ve vybrané organizaci. Teoretická část představuje stručný úvod do problematiky PR. Praktická část se zabývá definováním cílové skupiny a následně přípravou tiskové konference. V práci je také proveden výzkum, který přináší informace o možné budoucí strategii společnosti. Závěrečná kapitola je věnována zhodnocení projektu Public Relations a návrhům na zlepšení pro vybranou společnost.

The main aim of my thesis is to propose a public relations strategy for swimming club to communicate effectively with given target groups. In the theoretical section I briefly describe the marketing and commercial communications, with emphasis on the possibilities of promotion using the tools of public relations. I focus mainly on the practical use of each instrument and determination of the correct procedure to build an appropriate strategy for a nonprofit organization, which is a swimming club TJ Pozemstav Prostejov. In the practical part, I suggest the strategy of communication using public relations. The strategy was realized in the period from March to December 2011. In conclusion, I evaluate the success and the effectiveness of the campaign and suggest changes for the future.

The Arts in the United States has been a thoroughly studied topic, largely trying to substantiate its value to society, resulting in a plethora of research that positively correlates the arts and a more healthy and successful society. Findings from various studies over the years have shown declines in arts support in the form of funding, advocacy, education, and participation (National Endowment for the Arts, 2009). Additional studies have suggested that millennials are redefining what participation means in the arts, and even the definition of the arts. The primary research question of this study is why are support for the arts declining? This study reviews the industry, the current definition of the arts and how two theories could help examine the question. The mass communications theory, the Situational Theory of Publics and the psychology theory, the Theory of Reasoned Action, were chosen to learn more about communication behavior toward arts support. The variables were examined within a proposed model. The data suggested that low problem recognition toward the arts in this sample was an integral factor. A key finding of the study was that respondents who value arts support may be more likely to behave. An experiment to test the model would be the next best step for research.

This study is a quantitative content analysis of activist groups' use of dialogic tools on Web sites. The study was done in order to understand how activist groups use the Web to communicate with their publics in comparison to for-profit corporations. The Web is considered a powerful tool for activists and allows them to communicate better with their publics. Use of the Web should allow activist groups to level the field with corporations by enabling them to get their message out and interact better with their public. Dialogic communication is a necessity for activist groups. By measuring the use of dialogic communication by activists in comparison with corporations, this study uncovers how well activist groups are using the World Wide Web for purposes of dialogic communication with their publics.

This is an exploratory study of the Situational Theory of Problem Solving applied to the context of climate change communication. Selective exposure to politically slanted media is explored as a referent criterion and framing effects are also tested. Relationships between consumption of media characterized as conservative or liberal with referent criterion, Situational Motivation in Problem Solving, problem recognition, involvement recognition, and constraint recognition are tested.

Utilizing J.E. Grunig's (1989a, 1997) situational theory of publics and Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action, this empirical study examined the public's perception of reclaimed water. Specifically, the three independent variables - problem recognition, constraint recognition, and level of involvement - were separated into internal and external variables to determine their influences on behavioral intention. The independent variables were also used to determine the public's communication behavioral intention. The findings of this study support the basic premise of the situational theory of publics and contribute to the extension of the theory through the inclusion of some of the variables used in the theory of reasoned action - subjective norm, attitude towards behavior, and behavioral intention. The importance of attitude towards behavior to the prediction of behavioral intention was found to be significant. Overall, the results of this research suggest that the situational theory of publics and the theory of reasoned action are very compatible together and can be combined in research to ultimately determine a public's communication behavior and actual behavior.