Public Relations Professional Practice And The Institutionalisation of CSR

Purpose This paper presents the findings of a longitudinal case study into the professionalisation of public relations practices and the institutionalisation of corporate social responsibility as a legitimate social and business arrangement. In doing so, there are implications for the dynamic relationship between practices and the professionalisation of public relations. Methodology A qualitative longitudinal study is used to examine the social construction of social responsibility in the Australian banking industry from 1999-2004 across two levels of analysis – societal expectations as institution, and practices of banking and public relations as action. Findings The study shows that the case organisations shifted their public relations and communication practices during the period of the study. In response to the demands of publics, there was a central shift from a one-way perspective where organisations sought to influence and persuade publics of the appropriateness of thier actions towards a two-way perspective where organisations needed to consult, negotiate and engage with publics. In doing so, this study suggests that there was a shift in the profession of how public relations was practiced, but also highlighted the changes to institutional arrangements about the legitimacy of social responsibilities of large organisations

Content Analysis of General Practitioner Requested Lumbar Spine X-ray Reports

Aims and Background X-rays of patients with low back pain rarely show serious pathology but frequently reveal incidental age-related changes and always expose people to radiation. Patients who have X-rays are more satisfied but report worse pain and disability. Psychological factors such as illness beliefs,catastrophizing and fear avoidance have been shown to be predictors of chronicity/disability. Authorities suggest that the way X-ray information is transmitted and interpreted by patients may influence outcome, therefore this study was designed to determine the words used by radiologists to describe lumbar spine Xrays. Methods: 120 consecutive X-ray reports for patients referred by primary care physicians were anonymised. A formal summative content analysis was undertaken. The coded words were grouped into categories according to their perceived meaning, and the process was refined until there were only three mutually exclusive categories. Results: Half the sample was aged 60 years or younger. Three categories were identified: anatomical, pathological and descriptive. In the pathological category, 33% of words described normal appearances, 47% described age-related changes and 20% described other features. In only 2% of cases were pathological words used to describe conditions as being "normal for age". Overall, 89 (74%) of the 120 reports contained at least one phrase containing words indicating the presence of degenerative changes. Conclusions: Almost three-quarters of lumbar spine X-ray reports use pathological words such as 'degenerative changes' to describe age-related changes but rarely describe them as being "normal for age"

The sustainable delivery of sexual violence prevention education in schools

Sexual violence is a crime that cannot be ignored: it causes our communities significant consequences including heavy economic costs, and evidence of its effects can be seen in our criminal justice system, public health system, Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), and education system, particularly in our schools. Many agencies throughout New Zealand work to end sexual violence. Auckland-based Rape Prevention Education: Whakatu Mauri (RPE) is one such agency, and is committed to preventing sexual violence by providing a range of programmes and initiatives, information, education, and advocacy to a broad range of audiences. Up until early 2014 RPE employed one or two full-time positions dedicated to co-ordinating and training a large pool (up to 15) of educators on casual contracts to deliver their main school-based programmes, BodySafe – approximately 450 modules per year, delivered to some 20 high schools. Each year several of the contract educators, many of whom were tertiary students, found secure full time employment elsewhere. To retain sufficient contract educators to deliver its BodySafe contract meant that RPE had to recruit, induct and train new educators two to three times every year. This model was expensive, resource intense, and ultimately untenable. The Executive Director and core staff at RPE wanted to develop a more efficient and stable model of delivery that fitted its scarce resources. To enable RPE to know what the most efficient model was nationally and internationally, with Ministry of Justice funding, RPE commissioned Massey University to undertake this report reviewing national and international research on sexual violence prevention education (SVPE)

Music, Myth and Motherland: Culturally Centered Music & Imagery

This study assessed ethnic identity in adults of Indian origin through Culturally Centered Music & Imagery (CCMI), a music-centered, psychotherapeutic technique that emphasizes socio-cultural context, identity and meaning. The purpose was to examine how participants’ native music, in the context of CCMI, could evoke identity-based imagery and assess ethnic identity in a globalized context. Five cisgender Indian men and women from Hindu backgrounds participated in one CCMI session each, including an interview and follow up discussions. The qualitative methodology of portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot, 1997) was used in this study. The results reveal how CCMI can access the cultural and ethnic unconscious, a relatively new area of consciousness in Jungian and GIM paradigms. The study also shows how CCMI can highlight the fluid and multiple nature of ethnic identity, revealing its intersection with other identities such as gender, sexual orientation, caste and religion. In addition, the data support the use of contextual and identity-based music selections in assisting participants to explore, recreate or gain a deeper understanding of their ethnic identity through image and metaphor. Major findings include new categories of ethnic identity such as Aesthetic, Ancestral, Philosophical, Mythological, Spiritual and Core Indian identities. Subthemes include experiences of Rebirth, Disconnection, Unconscious Divide, as well as other socio-cultural identities such as Kaleidoscopic, World Citizen and Global Nomad. These and other themes relate to American, global, spiritual, queer, socio-economic, caste, gendered, and individual contexts. The research also suggests that this technique may be effective in emotionally and psychologically supporting adults who are going through the process of immigration or acculturation