The Impact of Receivers’ Nationality and Cultural Orientation on the Effects of Fear Appeals in Health Communication

Participants from the Netherlands (n = 52), China (n = 50), and South Africa (n = 166) either read a self-targeted or a family-targeted fear appeal message about chlamydia. Seven aspects of individual cultural orientation were measured, and six effects of the different messages. Interactions between nationality and target of threat were found on perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, and danger control. Only for perceived susceptibility, a difference in cultural orientation partly explained this interaction. The outcomes add to the doubts about claims in earlier literature about the relevance of receivers’ nationality and cultural orientation for developing a fear appeal message

REACTANCE THEORY AND SELF-CONSTRUAL IN THE EAST AND WEST

Using psychological reactance theory (Brehm, 1966) as an explanatory framework, this dissertation experimentally tests the effects of appeal type, restoration type, and self-construal on freedom threat perceptions, reactance arousal, and receptiveness of health risk messages on two different populations (Taiwan and U.S.A.) within Western and Eastern cultural contexts. Self-construal and culturalism constructs are applied to examine the influence of culture-related issues on the manifestation of psychological reactance. Relative to culturalism, several findings indicate self-construal is more predictive of reactance arousal and its associated effects on the processing of persuasive health risk messages. Moreover, the positive association between threat perception and reactance arousal may be less apparent then previously assumed. Finally, as found in previous research, the effectiveness of restoration postscripts at reducing reactance was affirmed; however, the nuanced nature of their effectiveness requires some qualification: Each of the five restoration postscript methods used in this study was effective at reducing perceived threat to freedom only in combination with its correspondingly appropriate message appeal type. The ramifications of these results for the effective design of public service announcements (PSAs) targeting risky health behaviors in emerging adults is discussed, and recommendations are offered for producing successful PSAs advocating substance abuse prevention and safe sex within Western and Eastern cultural contexts

Effective Engagement Of White Employees In Workplace Inclusion Strategies In Healthcare Organizations

This capstone paper explores the subject of effective engagement of White employees in healthcare workforce inclusion strategies. While diversity, equity, and inclusion work in healthcare delivery organizations has become an increasingly high priority, leaders of this function must grapple with engagement of disparate audiences in order to achieve their goals. White employees wield outsized influence in creating a greater sense of inclusion in the workplace yet they are less likely to be engaged in diversity & inclusion work. The limited attention that this topic has received from academia was explored in three sections: (1) diversity approach, (2) Whiteness, which included work on privilege, ‘fragility’, and positive identity development, and (3) case studies. Qualitative interviews of 16 practitioners with diverse profiles produced findings regarding their overall approach, approaches to difference and commonality, and the effective engagement of White employees. Three participants voiced a concern about the framing of the research topic; their objections were valuable in highlighting the dialectical and strategic conflicts regarding a focus on racial identity. The participants largely agreed that the White encounter with workplace inclusion was exceptional, that psychological safety was paramount, and that development of positive work identities and relationships were key considerations. The participants’ preferred strategic frames were mixed between healthcare quality, business, and social justice. The participants’ leadership strategies to engage Whites were closely related to best practices for leading organizational culture change. After a synthesis of the extant literature and the interview findings, four critical insights were offered. The paper ends with a personal reflection

The influence of media themes on interest in the Olympic games and the host city: a comparative study of Koreans and Americans.

textGlobally, competition for hosting the Olympic has become fierce. The social and economic advantages resulting from hosting the Olympic Games are huge, but the cost is also formidable. In particular, Sochi, where the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held, invested over $50 billion in building the stadium facilities and developing Sochi and the surrounding area as modernized systems. These Olympic facilities have the potential to attract visitors both during and after the Olympic Games. Prior literature suggests that sport tourism is emerging as a prominent component of many economic development plans (Kotler, Haider and Rein 1993) and the market’s expanding opportunities in tourism and sport businesses suggest the need for studies of sport tourism (Glyptis 1991). Earlier research has verified story impact as a fundamental communication tool and analyzed narrative contents. Past sport research suggests that American Olympic naaratives focus on specific themes. Given the literature, this study examines whether story theme preferences between the Korean and the American are different with cultural difference because some researcher indicates such cultural differences can influence communication behaviors. This research examined the impact of story themes on interest in host city and host nation for Korean and American students. The study employed an experimental survey and designed 3 themed Korean stories and American stories (hero, facility, and non-theme) based on actual news articles for the experiment. The experiment results showed that the Korean and the American students have statistically significant differences in all of the dependent variables. Overall, compared to American students, Korean students had higher interest in watching and attending the Winter Olympics as well as visiting the host city. Korean students also had positive intention to watch, to attend the Winter Olympics, and to visit the host city than the American students. With regard to the findings, the differenct approaches need to be developed between two nations. Cultural differences found in this study would affect the host city’s promotional efforts.Kinesiology and Health Educatio

The Role of Information and Communication Technology in the Acculturation of Vietnamese Refugees

One of the most significant refugee populations in the United States is the Vietnamese. This group initially fled their native country to escape political oppression at the conclusion of the Vietnam War in 1975 and continued to flee in a series of separate waves that continued for more than three decades. As a relatively new immigrant group in the U.S., the Vietnamese still face a variety of challenges as they try to reestablish their lives and adapt in a new cultural environment. Acculturation is a complex process that is influenced by a number of factors. Throughout history, U.S. immigration policy has significantly affected the admission and adaptation of refugees. As shifts in the ideological frameworks, economic demands, and attitudes towards the rest of the world occurred in the twentieth century, which eventually brought the liberalization of immigration policy, this influence slowly decreased. This allowed for factors in the domestic political, economic, and social environments to become more powerful in affecting how refugees adapt in the U.S. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become integral aspects in both assisting and complicating the acculturation process for refugees. These technologies are helping Vietnamese refugees culturally adjust in American communities as well as maintain ties with their native culture; thus, illustrating the multifaceted nature of acculturation. However, the impact of ICTs is not uniform across all of the different waves of refugees who fled from Vietnam. This study demonstrates that interaction and communication are key aspects in cross-cultural adaptation and the importance of media in contemporary everyday life

The Role of Information and Communication Technology in the Acculturation of Vietnamese Refugees

One of the most significant refugee populations in the United States is the Vietnamese. This group initially fled their native country to escape political oppression at the conclusion of the Vietnam War in 1975 and continued to flee in a series of separate waves that continued for more than three decades. As a relatively new immigrant group in the U.S., the Vietnamese still face a variety of challenges as they try to reestablish their lives and adapt in a new cultural environment. Acculturation is a complex process that is influenced by a number of factors. Throughout history, U.S. immigration policy has significantly affected the admission and adaptation of refugees. As shifts in the ideological frameworks, economic demands, and attitudes towards the rest of the world occurred in the twentieth century, which eventually brought the liberalization of immigration policy, this influence slowly decreased. This allowed for factors in the domestic political, economic, and social environments to become more powerful in affecting how refugees adapt in the U.S. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become integral aspects in both assisting and complicating the acculturation process for refugees. These technologies are helping Vietnamese refugees culturally adjust in American communities as well as maintain ties with their native culture; thus, illustrating the multifaceted nature of acculturation. However, the impact of ICTs is not uniform across all of the different waves of refugees who fled from Vietnam. This study demonstrates that interaction and communication are key aspects in cross-cultural adaptation and the importance of media in contemporary everyday life

Insights into greeting cards to enhance the business communication and relation between Finnish and Chinese companies

Objective of the study: The objective of the study is to identify the role that the greeting cards play in the business contexts between Finnish and Chinese companies, to figure out whether sending greeting cards has positive impacts on business relations, and to clarify that people's preference on a certain image and color is due to cultural factors or business background. The aim of the study is to help the international companies realize the importance of holiday greetings and keep longer relationships with clients and business partners. Methodology and the theoretical framework The study takes qualitative research approach. The method is semi-structured interview with eight marketing experts from international companies that have both offices in Finland and China. The data come from both pilot interviews and theme interviews. The theoretical framework is based on the previous studies of cultural differences of Finland and China, color perceptions of the two nations, and the image selection within the business contexts. Culture, color and image are the three linked elements in the research, which serves as a basis of the research questions. Findings and conclusions: Cultural factors are affecting the selection of greeting cards, and sending greeting cards has positive impacts on business communication and relations. Customer relations can be the by-products of the holiday greetings. Finns tend to choose cold colors as the background color like blue, while Chinese prefer the warm colors such as red and orange. The blue color for Finns is to show formality and trustworthiness, and the red for Chinese is to show happiness and friendliness. Finnish businessmen expect the greeting card with less color types simple image design. Chinese businessmen appreciate the conciseness of the image, and hope to see the Christmas elements on the card if it is for the Christmas purpose, such as Santa Claus, Christmas tree, gifts, etc. Key words: greeting card, color, color perception, image, business communication, business relation, intercultural business communication, Finnish-Chinese company, Finnish culture, Chinese culture, Christmas car

Emotional appeals in UK banks’ print advertisement

“A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy”The unprecedented turbulence and uncertainty experienced in global economic and financial markets because of the ―credit crunch‖ has had a damaging impact on consumer confidence. Trust and credibility have been eroded as many customers feel let down by the banks suggesting the need for banks to rebuild constructive dialogue and long-term, meaningful relationships with their customers again. Though financial service, in this case, is considered a utilitarian service, based on the fact that money is needed to support people‘s daily activities, the present state of financial service has suggested the need for banks to appeal to consumers‘ emotions with the aim of improving their reputation. Also, the competition within the industry also could suggest the need to adopt an emotionally appealing advertisement strategy as emotions are known to play an influential role in building robust brand preference. This study builds on the communication theory, meaning transfer theory and consumer involvement theory, to understand the messages the banks are sending out and to elicit consumers‘ emotional reaction. One thousand, two hundred and seventy-four UK bank advertisements in nine national newspapers were content-analysed to identify the emotional appeals presented by the banks. The perception of these appeals and their associated meanings were sought through semi-structured interviews with 33 participants in London and Luton. The results of the analysis indicated that UK Banks are utilising emotional appeal in their advertisements to reach out to the consumers to convince them to upgrade their account, to open an additional account or switch their account. The most predominantly used appeals were relief and relaxation followed by excitement and happiness or satisfaction with the bank, and finally, security and adventure. However, variations were found in different financial products that employed emotional appeals. It was found that high-involvement products such as mortgages and loans used fewer emotional appeals. Both bank groups - high street banks, including the big four (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS) and non-high street banks, such as the new entrants, supermarket brands, and online banks were using emotional appeals. However, it is acknowledged that the communication strategies between these banks could be different as the non-high street banks are more likely to repeat and publish the same messages across many newspapers, instead of publishing different emotionally appealing advertisements. Though consumers acknowledged these emotional appeals in the advertisements, they were more concerned about their relationship with the banks as they don‘t rely on advertisements to make a financial decision. Rather, recommendations from families, friends and associates and also branch location are more important when deciding on which bank to choose. The lack of congruency between financial services and emotional appeals in advertisements is also observed as customers are more likely to be persuaded by rational appeals however this study has not completely ruled out emotional appeals in bank advertisements as the use of both types of appeals is recommended. The study provides important theoretical and managerial contributions to understanding how the consumers understand meaning-embedded advertisements produced by the banks. Managers will be able to consider the implications of advertisements in enhancing their brand equity and building relationships with customers in anticipation that, by word of the mouth and established relationship, their bank‘s reputation will be enhanced. Limitations of the study and opportunities for future research are identified