Progress and opportunities in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health communications

This article describes elements of effective health communication and highlights strategies that may best be adopted or adapted in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations. Studies have documented the utility of multidimensional approaches to health communication from the macro level of interventions targeting entire populations to the micro level of communication between health care provider and consumer. Although evidence of health disparities in LGBT communities underscores the importance of population-specific interventions, health promotion campaigns rarely target these populations and health communication activities seldom account for the diversity of LGBT communities. Advances in health communication suggest promising direction for LGBT-specific risk prevention and health promotion strategies on community, group, and provider/consumer levels. Opportunities for future health communication efforts include involving LGBT communities in the development of appropriate health communication campaigns and materials, enhancing media literacy among LGBT individuals, supporting LGBT-focused research and evaluation of health communication activities, and ensuring that health care providers possess the knowledge, skills, and competency to communicate effectively with LGBT consumers

Private Regulation by Platform Operators – Implications for Usage Intensity

Platforms operators act as private regulators to increase usage and maximize profits. Their goals depend on the development of the platform: overcoming the chicken-egg problem early on requires attracting platform participants while quality becomes more important later on. Private regulators influence third-party business models, entry barriers, and usage intensity. We analyze how drivers of usage intensity on Facebook’s application platform were affected by a policy change that increased quality incentives for applications. This change led to the number of installations of each application becoming less important, applications in more concentrated sub-markets achieving higher usage, and applications staying attractive for longer

State of Health Equity Movement, 2011 Update Part C: Compendium of Recommendations DRA Project Report No. 11-03

State of Health Equity Movement, 2011 Update Part C: Compendium of Recommendations DRA Project Report No. 11-0

The Diffusion of Social Media in Nonprofit Organizations

Social media platforms have become important over the last decade for nonprofit organizations to communicate with stakeholders, engage with community, and connect with donors. Despite the significance, there is a wide gap in the research on social media adoption and use among community-based nonprofits. To fill this gap, this dissertation examines the diffusion of two popular social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) among community-based nonprofit organizations affiliated with the United Way of America in Florida. The United Way is the largest federated organization of nonprofits and its primary focus is on education, income, and health. Two questions guide this study: (i) What are the principal determinants of the adoption and use of social media in nonprofit organizations? and (ii) How do nonprofits use social media? The conceptual framework for the analysis comprises of three dimensions: technological, environmental, and organizational. These dimensions respectively draw upon three theories: diffusion of innovation theory, resource dependence theory, and institutional theory. As such, the hypothesis is that the adoption and use of social media is influenced by technological, environmental, and internal institutional factors. For the first question, I conducted a survey of nonprofits affiliated with United Way chapters in Florida, and then analyzed the results using multivariate regression analysis. For the second question, I scraped the Facebook pages of United Way chapters and conducted a content analysis of the posts. I also interviewed key officials in these organizations. The regression analysis shows that technological indicators were significant for the adoption of social media, but were not so for social media use. The findings suggest that factors affecting the adoption and use of social media are distinctive. The content analysis shows that nonprofits predominantly use social media to organize and promote events and to collaborate with other organizations. The events and collaboration enhance the organizations’ legitimacy and help with fundraising for targeted purposes. The study’s policy implication is that nonprofits should engage social media specialists to enhance adoption and train the leaders about benefits of social media use. A federated organization like United Way could adopt best practices in encouraging the use of social media

Automobile Races and the Marketing of Places: A Geographic and Marketing Exploration of IndyCar Racing in the United States

IndyCar events attract thousands of spectators and over one million television viewers. Additionally, IndyCar is the most elite form of motorsport that races on oval speedways, natural terrain road courses, and temporary street circuits. This research utilizes case studies of IndyCar events contested on each of these three venue types (Iowa Corn Indy 250 – oval speedway; Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – road course; Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – street circuit). Previous research in figurational sociology, place marketing, and mega-events provide a framework used to identify key similarities and differences among the perceived and observed benefits and costs of an IndyCar race on their host cities and regions. Identification and analysis of key local event stakeholders and sponsors from a content analysis of event souvenir programs, television broadcasts, and local newspaper coverage revealed key differences among the three case study events. Street circuit races rely on a high-level of public support, have a high impact on businesses and residents surrounding the venue, and can showcase a city’s downtown amenities via television exposure of city streets during most of the event. In the case of St. Petersburg, the festival atmosphere and high speed of IndyCar racing in their downtown streets has been part of a process of re-inventing the city as it sheds an image of a quiet city with mostly older residents and has been successful attracting both visitors and residents to downtown. Oval speedway events rely on high participation of private, local event sponsors that are marketing their good or service mostly to local race fans who, for the most part, stay only at the speedway on race day. In particular, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 provides a platform for local, corn-based ethanol promotion of their product in high-performance race cars. Road course races attract a greater number of weekend-long, on-site camping motorsport enthusiasts and participants as these events are more a celebration of the automobile industry, and in particular, the Honda assembly plants that employ thousands of nearby Ohio residents. The results from this research provide key lessons for other current and potential IndyCar venues across three different venue types

EcoMegot communication plan: using creative and impactful strategies for the greater good

The growing concerns towards environmental issues and the raising awareness of the importance of sustainable development and recycling efforts have modified the way people behave or at least their intentions of having more responsible behaviors. Not to mention the digital revolution with the advent of social media coming along with the society evolution which have forever changed the communication’s landscape. These factors have pushed some organizations to take action for the greater good but it is crucial for them to understand how to effectively communicate their actions so that they reach the desired target in the most impactful way. Let alone the information overload due to our very connected world that will force these organizations to use innovative and powerful strategies to grab people’s attention and guide them toward more responsible behaviors. In this project thesis, the focus will be in developing and proposing an innovative and effective communication plan for EcoMegot, an association dedicated to the cigarettes’ pollution sensitization and the collect and recycling of cigarette butts, which definitely needed assistance to design, with a very small budget, impactful strategies to successfully achieve its ambitious goals and vision. Therefore, the main goals of this project are first to increase general awareness and knowledge of EcoMegot, but also to increase its reach and visibility, to finally increase its number of sensitized people and find creative and impactful strategies such as gamification or nudging to close the gap between intentions and actual behaviors toward cigarettes butts’ pollution. In order to do so, a literature review has been conducted around the disruptive factors and new strategies of the communication landscape but also on the drivers under people intentions and actual behaviors. Combined with an internal analysis of EcoMegot which has allowed having a better overview of its constraints and objectives; an empirical study has been performed to grasp people’s perceptions, motivations, and current behaviors but more importantly to have a greater understanding of the discrepancy between their intentions and actual behaviors. In regards to the overall project findings, several strategies have been designed aiming at addressing EcoMegot issues in an inventive and impactful ways. These findings have allowed the creation of an innovative, impactful and effective communication plan that will be a turnkey solution addressing EcoMegot issues and meet its ambitious goals.As preocupações crescentes com as questões ambientais e a sensibilização para a importância do desenvolvimento sustentável e dos esforços de reciclagem modificaram a forma como as pessoas se comportam ou, pelo menos, as suas intenções em terem comportamentos mais responsáveis. Ainda, a revolução digital com o advento das redes sociais influenciou novas atitudes na sociedade e impulsionou novas formas de comunicação. Estes fatores têm impulsionado algumas organizações a agirem para um ambiente sustentável, mas é crucial que elas entendam como comunicar suas ações de forma eficaz para que atinjam o alvo desejado da forma mais impactante. Sem mencionar que a sobrecarga de informação devido ao ambiente muito competitivo pressionaessas organizações a usar estratégias inovadoras para atrair a atenção das pessoas e orientá-las para comportamentos mais responsáveis. Nesta tese de projeto, o foco estará em desenvolver e propor um plano de comunicação inovador e eficaz para a EcoMegot, uma associação dedicada à sensibilização da poluição dos cigarros e à recolha e reciclagem de pontas de cigarro, que precisava de assistência para definir, com um orçamento muito pequeno, estratégias impactantes para alcançar com sucesso suas ambiciosas metas e visão. Assim, os principais objetivos deste projeto são: (1) aumentar a conscientização geral e o conhecimento do EcoMegot, (2) ampliar o seu alcance e visibilidade, (3) atingir um maior número de pessoas sensibilizadas e encontrar estratégias inovadoras e impactantes para promover a convergência entre intenções e comportamentos reais perante a poluição com beatas de cigarro. Para isso, uma revisão da literatura foi conduzida em torno dos fatores disruptivos e novas estratégias do cenário de comunicação, mas também sobre os factores determinantes nas intenções e comportamentos reais das pessoas. Combinado com uma análise interna do EcoMegot que permitiu ter uma melhor visão geral de suas restrições e objetivos; um estudo empírico foi realizado para entender as percepções, motivações e comportamentos atuais das pessoas, mas sobretudo ter uma maior compreensão da discrepância entre suas intenções e comportamentos reais. No que diz respeito aos resultados gerais do projeto, várias estratégias foram desenhadas com o objetivo de abordar as questões do EcoMegot de forma inovadora e impactante. Estas conclusões permitiram a criação de um plano de comunicação inovador, impactante e eficaz que será uma solução chave-na-mão para resolver os problemas da EcoMegot e cumprir os seus objetivos ambiciosos

Promoting social change in the Arab Gulf: two case studies of communication programmes in Kuwait and Bahrain

The thesis presents rich empirical analysis of the role of public relations in facilitating participation in social change in the Arab Gulf. The focus is on what public communication approaches are used and how they are regarded from the perspectives of the key social actors. It presents an historical and sociological background of public communication and media in the Arab Gulf. Moreover, it provides in-depth analysis of two empirical case studies in the Arab Gulf: Ghiras, the national drugs prevention programme in Kuwait, and Be Free, the voluntary anti-child abuse programme in Bahrain. This thesis relates the practice of public communication in the Arab Gulf society to Arabic culture and ethics. The thesis uses a qualitative constructivist paradigm to “re-construct” the multiple realities initially constructed by social actors in the cases to provide original insights on the role of public communication and public relations in social change in the Arab Gulf. It presents a new perspective of 'social change' in the two cases that is tied to Islamic ethics. Besides, it re-constructs original Arabic-oriented understanding of 'relational' and 'persuasion' approaches, which differs from the Western paradigm. One of the key contributions of the thesis is its adaptation of relevant Western communication models to the empirical Arab Gulf cases to identify some of the crucial factors of the practice and role of public communication in the Arab Gulf. The unique contribution of this thesis is that it develops a greater understanding of alternative cultural context that might contribute to the adaptations of existing theory and therefore a first step towards new models. It introduces a theoretical framework for other scholars to develop an Arabic public communication ethics theory and to build up a cultural model of the practice of public communication and public relations in the Arab Gulf. The thesis generates key theoretical implications that contribute to the theoretical discussion on the value and role of media, public relations, social marketing, and public communication in the Arab Gulf society at the age of globalisation

The Perspectives to Understand Social Marketing as an Approach in Influencing Consumer Behavior for Good

This study is a conceptual paper and highlights perspectives to understand social marketing as an approach to bring about voluntary and socially desirable consumer behavior. The perspective is considered as an alternative way to comprehend consumer behavior change for good as a multi-factor driven action. Hence, social marketing is also considered as a discipline that can be analyzed from multiple perspectives including a behavioral change perspective and a relationship perspective. Each perspective is elaborated by doing a review of existing literature and research. This study shows that social marketing is not only the application of marketing programs to shape consumer behavior, but also a process involving individual, society, and government to make a better life of society

The Role of Culture in Sports Sponsorship: an Update

Nowadays Sponsorship is an important part of sports events. Sports sponsorship offers more benefits, more variety and also it’s a more powerful form of marketing. In general, sponsorship holds a unique position in the marketing mix because it is effective in building brand awareness, provides different marketing platforms and valuable networking and hospitality opportunities. Sponsorship marketing efforts can be influenced by culture. Especially when global sponsorship in sports which refers to sports events in different countries with different cultures, is under consideration. In such situations, sponsorship aspects can be affected by cultural obligations which are discussed in this article

Public service media and public communication: concept, context and experiences

Unlike the commercial sector because, among other aspects, it does not have a profitable objective, the public sector of communication has been defined according to a principle of universality and of equal access of citizens to media products. Notwithstanding this basic ground, which is more or less common to the public service broadcasting systems from most origins, the denomination of public service broadcasting – consistent with a European tradition – is not an unequivocal correlate of the concept of public communication – more in tune with an American, at least South-American, tradition. Focused on the experiences of Portugal and Brazil, this paper develops a comparative approach that aims to understand the political, social, and cultural framework of the public media activity in these two countries. Based on an analysis of legal documents that support the development of this activity, the paper is meant to discuss the sector in the broader context of Portuguese and Brazilian communication policies. On the other hand, while not ignoring the aspects – such as funding and independence issues – that have made public service broadcasting and public communication a field of permanent debate, this article also aims to identify and discuss the challenges faced by concessionary companies