Imagining the Lives of Others: Empathy in Public Relations

This paper asks how we might theorise empathy in public relations (PR) in the light of a widespread ‘turn’ towards emotion in the academy, as well as in popular discourse. Two distinct notions of empathy are explored: ‘true’empathy as discussed in intercultural communication, is driven by a human concern for the other in order to understand experiences, feelings and situations that may be different from our own; whereas ‘instrumental’ empathy, reflecting a self orientation, is said to characterise much neoliberal market discourse in which corporations are urged to understand their customers better. Thus, while empathy may seem highly desirable as a means to enter into dialogue with an organisation’s publics, particularly during times of social upheaval and crisis, it is important to pay attention to empathy in public relations discourses including whose goals are served by empathetic engagement; and the type(s) of empathy called upon within a PR context. A literature review identified a socio-cultural definition of empathy as ‘imaginary effort’. A review of the public relations literature, however, found that while empathy is considered an important principle and personal attribute, notions of empathy, with a few exceptions, are under-explored. Nonfunctionalist, socio-cultural research which examines the meanings that practitioners associate with empathy is distinctly lacking; therefore in order to gain further insight into empathy, two sources of data were explored. The analysis of a popular online practitioner blog showed that other-centred empathic skill is discursively framed as instrumental in achieving clients’ business objectives. The analysis of three empathy statements drawn from 12 in-depth interviews with practitioners revealed complex empathic discourse in practitioner-client relationships. While the findings are limited to illustrative analyses only, this paper challenges researchers to develop conceptualisations and perspectives of empathy as imaginary effort in public relations

Applying Quality Control Charts to the Analysis of Single-Subject Data Sequences

Techniques from the field of quality control can be used to classify the quality of individual samples of physical or cognitive performance. After stable baselines have been established for an individual, deviations in performance can be evaluated using control charts. The effectiveness of this approach in evaluating cognitive performance was tested using databases collected under a variety of risk factors. The sensitivity and specificity characteristics of Shewhart, cumulativesum (CUSUM), and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts were determined for a total of 174 trials involving 10 participants and 23 cognitive performance assessment measures. The most effective technique in each case was typically a function of the specific performance measure and the type of performance change being evaluated. Sensitivity and specificity for the best techniques were as high as 100%. This study demonstrated the usefulness of quality control charts as a tool to evaluate individual participant performance over time. Actual or potential applications of this research include readiness-to-perform screening of industrial workers in order to improve the health and safety of the workforce.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Statistical Modeling of Single Target Cell Encapsulation

High throughput drop-on-demand systems for separation and encapsulation of individual target cells from heterogeneous mixtures of multiple cell types is an emerging method in biotechnology that has broad applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, genomics, and cryobiology. However, cell encapsulation in droplets is a random process that is hard to control. Statistical models can provide an understanding of the underlying processes and estimation of the relevant parameters, and enable reliable and repeatable control over the encapsulation of cells in droplets during the isolation process with high confidence level. We have modeled and experimentally verified a microdroplet-based cell encapsulation process for various combinations of cell loading and target cell concentrations. Here, we explain theoretically and validate experimentally a model to isolate and pattern single target cells from heterogeneous mixtures without using complex peripheral systems.Wallace H. Coulter Foundation (Young Investigator in Bioengineering Award)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01AI081534)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R21AI087107

Determining crystal structures through crowdsourcing and coursework

We show here that computer game players can build high-quality crystal structures. Introduction of a new feature into the computer game Foldit allows players to build and real-space refine structures into electron density maps. To assess the usefulness of this feature, we held a crystallographic model-building competition between trained crystallographers, undergraduate students, Foldit players and automatic model-building algorithms. After removal of disordered residues, a team of Foldit players achieved the most accurate structure. Analysing the target protein of the competition, YPL067C, uncovered a new family of histidine triad proteins apparently involved in the prevention of amyloid toxicity. From this study, we conclude that crystallographers can utilize crowdsourcing to interpret electron density information and to produce structure solutions of the highest quality

Me, My Selfie, and I: Personality Traits' Influence on Online Self-Portrait Sharing

Millions of selfies are posted on social media every day. Past research has attempted to explain this behavior, though inconsistent results have necessitated further investigation. The present study broadened the scope of selfie research by using electronic survey methods in a sample of active social media users to examine the relationships between narcissism, extraversion, purpose in life, prevalence of posting, and two novel constructs: number of selfie drafts taken before final selection, and immediacy of posting after taking a selfie. Higher prevalence was significantly related to greater number of drafts and belief that selfies facilitate self-expression and self-discovery. Greater number of drafts was also associated with lower feelings of purpose, greater immediacy, and younger age. These findings, together with an absence of strong links between selfies and narcissism or extraversion, suggest that selfie sharing is more nuanced than previous studies have shown. The present data’s correlational nature precludes causal inference, but informs future research on selfies and human behavior on social media