How and Where to Respond? Testing the Effectiveness of the Base Crisis Response in the Different Media Contexts

Crisis response strategies require preparation. In order to equip organizations with the most effective crisis response strategy, this research aims to understand the most appropriate message and media context to utilize when responding to a crisis. This study applies factors driven from theoretical groundings to evaluate the impact on practical outcomes. Applied to realistic crises in two crisis-prone industries, results capture how crisis response strategies are perceived by stakeholders when an organization becomes the subject of an accidental and preventable crisis. This experimental study found preventable crises causing the most detrimental reputational damage, evaluated with corporate reputation and supportive behavioral intentions. Findings indicate that the combined base crisis response strategy, which includes instructing and then adjusting information, can produce effective communication that promotes stakeholder reassurance. Since crisis communication has the capability to shape the crisis outcome, understanding the most effective crisis response strategy is critical

From saving face to saving lies : prioritizing the public in public relations

Traditional crisis communication literature emphasizes how organizations can use communication to preserve their image after a negative event. From image restoration theory to the situational crisis communication theory, these frameworks aim to shift the blame attributed to an organization to reduce negative impacts on reputation. The purpose of this study is to reevaluate the focus on reputation management and probe a crisis communication framework that addresses a crisis as an opportunity to address vulnerabilities. A between-subjects experimental design study compared the effects of the BCO framework (i.e., Base Response, Corrective Action, Organizational Learning) and reputation management strategies on anger, moral outrage, organizational reputation, social amplification, and the mediating effect of organizational learning. The results yielded from comparisons reveal how the BCO response may generate less anger and moral outrage, may result in higher perceptions of organizational reputation, and lower rates of negative social amplification than reputation responses. In some circumstances, organizational learning was found to mediate the effects of the strategies on reputation. This empirical investigation offers a promising direction for an ethical approach to crisis communication that prioritizes protecting the public

Data Associated with A Simplified Approach to Stakeholder Engagement in Natural Resource Management: The Five-Feature Framework

This paper distills complex frameworks for stakeholder engagement to five main principles that scientists and natural resource managers can use in planning stakeholder engagement efforts. Many natural resource management professionals, including practitioners and scholars, increasingly recognize the need for and potential benefits of engaging stakeholders in complex decision-making processes, yet the implementation of these efforts varies wildly, reflecting great methodological and conceptual diversity. Given the dynamic and diverse natural resource management contexts in which engagement occurs and the often significant stakes involved in making decisions about natural resources, we argue that stakeholder engagement would benefit from a theoretical framework that is both agile and robust. To this end, five essential elements of stakeholder engagement are evaluated and organized to form the Five-Feature Framework, providing a functional and approachable platform with which to consider engagement processes. Aside from introducing and developing the Five-Feature Framework, this paper applies the framework as a measure to evaluate the empirical case-study literature involving SE in natural resource management in an effort to better understand the obstacles facing robust and genuine engagement in natural resource management. Our results suggest that the most basic principles of engagement are often absent from stakeholder engagement projects, confirming the need for a functional framework. The Five-Feature Framework can be used to plan flexible, adaptable, and rigorous engagement projects in a variety of contexts and with teams that have varying backgrounds and experience. By virtue of its simplicity and functionality, the framework demystifies stakeholder engagement in order to help natural resource professionals build opportunities for collaborative decision-making and integrate citizen values and knowledge into complex management issues

Inside the Coal Industry’s Rhetorical Playbook

If citizens have heard anything about the upheaval in the U.S. coal industry, it is probably the insistence that President Obama and the EPA have waged a “war on coal.” This phrase is written into President-elect Donald Trump’s energy platform, which promises to “end the war on coal.

Industrial Apocalyptic: Neoliberalism, Coal, and the Burlesque Frame

Rhetorical scholarship and cultural commentary has demonstrated that environmentalist voices are consistently associated with apocalyptic rhetoric. However, this association deflects attention from the apocalyptic rhetoric that comes from industry and countermovements to environmentalism. This essay seeks to remedy that oversight by proposing the concept of “industrial apocalyptic” as a significant rhetorical form in environmental controversy. Based on analysis of the rhetoric of the US coal industry, we find that these industrial apocalyptic narratives rely on a burlesque frame in order to disrupt the categories of establishment and outsider, and thus thwart environmental regulation. Ultimately, we argue that industrial apocalyptic co-opts environmentalist appeals for radical change in the service of blocking such change and naturalizes neoliberal ideology as the common-sense discourse of the center

Environmental melodrama, coal, and the politics of sustainable energy in \u3ci\u3eThe Last Mountain\u3c/i\u3e

The Last Mountain is a 2011 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) film. It examines an aggressive form of strip mining in West Virginia known as mountaintop removal (MTR). The Last Mountain was the first of more than 40 MTR films to be distributed nationally and, as such, marks the entry of the issue onto the political scene in the USA. This essay analyses the film’s use of environmental melodrama to define the problems related to MTR and create identification between victims of MTR and viewers. However, the latter portion of the film attempts to scale up from the melodramatic depiction of MTR to advocacy on broader issues regarding renewable energy and global climate change. In doing so, the film breaks with melodramatic form, draining its emotional power, foreclosing systemic political action, and limiting its overall effectiveness as a sustainability narrative

Understanding Arguments to Protect Farmland in Idaho: Innovative Solutions and Community Insights to Drive Policy Change

Between Spring 2022 and Spring 2023, a team of researchers at Boise State University conducted interviews with people involved in farmland protection efforts. Our goal was to understand how interviewees frame the issue of farmland loss. Frames can draw attention to an issue, contextualize decision-making, and influence the policy solutions considered. Through a frame analysis, we gained a clearer understanding of potential approaches for farmland protection in Idaho. We conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with individuals representing government agencies, academic institutions, land trusts, non-profit organizations, and farmers. After conducting the interviews, we analyzed the transcripts in a systematic manner to identify recurring message frames pertaining to farmland loss. The analysis process enabled us to map these frames onto potential policy solutions applicable to Idaho. Our report outlines the advantages and disadvantages of each frame and pinpoints which ones are likely to resonate with specific groups. Our research revealed a diverse range of frames used to address farmland protection, with many interviewees citing multiple frames. The domestic food security, regional economy, and national/global trade frames are expected to have broad appeal, while the national security and environmental benefits frames may appeal to more specific audiences. The threatened resource and cultural importance frames are likely to resonate with those valuing tradition. We identified a variety of solutions, such as agricultural protection areas, support for rural economies, promotion of regenerative agriculture, and expansion of Idaho\u27s Right to Farm Act protections. Our findings underscore the importance of diverse, flexible, and responsive solutions to improve the feasibility of farmland protection in Idaho. We hope that our work will provide a solid basis for future efforts aimed at preserving Idaho\u27s farmland

“Convoluted Journeys”: Integrating Nonprofit Organizations and University Science

University scientists are frequently challenged to embrace stakeholder engagement in a way that departs from traditional contract-oriented relationships; this is occurring within water management across the American West. However, few studies specifically address how university scientists engage nonprofit organizations as stakeholders in collaborative water management research. This manuscript reports on an examination of a key set of stakeholders—nonprofit environmental organizations—with a goal to better understand how such organizations conceptualized, created, and implemented scientific data in water management decision making. The study provides insights into why interactions between university scientists and nonprofits are infrequent and underdeveloped. The project identifies how nonprofit organizations strategically use scientific information across a variety of contexts and for diverse purposes. These practices may sometimes be at odds with how university scientists conceive of or practice science, making stakeholder engagement challenging. The study also provides suggestions for how universities might address some of these challenges

Data Management Plan for Participatory Technology Assessment and Cultures of Expertise in the U.S. Federal Government

Data management plan for NSF Social and Behavioral Sciences Directorate (SBE) Science & Technology Studies (STS) Program proposa

Behavioral testing and preliminary analysis of the hamster visual system

The dependence of visual orienting ability in hamsters on the axonal projections from retina to midbrain tectum provides experimenters with a good model for assessing the functional regeneration of this central nervous system axonal pathway. For reliable testing of this behavior, male animals at least 10-12 weeks old are prepared by regular pretesting, with all procedures carried out during the less active portion of the daily activity cycle. Using a sunflower seed attached to a small black ball held at the end of a stiff wire, and avoiding whisker contact, turning movements toward visual stimuli are video recorded from above. Because at the eye level, the nasal-most 30° of the visual field can be seen by both the eyes, this part of the field is avoided in assessments of a single side. Daily sessions consist of ten presentations per side. Measures are frequency of responding and detailed turning trajectories. Complete assessment of the functional return of behavior in this testing paradigm takes 3-6 months to complete.postprin