Fast track opportunities for high achievers? A comparative investigation into career advancement patterns for in-house and consultancy practitioners

Public relations and communication graduates usually extensively debate the "pro and cons" of the industry's two key employment options. To date there has been a lack of research into potential differences in required skills sets, career advancement and promotional opportunities between these two employment types. Contrary to management research, public relations scholars have largely focused on traditional career advancement determinants, such as experience in years and gender, largely failing to embrace modern management research into career advancement. Based on previous research into alternative career advancement factors, which has highlighted the importance of social competencies and networking skills for PR practitioners, this paper sets out to investigate potential differences in career advancement factors and career development patterns for in-house and consultancy-based practitioners

A blogging good time? The use of blogs as a reflective learning and feedback tool for final year public relations students

This article reflects on the use of web logs (blogs) as an assessable component in a third year professional placement unit for public relations students. The key objective behind the use of Web2.0 technology was to encourage reflective practice via an exchange between students and thereby limit the feeling of isolation during the course of this individual tuition unit (ITU). Secondary objectives were to encourage exchange between participating students based at different, on- and offshore campuses, therefore integrating an international perspective into the practice of public relations. From a unit coordinator perspective an additional objective was to create an opportunity that would aid in the early detection of potential problems and to provide a forum in which additional learning material could be provided in response to arising issues. Both challenges and opportunities are noted in this paper. Overall, the Reflective Blog trial can be described as a success, both from the staff as well as the student perspective. However, the Reflective Blog has its shortcomings, particularly from an administrative perspective. As additional students from offshore locations are slowly phasing in, the sustainability of the Reflective Blog will have to be closely monitored

"I thought it was all about wining and dining, parties and celebrities" - an insight into final year public relations students' perception of the communications industry

Are students prepared for the day to day challenges of the communications industry by the time they are completing their final year? This research addresses students pre- and frequently misconceptions as they embark on their studies, contrasted to their understanding of the discipline after having completed all core units of the public relations stream. By focusing on students enrolled in a final year, compulsory placement unit, this study investigates the role industry placements play in providing students with a realistic understanding of their chosen discipline before entering the employment market. This in turn re-opens the debate about the importance of work integrated learning opportunities and particularly placement units as an integral element of a communications degree

Competing for attention: using stakeholder engagement to shift the focus from the Beijing Olympics to minority pressure groups

This is a case study, highlighting China's plight to secure consistent, positive media coverage in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. While this paper is neither anti-China nor pro-Tibetan, it highlights that large organisations and governments can learn from activist and pressure groups, which have become increasingly successful in engaging stakeholders. The author argues that Olympic marketing programs have focused too much on traditional marketing tools, whilst ignoring the importance of integrated communication programs and stakeholder engagement

The fertility of migrants and their descendants from a life course perspective

In eerder onderzoek naar vruchtbaarheid van migrantengroepen werd zelden gekeken naar het effect van de omstandigheden rond de migratie, voornamelijk vanwege een gebrek aan geschikte data. Wij hebben gegevens uit individueel ingevulde enquêtes gebruikt om meer duidelijkheid te krijgen over de invloed van omstandigheden rond de immigratie op de vruchtbaarheid van migranten, met name inzake de partnerrelatie en de juridische status van de migrant bij aankomst. Dankzij het levensloopperspectief zijn we er niet alleen in geslaagd om de determinanten van de vruchtbaarheid van migranten na aankomst in het land van bestemming te evalueren; we konden ook rekening houden met de periode voorafgaand aan de migratie, waardoor we de beweegredenen voor migratie en het effect daarvan op de vruchtbaarheid konden bestuderen. We hebben vastgesteld dat het gebruik van het land van herkomst als indicator ontoereikend is om de verschillen in vruchtbaarheid van migranten te begrijpen. Waar mogelijk moeten ook andere factoren, zoals de gezamenlijke migratiegeschiedenis van het echtpaar, in ogenschouw worden genomen. Zo hebben we bijvoorbeeld aangetoond dat Turkse huwelijksmigranten in de eerste jaren na de migratie een grote kans hebben op een spoedige eerste geboorte, maar we hebben geen bewijs gevonden voor een vergelijkbaar effect bij Turkse gezinsherenigers. Uit onze bevindingen blijkt ook dat het opleidingsniveau een belangrijke rol speelt. Zo is het hoge opleidingsniveau een mogelijke oorzaak voor de latere eerste geboorte bij Ghanese immigranten, vergeleken met niet-migranten in Ghana. Ook heeft een hoog opleidingsniveau een nivellerend effect op de verschillen in de kans op een spoedige eerste geboorte tussen Turkse nakomelingen van generatie 1,5 en de tweede generatie, en autochtone Duitsers

Blogging 101: the effectiveness of a reflective online journal as part of a final year placement unit

Blogs have been around for roughly half the history of the World Wide Web and are increasingly used as part of the communications mix and, however, they are still only scarcely integrated in the teaching toolkit. This study reviews the effectiveness of blogs, or online journals, within the context of a compulsory, final year placement unit, with a particular focus on combating feelings of isolation, enabling a broader insight into the industry and encouraging an international perspective on industry practice. The results suggest that despite the high administrative workload experienced by academics, the introduction of the Reflective Blog was an overall success, suggesting that blogs are particularly useful in the context of an individual tuition unit, effectively shifting the focus away from mainstream, standardised textbooks to 'offbeat', interactive teaching tools, encouraging peer to peer learning

Marriage Migration Versus Family Reunification:How Does the Marriage and Migration History Affect the Timing of First and Second Childbirth Among Turkish Immigrants in Germany?

Our study focuses on the fertility of first-generation female and male Turkish migrants in Germany. To evaluate whether timing effects such as fertility disruption or an interrelation of marriage, migration and childbirth occur, we examine first and second births in the years before and after immigration to Germany. The Turkish sample of the Generations and Gender Survey which was conducted in 2006 offers the unique opportunity to examine Turkish immigrants as a single immigrant category. We question the common understanding that Turkish immigrants who arrived to Germany after 1973 mainly arrived for family reunification resulting in high birth intensities immediately after immigration. To distinguish different circumstances under which male and female immigrants have arrived to Germany, we include the combined marriage and migration history of the couple. We find that first birth probabilities are elevated during the years immediately following migration. But this effect is not universal among migrants with different marriage and migration histories. It appears that the arrival effect of high birth intensities is particularly high among female immigrants and is evident only among marriage migrants, that is Turks who married a partner who already lived in Germany at the time of the wedding. By contrast, among those who immigrated for family reunification, we do not find such an arrival effect