Poverty porn as humanitarian business: the effects of framing, affect intensity and spokesperson characteristics

Motivated by controversies surrounding the continued employment of poverty porn in humanitarian business, we initiated two 2x2x2 experiments to examine the extent to which humanitarian ads that utilise poverty porn images weaponize fundraising. Informed by negative state relief and affect intensity theory, the two investigations explored the effects on study participants of the inclusion within ad appeals of images of starving children, ad spokespeople of disparate gender and ethnicity, and different types of message frame. A two (protest emotive vs. informative message) × two (male vs. female announcer) × two (white British or black African ethnicity) between-subjects eye track experiment (n = 236) revealed that an informative message with a white female announcer attracted the most attention. Next, a survey (n = 667) was completed which recorded participants’ levels of affect intensity, advertising scepticism, and donation intention. The results suggested that a white British female announcer was more likely to engage potential donors than a male and/or non-white spokesperson. The implications of the findings are discussed in light of how poverty porn might work in practice

Poverty porn as humanitarian business : the effects of framing, affect intensity and spokesperson characteristics.

Motivated by controversies surrounding the continued employment of poverty porn in humanitarian business, we initiated two 2x2x2 experiments to examine the extent to which humanitarian ads that utilise poverty porn images weaponize fundraising. Informed by negative state relief and affect intensity theory, the two investigations explored the effects on study participants of the inclusion within ad appeals of images of starving children, ad spokespeople of disparate gender and ethnicity, and different types of message frame. A two (protest emotive vs. informative message) × two (male vs. female announcer) × two (white British or black African ethnicity) between-subjects eye track experiment (n = 236) revealed that an informative message with a white female announcer attracted the most attention. Next, a survey (n = 667) was completed which recorded participants’ levels of affect intensity, advertising scepticism, and donation intention. The results suggested that a white British female announcer was more likely to engage potential donors than a male and/or non-white spokesperson. The implications of the findings are discussed in light of how poverty porn might work in practice

Psychological and demographic predictors of undergraduate non-attendance at university lectures and seminars

Absenteeism from university teaching sessions is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon and remains a major concern to universities. Poor attendance has significant and detrimental effects on students themselves, their peers and teaching staff. There is, however, a lack of previous research investigating demographic and psychological predictors of non-attendance alongside salient reasons students offer for their absence; it is this ‘gap’ that the present study attempts to fill. We approached 618 undergraduate university students from a single UK university studying various courses to complete a bespoke questionnaire assessing their estimated percentage attendance at lectures and seminars over the academic year. Students answered demographic questions, completed psychometric tests of perceived confidence (Perceived Confidence for Learning) and university belongingness (Psychological Sense of School Membership), and rated the degree to which possible reasons for non-attendance applied to themselves. Multiple regression analyses were carried out separately for estimated attendance at lectures and seminars. Results demonstrated that significant predictors of poorer attendance for both scenarios were experiencing a lower sense of belongingness to university; working more hours in paid employment; having more social life commitments; facing coursework deadlines; and experiencing mental health issues. Improving a sense of belonging to university and targeting interventions at students working in paid employment may be effective means of increasing attendance. Providing support for students with mental health issues, structuring courses around coursework deadlines and helping students to organise their attendance around social activities could also be advantageous

Reasons for student non-attendance at lectures and tutorials : an analysis

Recent QAA/HEFCE policy documents have shown that student non-attendance at lectures is an area for concern (Morgan, 2001). However, an analysis of the literature appears to indicate that little research has been completed to determine the fundamental reasons as to why this might be the case. Student attitude and behaviour relevant to this matter has been the subject of some considerable investigation by those working in Higher and Further Education. Students' learning experiences (Zhongqi, 2000), their attitudes to different methods of teaching (see for example Bennett and Kottasz, 2001) and their skills and competencies (Kremer and McGuiness, 1998) have all been subject to analysis. The present research seeks to add to the educational literature in the area of student attendance at lectures via an empirical study of the factors underlying non-attendance in a sample of 155 undergraduates at London Metropolitan University

The vanishing final year students : independent learners or lost sheep?

This case study explores the response to a cluster of problems that arose in a double-unit research project (one year). Firstly, final-year students were disappearing for the year and then reappearing with work that was often well below their potential, plagiarised or failing to meet the deadlines. Allied to this was a problem, highlighted by one external examiner, of lack of agreement on marking standards and the treatment of plagiarism. In addition, staff were reporting that students were poorly prepared for research, having little knowledge or expertise in the skills of the area