An exploration of the role of communication during the in-crisis situation

'The critical component in crisis management is communication', but somehow the vague concept of 'communication' is always cited as a problem in in-crisis situations. Furthermore, available corporate communication literature mainly focuses on pre- and post-crisis reputational communication, relying only on following lists or a linear one-way push of information for the in-crisis stages. The exploratory method of reflective or interpretive action research of a hazardous material emergency desk-top simulation exercise was used to examine (1) what is meant by the term communication in the in-crisis situation, and (2) the contribution that corporate communication and the corporate communication practitioner can make during an in-crisis situation. This study found that there is confusion regarding the term communication, but even more, that each person involved also interpreted the term slightly differently, which could easily lead to confusion and/or the creation of an unclear common operating picture. The extent of the contribution that the corporate communication practitioner, as conduit of the corporate communication discipline, can make is also discussed. This paper comes to the conclusion that the contribution of corporate communication to the in-crisis situation will greatly add to the successful clearing up of an emergency situation

Challenges in stakeholders self-organising to enhance disaster communication

Purpose - This paper combines disaster risk reduction (DRR) and communication management literature to investigate the challenges and opportunities encountered when stakeholders spontaneously self-organise communication efforts during a disaster. The 2017 Knysna Fire Disaster in South Africa is used as context. Research methodology - The qualitative, exploratory research was supported by data obtained through thematic analysis of qualitative in-depth interviews and the Facebook page created by the community. Information from the disaster debrief was also included. Findings - The findings suggest that disaster information needs to be sent every 30 seconds to a minute to coordinate rescue and relief efforts. The challenges for disaster management teams to manage this mammoth task and the role that the self-organising community played in assisting the communication process was found not to be recognised in disaster management policies or systems. This adversely affected the work of the disaster management team and stakeholder relationship. Research limitations - This study focussed on one disaster. Future studies could possibly compare various disaster examples to provide even greater insight into the self-organising communicative behaviour of those affected by disasters. Originality/value - The research gives one of the first clear indications of the scope of disaster communication needed during a disaster. It also highlights the community’s ability to contribute to communication management during a disaster, and which is not catered for in the practice, guidelines, or management systems used for disaster management

Practitioner’s constraints in advancing to more senior corporate communication roles : An exploratory study in the South African banking industry

Various authors from countries as diverse as South Africa, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States of America, reported the existence of constraints in corporate communication practitioner career advancement (Moss, 2000:1,6; Moss, Warnaby&Newman, 2000:277,302; Plowman, 1998:243; Spicer, 1997:84; Steyn, 1999:21; Steyn, 2000a:2; Steyn, 2000b:70; Steyn&Puth, 2000:3,7,10,12; Van Ruler, 1997:263; Visagie, 1999:148). Their findings have prompted this exploratory phenomenological research. The primary objective of this research is to explore some corporate communication practitioners’ perceptions of the constraints experienced in advancing to more senior corporate communication roles in the South African banking industry. The research is approached from the excellence and feminist meta-theoretical perspectives. In particular it is based on the strategic contingency theory, organisational structure theory, power-control theory, interpersonal perception theory and corporate communication roles theory. The study focuses on two concepts, namely ‘constraints’ and ‘role’. The research reflected a snapshot in time of the current communication practitioner’s emotional, relational or situational experience of their efforts to advance their careers. The aim was not to support or validate any pre-selected model or theory, but rather to embrace the constraint in a non-assumptive manner as it unfolds from the perspective of the communication practitioner experiencing it (Callahan, 2000:105; Scannell-Desch, 2000). From the findings of the research, one could argue that there are various individual, organisational and professional career constraints that practitioners experience in trying to advance their careers. Over and above the constraints noted in literature, the study identified a few more constraints such as organisational politics, the time spent in the organisation, the practitioner’s lack of networking and relationship building skills, lack of knowledge of overseas practice and the lack of standardisation of communication practitioner deliverables.Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2006.Communication ManagementMComUnrestricte

The Oregon Promise Barley Population: A tool for understanding the genetic basis of traits fundamental for barley production, malting, brewing, and distilling

The simultaneous availability of unique germplasm resources and cost-effective high-throughput genotyping allows for accelerated genome exploration and gene discovery. Our germplasm -the Oregon Promise population- is an array of 200 barley doubled haploids developed from the cross of Full Pint x Golden Promise. The spring 2-row parents have contrasting alleles at two of the dwarfing genes deployed in current varieties. The four homozygous combinations of these plant height alleles lead to contrasting phenotypes and each allele has pleiotropic effects on a range of other traits. Golden Promise is an iconic variety for malting, brewing, and distilling; Full Pint is a contributor to the craft brew Renaissance. Accordingly, the Oregon Promise will provide a valuable resource for extending current knowledge of malting and brewing genes to the frontiers of sensory assessment. The population shows transgressive segregation for adult plant resistance to stripe rust. As this disease is likely to become increasingly prevalent as a consequence of climate change, expanding the catalog of genes conferring durable resistance to this pathogen is an essential defensive breeding step. The availability of a quick-turnaround and cost effective SNP genotyping service (400+ markers) at Eureka Genomics (developed in collaboration with the James Hutton Institute) allows accelerated linkage map construction, QTL detection, and unraveling of gene interactions and pleiotropic effects based on the multi-environment, multi-trait phenotyping of the Oregon Promise population. This project is possible thanks to the tools and knowledge generated by the USDA-NIFA T-CAP project.Peer Reviewe

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

A profile of South African public relations practitioners in top performing organisations

The public relations practitioner is expected to have the skills and knowledge to be able to operationalise the description and definition of public relations within their specific environment. Although various studies describing South African public relations practitioners had been performed, these studies are limited in terms of size and scope and do not offer a clear profile of the practitioner and whether they are equipped to perform the necessary tasks. This article is based on a study that obtained data from practitioners in top performing organisations. It profiles South African practitioners and confirms that they need support in order to play a strategic role.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pa.42

Internal communication in a diverse and developing world context: Challenges for corporate South Africa

Internal communication plays a pivotal part in an organisation’s survival. It is regarded as an investment in an organisation’s success and underpins organisational effectiveness. However, when organisations face internal communication challenges, these can threaten internal relationships, with dire consequences for the organisation. This is particularly so in the volatile, uncertain, complicated and ambiguous South African corporate context, which presents direct challenges for internal communication management. Internationally there has been an increase in studies exploring challenges for internal communication, with various authors indicating a need for further research. Our study addresses this gap by probing the internal communication challenges experienced in the South African corporate environment as a developing world view, to make recommendations for mitigating action. This exploratory qualitative interview-based study focused on the perceptions of practitioners working in large organisations, as well as consultants with acknowledged expertise in the field of internal communication. The findings confirmed that internal communication is a complex and multifaceted profession full of challenges. We identified 12 challenges, grouped into four clusters, namely access to technology, lack of formal communication training, parameters for inclusion of internal stakeholders, and management styles and structures. Contributions include recommendations for practice, together with suggestions for further research