Building self-evaluation skills through criterion-referenced assessment in public relations

Although technical skills in public relations are essential to practice, skills in self-evaluation, critical thinking, and problem solving are required when new practitioners move to management roles (Van Leuven, 1999). Public relations courses integrate specialist subject knowledge with graduate skill sets and capabilities in non-technical areas (Butcher & Stefani, 1995). Given that autonomy in learning is a skill valued by employers (Clifford, 1999) and advocated by accrediting professional bodies (Anderson, 1999), this study explores how public relations students build skills in and perceive the practice of self-evaluation. Currently, the public relations education literature presents a limited treatment of self-evaluation. Therefore, this study is guided mostly by the education literature and uses criterion-referenced assessment to determine how more than 150 students understand assessment requirements, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and interpret the differences between their self and their tutor's judgement of performance. The results indicate strong support for student understanding of assessment requirements and self-evaluation techniques but lower than expected support for understanding the differences between their self and tutor judgements. These findings are significant to educators, practitioners and professional bodies as they have implications for lifelong learning for public relations professionals

Dystrophin is a microtubule-associated protein

Cytolinkers are giant proteins that can stabilize cells by linking actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules (MTs) to transmembrane complexes. Dystrophin is functionally similar to cytolinkers, as it links the multiple components of the cellular cytoskeleton to the transmembrane dystroglycan complex. Although no direct link between dystrophin and MTs has been documented, costamere-associated MTs are disrupted when dystrophin is absent. Using tissue-based cosedimentation assays on mice expressing endogenous dystrophin or truncated transgene products, we find that constructs harboring spectrinlike repeat 24 through the first third of the WW domain cosediment with MTs. Purified Dp260, a truncated isoform of dystrophin, bound MTs with a Kd of 0.66 µM, a stoichiometry of 1 Dp260/1.4 tubulin heterodimer at saturation, and stabilizes MTs from cold-induced depolymerization. Finally, α- and β-tubulin expression is increased ∼2.5-fold in mdx skeletal muscle without altering the tubulin–MT equilibrium. Collectively, these data suggest dystrophin directly organizes and/or stabilizes costameric MTs and classifies dystrophin as a cytolinker in skeletal muscle

Who Needs Microtubules? Myogenic Reorganization of MTOC, Golgi Complex and ER Exit Sites Persists Despite Lack of Normal Microtubule Tracks

A wave of structural reorganization involving centrosomes, microtubules, Golgi complex and ER exit sites takes place early during skeletal muscle differentiation and completely remodels the secretory pathway. The mechanism of these changes and their functional implications are still poorly understood, in large part because all changes occur seemingly simultaneously. In an effort to uncouple the reorganizations, we have used taxol, nocodazole, and the specific GSK3-β inhibitor DW12, to disrupt the dynamic microtubule network of differentiating cultures of the mouse skeletal muscle cell line C2. Despite strong effects on microtubules, cell shape and cell fusion, none of the treatments prevented early differentiation. Redistribution of centrosomal proteins, conditional on differentiation, was in fact increased by taxol and nocodazole and normal in DW12. Redistributions of Golgi complex and ER exit sites were incomplete but remained tightly linked under all circumstances, and conditional on centrosomal reorganization. We were therefore able to uncouple microtubule reorganization from the other events and to determine that centrosomal proteins lead the reorganization hierarchy. In addition, we have gained new insight into structural and functional aspects of the reorganization of microtubule nucleation during myogenesis

Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio [OR] 2·9 [95% CI 1·5–5·8]; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years [95% CI 4–10]; mean age of 59·8 years [SD 11·7] with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years [11·9] without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 [1·32–4·82]; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification

The convergence opportunity: Signalling organisational trustworthiness during crisis

In an age of churn-based journalism (or churnalism)and consolidation of media ownership leading to syndication of news stories by media outlets, how media seek and curate content to create news is particularly vital for organisations that use news media during crises. This interdisciplinary study that draws on journalism and public relations builds on existing research in the fields of crisis communication and organisational trust to understand how media content such as source,attributions of blame and message signalling during a crisis event media tesattribution of responsibility and trust assigned by consumers and trust consumers have in organisations

Increasing transparency: Utilising criterion-referenced assessment to enhance student learning in public relations

The central role of assessment in the learning and teaching environment is well\ud recognised. Educators face growing demands to improve student\ud understanding of and performance in assessment items (Marginson, 1997;\ud Rust, Price & O’Donovan, 2003). At an institutional level, a number of\ud universities have responded to these demands by reviewing assessment\ud paradigms in order to better demonstrate transparency and accountability in the\ud setting and marking of assessment items (Neil, Wadley & Phinn, 1999; Rust et\ud al, 2003). One of the paradigms being adopted by universities is criterionreferenced\ud assessment (CRA). CRA involves designing assessment tasks in\ud line with subject goals, identifying skills to be demonstrated within an\ud assessment task, assigning relative weights to, and describing each relative\ud skill/criterion (Carlson, MacDonald, Gorely, Hanrahan, & Burgess-Limerick,\ud 2000).\ud CRA has a number of advantages including the ability for students to target\ud their performance against pre-determined standards and be judged as an\ud individual rather than against a normative performance (Neil et al, 1999). A\ud United Kingdom study of CRA showed significant improvement in performance\ud by motivated students (O’Donovan, Price & Rust, 2001; Rust et al, 2003).\ud However, other educators suggest that CRA limits student experimentation,\ud creativity and originality (Hay, 1995).\ud With the goals of increasing transparency and encouraging assessment for\ud learning, CRA was introduced into an undergraduate introductory public\ud relations unit with an enrolment of 290 students. Student research was\ud undertaken to explore the success of the new assessment paradigm and to\ud identify how students used the CRA approach to enhance their learning. The\ud findings of this study show strong use of and support for CRA, with students\ud using the assessment processes to identify their strengths and weaknesses\ud and develop techniques to improve their performance in future assessment\ud tasks

Repairing trust and reducing distrust: Same, same or different?

In the past decade the world has faced a number of events and crises that have challenged public trust in organisations and institutions.In Australia, we have been exposed to the proceedings of seemingly-endless Royal Commissions into the misconduct of our religious institutions, financial organisations and most recently the aged care sector as well as the ongoing instability in our federal politics which has resulted in a number of industry-led studies reporting record-low levels of public trust (Deloitte, 2018; Edelman, 2019; 2018). However, while crisis management is a well-established field within public relations literature,traditionally studies have focussed on achieving outcomes such as repairing an organisation’s reputation (Coombs, 2007), image (Benoit, 1997) or restoring legitimacy (Allen & Caillouet, 1994). In comparison, efforts to explore trust repair have been limited(see, e.g., Fuoli,van de Weijer & Paradis, 2017). As reiterated by Xu (2019)investigating how organisations can rebuild their relationships with publics during and after crises continues to be a key gap in the public relations literature

Destinations, disasters and public relations: Stakeholder engagement in multi-phase disaster management

Research about disasters in tourism has emerged in earnest since the 1990s covering insights for preparedness and response. However, recently, authors have called for more systematic and holistic approaches to tourism disaster management research. To address this gap, this study adopted a public relations perspective to refocus attention to relationships and stakeholder expectations of destination communities across multiple phases of disaster management. The authors used a mixed method approach and developed a battery of disaster management attributes by conducting interviews and analyzing industry documents and the extant literature. These attributes formed part of a survey of tourism businesses. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a two factor solution: \ud \ud - i) business disaster preparedness, and; \ud \ud - ii) destination disaster response and recovery. \ud \ud Findings also show that participants reported a gap between the importance and destination performance of these attributes. In particular, tourism businesses perceived destinations did not adequately engage in disaster preparedness activities, which had implications for disaster response and recovery

Destination public relations: Understanding the sources that influence course selection for and career preferences of postgraduate students

The growth of accredited postgraduate courses in public relations highlights the need for research that understands the motivations and career expectations of postgraduate students. Australian and international research suggests that undergraduate student expectations differ from the realities of courses and careers in public relations (Bowen, 2003; Storto, 1990; Xavier, Mehta & Larkin, 2006). Undergraduate students favour training in publicity and promotion more than the critical thinking and business skills preferred by employers (Bowen, 2003). The gap between perception and reality has the potential to affect the continued development of public relations as a management function. \ud \ud Using international research as its base, this study explores the Australian postgraduate perspective through a survey of approximately 140 students to identify their motivations to study public relations and preferences for positions and workplace environments. The survey was administered in an introductory postgraduate public relations theory unit across four consecutive semesters during 2004 and 2005. The findings provide insight into the career expectations of postgraduate students who prefer careers in event management and publicity. Educators must balance student needs with university teaching and learning goals and industry expectations by preparing students for the diversity of careers in public relations