Advertising self-regulation activity: A Comparison between Spain and US

This study evaluates the activity of the Spain’s advertising self-regulatory system, Autocontrol, from 2005-2009. The cases analyzed were coded according to product category, challenger, media, Autocontrol and advertiser response, codes and laws involved and basic principles addressed. Results were compared to the activity developed by Autocontrol during the last nineties and to the US case. Ramos (2001) analyzed the cases attended by AACC from 1996-2000 and Armstrong and Ozanne’s (1983) did something similar with the American Association. The findings point to more active participation of consumer organizations and consumers in Spain, as compared to that in U.S. and the years before

Suicide literacy predicts the provision of more appropriate support to people experiencing psychological distress

Mental health literacy has been hailed as a public health priority to reduce stigma and increase help seeking. We examined the effect of suicide literacy on the type of help provided to those experiencing suicidal ideation. A community sample of 363 Australians were randomly assigned to read one of three messages from a member of their social network (the target). The target reported symptoms consistent with either (1) subclinical distress, (2) clinical depression, or (3) suicidal ideation. Participants were most likely to recommend social support and least likely to recommend professional help. Suicide literacy interacted with the target's presentation, such that participants with higher suicide literacy who considered a suicidal target were less likely to recommend self-help or no action, and more likely to recommend professional help. Suicide literacy was also associated with lower suicide stigma, and unexpectedly, this indirectly predicted more reluctance to recommend professional help. Overall, results indicated that the relationship between mental health literacy, stigma, and provision of help is not straightforward. While suicide literacy was associated with greater sensitivity to a person's risk of suicide, it also predicted fewer recommendations for professional help overall, partly due to the stigma associated with seeking professional help

Evaluating a shared decision-making intervention regarding dialysis modality: development and validation of self-assessment items for patients with chronic kidney disease

Background Shared decision-making is a two-way symmetrical communication process in which clinicians and patients work together to achieve the best outcome. This study aimed to develop self-assessment items as a decision aid for choosing a dialysis modality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to assess the construct validity of the newly developed items. Methods Five focus group interviews were performed to extract specific self-assessment items regarding patient values in choosing a dialysis modality. After survey items were refined, a survey of 330 patients, consisting of 152 hemodialysis (HD) and 178 peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, was performed to validate the self-assessment items. Results The self-assessment for the decision aid was refined to 35 items. The structure of the final items appeared to have three dimensions of factors; health, lifestyle, and dialysis environment. The health factor consisted of 12 subscales (α = 0.724), the lifestyle factor contained 11 subscales (α = 0.624), and the dialysis environment factor was represented by 12 subscales (α = 0.694). A structural equation model analysis showed that the relationship between the decision aid factors (health, lifestyle, and dialysis environment), patients’ CKD perception, and cognition of shared decision-making differed between HD patients and PD patients. Conclusion We developed and validated self-assessment items as part of a decision aid to help patients with CKD. This attempt may assist CKD patients in making informed and shared decisions closely aligned with their values when considering dialysis modality

Students’ expectations and motivation for service-learning in public relations

This study is based on a survey of public relations students and examines their attitudes, expectations, and motivations for participating in curriculum-infused service-learning projects. Results indicate that prior participation does not influence attitudes or expectations, but motivation to participate in the project was significantly associated with positive attitude and higher expectations. Students’ expectations, which include social and professional growth, and psychological and altruistic gratification through community contributions, indicate a need for discipline-focused service-learning programs and for a focus on civic engagement given the role of public relations in relationship building and in strategically addressing social issues that impact society

Children's advertising literacy for advergames: Perception of the game as advertising

This study examined whether children recognized advergames as a type of advertising and the efficacy of an advertising literacy program. Results indicated that without the advertising literacy education, about three-quarters of the children did not recognize advergames as a type of advertising. However, those with advertising literacy education showed a significantly enhanced understanding. Also, a series of mediation tests showed that recognition of advertising was an indirect-only mediator between the advertising literacy and skeptical attitudes toward advertising. Only those who viewed the advergame as a type of advertising demonstrated more skeptical attitudes toward it

Interlocking of newspaper companies with financial institutions and leading advertisers

This study analyzed the composition of boards of directors of thirteen publicly traded newspaper companies to examine the extent of director appointment from financial institutions or leading advertisers. The results revealed ingrained ties to financial institutions and leading advertisers from 1988 to 2000. A pooled cross-sectional time series analysis showed that a company's financial situation is associated with the subsequent appointment of directors. The results confirmed the view that interlocks are associated with inter-firm resource dependence. However, most of the variance in the ratios of board members from financial interests to total board members was accounted for by idiosyncratic variations among the corporations. The effect of capital dependency was much smaller than the company-specific unit effects.</p

HIV/AIDS Stigma and Religiosity among African American Women

African American women are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS compared to other ethnicities, accounting for two-thirds (67%) of all women diagnosed with HIV. Despite their increased risk of HIV infection, few studies have been conducted to understand culture-specific factors leading to their vulnerability. Given the central role of religious organizations in African American communities, this study explored whether and to what extent religiosity plays a role in stigma toward HIV/AIDS. A survey of 205 African American women in two Midwestern cities measured the following key variables: 1) religious stigma of HIV/AIDS, 2) religiosity, 3) personal relevance of HIV/AIDS, 4) knowledge of HIV/AIDS, 5) perceived influence of religion on views of people with HIV/AIDS, and 6) demographics. Results of hierarchical regression showed that after controlling for key factors, religiosity was a significant factor predicting the level of religious stigma (β=-.18, p <.05). Those with high religiosity displayed significantly higher stigma, associating HIV/AIDS with a curse or punishment from God. Verbatim responses to an open-ended question also revealed seemingly ingrained prejudice against HIV/AIDS from a religious perspective. The findings point to the important role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in addressing HIV/AIDS issues within African American communities

Self-regulation for Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA): Analysis of OBA notices

This study assessed how and to what extent self-regulation of online behavioral advertising (OBA) is executed on participating companies' websites. Based on the principles of OBA, as outlined by the Digital Advertising Alliance and Federal Trade Commission, we analyzed the format of OBA notices, explanation of OBA notices, opt-out options, transparency, and use of unacceptable notices. A series of content analyses was done in the years 2013 and 2015. Our results indicated slight improvements over the years, but the specific details of the implementation continued to fall short of the standards. In terms of accessibility and visibility, many websites demonstrated problematic presentations or lack of the components necessary to increase consumers' understanding and control over the practice of OBA