The SCIENCE BENEATH the ART of PUBLIC RELATIONS ™
March 11, 2015
By Dr. Terence Flynn, McMaster University

The Behavioral Communications research program is sponsored by ExxonMobil, Public Affairs Council, Mosaic and Gagen MacDonald.

This is the second blog in a three-part series that launches IPR's Behavioral Communications research program.

 

Advanced technologies enable us to pinpoint our target audiences and develop specific and measurable activities to get our messages through the clutter, yet we continue to see campaigns that don't increase supportive behaviors.

 

What really drives the outcomes that are at the heart of strategic communications is positive, supportive behaviors. If we want our employees to engage in changing our workplaces, then we need to understand their attitudes and beliefs before we can develop communications programs that lead to behavioral changes. Read more. 
By Dr. Bruce Berger, University of Alabama

This paper was chosen as one of the 2015 International Public Relations Research Conference's Top Three Paper Awards for Practical Significance.

Excellent leadership in public relations practice is rich human capital. The qualities and capabilities of communication leaders and their day-to-day performance help drive the success, reputation and future of their organizations and the profession.

 

In a recent study, Dr. Bruce Berger interviewed leading PR professional and asked how they manage complex issues in the digital age. The research found new technologies accelerate the sense-making process and touches many aspects of leaders' daily practices and decisions even as it casts sweeping changes over the profession globally. Read more. 

 

The Dictionary of Public Relations Measurement & Research is one of the most popular papers published on the IPR website. The third edition released this week has been translated into simplified and traditional Chinse by Dr. Chun-Ju Flora Hung-Baesecke, Massey University, and Dr. Yi-Ru Regina Chen, Hong Kong Baptist University.


Written by Dr. Don W. Stacks, University of Miami, and Dr. Shannon A. Bowen, University of South Carolina, the Dictionary covers an expanded number of social media terms and adds ethics as a category. Read more.