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This qualitative study explores how comprehensive sexuality education located within a broader positive youth development approach informed transformations among young people from informal urban communities in India. A thematic analysis of data obtained from the young people, their parents, and frontline workers revealed that securing the cooperation of families was possible for the program because sexual and reproductive health education was not a stand-alone intervention, but a part of a larger approach seeking to build capacities of young people. The strategic introduction of sexual and reproductive health communication helped the participants to overcome inhibitions about the topic. Enhanced awareness of gender, pubertal changes, gender-based violence, and child sexual abuse was evidenced post participation. Improved agency was manifest through decision making, critical thinking, confidence, mobility, and articulation, especially among girls. Program interventions to enhance sexual and reproductive health awareness of parents and communities and to improve health services and facilities were bolstered through youth engagement. Such contribution by the young reinforced their knowledge and skills, strengthened agency, and cemented family and community support. A holistic program situated within the positive youth development approach thus seemed a pragmatic vehicle to promote comprehensive sexuality education for young people in vulnerable urban communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotions are regularly cited as vital components of effective strategic communication. However, there is relatively little guidance about how emotions should be used. Eliciting emotions is key to persuasion because attitudes have a cognitive and emotive component, with predictable physiological outcomes that make messages more resonant and impactful on behaviour, supporting policy objectives. This article shows that communicators—in the field of migration and beyond—should choose their campaign's emotional frame according to their desired physiological and behavioural reaction. This article applies the emotion schema of Plutchik to offer 32 separate emotions and their theorised physiological reactions, examples of stimuli, and behavioural societal effects. Furthermore, emotional outcomes can be altered via narratives, frames, personal-based messages, facial expressions and body language, aesthetics, ordering ('emotional flow'), intensities, and combinations. Finally, the limits of emotion-based communication—not least the 'appeal to emotion' logical fallacy—and how to overcome those limits—grounding emotion-based communication in facts, values, identities, and efficacy—are considered. Emotion-based communication in the field of migration, although widely used, is largely untested so communicators should test different approaches but also can take lessons from fields such as corporate, health, and climate change communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communicating science is a core component of the Sea Grant model. Telling compelling stories that convey accurate and balanced information in an interesting manner is key to these communications efforts and to achieving the organization's overall goal of an engaged public and decision-makers. This article outlines and highlights best practices for some of the most commonly used storytelling mediums: narrative writing, photography and video, and podcasts. The importance of conducting first-hand reporting, placing a narrative focus on people, and taking time to formulate a thoughtful and strategic communications approach are key takeaways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to propose and evaluate a novel framework of strategic adaptability in dyadic negotiations. The authors define strategic adaptability as a reaction to a cue that leads to shifts between integrative and distributive strategies. Based on the literature on turning points, phase models and strategic negotiations, the authors developed an initial framework identifying five distinct strategic adaptations. Design/methodology/approach: To verify the framework, the authors analyzed two negotiation simulations with a diverse set of negotiation students. Negotiations were content-coded, and adaptations were labeled. Findings: The authors found a consistent pattern across two studies. Overall, 12% (study 1) and 18% (study 2) of all speaking turns were identified as strategic adaptations. The findings empirically confirmed four of their strategic adaptation types: adapt to deadlock, follow adaptation by opponent, adapt to priority of issue under discussion and adapt to new information on issue. Moreover, findings of this study revealed two new types of strategic adaptability: delayed adaptation to opponent and adapt to understand opponent. Study 2 additionally revealed that strategies vary with the negotiation phase, and negotiation outcome seems to benefit more from the constellation rather than the frequency of adaptations. Furthermore, lower-scoring negotiators tended to adapt to the opponent's strategy instead of initiating a change in strategy. Originality/value: The findings of this study provide preliminary insights into how strategic adaptations unfold. These findings present future research opportunities to further test the framework's robustness, increase the knowledge of individual and cultural factors, explore the relationship with negotiation outcomes and develop educational interventions to enhance strategic adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication is a critical component in the process of providing quality healthcare services and products. The role of public relations (PR), as a strategic, proactive, and responsible type of communication, is to establish and maintain a positive reputation and relationships with the public, based on trust and mutual understanding. Given the complex approach and process of this activity, when properly applied, PR can bring benefits to all stakeholders in the healthcare sector, contributing positively to its overall realities and outcomes. This paper presents the results of an exploratory pilot study aimed at identifying the coordinates of PR in the Romanian health sector by investigating perceptions on health public relations (HPR), its potential, challenges and opportunities, and stakeholders in healthcare. It is based on qualitative research, using interviews with a mixed group of professionals from the public and private sectors (doctors, medical service coordinators, medical professors, managers, and owners of entities that provide health services and products, and strategic communication professionals working for companies in healthcare). The results are discussed alongside relevant findings provided by previously published studies. In the final part of the article, the author proposes a PR model for entities in the medical area. It emphasizes that HPR should not only be used as a tactical tool or alternative to marketing efforts, nor only intended to manage an undesirable image or deliver damage control after an inconvenient situation or crisis. Instead, HPR services are at their true potential when a strategic approach is applied proactively, based on complex research and planning, designed to engage stakeholders and motivate them towards collaborative communication and sustained effort, based on partnership, for efficient and effective results in the health sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Radiant Figures: Visual Rhetorics in Everyday Administrative Contexts" is a book that explores the use of visual rhetoric in writing program administration. The authors argue that traditional storytelling methods in administrative contexts may not effectively engage audiences, and propose the integration of visual rhetoric, or "VizAdmin," as a new philosophy in WPA work. The book provides practical examples and theoretical insights on how visual elements can enhance administrative communication, improve clarity, and create more impactful narratives about writing programs. It offers a comprehensive guide for WPAs looking to enhance their storytelling capabilities and overall administrative effectiveness. [Extracted from the article]

Crucial components of strategic communication include the audience, which plays a decisive role in how any conflict plays out. Strategic narratives are seen as means by which political actors attempt to construct a shared meaning of international politics to shape the behaviour of domestic and international actors. The article analyzes the news discourse of the Russian media sources RT, Pervyj Kanal, and NTV on Russia's coronavirus aid to Italy in spring 2020. In the context of media coverage, some methodological questions arise: How should the intentional structuring of narratives, targeting of audiences, and the manipulative intentions of the strategic actor be studied? For this purpose, the article combines strategic narrative theory with Umberto Eco's concepts of the Model Reader and the Model Author. Analysing the aims and intentionality of the strategic narratives, we postulate the Model Reader as an analytical category that organizes the study of the audience's interpretation process. The function of the Model Reader is to actualize the codes and intertextual references that the author has strategically planned in the news message, in order to achieve the geopolitical aims of the strategic narratives in question. The analysis of constructing the Model Reader and the Model Author of strategic narratives is complemented by Greimas' semiotic theory of the narrative and the composition principles of Lotman's discrete/non-discrete texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores information aggregation and strategic communication in settings where committee members are held accountable, formally or informally, for their individual voting decisions. We show that if decisions are made via majority voting, expressive payoffs introduce a free‐rider problem that prevents the committee from communicating truthfully and taking optimal decisions. In contrast, if decisions are made by unanimity, free‐riding is mitigated because all agents are responsible for the committee's decision. In a controlled laboratory experiment, we find that under unanimity subjects are more truthful and are ultimately more likely to take the optimal decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the role of information disorders in media coverage of cancer as a growing public health problem on both sides of the Atlantic. Taking the examples of Chile and Spain, we analysed news (n = 5522) published by major digital newspaper outlets in both countries between 2020 and 2022 to explore the elements of contextual information disorders, the over- and/or under-representation of mentions of sources and actors, and major latent topics in both journalistic systems. To achieve these objectives, we employed topic modelling and coherence techniques. The results revealed a high number of references to institutional, administrative, and political sources and actors, followed by mentions of issuers of strategic communication and, less frequently, patients' associations. The discourses differed in their underlying topics, with risk factors and psycho-social factors being the most frequently addressed in the Spanish press and geo-political and institutional health contexts being the most frequently mentioned in the Chilean press. The topic of advances in research, however, was common in both journalistic systems. This article closes by identifying future challenges in health communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The article aims to explore the transformative journey of AcmeTech Manufacturing, a fictional company influenced by real-life events, from environmental negligence to adopting sustainable and responsible business practices. By examining AcmeTech's strategic communication and sustainability initiatives, the study seeks to highlight the importance of integrating sustainability within global supply chains and the role of strategic communication in building stakeholder trust and achieving corporate sustainability goals. Design/methodology/approach: This research adopts a case study methodology, focusing on AcmeTech Manufacturing as a representative example. The case study approach allows for an in-depth exploration of AcmeTech's challenges, strategies and outcomes in its pursuit of corporate sustainability. Drawing from real-life events, the study delves into the company's transformation, its commitment to transparent communication and its efforts to incorporate sustainable practices within its global supply chains. Findings: AcmeTech Manufacturing, once criticized for its environmental negligence, has embarked on a comprehensive sustainability journey. Recognizing the erosion of stakeholder trust due to past actions, the company has prioritized transparent and strategic communication of its sustainability efforts. AcmeTech's commitment extends beyond internal changes, emphasizing the importance of its global supply chains in its overall environmental impact. By adopting a Cooperative Advantage approach, rooted in the philosophy of ubuntu, AcmeTech not only addresses its environmental challenges but also strives to become a leader in sustainable manufacturing practices. Originality/value: The article offers a unique perspective by combining the concepts of strategic communication and corporate sustainability within the context of global supply chains. Using the fictional case of AcmeTech Manufacturing, influenced by real-world scenarios, the study introduces the Cooperative Advantage approach, rooted in the African philosophy of ubuntu. This approach emphasizes the interconnectedness of all stakeholders, promoting a people-centered strategy to sustainability, making the article a novel contribution to the discourse on corporate sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article has studied the essence and meaning of the key message as a component of the organization's strategic communication and defined the role of the key message in ensuring effective communication impact on its target audiences. It is noted that the process of strategic communication, like any organizational communication, involves the presence of such key elements as the sender and recipient, the message, and the channel through which it is transmitted from the sender to the recipient. But at the same time, this process is aimed at realizing the organizational mission and achieving strategic goals. The message is the key to achieving communication impact. Key messages create focus, control, and intensity of influence on the company's target audience. The development of key messages is the second most important block of a strategic communications plan, in addition to defining target audiences. Key messages define what needs to be said to each of the target audiences. They are the essence of what needs to be communicated, bearing in mind that effective communication is primarily related not to what is said or sent, but to how it is perceived by the recipient and what his actions are as a result. The broad ways of conveying key messages are written, visual, verbal, and non-verbal communication, as well as their various combinations. Key messages must be carefully planned and prepared so that they are credible and broadly applicable to the organization's goals. The main requirements for key messages are formulated and the main features of the process of their development are considered. Key messages should be concise, relevant, persuasive, accessible to the target audience, and consistent with the company's mission, values, and strategy. The process of developing a key message includes the following main stages: reviewing the organizational mission, strategy, goals, and objectives; definition of the target audience; formulation of the purpose of the message; determination of messaging needs; analysis of competitors' messages; identification of advantages that distinguish the company's offers from others; supporting claims with supporting details that differentiate the company and add credibility [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although current strategic communication research is particularly interested in deviations from normative ideals, there is a surprising lack of interest in the structures that lead to such deviations from formal specifications. To this end, this paper explores the classic, but of late largely forgotten concept of informality. The aim is to develop a theoretical framework and a systematization that can be used to answer central questions in strategic communication research. The focus is on three research questions: How can formal and informal structures of strategic organizational communication be systematized? How are formal and informal organizational structures thematized in strategic organizational communication? What is the relationship between (in)formal structures of strategic organizational communication and the thematization of (in)formal organizational structures? Design/methodology/approach: The conceptual contribution is based on systems theoretical organization theory, which understands formal structures as decided decision premises and informal structures as undecided decision premises. Findings: The understanding of informal expectation structures presented here has enormous potential for describing and researching central issues in strategic communication research in a far more significant way, both theoretically and empirically. For example, decoupling can be described in a much more differentiated way than is possible using the neo-institutionalist perspective. Practical implications: The systematizing framework for researching informal structures enables a deeper understanding of informal structures and thus a better handling of them in practice. In addition, the framework provides a basis for future empirical studies. Originality/value: Informal phenomena and structures seem to be the elephant in the room in many discourses in strategic communication research. With the theoretical perspective and systematization presented here, these phenomena can finally be explored in a differentiated and meaningful way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a sociolegal perspective to critically analyze how narratives supporting the need to reduce and punish corruption in Brazil, particularly the ones deployed in the course of the Car Wash Operation (CWO), influenced the weakening of the presumption of innocence rule. Originally deployed to investigate a criminal organization using a network of gas stations and car wash companies to “clean” illicit resources, the CWO was rapidly transformed in a major law enforcement operation, and it was used to unravel endemic corruption found in private and state-owned companies. Using a variety of communication resources, the Prosecutor office in charge of the operation developed a set of strategic tactics to promote the discourse that the rule of presumption of innocence was one of the main motives behind the high levels of corruption and impunity in Brazil. This narrative influenced the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court during the judgment of the case involving Brazilian former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The social pressure caused by the use of strategic communication tools were crucial to lead the court to overrule the meaning of presumption of innocence. The paper examines how these tools were able to promote social traction and how they can be used to influence and shape the meaning and effectiveness of legal rules. Utilizamos una perspectiva socio-jurídica para analizar críticamente cómo las narrativas que respaldan la necesidad de reducir y castigar la corrupción en Brasil, especialmente las desplegadas en el curso de la “Operação Lava Jato” (LJ – Operación Autolavado), influyeron en el debilitamiento de la presunción de inocencia. Originalmente implementada para investigar a una organización criminal que utilizaba una red de estaciones de servicio y empresas de lavado de autos para el lavado de dinero, LJ se transformó rápidamente en una importante operación de aplicación de la ley y se utilizó para desentrañar la corrupción endémica en empresas privadas y estatales. Utilizando diversos recursos de comunicación, la Fiscalía Federal a cargo de la operación desarrolló un conjunto de tácticas estratégicas para promover el discurso de que la presunción de inocencia era uno de los principales motivos detrás de los altos niveles de corrupción e impunidad en Brasil. Esta narrativa, por ejemplo, influyó en el Tribunal Supremo Federal (STF) de Brasil durante el juicio del caso que involucra al expresidente brasileño Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. La presión social causada por el uso de herramientas estratégicas de comunicación fue crucial para llevar al tribunal a revocar el significado de la presunción de inocencia. El artículo examina cómo estas herramientas pudieron generar tracción social y cómo pueden utilizarse para influir y dar forma al significado y la efectividad de las normas legales.

Community service activities carried out by students can be a form of collaboration to support Government programs, one of which is the verification and validation of the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS). The main problem faced by the local government in managing DTKS is the lack of human resources and objectivity of officers, so the data obtained often does not match the criteria. The Handil Bakti Village initiated the collaboration for verification and validation of DTKS with students as one of the joint-student service programs in the local government. As a form of strategic communication, the local government takes steps starting from planning, situation analysis, target analysis, goal formulation, message framework preparation, message dissemination strategy, and measurement and evaluation. Students verify and validate DTKS by conducting interviews with recipients in 14 RTs. The results obtained are accurate and objective DTKS data following the criteria set by the government and students gain an understanding of DTKS data collection.

Each of us is challenged to develop solutions for communication with patients in our own field. What I would like to offer comes, on the one hand, from my own communication practice with subjects and, on the other hand, from a philosophy and technique of communication that proposes to behave strategically towards one‘s interlocutor: Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this commentary, we argue that health professionals can play a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of public policies that will help communities, nations, and the world end fossil fuel pollution and rise to the challenges of climate change. We briefly describe our previously published research showing that communicating about fossil fuel pollution and the health relevance of climate change has many benefits in building public support for climate action. Most importantly, we make the case that because health professionals, especially medical doctors and other clinicians, are highly trusted, we collectively have a unique opportunity to bring people together across the political continuum to have constructive dialogues about the intertwined problems of fossil fuel pollution and climate change and what to do about them – even in the current hyper-partisan environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong sugary drink taxes are effective at reducing sugary drinks consumption. In response, the sugary drinks industry employs various marketing strategies to undermine the taxes to protect and maintain its customer base. In their recent article in this journal, Forde et al present a framework for understanding how sugary drinks companies use marketing for this purpose. In this commentary, we reflect on this framework by drawing from recent experiences of sugary drinks industry marketing responses. Further, we review the global evidence on the instrumental role that strategic communication can play in protecting strong taxes from industry responses. We make a case for strategic communication as a vital tool in promoting and protecting sugary drinks tax proposals, both prior to and after their introduction.

In the era of modern threats, Strategic Communication (StratCom) has become a key capability in responding to hybrid threats, the vast majority of which are created in the Information Environment (IE), with particular emphasis on cyberspace. The transition from the information policies of individual armed forces to the comprehensive thought of strategic communication is the focus of the article below. For this purpose, an analysis of source documents was used, showing the development of the concept of strategic communication since 2001 in StratCom collections of documents, policies, doctrines, guidelines, manuals and framework concepts.

In the e-commerce context, are we persuaded more by a product recommendation that matches our preferences (content filtering) or by one that is endorsed by others like us (collaborative filtering)? We addressed this question by conceptualizing these two filtering types as cues that trigger cognitive heuristics (mental shortcuts), following the heuristic-systematic model in social psychology. In addition, we investigated whether the degree to which the recommendation matches user preferences (or other users' endorsements) provides an argument for systematic processing, especially for those who need deeper insights into the accuracy of the algorithm, particularly in product categories where quality is subjective. Data from a 2 (algorithm type: content vs. collaborative filtering) x 3 (percentage match: low vs. medium vs. high) x 2 (product category: search vs. experience) + 2 (control: search and experience) between-subjects experiment (N = 469) reveal that for experience products, consumers prefer content-based filtering with higher percentage matches, because it is perceived as offering more transparency. This is especially true for individuals with high need for cognition. For search products, however, collaborative filtering leads to more positive evaluations by triggering the "bandwagon effect." These findings have implications for theory pertaining to the use of artificial intelligence in strategic communications and design of algorithms for e-commerce recommender systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes the incorporation of a comprehensive internal communications strategy to shape organizational culture and improve employee engagement—with the ultimate goal of positioning libraries for leadership within changing public discourse. The article also details specific strategies and tactics to strengthen relationships and understanding between senior leadership teams and frontline staff in order to ensure that the new communication plan is successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within developing countries, awareness efforts that promote wildlife conservation are not only important to engage communities neighboring wildlife habitats, but they are also critical nationally because urban dwellers are not usually exposed to wildlife. Here, we suggest that media and public relations professionals can promote domestic tourism activities, and engage communities in ways that will encourage the public to protect wildlife. We outline examples of successful ongoing initiatives we have used that stem from the principles of strategic communication to promote wildlife conservation in Uganda. First, tours with journalists, celebrities, and politicians have been launched to support awareness of wildlife and their economic value to the country. These initiatives highlight protected areas to the mainstream media and encourage domestic tourism. Second, parades around the country, intramural sports teams, as well as public lectures, community and school events are held to mobilize additional conservation awareness. Lastly, we discuss the role of strategic communication through media frames by the national newspapers in promoting the importance of wildlife conservation. These initiatives have likely led to the demonstrated increase in domestic tourism to national parks over the past decade and increase in support for wildlife by the Ugandan public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crisis communication plays a crucial role in preserving the national reputation during significant national crises. From the perspective of Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), this research paper analyzed over 1,790,816 YouTube comments from Chinese-speaking audiences, using sentiment analysis alongside the Difference-in-Differences (DiD) model, in order to investigate the influence of strategic crisis communication on public perceptions during public health crises. The study findings indicate that during this public health crisis, YouTube Chinese media, whose audience mainly consists of overseas Chinese-speaking users, primarily incorporated the enhancing strategies, succeeded by the diminish strategies, with limited application of deny strategies, while the use of rebuild strategies was virtually absent in this context. In addition, the research analysis confirms that Chinese media effectively increased the public's positive perceptions of crisis events through crisis communication. Particularly, enhancing strategies proved most effective in improving public perceptions, followed by diminish strategies. In contrast, deny strategies failed to influence public perceptions of the crisis, and rebuild strategies demonstrated a negative impact on public perception. Thus, the research findings of this paper extend essential insights for effectively managing potential public health crises in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a method to identify manipulation of custodial suspects who attempt to invoke the Miranda right to legal counsel during a custodial interrogation. The method, developed from a combination of framing theory and hypergame theory, first documents the point where custodial suspects' preferences shift and second identifies the proximate cause of that shift using excerpts from legal cases. The method applies linguistic analysis within a hypergame framework to reveal rational behavior of custodial suspects who, despite owning an initial preference to invoke, waive their right to counsel without explicit pressure from police. The paper terms this shift in preferences "manipulation" adding the concept to hypergames and to the literature on noncooperative discursive exchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 European Parliament elections were marked by a specific 'threat to Europe' discourse associated with concerns about possible populist radical right's (PRR) breakthrough. The pro-European narrative suggested authoritarianism, non-democratic behaviour, anti-Europeanism, nostalgia for the past, and xenophobia as themes attributive of the PRR challenge. This article examines the PRR parties' counter-narrative on these themes in the way it is embedded in their strategic communication during the election campaign. Three prominent examples are taken into consideration: France's Rassemblement national, Italy's Lega and Germany's Alternative für Deutschland. By analysing discursively their election manifestos and social media messages the article outlines their claim for appropriation of the 'threat to Europe' discourse and European legitimacy of their Euroscepticism. Thus, the article seeks to contribute to the discussion on the ideological consolidation of the PRR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I explore the potential of the strategic/non-strategic distinction to link im/politeness with recent developments in pragmatics more generally. My point of departure is the claim that the binary between strategic/non-strategic politeness, as drawn in previous research starting with the distinction between discernment and volition, leaves a blind-spot when it comes to established ways of achieving politeness that do not rely on recognition of the speaker's intention, yet go beyond a pre-defined repertoire of forms. To shed light on this blind spot, I recruit the notions of first-order (S1) and higher-order (S2) polite speakers from Rational Speech Act models, which distinguish between different types of speakers depending on the degree to which they reason not just about their own goals but also about what the hearer thinks of them. However, contrary to the standard RSA model, I propose to think of such reflexive reasoning as a matter of degree, which can be used to explain a continuum of uses from strategic to non-strategic politeness. This move highlights points of contact between theoretical traditions that have developed independently and helps to reinstate im/politeness as a driver of pragmatics research broadly conceived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hangzhou Asian Games, a key international sports event in 2023, provides China with an opportunity to showcase its global standing, following the Beijing Olympic Games and Shanghai World Expo. Zhejiang Gongshang University's Culture and Sports Centre serves as the handball competition venue, with about 1,200 teachers and volunteers engaged across various Asian Games sites. Despite this, the university's media impact falls short compared to peers in Hangzhou with Asian Games venues. This research explores the news production practices of universities during large-scale international sports events, focusing on improving Zhejiang Gongshang University's media coverage and influence. Utilizing in-depth interviews and The Uses and Gratifications theory, the study analyzes news production related to the Asian Games on the university's official website, social media, and newspapers. Interviews include both producers and audiences of this news. Findings indicate a disconnect between media reports and the diverse needs of media users, with news production primarily driven by informational and promotional objectives. Recommendations include diversifying themes and forms of media coverage, enhancing creativity and interactivity, adopting a proactive and strategic approach to media communication, and leveraging new media platforms for more engaging content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Politicians seeking to persuade voters may not always be able to say what they would like to say. Adopting policy positions opposite to that of their party or contradicting their previous policy announcements may be costly. I use computational text analysis on 30,000 candidate manifestos from two-round French elections to show that politicians take these costs into account, by toeing the party line and sticking to their platform, while also strategically adjusting their campaign communication and advertising neutral non-policy issues when they need to reach a broader electorate. I provide suggestive evidence that this moderation of electoral discourse predicts better performance in office and may therefore provide valuable information to voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its founding in 2007, the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication has pursued an approach to climate science communication that we call a "think-and-do tank" model. The "thinking" element involves strategic communication research intended to illuminate strategies to improve public engagement with climate change that, if applied at scale, will cultivate public and political will for climate solutions. The "doing" element involves translating these strategies into communication programs that engage the public and empower various communities of practice. We seek to identify trusted local voices in communities across America and support them as climate communicators with evidence-based communication tools. We illustrate the model with examples and suggest how other action-oriented science communication researchers can apply the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When corporations, particularly those in the fossil fuel industry, profess to care about their audience, how should we analyze and evaluate this care? The common strategy by scholars and journalists is to debunk, or expose, fake or inauthentic messaging. In this essay, I argue that debunking prevents us from articulating the coordinates of care in environmental communication. I propose the adoption of a different critical stance toward corporate "green" communication, and offer some resources for achieving the objective of situating environmental communication as a care discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The waste problem in the U.S. has only intensified in recent years, first due to China's National Sword Policy and then to the COVID-19 pandemic. One solution to this problem is to encourage people to adopt pro-environmental behaviors such as opting for reusables and products with plastic-free alternate packaging. In this study, we employ the value-belief-norm theory to examine whether its proposed causal chain predicts consumers' willingness to use reusables and products with plastic-free alternate packaging. We also explore the moderating role of perceived behavior control, one of the strongest predictors of environmental behaviors. Our research provides support to the value-belief-norm theory in predicting behavioral willingness. The moderating role of perceived behavior control provides additional insight into the theoretical model and furnishes practical implications for strategic communication designed to encourage the adoption of reusables and alternative packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I study incentives for communication and policymaking in the presence of information asymmetry and constraints on the set of feasible policies. An informed and an uninformed agent both take decisions in a coordination game such that their actions exhibit positive spillover and are imperfectly substitutable. When agents communicate via cheap talk prior to the coordination stage, there is full information revelation as long as constraints are not binding. When constraints bind, communication results in threshold equilibria and partial revelation of information. The most informative threshold equilibrium maximizes the welfare of both agents. This paper is the first in the literature to establish a relationship between action constraints and incentives for strategic communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate Change disinformation is causing lasting damage to both sociopolitical spheres and our very own biosphere. The present article identifies the meaning-making mechanisms of Climate Change conspiratorial discourse on social media by analysing the YouTube video Why I Said Global Warming is the Biggest Fraud in History, which had reached more than 758,000 views (May 2023) before the channel was deleted (August 2023). A qualitative empirical semiotic analysis was carried out focusing on discourse in which Climate Change denial is understood as conspiracy theory, that is, a mode of interpretation. The analysed conspiracy discourse creates identities and shapes social relations in the form of dichotomic oppositions/conflicts between those who spread illegitimate information (the enemy) and those with access to the truth (a symbolic elite). In this context, the fragmentation of science into “real” and “fake” is as dangerous as the scientific community’s loss of authority. The analysis of this video shows how Climate Change is represented as a fraud and how possible policy responses to it are therefore represented as scams. The main effect of such discourse is deproblematization, for it provides people with reasons to reject proposals for actions that seek to mitigate the climate crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the political branding of a powerless small state, the state of Kuwait during the reign of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem, from 1950 to 1965. The study uses models developed by Anholt for a strategic perspective on nation branding and by Bolin and Miazhevich for tactical communication in nation branding. This study explores the use of strategic communication in an Islamic-Arabic culture to brand Kuwait as a sovereign nation. At the strategic level, it employs the components of strategy, substance, and symbolic action, and at the tactical level, it uses the components of agents, audience analysis, temporal orientation and media to examine symbolic action. Using those models and following a qualitative historical analysis, the study identifies and analyzes the efforts of Sheikh Al-Salem to transform Kuwait from a Sheikhdom to Statehood in the 1950s. Those efforts helped to deter Iraq's threat to the Kuwaiti sovereignty as well as establish a self-governing, constitutional monarchy in the 1960s. The study concludes by evaluating the effectiveness of Sheikh Al-Salem's efforts as measured by tangible outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Global Britain' is as much a governing instinct as it is a statement of current policy: an idea that animates the United Kingdom's international relations. And for nine decades the BBC World Service, Britain's principal agent of public diplomacy, has been its exemplar. With a reputation as a trusted source of reliable news in over forty languages, the international BBC sustains a global capacity for intercultural dialogue founded on evidence‐based journalism. At a time when digital media are rewriting the strategic communications playbook and reorganising our knowledge practices and behaviours, the BBC maintains a vital link between Britain and a transnational community of close to half a billion users. Yet, despite these evident strengths, recent confusion over the organisation and funding of the World Service means that its long‐term future is in doubt. This article asks how and why it has come to this and what might be done to preserve the journalistic integrity and 'soft power' of the BBC World Service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The relevance of the study is underscored in response to the need for innovative tools to counter hybrid threats in the field of information security. Methodology: The study's methodological approach is described, highlighting the application of methods such as analysis, systematization, and comparison. The use of these methods is emphasized in conducting a comprehensive comparative analysis of information security strategies in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the European Union. Results: It is emphasized that the study's results provide a detailed insight into the current state of information security in the analyzed countries. It is specifically mentioned that recommendations for the development of information security communication strategies are a tangible outcome of the research. Conclusions: The conclusion highlights the importance of developing or enhancing information security communication strategies in the countries under study. It is suggested that these strategies can serve as an effective countermeasure against hybrid warfare and enemy attacks, thereby strengthening cybersecurity and responsiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The big policy challenges of our times are complex problems cutting across policy sectors and levels of government. To answer the question how cross‐sectoral policy coordination in multilevel structures can be achieved, we argue in line with policy integration and multilevel governance scholarship that "loosely coupled" institutions create the interdependency necessary to secure complex coordination. This argument is substantiated empirically by investigating coordination of energy transition in the German Bundesrat. Expectations are derived on how loosely coupled institutions promote coordination. They are tested using a mix of empirical data. It can be shown that loosely coupled institutions indeed enable coordination by linking powers across multiple dimensions, creating incentives for cross‐sectoral communication, using personal ties in negotiations to bridge different institutional backgrounds, and sequencing the decision process to allow strategic shifts between coordination dimensions. Those mechanisms may not guarantee the best possible result, but they provide a satisfactory solution at least. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian National Week of Science and Technology, promoted annually by government agencies, aims to develop actions for the dissemination and popularization of science to bring scientific and technological knowledge to society. This work reports the experience of the Araguaia Museum of Natural History (MuHNA) in promoting the popularization of science in the eastern region of Mato Grosso, from the cities Barra do Garças and Água Boa, reaching an approximate audience of 6,000 participants in the third edition of SNCT-Araguaia in scientific dissemination actions. It is highlighted, in this experience report, the fundamental role of strategic communication actions for the dissemination of information about the scientific knowledge presented in the event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although protests are an essential part of modern politics, scholars in nation branding, public diplomacy and soft power have had very little to say about these episodes. Discussions in the field have only marginally addressed dissent and disruption, falling into a methodological statism that emphasises what states do to construct and legitimise specific versions of national identity. Debates on nation promotion consequently overlook how individuals and organisations outside the state and outside national boundaries can be equally important in the construction and communication of national images. Drawing on domestic and foreign news coverage of protests in Brazil, Romania and Chile, we propose three frames to analyse the relationship between protests and nation promotion: (1) protests as threats, (2) protests as expression of the true nation and (3) protests as strategic communications. These frames shed light on how bottom‐up efforts contest—overtly or covertly—state‐sponsored versions of national identity and how protests are visibility arenas where competing discourses about the nation are communicated. Protests should therefore be acknowledged not as mere disruptions to national images or reputations but as another expression of the contingent, multifaceted and shifting nature of nationhood, particularly in highly mediatised contemporary societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When COVID-19 spread rapidly across the globe, it sparked a great deal of uncertainty. This was particularly true for expectant parents, who were already navigating increased uncertainty. Extant research demonstrates the important role prenatal healthcare workers play in helping expectant mothers navigate pregnancy. This study presupposes that obstetricians would serve as an important resource for expectant mothers as the pandemic began. Twenty pregnant women were interviewed in July and August of 2020 about their experiences navigating pregnancy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings illustrate the magnitude of their uncertainty, and the role obstetricians played in their search for information about pregnancy and delivery in the time of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While agenda building and framing are commonly examined in the strategic communication literature, the concept of code-switching remains underexplored in the field. Similarly, the incredible rise of podcasting remains less examined as a strategic communication tool. Bridging these gaps, this study qualitatively examined U.S. presidential candidate interviews on podcasts during the 2020 primary cycle. Insights about code-switching and attribute and topic selection emerged, demonstrating podcasts could be a critical media platform for lesser-known candidates of public office. Further, this study finds podcasts to be a prime arena for candidates who want to deviate from traditional political talking points and who want to access diverse and niche audiences. A call is made to further examine this intersectionality in the strategic communication literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan launched its Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) Strategy in 2016 to reinforce the liberal, rulesbased international order regarded as facing global and regional challenges. Japan hoped to attract other states to the FOIP multidimensional platform, including those with limited adherence to freedom and openness. The diffuse nature of the FOIP Vision encompasses diverse issues beyond geopolitical security, spurring doubts of purpose. Does Japan seek minimal status quo order adherence? Is FOIP primarily a values and governance order-enhancing platform, a strategic China-containing construct, or an influence generating counter to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative? Ultimately, could Japan cultivate a FOIP ecumenical community defending international law and order across the Indo-Pacific? What form of community does Japan envisage creating and sharing with its partners, with strategic or simply communication purposes? This paper addresses these questions, and the degree to which FOIP could realise tangible FOIP benefits for Japan and others, while investigating how "Free and Open" Japan's Vision has appeared during its three major incarnations under Prime Ministers Abe and Kishida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the use of social media in public administration by applying a public relations approach. Public relations (PR) offer an integrative theoretical and practical strategic framework in the analysis and implementation of communication in public administration, which brings essential contributions to the functioning of democracy. Changes imposed by social media generated new communication practices for governance and public administration services, offering interesting research topics. The present study is substantiated by the conceptual coordinates of modern PR, excellence theory, and its measurement principles. It discusses government PR as a particular area in the field. It reviews the methodology and findings of studies conducted in Romania on the subject of government PR and the use of recent technology in central and local government communication. The research is based on a content analysis investigating the social media PR on three online platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, for five municipalities in Romania, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, Iași, and Timișoara. The study offers a descriptive picture of the current Romanian realities and fosters government social media strategic communication analysis, by exemplifying the use of a methodological investigation framework, based on modern concepts of the field of PR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image and reputation are key factors in how nations are perceived by global audiences. Current and historical issues can pose as challenges to a nation's reputation prompting the need to save face. The Armenian genocide is one of the most critical issues the Republic of Turkey has had to manage in terms of its global image and reputation. While the vast body of literature on the subject borrows from history and political science focusing on the mechanism of denial, this paper offers a communication framework to understand the rhetoric of Turkey's image repair. Turkey's crisis communication strategies vis-à-vis the centennial of the Armenian genocide are analyzed by employing Benoit's image repair theory through a content analysis of official statements and declarations by the heads of state given in 2014 and 2015. In response to the emerging political crisis, the Turkish government primarily employed image repair strategies of evading responsibility and reducing offensiveness with the aim to appeal to international audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]