Message Clarity Research Articles

Mapping recreational fishers’ informal learning of scientific information using a fuzzy cognitive mapping approach to mental modelling

AbstractFisheries management benefits from improving the communication of scientific information to recreational fishers through improved compliance and greater contributions during consultation and engagement. This study uses fuzzy cognitive mapping to collect detailed, graphic information about recreational fishers’ mental models as a way to improve the way scientific information is communicated to them. Fishers were given three examples of scientific information to understand the affective, cognitive and conative reactions to different types of fisheries‐related information that they often encounter, and mental models were derived based on topics they found most and least interesting. This study identifies driving variables and constraints to fishers’ interest in taking up scientific information. The results suggest a message's clarity, perceived regular usefulness, good and bad emotion and investments in money and time influence fishers’ interest in taking up scientific information. Fishers’ initial levels of interest in a topic also significantly affect the complexity of thought processes leading to further interest in informal learning and the relative roles of the driving variables and constraints.

Guerrilla marketing’s effects on Gen Y’s word-of-mouth intention – a mediation of credibility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to integrate guerrilla marketing characteristics into advertising model through which the perceived effects of guerrilla marketing on Gen Y are identified, and to examine such effects on word of mouth (WOM) activity with the mediation of message credibility. Design/methodology/approach – The study obtains its exploratory purpose through quantitative method by asking Gen Y participants about their perceptions of 20 guerrilla advertisements in the questionnaires. Those advertisements and the advertising scales are selectively chosen from previous literature so that the results truthfully reflect the effects of guerrilla marketing under consumer perspective. Findings – The results show that, creativity, as a combination of novelty and relevance, has the strongest direct and indirect effect on WOM intention. Similarly, surprise factor, the claimed root philosophy of guerrilla marketing, is confirmed when it also impacts directly and indirectly consumer behaviour. Message credibility plays a meaningful mediation role, and through this, message clarity manifests its indirect influence on WOM. Originality/value – The study supports the belief that guerrilla marketing is suitable for any business because of its effectiveness and efficiency. More significantly, the awareness of Gen Y consumers of the advertisements, with or without knowing that these ads belong to guerrilla advertising, strengthens the expectation that guerrilla marketing in general and guerrilla advertising in particular are recommended choices when they reflect what common marketing and advertising should be.

Social Exclusion of the Deaf in Corporate Television Advertising in Ghana: A Pilot Study

Communication barrier is one of the problems for deaf persons with regard to social integration. This paper was conducted to determine the degree to which the deaf community understands corporate television adverts in Ghana and whether inclusion of sign language would improve and enhance their understanding. Using a pretest-posttest design, with a purposively selected sample of 30 deaf students (N=30) and utilised the theory of active viewing, the researchers found that the inclusion of sign language improves understanding of advertisement. Participants were more likely to identify the product being advertised, the corporate body running the advertisement, understand message communicated, and the use of the product advertised when sign language interpreters were embedded in them. The findings provide insight into some exclusion issues in television advertising communication that disadvantages deaf people in society. Embedding sign language interpreters in television advertisement broadens the scope of message clarity and understanding of deaf people.

Interdisciplinarity: Suffering from a Lack of Effective Marketing?

After a lulled period there is renewed debate in first-world institutions for increasing interdisciplinary studies and research. The literature has occasionally attempted to capture what “true interdisciplinary work” was and to lure the unbelievers with the use of metaphors, fables, and stories that has led to confusion. As a result, interdisciplinarity is not well understood and the lack of message clarity impacts it’s standing within the industry and society in general. This paper purports to overcome marketing communications barriers by: a) defining and positioning the interdisciplinary movement vis-a-vis more traditional approaches; b) explaining what it is and what it is not; c) examining whether interdisciplinarity is on its way of becoming an established discipline; and d) parting with some concluding remarks.

Inferences About Avatars: Sexism, Appropriateness, Anthropomorphism, and the Objectification of Female Virtual Representations

This study integrated the computers as social actors CASA framework with objectification theory to predict that traits, such as sexism, influence perceptions of virtual representations as well as attributions of the source and message. Participants N = 397 received a message about dating or job interviews presented by a virtual woman in either context-appropriate or context-inappropriate dress. Causal modeling techniques revealed that participants higher on sexism rated the representations as less human i.e., less anthropomorphic and less credible. Further, perceived appropriateness of clothing and anthropomorphism influenced perceptions of source trust and message clarity. Implications for understanding the role of trait variables such as sexism on perceptions of virtual representations are discussed.

Lessons Learned From Adolescent Mothers: Advice on Recruitment.

Adolescent mothers have high rates of depressive symptoms and inadequate rates of depression evaluation and treatment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify characteristics of effective recruitment ads for an Internet-based depression intervention for pregnant and parenting adolescents. Using focus group methods, participants (N = 35) were recruited and enrolled at a teen parent program, part of the public school system. Focus group sessions were analyzed for participant preferences, rationale for choices, key words, and the frequency of words within the videotapes and audiotapes. Findings indicated that adolescent mothers preferred pictures in which everyone looked happy, narrative that clearly indicated cost and eligibility, and words that they would use in conversation. The study filled an important gap in the literature by soliciting from pregnant and parenting adolescents their preferences regarding visual appeal, content adequacy, and message clarity of advertisements that would motivate them to visit an Internet intervention for depression. Results could be extrapolated to education of pregnant and parenting adolescents in clinical settings.

Learning from marketing: Rapid development of medication messages that engage patients

ObjectiveTo adapt marketing approaches in a health services environment. MethodsResearchers and advertising professionals partnered in developing advertising-style messages designed to activate patients pre-identified as having chronic kidney disease to ask providers about recommended medications. We assessed feasibility of the development process by evaluating partnership structure, costs, and timeframe. We tested messages with patients and providers using preliminary surveys to refine initial messages and subsequent focus groups to identify the most persuasive ones. ResultsThe partnership achieved an efficient structure, $14,550 total costs, and 4-month timeframe. The advertising team developed 11 initial messages. The research team conducted surveys and focus groups with a total of 13 patients and 8 providers to identify three messages as most activating. Focus group themes suggested the general approach of using advertising-style messages was acceptable if it supported patient–provider relationships and had a credible evidence base. Individual messages were more motivating if they elicited personal identification with imagery, particular emotions, active patient role, and message clarity. ConclusionWe demonstrated feasibility of a research-advertising partnership and acceptability and likely impact of advertising-style messages on patient medication-seeking behavior. Practice implicationsHealthcare systems may want to replicate our adaptation of marketing approaches to patients with chronic conditions.

A semiotic analysis of consumer-generated antibranding

This study is a semiotic analysis of consumer-generated antibranding efforts and reveals tacit semiotic rules used by digital antibranders. A broad theoretical discussion about the semiotic characteristics of branding and antibranding is provided and “digital antibranding semiotics” is defined. The semiotics of consumer digital antibranding efforts are investigated in two studies examining a sample of antibranding images targeted at valuable corporate brands. The first study reveals that antibranders use drama and humor to demonize, criminalize, dehumanize, and “Hitlerize” the targeted brands, creating strong antibrand voices and positioning themselves against corporate greed and wrongdoing. The second study found that consumers successfully decode antibranding semiotic representations and classify them in terms of message clarity, fact finding, and “hostility versus entertainment values.” These findings reveal that both antibranding images with dark humor and clear messages and an aggressive and intriguing message have the potential to influence consumers.

The Development of Preschoolers’ Appreciation of Communicative Ambiguity

Using a longitudinal design, preschoolers' appreciation of a listener's knowledge of the location of a hidden sticker after the listener was provided with an ambiguous or unambiguous description was assessed. Preschoolers (N=34) were tested at 3 time points, each 6 months apart (4, 4½, and 5 years). Eye gaze measures demonstrated that preschoolers were sensitive to communicative ambiguity, even when the situation was unambiguous from their perspective. Preschoolers' explicit evaluations of ambiguity were characterized by an initial appreciation of message clarity followed by an appreciation of message ambiguity. Children's inhibitory control skills at 4 years old related to their explicit detection of ambiguity at later ages. Results are discussed in terms of the developmental progression of preschoolers' awareness of communicative ambiguity.

The Effect of Warning Design and Personalization on User Compliance in Computer Security Dialogs

To combat the rise in internet-based crime, computer security warnings must be optimized to improve user compliance. Past research has shown various methods for improving warning efficiency but little research has examined the effectiveness of these methods on computer-based warnings. At present, a subset of the data from a proposed factorial design has been collected from seventy participants who encountered one of two computerized warnings: a control warning similar to these that are currently in use or an experimental warning that contained a number of physical and content improvements. The techniques used to improve the design of the experimental warning included color, borders, symbols, improved message clarity, the addition of a warning source and warning personalization. Compliance rates and reaction time responses were collected for each of the two warnings. Preliminary results indicated that the warning improvement increased compliance, though not at a statistically significant level. Potential directions for computer security software design, user training, and future research are discussed.

Embedding relationship cues in written communication

PurposeBuilding and maintaining strong customer relationships has been suggested as a means for gaining a competitive advantage. Despite this, few studies have examined the link between written communication and relationship perceptions. Yet understanding the establishment of this link is a necessary precursor for the development of concrete relationship management strategies. This paper aims to test the effectiveness of well‐known and cited written communication elements in enhancing relationship perceptions. The paper specifically seeks to identify which elements of written communication are relationally conducive by examining the impact of these elements on customers' perceptions of the relationship they have with their service provider.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reports the results of an empirical survey of 422 distance education customers in which customers were asked to assess relationally conducive written communication elements and the importance of these elements on relationship development.FindingsIt was found that four components of written communication – message clarity, aesthetics, accuracy and physical features – were perceived by customers as relational cues that influence their relationship with the service organisation.Originality/valueThese findings are of value to service managers developing written communication that is conducive to relationship development. The contribution of the paper is that it empirically establishes a link between written communication and service relationships; an untested link that has been presumed in the literature. This basic empirical foundation is a necessary first step in the development of this research area.

AIDS Communication Campaigns in Uganda: Organizational Factors and Campaign Planning as Predictors of Successful Campaign Execution

About 60% of all the HIV/AIDS cases are found in sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS, 2007). While a few countries in the region have shown a decline in prevalence, most countries in southern Africa have made little progress in their fight against AIDS. The goal of this study was to provide empirical support to confirm and extend an earlier model of the effect of organizational factors and campaign planning on campaign execution to help answer the question of what makes for a successful communication campaign to change AIDS-related behavior. A survey of the top leaders of 120 Ugandan organizations delivering AIDS communication campaigns supports a model that illustrates the vital role of several features, such as focused campaign goals, the formality of organizational structure, and outreach worker supervision, on effective campaign execution. Surprisingly, financial resources are negatively related to goal extensiveness and message clarity and may be a distraction during campaign execution.

Interviews with people with aphasia: Environmental factors that influence their community participation

Background: Speech‐language pathologists have been encouraged to create communication‐friendly environments to enable the everyday participation of their clients with aphasia. However, we still do not know the scope of the negative environmental factors (barriers) and positive environmental factors (facilitators) that need to be addressed in order to create these types of environments. The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of the research participants and RSL Care. This study was also proudly supported by the Queensland Government's Growing the Smart State PhD Funding Program and may be used to assist public policy development. The State of Queensland accepts no responsibility for decisions or actions resulting from any information supplied. The views and information contained in the research do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Queensland Government and carry no endorsement by the Queensland Government. Aims: This investigation explores the environmental factors that hinder or support the community participation of adults with aphasia. Specifically, the in‐depth interview study asked: (a) What environmental factors are perceived by people with aphasia to hinder their community participation? (b) What environmental factors are perceived by people with aphasia to support their community participation? (c) What themes underlie the environmental factors that are perceived to hinder or support the community participation of adults with aphasia? A companion study (Howe, Worrall, & Hickson, in press) reports the findings of an observational investigation that addressed similar research questions. Methods and Procedures: The study used the research strategy of qualitative description. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were conducted with 25 adults with aphasia. All participants had aphasia caused by a stroke, lived in the community, and were at least 6 months post stroke. Informants were 34 to 85 years old with varied aphasia severity as measured by the Western Aphasia Battery. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. Outcomes and Results: The study identified 156 barriers and 206 facilitators that were grouped into six types of environmental factors (i.e., Barriers Related to other People, Physical Barriers, Societal Barriers, Facilitators Related to Other People, Physical Facilitators, and Societal Facilitators). In addition, the research revealed seven themes: (a) Awareness of Aphasia; (b) Opportunity for Participation; (c) Familiarity; (d) Availability of Extra Support for Communication; (e) Communication Complexity; (f) Message Clarity; (g) Time Available for Communication. Conclusions: This study has identified a wide range of barriers and facilitators and several themes that speech pathologists and policy makers need to consider in order to make community environments more accessible for people with aphasia.

Construction of Graphic Symbol Utterances by Children, Teenagers, and Adults: The Effect of Structure and Task Demands

This study investigated the impact of syntactic complexity and task demands on construction of utterances using picture communication symbols by participants from 3 age groups with no communication disorders. Participants were 30 children (7;0 [years;months] to 8;11), 30 teenagers (12;0 to 13;11), and 30 adults (18 years and above). All participants constructed graphic symbol utterances to describe photographs presented with spoken French stimuli. Stimuli included simple and complex (object relative and subject relative) utterances describing the photographs, which were presented either 1 at a time (neutral condition) or in an array of 4 (contrast condition). Simple utterances lead to more uniform response patterns than complex utterances. Among complex utterances, subject relative sentences appeared more difficult to convey. Increasing the need for message clarity (i.e., contrast condition) elicited changes in the production of graphic symbol sequences for complex propositions. The effects of syntactic complexity and task demands were more pronounced for children. Graphic symbol utterance construction appears to involve more than simply transferring spoken language skills. One possible explanation is that this type of task requires higher levels of metalinguistic ability. Clinical implications and directions for further research are discussed.

Marketing communication strategies in support of product launch: An empirical study of Taiwanese high-tech firms

To understand the mechanisms that underlie marketing communication support for product launches, the authors conduct an empirical study and propose a conceptual framework that depicts the relationships between informational/transformational or elaborational/relational messages and their effectiveness. The hypothesized message–communication and message–sales effect links are moderated by three communication process characteristics: message clarity, message uniformity, and integration of the communication. On the basis of data collected from an industrial survey of 101 high-tech firms in Taiwan, the authors find that informational and relational messages offer greater support for new products. Whereas message clarity and integration of communication expectedly demonstrate positive moderating effects on message–performance links, message uniformity only affects messages–sales effect relationships. The authors explore research insights and discuss implications for both academia and practitioners from the perspectives of new product management and integrated marketing communications.

Misunderstanding of prescription drug warning labels among patients with low literacy

The common causes for misunderstanding prescription drug warning labels (PWLs) among adults with low literacy were studied. A total of 74 patients reading at or below the sixth-grade level and receiving care at the primary care clinic at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport were recruited to participate in structured interviews. Patients were asked to interpret and comment on eight commonly used warning labels found on prescription medications. Correct interpretation was determined by expert panel review of patients' verbatim responses. Qualitative methods were employed to code responses and generate themes regarding the misunderstanding of these PWLs. Among this sample of patients with low literacy skills, rates of correct interpretation for the eight warning labels ranged from 0% to 78.7%. With the exception of the most basic label, less than half of all patients were able to provide adequate interpretations of the warning label messages. Five themes were derived to describe the common causes for misunderstanding the labels: single-step versus multiple-step instructions, reading difficulty of text, use of icons, use of color, and message clarity. Labels were at greater risk for being misunderstood if they included multiple instructions, had a greater reading difficulty, included unfamiliar terms, or used confusing icons that were discordant with text messages. Participants also frequently imposed an incorrect meaning on label colors, which led to further confusion. Patients with low literacy skills demonstrated a lower rate of correct interpretation of the eight most commonly used PWLs than did those with higher literacy skills. Multiple-step instructions, reading difficulty of text, the use of icons, the use of color, and message clarity were the common causes of label misinterpretation.

Comparing Adolescent Reactions to National Tobacco Countermarketing Advertisements Using Web TV

This study examined youth reactions to four tobacco countermarketing messages from the national truth® and “Think. Don't Smoke” tobacco countermarketing campaigns through Web TV using a forced exposure approach. More than 900 respondents completed a baseline survey that established their smoking intentions and behaviors; viewed a series of randomly ordered tobacco countermarketing advertisements; and, after each ad, answered six items gauging individual ad reactions. Respondents across smoking risk groups had more favorable reactions to two ads produced for Legacy's truth® campaign (“Body Bags” and “Daily Dose”) compared with all other messages tested. Philip Morris' “My Reasons” received favorable evaluations among teens at lowest risk for future smoking, but consistent with our predictions derived from the theory of psychological reactance (Brehm, 1966), older teens at elevated risk of future smoking responded much less favorably. Teens without prior exposure to another truth® ad using the counter-industry message (“Shredder”) rated this ad less favorably. Results underscore the importance of both prior exposure and message features and suggest the presence of other factors associated with ad effectiveness, including message clarity and stylistic presentation.

Anti-smoking advertising campaigns targeting youth: case studies from USA and Canada

OBJECTIVETo assist in planning anti-smoking advertising that targets youth. Using five US state campaigns, one US research study, and a Canadian initiative as exemplars, an attempt is made to explain...

A Framework for Understanding Equivocation

Information processing theory was used to develop a general model of equivocation that takes into account the various forms of linguistic specificity beyond responsiveness to questions, as well as receivers' comprehensive processing of message content. The model posits causal effects of language specificity and message length on receivers' perceptions of linguistic specificity and their assessments of message clarity, position advocated, and personalization. The results of meta-analyses and causal models of conversation ratings show that message length decreased perceived linguistic specificity but increased message clarity and personalization, perceived specificity increased clarity and identification of position advocated, and clarity increased identification of position advocated and personalization. The immediacy ofthe channel ofpresentation enhanced the role of specificity in the model and inhibited the role of clarity in the model. The practical implications of these findings for the use of equivocation are discussed.

Evacuation behaviour: why do some evacuate, while others do not? A case study of the Ephrata, Pennsylvania (USA) evacuation

Evacuation is commonly used to mitigate the ill effects of a variety of disaster agents. It is important that authorities gain an accurate understanding of the circumstances under which citizens will evacuate. Tests the efficacy of evacuation message clarity and frequency, authority type, the accuracy of past warnings, and the impact of the presence of children in the home as viable variables in effecting an evacuation response. Finds the evacuation response was more likely to occur if the potential victim was ordered to do so, if the potential victim was contacted frequently (more than once) by the proper authority (as perceived by the potential victim), if past warnings were perceived as being accurate, and dependent children were in the home. Interviews respondents from 83 households in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, USA, after a major fire emergency threatened residents of three neighbourhoods contiguous to the site.