National Audience Research Articles

A diversionary benevolent media strategy: Lobbying Saudi Arabia's humanitarian aid in Arabic and English

AbstractHumanitarian aid is often accompanied by broad media coverage. In academic research, there is a dominant bias toward Western studies on the topic. Following studies that emphasize the negative role of autocratic regimes using their media to frame threats as an intra‐state diversionary strategy, this study contributes to our understating of how autocratic regimes use the media and illuminates how they employ a diversionary benevolent strategy in the media through framing humanitarian activities. We illustrate this theory by using the case of media strategy models used by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) that frame its provision of humanitarian aid to global and national audiences. The empirical approach is based on an analysis of 263 articles from four leading Saudi newspapers published online in English and Arabic. The result indicates that the KSA encourages two different diversionary benevolent strategies. The first strategy is aimed at increasing the KSAs international community prestige, focusing on mediatization that depicts its alliance with global efforts while employing “threat” strategy towards its adversaries. The second strategy is aimed mainly at Saudi nationals with the purpose of increasing their support of the royal family.

FP7.19 - PIXEL: Patient Information and eXplanation following Emergency Laparotomy

Abstract Aims 80% of patients that survive an emergency laparotomy (EmLap) report that they would have preferred more information on “what to expect” during their recovery; information is often delivered on a variable adhoc inpatient basis. This work aims to assess the robustness of a multi-disciplinary prepared patient information leaflet (PIL), by use of a patient questionnaire, and the Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) toolkit. Methods A 21-page PIL was prepared by the EmLap MDT at our institute. The PIL’s objective was to outline common issues encountered during recovery, factors that could aid recovery, and signpost relevant resources. POLO enrolled patients (ClinicalTrials.Gov:NCT05281627) were asked their opinion by completion of an 8-point questionnaire at their 12-month follow-up. The PIL was also scored using the EQIP tool by an independent healthcare professional. Results 30 patients took part. 66.6% were female; average age was 63 years. 100% patients felt the PIL was easy to understand; 96.6% felt it covered all appropriate content. When asked about the length of the PIL: 93.3% felt the length of the leaflet was just right; 6.7% felt that the leaflet was too long. The PIL was found to be 93.3% compliant with the EQIP tool. Conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate the robustness of a PIL concerning EmLap recovery, suggesting it can be applied to a national audience. It is accepted that the leaflet is long; future iterations may benefit from being in a different format e.g. visuo-audio.

Genetic Testing in Craniofacial Care: Development of Algorithms for Testing Patients with Orofacial Clefting, Branchial Arch Anomalies, and Craniosynostosis.

To develop consensus-based algorithms for genetic testing in patients with common craniofacial conditions. An online collaborative consisting of online meetings, independent work, and feedback across groups. Setting/Participants: A collaborative of genetics and pediatrics providers from three regional craniofacial centers (four institutions). Collaborative participants agreed upon a shared initial framework, developed algorithms independently, and presented/tested the algorithms with a national audience. Algorithms were modified based on consensus feedback. The collaborative group developed final algorithms for genetic testing in patients with orofacial cleft, branchial arch conditions, and craniosynostosis. Timely and accurate diagnosis of genetic conditions can support medical management recommendations that result in safer surgical interventions. Algorithms can help guide best-practices for testing, particularly in institutions without easy access to genetics providers.

Sometimes there is no easy answer: Health care protection in conflict zones

PLEASE NOTE: Section titles are N/A to article type submitted (Letter to Editor). On a global scale, health care providers and facilities are observed to be increasingly exposed to dangers amidst political instability, siege, war. Public health is indisputably at the forefront of saving lives during military operations. In the current climate of global adversity, public health professionals have the responsibility to be prepared at all times and well-informed when responding to medical conflicts. Complex humanitarian emergencies cause great disruption, disabling, damaging, destroying community well-being. Public health sciences are evidently at the leading edge of health services planning and provision in mass casualty incidents. This article draws attention to the critical and current subject of health care and medical workers under attack in war zones. Criminal violence is against the law and an action that requires punishment. Lawful conduct that is part of a legally legitimate military operation must comply with the fundamental principles that govern armed conflict. It is important not to confuse the two action in terms of clarity and purpose. As for the extremely topical and vital issue, this article calls upon all parties in relevant fields to refresh and update their knowledge of the International Humanitarian Law, the Geneva Conventions and the various additional protocols in relation to current crises. Particular emphasis is placed on alerting national and international audiences at this turning point in history. When health care is faced with war-torn ethical damage, it is incumbent upon every professional to understand the context, to refrain from getting caught up in dilemmas, avoid getting carried away by popular tabloid trends.

A discursive field of contested ethics: Reporting the UK’s blue economy in the making

This paper analyses newspaper coverage of ‘blue economy’ in the UK 2012–2020. It elaborates on Germond-Duret and Germond’s (2022) finding that UK media published a dominant development discourse concerning the UK’s marine space without reflecting on the risks of growth agendas. Articles from UK print media featuring ‘blue economy’ were compiled from LexisNexis then analysed to establish patterns of publishing, the investors, investments and projects reported, the experts cited and their statements on blue economy. Analysis reveals no sustained coverage, little that communicated with a national audience, little investigative reporting, and no predominance of London-based newspapers in news production. Reporting on blue economy was sporadic until a surge in 2020 that coincided with efforts to secure investments through local growth plans. Newspapers registered this buzz of activity, collecting statements from actors who used business ethics to express the legitimacy of their planning to build what they called a ‘blue economy’ even though this looked more like ‘blue growth’. A second group of actors including the Scottish Government announced plans to build a ‘sustainable blue economy’. These actors used the ethics of regional development, achieving net zero and protecting, enhancing or restoring ocean environments. Journalists reported critical views on these plans: inadequate attention to environmental protection, investment in activities seen as environmentally unsustainable or investments with limited regional development. Thus, analysis of statements on ‘blue economy’ reveals a discursive field featuring a confusion of contested ethical claims. This paper identifies the UK’s fragmented newspaper landscape and new architecture of public–private enterprise partnerships as important contexts shaping media engagement with blue economy.

“Comforting the Afflicted”: How a Small Number of Journalists Fought for Japanese Americans During the Internment

Historians have documented that newspaper editorials and radio commentaries played a role in turning public opinion against Japanese Americans and pressured President Franklin D. Roosevelt into interning them during World War II. But what has been overlooked were the efforts of a few reporters who fought to reverse journalistic and public opinion regarding the government-sanctioned, racially-inspired injustice. This study documents the work of the unsung journalists—some who addressed a limited forum and others with a national audience—who sought to end the internments and secure restoration of Japanese Americans’s civil rights. By doing so, these reporters fulfilled one of the press’s most sacred responsibilities to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Although these journalists failed to secure freedom for the internees during the war years—these reporters eventually helped restore the dignity and constitutional rights of Japanese Americans by speaking on their behalf.

The rise and fall of political comedy on late night TV

ABSTRACT The emergence and demise of political comedy – a form of political humor distinct from political satire – on late night television, can be understood as a commercial response to the media landscape of the time. During the “golden era” of broadcast television, three networks dominated the television landscape and crafted their content to appeal to a mass national audience. This meant avoiding overtly political programming and messaging that favored either side of the political spectrum. But by the early 2000s, the widespread penetration of cable and satellite television, and later, the advent of the Internet and television streaming services meant that content providers could no longer hope to appeal to mass audiences. Thus, they began to target their programming toward smaller, more specific audiences. In this environment, political satire could thrive. In addition, the inclinations of late night talk show hosts and particular political circumstances helped push political comedy off the late night airwaves. Political satire now rules the late night television political humor landscape and will likely do so in the future.

Comparative study of phraseological units in teaching Russian as a foreign language

The effectiveness of enriching the vocabulary of students of a national audience depends on the characteristics of existing sources, the specifics of their use, and the focus of vocabulary work. In the process of working on the text, students' vocabulary is replenished with epithets, comparisons, metaphors, and phraseological units. Phraseological units refer to more complex units. Like words, phraseological units perform various functions in the communication process. Economically and effectively familiarize students with the meaning of phraseological units through the use of synonyms, lexical equivalents and free phrases.

Equity and inclusivity in the faculty ranks: Our experience with a clinical track

BackgroundThe evolution of nursing education requires a combination of strong academic faculty and expert clinicians. Different professional growth and development pathways are necessary to build a robust faculty with clinical and research expertise. Some schools have implemented a formal clinical track (CT) to complement the traditional tenure track for the professional advancement of CT. MethodsThe article presents a case example of how one institution maintains and advances a strong CT using the Kotter Change Model and discusses future directions. ResultsThe school's infrastructure for promotion, which follows a similar structure and guidelines as Tenure Track (TT) Promotion and Tenure Guidelines, has led to an increase in the school's scholarly productivity among CT faculty across ranks. Increasing poster and podium presentations as well as publications to a national and international audience results in greater reach and improved reputation for the school, both nationally and internationally. ConclusionsWhile there is still work to be done to advance equity and inclusion for nursing CTs, developing and maintaining a CT with system-level structures holds significant value and provides a clear path to promotion, invests in clinical scholarship, and includes clinical faculty as full citizens in academia.

Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety (PEAS): Reflections on Conference Surveys

Established in 2020, the Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety (PEAS) Working Group was formed by cultural heritage, safety, and health professionals with a shared interest in finding multidisciplinary solutions to “detrimental visitor interactions (DVI),” defined as “any incident where an individual engages with an exhibit and harms themselves, others, or a collection item.” The Working Group is composed of individuals from various private and non-profit organizations that connect to international, national, regional, local, and tribal audiences. In 2021, the Working Group surveyed attendees at four cultural heritage conferences to get a broader perspective on what institutions are already doing at the intersection of access and safety. The following article is a presentation and analysis of the survey results which comprises both quantitative and qualitative data.

“Rouse English Virtue in Each English Heart”: The Role of the Gentleman’s Magazine in the Propaganda War Against the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745–46

ABSTRACT The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745–46 precipitated a full-scale propaganda campaign in the English press to arouse patriotism and rally Great Britain in support of Protestantism, the existing Constitution in Church and State, and the Hanoverian dynasty. The resultant battle for hearts and minds would rely in part on patriotic principle and in part on vicious invective, utilizing all of the traditional propagandistic tools of exaggeration, ridicule, insult, and manipulation of fear and prejudice, in this case by inflaming bigotry against Roman Catholicism, ingrained Francophobia, contempt for “backward” Scottish Highlanders, and abhorrence of royal absolutism. In the ensuing press campaign the Gentleman’s Magazine under the leadership of its editor, Edward Cave, would play a major role of hitherto unrecognized importance, maximizing to full advantage its digest format (tailor-made for offering readers a wide sampling of polemical sources), its large print runs, its tremendous extended readership, and its easy availability to a national audience, as it repurposed itself into a leading organ of anti-Jacobite propaganda.

Public Relations Management After COVID-19 Lockdown: A Case Study of Wuhan, China

The aim of the research study was to understand the effectiveness of the public relations strategies of crisis communication and how impactful they were for saving the image of Wuhan city after the pandemic. Wuhan was hailed as the epicentre of Corona virus infections as the initial infections have spread from this place. Thus, the image of this prominent city was maligned not only towards the local and national audience, but the international audience as well. Thus, the Wuhan government took up most of the necessary public relations strategies to restore the image of the city among the national and international audience. This paper has intrinsically dealt with the opinions from the different sample population on the effectiveness of the crisis communication done by the PR strategists of the Wuhan government. From most of the respondents it has been found out that Wuhan government and its public relations strategies were wholly operated through the digital medium and this has helped in restoring the image of the image to greater and effective extent. Through the disposition of information through different social media networking sites like Facebook and Sina Weibo, the PR strategists were able to provide information on the improvements in the city condition and the reduction of infection in Wuhan along with other positive news articles. However from the respondents it has been also found that, including lesser opinion from the public, decrease in the participation of the common mass in the information dissemination process by the Wuhan government has decreased the effectiveness of the image restoration PR strategy in the Wuhan city. The research study concludes that while the PR crisis communication and its strategies have been helpful towards restoring the image of the city, there are still some loop holes that needs to be fixed.

A dilemma of visibility: discursive opportunities, audiences, and anti-migrant protest strategy

ABSTRACT Why do collective actors sometimes choose not to expand their audiences, despite opportunities to do so? Combining Erving Goffman’s micro-sociological concept of audience segregation with social movement theory’s discussions of discursive opportunity, the article suggests that collective actors face a persistent dilemma between the benefits of growing audience reach and the difficulties of maintaining a coherent and credible front vis-à-vis an increasingly diverse audience. The argument is applied to a qualitative analysis of three different cases of anti-migrant protest from Sweden and from the wider EU. The cases consider how local protest campaigns respond to opportunities to reach national audiences, how the right-wing populist party Sweden Democrats (SD) chooses to engage or not engage with local campaigns, and how the pan-European Generation Identity (GI) decides to temporarily expand its communication toward a transnational audience. The analysis shows how actors’ responses to the dilemma generate very different effects out of similar and supposedly favorable discursive opportunities. The results contribute to the literature on anti-migrant protest specifically, and to the discussion of discursive opportunities generally.

Media influence on mass perception and psychological state of citiz

Nowadays, the rapid development of technology has contributed to the rapid spread of social media among citizens of different countries. This has fundamentally changed the way people interact and communicate with each other, and how they receive information. At the same time, people's trust in and use of different media can affect their emotional and psychological state. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of media on mass perception and the psychological state of citizens. Given the enormous impact that media has on society, it is crucial to understand the psychosocial mechanisms by which symbolic communication affects human thinking, perception, and behavior. The article determines that traditional media (Internet resources, social networks, television, newspapers and magazines, etc.) have become an important channel for receiving information. The results demonstrate the impact of news content on the moods and opinions of the national audience. That is why modern society draws all new trends, fashions and whims from the media. It has been established that the media have a significant impact on the behavior of people in society. In addition to the positive impacts on business, politics and society, there are some negative ones, such as cyberbullying, privacy issues and fake news. Mass media are used for social intervention to disseminate information and change social behavior. This is the prosocial effect of media. There is a clear link between watching violent videos in the media and the upward trend in violence. We observe aggression among friends, relatives and other people makes the viewer more prone to aggressive behavior People who watch a lot of TV tend to overestimate the amount of violence and crime that occurs in the world. Thus, it has been established that the media has a very large impact on changing the current and socio-psychological part of society. This change causes a movement that can be detected and directed in a positive or negative direction.

Popular historical films as collective memory-work in Eastern Europe: from Polish KATYN to Romanian AFERIM! and Hungarian BET ON REVENGE

Abstract Historical film – a film genre supported in the Cold War era – has re-emerged in the 21st century in Eastern European cinemas, its success signalled by popularity, dedicated state financing funds or political support. This article frames the phenomenon within the Assmannian model of three communicative generations, suggested to be interlinked on the level of both the creative staff and the audience of Eastern European historical films. Based on box-office data of the Lumiere Database of the European Audiovisual Observatory, and research referring to further elements of canonization, it is argued that titles such as Polish Katyn (2007), Romanian Aferim! (2015) or Hungarian Bet on Revenge (2016) – the first majority production historical films to achieve significant audience, and, consequently, critical success in their domestic markets in the 21st century – signal a successful collective memory-work process. While in the major Polish market this may be inscribed within the three communicative generations of the victims, the forgetters and the mourners doing memory-work – possibly processing collective traumatization too –, the two small national examples fall outside the validity of the Assmannian model. In order to somewhat refine this apparent opposition between 21st century Eastern European major and small national collective memory-work through historical films, further examples from the Polish, Hungarian and Romanian top lists are examined. Poetic-medial features – the actualization of “trauma narratives” (Alexander 2012) or of postmodern irony, the employment of cinematic and/or televisual visuality – seem to facilitate collective memory-work differently for major and small national domestic audiences, activating or not their belonging to the three communicative generations with respect to the historical events represented in the films.

Epitaphs to Empire: On Abe Kōbō and the (Un)Making of the Repatriation Narrative

This article considers some of the dynamics of movement and non-movement in the context of East Asia through an examination of the repatriation narrative. By “repatriation narrative,” I refer to a postwar Japanese form of testimonial interlocution which features a first-person returnee narrator/author who explicitly or implicitly addresses a national audience that does not share the experience of repatriation; and which temporalizes repatriation as a memory reconstructed in the present, marked on one end by the end of the war and on the other by the returnee’s “homecoming” to Japan. This article considers the discursive limits of the repatriation narrative by reading Abe Kōbō’s 1948 debut work Owarishi michi no shirube ni (The Signpost at the End of the Road) and 1957 novella Kemonotachi wa kokyō o mezasu (The Beasts Head for Home) in relation to Fujiwara Tei’s 1949 paradigmatic repatriation narrative Nagareru hoshi wa nagarete iru (The Shooting Stars are Alive), focusing in particular on the various literary and geopolitical displacements in all three texts. In reading Abe's works against the larger discursive history of the repatriation narrative, I aim to show how both texts evince a preoccupation with narrative form that is itself a critique.

Perceptions, attitudes, awareness and perspectives towards sustainability practices and climate change among nurses: a systematic review protocol

IntroductionClimate change has been described as the most significant threat to humanity and human health to have emerged this century. It is widely accepted that contemporary human activities are the...

The impact of Geospatial Inquiry lessons on student interest in science and technology careers

AbstractAdvances in online geospatial technologies (GST) have expanded access to K‐12 classrooms which has implications for the support teachers require to effectively integrate GSTs to promote learning. Previous studies have shown the impact of GST‐integrated lessons on student engagement, spatial thinking skills, and/or content knowledge; however, most of these studies have been small in scope and scale and frequently focus on the affordances of the technology, without addressing the context of the implementation and student characteristics for whom GST is most impactful. We attempt to address some of these gaps. Our program scaled an effective GST‐focused professional learning and development program to a national audience through a facilitator development model. This paper explores the student characteristics and lesson factors that resulted in student interest in science and technology and careers in those fields. After teaching a Geospatial Inquiry lesson created during a teacher workshop, teachers (n = 82) submitted the lessons and surveys on the implementation of Geospatial Inquiry lessons. The implementation surveys and lessons were scored for alignment to the principles of high‐quality Geospatial Inquiry. Students (n = 1924) completed a post‐lesson retrospective survey and indicated the extent to which their perceptions and attitudes toward science and technology changed because of the lesson. Results indicate that teacher GST performance is associated with increases in student outcomes. Students with previous exposure to science activities were more likely to have increased interest and excitement in science and careers in science but decreased interest in technology careers. Students who had previous exposure to technology activities had increased interest and excitement in technology and careers in technology but decreased interest in science careers. Geospatial Inquiry lessons also had a significant impact on students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. After participating in the lessons, students who identify as female reported higher engagement and interest in science and higher interest in science careers. Students who identified as Black or Hispanic also reported higher interest and excitement in science and technology, and students who identified as Black reported marginally higher interest in science careers.

Going global: The scientometric development path of Russian academic journals in international reference databases

We attempt to answer the question that has persisted since the introduction of partial restrictions on access to international reference databases (IRDs) for Russian researchers: is it still reasonable for national scientific journals to strive to be indexed in these databases or does it make sense for them to tread their development path at the national level? The study tests the hypothesis that indexation of Russian academic journals in the Web of Science and Scopus databases affects their scientometric indicators. Scientometric management and data management approaches constitute the theoretical framework of the paper. The key research method is scientometric analysis of bibliographic data. An extensive list of journals’ scientometric indicators was addressed, including those used when compiling the Science Index ranking until 20232. The research data were retrieved from the scientific electronic library eLibrary and Scopus and the Web of Science databases. The sample of the study is comprised of Russian academic journals indexed in the IRDs and classified in the State Classifier of Scientific and Technical Information (GRNTI) as the socio-humanitarian block. The analysis of the sample indicates that the effect expected from journals’ indexation in the IRDs, which suggests expanding the international pool of authors and a growing global interest, is overestimated, since it is largely ensured by an increase in the national academic audience. We substantiate that, despite the positive correlation between the rise in scientometric indicators and journals’ indexation in the IRDs, the mere fact of entering these databases is not the primary condition for success and the ultimate goal of development. The paper formulates recommendations stating that interaction between journals and the IRDs should be organized in accordance with editors’ goals and plans for the development of periodical

The Role of Narratives for Gaining Domestic Political Legitimacy: China’s Image Management during COVID-19

Crises constitute ideal opportunities for authoritarian leaders to promote certain narratives, shaping reality in their favor and crafting their own preferred storylines about current events. In other words: they serve authoritarian leaders on a silver platter the opportunity to instrumentalize these unforeseen circumstances to gain domestic political legitimacy by promoting strategic narratives. The COVID-19 pandemic was no exception in this regard. Ever since its onset in early 2020, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was among the most active actors worldwide seeking to capitalize on the global crisis for legitimation purposes. Whether applying narratives of governance supremacy, portraying the People’s Republic of China as a “global savior,” or promoting emotionally appealing nationalistic narratives, the regime used the pandemic as a window of opportunity to rebrand its international role and enhance its domestic legitimacy. When observing the CCP’s communication style over the course of 24 pandemic months (2020–2022), however, major shifts become apparent regarding the main narratives crafted in communication with national audiences. Based on this, the paper focuses on the role of such narratives for legitimation claims. Using exemplary media articles collected between the outbreak of the pandemic in China in late 2019 until the harsh Shanghai lockdown in spring 2022, it thus traces the narratives employed by Chinese state elites and explores how they are intertwined with nationalism and broader power claims.