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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Public Relations and Advertising

SelectedWorks

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Monsters, Ghosts And Coasters; Noise, Toys, And Sea Creatures: Comparing Six Major Theme Park Halloween-Themed Events, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr Apr 2015

Monsters, Ghosts And Coasters; Noise, Toys, And Sea Creatures: Comparing Six Major Theme Park Halloween-Themed Events, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

In times past, Halloween was recognized as a fairly innocent children’s holiday involving trick-or-treating in suburban neighborhoods. Today, Halloween is more commonly recognized as an opportunity for teenagers and adults to attend parties, dress in provocative costumes, and participate in increasingly terrifying scare zones at Halloween-themed events. This case study research analyzes social media communications of six major themed amusement parks in regard to Halloween. Three research questions are addressed and answered. The study identifies key similarities and differences between the parks’ communication outreach. Findings support earlier research suggesting Halloween-themed events contribute to negative social and cultural outcomes. The work …

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Assessing Learning And Performance In The Student-Run Communications Agency, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr Jan 2014

Assessing Learning And Performance In The Student-Run Communications Agency, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

This presentation is a case study illustrating methods and instruments used successfully to determine learning in a student-run agency where students are engaged with real-world clients and projects. Through enrollment in a capstone course in campaign management, Communications undergraduates become part of a student-run advertising and public relations agency. Seven formative and summative evaluations by students, graduate teaching assistants, instructors, and clients are used to assess students’ individual and collective concept knowledge and demonstration of specific skills. Although the assessment effort presented here is specifically tailored for the student-run agency, it could be adapted to work well in a variety …

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Narratives Of Job Satisfaction Offered By The ‘100 Best Companies To Work For In America’, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr Apr 2013

Narratives Of Job Satisfaction Offered By The ‘100 Best Companies To Work For In America’, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

This research analyzes narratives of employee job satisfaction offered by the 2012 CNN Money/ Fortune Magazine listing of “100 Best Companies to Work for in America.” A random sampling of 52 of the corporate websites was subject to content analysis. Among websites viewed, slightly more than half offered text- or video-based narratives of employees discussing their satisfaction with work. Most present a personal, emotional assessment of the value of work. Most rewards were identified as intrinsic (responsibility, or challenge) rather than extrinsic (salary, or benefits). College undergraduates preparing to enter the job market analyzed the narratives and offered feedback about …

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Fostering Development Of Mentoring And Reverse Mentoring Skills Among Public Relations Undergraduates, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr, Betsy A. Hays M.A., Apr, Julie Henderson Ph.D., Apr, Fellow Prsa Oct 2012

Fostering Development Of Mentoring And Reverse Mentoring Skills Among Public Relations Undergraduates, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr, Betsy A. Hays M.A., Apr, Julie Henderson Ph.D., Apr, Fellow Prsa

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

Mentoring and reverse mentoring have gotten a lot of attention in the academic and professional literature in other disciplines (accounting, management, nursing, the sciences, etc.). But these concepts haven’t been addressed much in public relations. We believe that if these practices were more fully integrated into the undergraduate curriculum, our students would be more prepared to participate in mentoring in the professional environment, as well as launch careers as independent PR practitioners. The purpose of our panel discussion is to briefly share our experiences in regard to mentoring, reverse mentoring, and entrepreneurship. We’ll talk about what our research and our …

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Developing Students’ Research Skills In The Undergraduate Public Relations Writing Course: A Framework For ‘Real World’ Success., Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr Oct 2012

Developing Students’ Research Skills In The Undergraduate Public Relations Writing Course: A Framework For ‘Real World’ Success., Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

Those of us who teach in higher education are in a time of continually diminishing resources. Our budgets have been cut, but our class sizes and teaching loads continue to increase. There’s an unceasing drumbeat from the profession to better prepare our students with social media skills demanded in the workplace (Cahill, 2009). In the education of public relations undergraduates in particular, there seems to never be enough time or resources for faculty to teach students all the new skills needed – let alone the basics. Outside of class, faculty struggle to find time for research. Our long-delayed projects sit …

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Strategizing And Executing The Town Hall Meeting During A Time Of Crisis., Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr Jan 2012

Strategizing And Executing The Town Hall Meeting During A Time Of Crisis., Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

No abstract provided.

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Training Future Pr Practitioners And Serving The Community Through A "Learn By Doing" Undergraduate University Curriculum, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr Jan 2008

Training Future Pr Practitioners And Serving The Community Through A "Learn By Doing" Undergraduate University Curriculum, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

The Journalism Department at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) has created a public relations (PR) curriculum that adequately balances students' preparation in conceptual knowledge and practical skills by introducing “hands on” public relations work. At Cal Poly, students gain valuable expertise from the beginning of their academic experience by providing PR work for community clients. Moreover, dozens of nonprofit organizations in Cal Poly's community have been helped by getting PR support of the highest quality—support that they need but cannot afford to pay for. Details are provided of Cal Poly's PR curriculum and structure for seven of its courses.

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Journalism/ Mass Communication Program World Wide Web Sites: Content, Functionality And Promotional Value, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr Jan 1999

Journalism/ Mass Communication Program World Wide Web Sites: Content, Functionality And Promotional Value, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

Despite the popularity of promotionally-oriented Web sites within journalism/ mass communication programs in higher education, there has been little examination of sites and their contents. Almost no research has focused on visual, informational, and operational enhancements, or how Web sites of different higher education programs in the discipline differ from each other. This research addresses some of the unanswered questions about how journalism/ mass communication Web sites use enhancements to communicate with online users.

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