BA (Hons) Public Relations and Media
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/7249
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Item A comparative analysis of the framing devices used by an online pro-same sex marriage publication (The San Francisco Chronicle), and by Democratic Politician Hillary Clinton when framing their views on the same-sex marriage debate.(Queen Margaret University, 2016)Introduction (part): Issues directly impacting lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens of the United States of America have gained serious media and political attention for a number of years (Warren & Bloch 2014). It has gained traction in recent years due to LGBT rights becoming more salient within American society, with 51% of people supporting same-sex marriage in a poll conducted in 2013, compared with just 32% in 2003 (Pew Research Center 2013). The issue of same-sex marriage has been at the forefront recently due to it's legalization after the 5-4 ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case on June 26th 2015, which ruled that same-sex couples now have the Constitutional right to marry across the 51 United States of America. Same-sex marriage as a social movement is one of the fastest growing social movements in recent years, and many have stated that legalization of same-sex marriage is of cultural significance and representative of old barriers of sexuality, class and race are being broken down indicating that there is a much bigger appreciation for diversity in today's society (Holtzhausen 2012, p. 2). The issue of same-sex marriage in the United States, is one that has divided a nation, with some championing the legalization and others strongly opposing, and previous laws of the issue being left at state level, creating a confusing mix in which some states were issuing marriage licenses, and other's were not. This confusing mix forced the issue to go before a national court, with it ultimately being legalized.Item A thematic analysis of O2's crisis response strategy on Twitter(Queen Margaret University, 2016)Introduction (part): Over the past two decades, the landscape of mass communication has progressively been altered with the emergence of new media technologies. These technological developments and their effect on mass communication have arguably changed the roles and practices of public relations (PR). It is undeniable that with the emergence of digital technologies such as social media, communication between organisations and their publics has dramatically changed. It has therefore become increasingly evident to organisations and PR practitioners that social media has become a pivotal tool in communicating with stakeholders and publics.Item An Investigation Into The Ethicality Of Persuasive Messages Used In Sexual And Mental Health Campaigns, Using The TARES Framework(Queen Margaret University, 2015)Item An investigation into the representation of females as perpetrators of violent crime in British newspapers.(Queen Margaret University, 2016)Introduction (part): Newspapers not only deliver the news, but also guide the ideological stance of the reader. According to Reah (1998) newspapers act to persuade its target audience to adopt the ways of thinking of its author and reinforce the sense of ourselves as 'normal' imembers of society, by presenting the information in a way that leads the readers take a certain ideological position. Crime reporting is so influential as to merit comprehensive research, yet the integration of gender and crime reporting has received relatively little attention (Pollak and Kubrin 2007). Consequently, Reah (1998) argued that because there are different types of newspapers, they address different groups of readers, which is why the divergence of reporting in various types of newspapers were expected, even if the same events were covered. According to Conboy (2006) tabloid reporting focused on sensational stories and popular entertainment using casual, concise and sensationalist tone and language, emotive content, catchy titles, dynamic layouts and were easily consumed. In contrast to this, the broadsheet newspapers were more factual, informing the public, using serious language and tones, as well as formally written articles. This point highlights the value that this study brings by means of comparison, determining if there is a difference between broadsheet and tabloid portrayals, in this case, reporting on female perpetrators of violent crime.Item 'An investigation of how Taylor Swift used social media during the promotion of her album '1989'(Queen Margaret University, 2017)Social media has proven itself as the new main medium for distributing information without the need of gatekeepers or third parties such as journalists, traditional press and TV (Bratu 2016). The channel brought a revolution by providing opportunities for direct communication between individuals, businesses and their stakeholders, but also between public figures and their respective audiences (Bright 2014). Public image and representation were hugely influenced by traditional media in the past and shaped the way people perceived various elements of celebrities' lives, their contribution to the society and dictated their popularity (Harris 1991). Such publicity can be recognised in social media posts (Aula 2010) - only that the same various elements of life are communicated and framed directly by the artists themselves; and that virtually the reach of social media is limitless. As social media has proven to be an excellent PR tool and marketing opportunity (Valentini 2015; Kelleher 2009; Coombs & Holladay 2014), this research aims to explore how the music artist Taylor Swift makes use of her large audience reach on social media during the promotion of the album '1989' to gather an understanding of what communication and PR tactics are implemented within the content she publishes. Taylor Swift is one of the best-selling and most successful music artists on the planet and is known for her continuous and successful use of social media (see Appendix 1), so therefore she will be a very relevant subject of analysis, the conclusions of which will prove beneficiary for public relations practitioners.Item ‘ARE SOCIAL CAPITAL AND CHARISMATIC LEGITIMACY RELEVANT TOPICS FOR PROMOTING FASHION BRAND VALFRÉ ONLINE?- A CASE STUDY ’(Queen Margaret University, 2017)Item ‘Can organizations demonstrate shared values through supporting employee-led Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives’(2018)This research aims to investigate the Corporate Social Responsibility engagement of Deloitte Bulgaria for 2017. In particularly it aims to analyze Corporate Social Responsibility engagement, initiated by employee values, in order to benefit society- “bottom-up” approach. The employee initiated causes were chosen by Deloitte as a CSR agenda to mark its 25th Anniversary in Bulgaria (Deloitte 2017). Deloitte Bulgaria was chosen for this research due to its renowned CSR involvement in Bulgaria. For its 2017 CSR agenda it took an even more interesting turn by funding employee initiated causes which are based on personal connection, please refer to section 8.1 for Appendix A on the 2017 CSR agenda from the Deloitte Bulgaria website. In order to make it happen, an internal competition took place for the determined budget (Deloitte 2018). All of the 250 Deloitte employees in Bulgaria had an equal opportunity to receive funding for their social projects. The entire campaign funded by Deloitte Bulgaria was called “Your initiatives. Our impact” and had chosen 7 out of 13 causes in the contribution of social change in Bulgaria (Deloitte 2018). Deloitte is the brand under which tens of thousands of dedicated professionals in independent firms throughout the world collaborate to provide audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, tax and legal services to select clients. (Deloitte 2017) Each initiative chosen is a philanthropic act for the society employees live in. The causes aim to develop the educational level and sport opportunities for children deprived of parental care; the caring of homeless animals; health and well being in the office environment of Deloitte employees; and support for cancer patients (Deloitte 2018). Using qualitative methods, data will be collected by sending out questionnaires by email to the seven main initiators of the causes and their stance on CSR involvement. The dissertation will first conduct a Literature Review which will use relevant scholars to support and further look into CSR engagement and employee values. The second chapter will include the necessary Methodology for gathering the research using a questionnaire, please refer to section 8.2 for Appendix B on questionnaire details, in order to gather data from participants. The third chapter aims to present and analyze the results gathered from the participants. Limitations and further recommendations for this study will be discussed in chapter number five. This research aims to portray the benefits of CSR engagement. Qualitative method will be used to gather data from the employees who directly initiate causes for CSR agenda of the company they work in. Values of the seven employees will be analyzed alongside the values of Deloitte Bulgaria, and the benefits they bring to the society they live in. Investigating “bottom-up” CSR involvement of employees and the shared values among participants and the company they work in would be beneficial to readers.Item Dangerously Beautiful: Is there a relationship between the attractiveness of the perpetrator of a homicide and the depth of coverage within Daily Mail articles?(Queen Margaret University, 2016)Introduction (part): Journalists are encouraged to adhere to professional and moral codes of conduct when reporting and to write articles with truth, impartiality and balance (Barnett, 2006). However, not all news cases are reported and the reasons behind what makes events into news stories is something that is still not entirely clear and this is particularly prevalent in homicide cases (Taylor & Soreson, 2002). In 2013/4, there were 594 confirmed cases of homicide in the United Kingdom (Office for National Statistics, 2016). It is unclear how many of these cases made it into national news but it is evident that not all will have (Gruenewald et al., 2009). Many scholars have attempted to analyze the victim profile in order to determine whether that effects the relationship between crime news selection and newspaper coverage (Entman & Rojecki, 2001, Lundman, 2003, Mawby & Brown, 1984 & Sorenson et. Al, 1998) but there has been no research into the offender's attributes. By researching the offender, it can be discovered whether there is a link between them and the coverage they receive, in the same way there appears to be for the victim of a homicide.Item Did 18-25 year olds engage with Twitter during the Scottish Referendum in 2014?(Queen Margaret University, 2015)Item “DOES WHO YOU KNOW REALLY MATTER? THE PERCEPTIONS OF SCOTTISH CHILDREN’S RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS ON SOCIAL CAPITAL IN CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE”(2020)Responding to legislative and social developments, this paper investigates the perceptions of Scottish children’s rights organisations (SCRO) towards the effects of social capital in children and young people (CYP) on their inclusion in youth public participation. Findings show SCRO perceived professional networks as centrally important to CYP’s inclusion, however, viewed CYP’s own social capital as a weaker influence of less importance to their inclusion. Nuances to these perceptions included a correlation with the youth public participation format SCRO conduct. Supporting SCRO’s strong desire to be inclusive, opportunities for further investigation are identified.Item Exploring participation in the Facebook French Flag Filter Campaign(Queen Margaret University, 2017)Symbolic campaigns provide organisations and other parties with the opportunity to easily attract supporters, who use platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. The recent study is focused on exploring participation in the French Flag Facebook Filter (FFFF) campaign and the extent to which social media can be seen as a useful tool for activism. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted to investigate a number of issues. Some of the main themes which emerged from the findings of the research are the notion of raising awareness and creating visibility. The effectiveness of the FFFF campaign was seen as something which can create unification and strengthen a sense of social support for all Europeans. The study also discovered potential links between online-based campaigns and other forms of political participation. On the other hand, there were opposing views that the campaign was actually an example of slacktivism, making it incapable of fostering further actions. A third probability which emerged from the interviews was that there is no real relation between online based campaigns and other forms of political participation.Item Framing as an essential function of creating propaganda: Exploring the link between frames and propagandizing(2021)Sharing the belief with various scholars (Entman 1993, Scheufele 1999, Slothuus and de Vreese 2010) that further research in the field of framing is required, the study’s intention is to explore framing from various angles (psychological, cognitive, and as a media effects theory) in the context of propaganda, in order to bring new insight in the understanding of framing and propaganda theories, contribute to the existing scholarly discussion, and lead to a type of theory development by introducing new ideas and models. To achieve that, three main “pillars” that need to be researched and covered to establish the link between the two theories have been identified, leading to said synthesis and development. The first concerns the ways in which the two theories are linked and their potential overlap. The second focuses on the extent of importance of frames in propaganda. The third acts as the extension of the previous two and concerns the mechanics of influence as the core effect of framing and the fundamental driver of propaganda. By finding answers to these concerns, this study has attempted to acquire a deeper understanding of the two theories either separately or more importantly, as a broader unified concept.Item In what ways can legitimacy be operationalised as a useful construct for determining how charities dealing with stigmatised issues attract donations? A case study of Social Bite and Bethany Christian Trust(2018)In recent years, the social issue of homelessness has been brought significantly into the limelight in the UK, specifically Edinburgh, because of charities such as Social Bite, Bethany Christian Trust, Cyrenians and Fresh Start. 14, 607 homeless applications were made to the Scottish Government in a period of 6 months from April- September 2017, which is an increase of 6 percentage points from the year before (Scottish Government 2018). Furthermore, Fitzpatrick et al (2015) suggest that roughly 660 people sleep rough on the streets in Scotland every night, meaning that help from homeless Charities is much more necessary than ever before (Scottish Government 2018). The issue of homelessness has gained a lot of negative press in the past with both The Scotsman and the Edinburgh Evening News papers declaring that the homeless were ‘The Real Shame on Scotland’s Streets’ (Small 1997). However, it is not clear how charities dealing with such issues that have gained negativity in the past can now show grounds for legitimacy. For this reason, it is necessary to look at the term legitimacy in detail and to figure out the ways in which a charity dealing with the above issue of homelessness may be seen as legitimate and if this legitimacy can affect donations. Conducting a case study, comparing both Social Bite and Bethany Christian Trust in terms of legitimacy is necessary as they both deal with the same issue- homelessness. However, there is a large gap in the volume of donations that they receive. Bethany Christian Trust received just over £1million in 2017 (Bethany Christian Trust Annual Report 2017), whereas Social Bite raised over £4million from their ‘Sleep in the Park’ event in November 2017 alone (Pagan 2017). Therefore, this dissertation is about testing a model based on legitimacy to see if it is a useful way for charities dealing with stigmatised issues- such as homelessness- to attract more funding.