Dawn R. Gilpin, Edward T. Palazzolo and Nicholas Brody
Use of digital media channels is growing in public communication. Given the importance of public trust in government figures and agencies, combined with the risk and fear of…
Abstract
Purpose
Use of digital media channels is growing in public communication. Given the importance of public trust in government figures and agencies, combined with the risk and fear of misrepresentation inherent in online interaction, it is important to develop theoretical frameworks for investigating the ways in which authenticity is constructed in online public affairs communication. The purpose of this paper is to produce a preliminary model of authenticity in online communication, with particular emphasis on public institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper first develops a theoretical model of authenticity from existing literature in various disciplines. It then uses that model to explore a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the comments on the US State Department blog, DipNote, from its inception to the end of the Bush Administration.
Findings
Despite limited interactions between DipNote authors and commenters, the types and quantity of responses to posts indicate a desire by some readers to discuss the topics raised in the blog space. These responses also suggest that at least some commenters find that the blog meets their criteria for authenticity to the extent necessary to engage in community‐type interaction within its virtual boundaries. A functional‐structural analysis of the blog responses supports the essential components of the theoretical model proposed, which suggests that DipNote presents a mixed form of authenticity.
Originality/value
Authenticity is particularly important in the public sphere, and public institutions are increasingly engaging with social media as a means of connecting with constituencies. This paper proposes a starting‐point for theory development regarding this significant emerging area of communication.
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Karen McBride, Jill Frances Atkins and Barry Colin Atkins
This paper explores the way in which industrial pollution has been expressed in the narrative accounts of nature, landscape and industry by William Gilpin in his 18th-century…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the way in which industrial pollution has been expressed in the narrative accounts of nature, landscape and industry by William Gilpin in his 18th-century picturesque travel writings. A positive description of pollution is generally outdated and unacceptable in the current society. The authors contrast his “picturesque” view with the contemporary perception of industrial pollution, reflect on these early accounts of industrial impacts as representing the roots of impression management and use the analysis to inform current accounting.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses an interpretive content analysis of the text to draw out themes and features of impression management. Goffman's impression management is the theoretical lens through which Gilpin's travel accounts are interpreted, considering this microhistory through a thematic research approach. The picturesque accounts are explored with reference to the context of impression management.
Findings
Gilpin's travel writings and the “Picturesque” aesthetic movement, it appears, constructed a social reality around negative industrial externalities such as air pollution and indeed around humans' impact on nature, through a lens which described pollution as adding aesthetically to the natural landscape. The lens through which the picturesque tourist viewed and expressed negative externalities involved quite literally the tourists' tricks of the trade, Claude glass, called also Gray's glass, a tinted lens to frame the view.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the wealth of literature in accounting and business pertaining to the ways in which companies socially construct reality through their accounts and links closely to the impression management literature in accounting. There is also a body of literature relating to the use of images and photographs in published corporate reports, which again is linked to impression management as well as to a growing literature exploring the potential for the aesthetic influence in accounting and corporate communication. Further, this paper contributes to the growing body of research into the historical roots of environmental reporting.
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The contemporary zombie genre is known for exploring what the end will look like, with its widespread infection, chaos and violence – all images that resonate in a post-9/11…
Abstract
The contemporary zombie genre is known for exploring what the end will look like, with its widespread infection, chaos and violence – all images that resonate in a post-9/11 America. These zombie narratives also speak to a present-day America with their emphasis on diminishing individuality and agency. Unlike early Haitian incarnations of the zombie figure, the modern zombie terrifies because no singular agent possesses the victim’s mind. In contrast, the light-hearted CW television show, iZombie (2015–) rethinks the zombie paradigm. Not only does it envision how zombies would manifest in everyday life, without the requisite apocalypse, but it also subverts the antiquated gender politics common to the genre by providing viewers with a female zombie protagonist, Olivia Moore (Rose McIver) who is not only highly functional, but also female and with plenty of agency. Moore, through whose eyes the show is told, absorbs personality traits and memories belonging to the brains she eats, from frat boy to alcoholic, stripper to housewife. This device creates such a cornucopia of roles for McIver to explore that it brings to mind the work of American photographer Cindy Sherman, providing a rare multi-dimensional woman on TV. iZombie also takes the contemporary zombie text’s reliance on the trop of infection one step further. This chapter not only examines iZombie’s unusual female point of view, but also its portrayal of ‘zombie-ness’ as a chronic contagious illness with many similarities to HIV.
Charis Vlados and Dimos Chatzinikolaou
This study aims to analyze the emergence of a new structural configuration of globalization, with the 2008 global financial crisis serving as the first symptom of this change. By…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the emergence of a new structural configuration of globalization, with the 2008 global financial crisis serving as the first symptom of this change. By introducing the “Evolutionary Structural Triptych” (EST), this research seeks to understand the basic components of the new evolutionary trajectory of global capitalism post-2008. The study places emphasis on its interdependent and coevolving economic, political and technological dynamic facets.
Design/methodology/approach
This research introduces the EST framework, critically contrasting it with conventional understandings in international political economy (IPE) to provide a comprehensive and structured analysis of global developments after 2008. It traces the phases of global capitalism since Second World War, examines the central dynamic dimensions during each evolutionary phase, identifies the basic patterns and delves into the foundational elements of the emerging era of globalization.
Findings
The analysis reveals three key findings. First, the emerging restructured globalization indicates a need for a new balance in the contemporary world system; however, this balance cannot be achieved within the architecture of the old system. Second, the new era of globalization necessitates a re-equilibrated approach across different dimensions of geopolitical stability, economic development and innovation. This approach should emphasize sustainability, adaptability, resilience and inclusivity and lean toward responsible, open and organic innovation models for a revamped global structure. Third, while many current IPE theories tend to compartmentalize aspects of the new globalization, the EST advocates for a holistic perspective that integrates politics, economics and technology within the framework of global trends. This perspective bridges existing gaps and offers actionable insights for a dynamic and inclusive global future.
Originality/value
The paper presents the EST as a novel analytical instrument in the realm of the modern IPE. This tool uniquely places technology and innovation at the forefront, parallel to economic and political spheres, to comprehend the progression of globalization. In doing so, it highlights the intertwined relationship of these structural dimensions in shaping the future of the subject of the IPE.
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Carol Hammond and Robert Grosse
Globalization is often described as one of the most significant trends of our time, with far‐reaching consequences for mankind. This is an introduction to the topic and includes…
Abstract
Globalization is often described as one of the most significant trends of our time, with far‐reaching consequences for mankind. This is an introduction to the topic and includes an essay and a selected, annotated bibliography. In the essay, the author provides a definition of globalization as an economic trend with social, political, environmental and cultural consequences. Many view it as a clear “good or bad” and this introduction explains why it is controversial, so much so that it has inspired both strong supporters and passionate foes. The role of multinational corporations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization in globalization is discussed. An annotated bibliography of 30 current books, almost all published in 2000 or more recently, representing different perspectives and issues related to globalization, is provided.
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SO much controversy has raged around the subject of newsrooms in the past two years, that librarians are, as a rule, utterly tired of it, and the appearance of still another…
Abstract
SO much controversy has raged around the subject of newsrooms in the past two years, that librarians are, as a rule, utterly tired of it, and the appearance of still another article upon the subject is not calculated to tone down the general spirit of vexation. It requires no little courage to appear in the arena in this year of Grace, openly championing those departments of our institutions which were originally intended to convey the news of the day in the broadest manner.
This essay is a philosophical exploration of the concept of the interesting. It draws a line from philosophical aesthetics to the philosophy of pedagogy and argues that an…
Abstract
This essay is a philosophical exploration of the concept of the interesting. It draws a line from philosophical aesthetics to the philosophy of pedagogy and argues that an awareness of the nature of the interesting – an awareness of what makes something interesting, aesthetically – can help improve the pedagogical impact of academic lectures. Specifically, the essay argues that something that strikes us as interesting is also something that engages us. Hence, that making lectures interesting will lead to student engagement and to an enhanced learning experience.
With regard to rhetorical composition, the present essay attempts to enact the aesthetical principles that it discusses. Thus, it will not abide by the standard rhetorical academic conventions. (It attempts to be interesting, after all.)