Search results

This work examines the communication interactions of water suppliers and health authorities with the general public regarding microbial source water quality for recreational and drinking water. We compare current approaches to risk communication observable in British Columbia (BC), Canada, with best practices derived from the communications literature, finding significant gaps between theory and practice. By considering public views and government practices together, we identify key disconnects, leading to the conclusion that at present, neither the public's needs nor public health officials' goals are being met. We find: (1) there is a general lack of awareness and poor understanding by the public of microbial threats to water and the associated health implications; (2) the public often does not know where to find water quality information; (3) public information needs are not identified or met; (4) information sharing by authorities is predominantly one-way and reactive (crisis-oriented); and (5) the effectiveness of communications is not evaluated. There is a need for both improved public understanding of water quality-related risks, and new approaches to ensure information related to water quality reaches audiences. Overall, greater attention should be given to planning and goal setting related to microbial water risk communication. ; Arts, Faculty of ; Medicine, Faculty of ; Non UBC ; Geography, Department of ; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of ; Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of ; Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for ; Reviewed ; Faculty ; Graduate

AbstractThe great majority of scientific publications regarding organizational communications give considerable importance to qualitative analyses while paying scant regard to objective and quantitative approaches. Indeed, very few research projects are dedicated to modeling and measuring the variables upon which good quality communications depend. The aim of this paper is to create and test a model which is able to express the quality of organizational communications as measurable, quantitative values. Thus, corporate managements will be able to use the model to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organizational communications generated within their companies (operative use of the model) and create the conditions necessary to achieve good organizational communications right from the planning stage (strategic use of the model). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This deliverable relates to the QUEST Task 4.3 "Recommendations on Policies and Incentives for Quality Science Communication". The task aims to identify recommendations to create the framework conditions for incentivising quality communication of science and R&I to a wide public for scientists and research institutions, as well as across different media and communicators, focusing in particular on the QUEST research strands, i.e. journalism, museums, and social media. Also, actions focusing on public engagement are considered. The recommendations have been developed by combining desk research with the results of research conducted within the QUEST project, based on codesign activities engaging representatives of the target groups that might foster the promotion of policy and incentives at different levels (i.e. journalists, journalists, museums, scientists, communicators, policymakers, media industry, social media platforms, governance of research institutions from the public and the private sector, etc.). In particular, the document investigates: the role of policy, at institutional, national and EU level, to increase quality in science communication, what strategies policy-makers can introduce to limit the growing spread of disinformation among citizens in favour of an increasing distrust towards public bodies, what specific policies and incentives promoted by funding organizations can affect public engagement with science and technology.

The association between daily stress outside and inside of the relationship and marital functioning in the form of communication in conflict situations and marital quality was examined. We hypothesized that relationship stress mediates the association between external stress and marital functioning at the individual level, and that the association between relationship stress and marital quality is partially mediated by communication at the dyadic level. Using the Actor‐Partner Interdependence and Common Fate Model, the results of 345 couples supported our hypotheses and revealed that a person's relationship stress is more strongly related with one's own external stress than with the partner's external stress. The findings indicate that both low relationship stress and a high level of positive communication are important in relationships.

Summary Using data from a sample of RELATE (the RELATionship Evaluation Survey) respondents in stepfamilies (N = 560), this study examined the association between relationship quality (satisfaction and stability) and stepparenting issues. Although stepparenting issues can negatively impact romantic partners in stepfamilies, we suggest that high-quality communication may be a protective factor for individuals and couples stressed by their relationship with a nonbiological child. Findings Our results show that stepparenting issues are negatively associated with satisfaction and stability, but is partially mediated by clear-sending communication. Further, this mediation is stronger for women when considering satisfaction and for men when considering stability. Applications Our results show that stepparenting issues can be a strong sense of discord among romantic couples. Yet, they also indicate that clear-sending communication in relationships can substantially reduce the negative association of these issues with relationship quality. This finding suggests that therapeutic models that focus on emotionally focused couples therapy, structural family therapy, or address issues within the family system may be best for addressing common problems in stepfamilies.

Intergenerational political socialization is alive and well in the polarized American polity. But, by what mechanism do parental views transmit to children? We develop a theory ( dyadic social learning theory) which posits the importance of dyadic familial communication in facilitating attitudinal concordance between parents and children. Using original survey data of 1,048 dyadic pairs of American parents and middle school-aged children, we develop a novel measure of political perception that combines the perceptive accuracy of parents with the perceptive accuracy of their children. This measure of parent-child alignment, which we argue signals quality communication in families, is a powerful determinant of parent-child congruence on political views and emotions, particularly polarization. When a dyadic pair accurately perceives each other politically, the likelihood of congruent views and shared polarization increases. This research has implications for how we understand political transference of polarized views, and for broader theories of how children are socialized into the political world. It also suggests that solutions to polarization will have to address the role of parents in initiating polarization.