scholarly journals Winning Media Strategies in the Time of the Economic Crisis

Author(s):  
Dóra Horváth ◽  
Ariel Zoltán Mitev ◽  
András Bauer

At the time of the economic crisis cutting marketing and media expenses is a common corporate reaction. While this reaction is rather obvious, this may not be the winning option. To find out more about successful media strategies authors conducted a broad, multiple method research, including interviews with industry experts (N=6, leading decision makers), scrutiny of consumer narratives (N=100), content analysis of forum and blog entries (N=7086 comments) and focus group interviews (N=4). Research findings point to realignment in media spending namely better-targeted communications programs and more fragmented media choice, and besides, show the increasing role of audience participation, too. Authors argue that careful managerial efforts for harmonizing consumer problems and advertising content may result in finding the path from problem level to desired level in marketing communication practices even in crisis periods.

Author(s):  
June Won ◽  
J. Lucy Lee

The purpose of this study was to: (a) investigate the actual positions in digital communications; (b) assess the relationship between position-congruity among intended positions (i.e., how a firm desires to be perceived by consumers), actual brand positions, and perceived brand positions (i.e., the perceptions that customers have in their minds); and (c) understand the role of actual positioning (AP) in the positioning process. Multiple methods (one-on-one and focus group interviews, content analysis) were applied to analyze positions. Brand managers, golf consumers, and digital advertisements in Golf Digest magazine were sampled. Content analysis, frequencies and percentages, percentage difference, and regression analysis were performed for all positions for each research brand. The results revealed that: (a) tangibility-based positions (88.5%: great quality, innovation) outnumbered intangibility-based ones (11.5%: tour performance, tradition) in digital AP, (b) there was no positive correlation between the degree of congruence between intended and AP and the degree of congruence between intended and perceived positioning, and (c) the AP mediated between intended and perceived positioning in the brand positioning model. The study provides empirical evidence for the mediating role of AP and suggests modifications to the previous positioning process.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 1534
Author(s):  
Seyit Ateş

Writing, which is defined as a statement of thoughts, emotions, and knowledge in a writing form, is an important skill used by any individual during lifelong. Due to this fact, writing skill have drawn more attention from educators and researchers and a number of empiric and theoretical researches have been conducted on how to acquire and develop this skill. Additionally, how this skill is transferred into classroom setting has an interest. The current research aimed to explore the writing practices in the classroom settings from the pre-service teachers’ perspectives. This research employed qualitative case study method and the data was collected though the structured observations and semi-structured focus group interviews. The fourth-year pre-service teachers studying at elementary school classroom teaching and their experienced teachers in their student teaching experience schools constituted the research sample. The data was analyzed by using descriptive techniques. The overall findings of the research showed that there was a relative lack of the practice used for developing writing skills in the classroom setting. While the grade level changed, the practices for writing di not differentiated. Based on the research findings, the recommendations were given. Extended English abstract is in the end of PDF (TURKISH) file. ÖzetZihindeki duygu, düşünce ve bilgilerin yazılı bir şekilde ifade edilmesi olarak tanımlanan yazma bireyin hayatı boyunca kullanacağı önemli bir beceridir. Bu nedenle yazma her zaman eğitimcilerin ve araştırmacıların ilgi odağı olmuş, bu becerinin kazanımı ve geliştirilmesiyle ilgili kuramsal ve uygulama temelli çok sayıda araştırma yapılmıştır. Bu araştırmaların sınıflara nasıl yansıdığı ise merak konusudur. Bu araştırmada öğretmen adaylarının perspektifinden sınıfta gerçekleştirilen yazma çalışmalarının betimlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma nitel yaklaşımla gerçekleştirilmiş olup veriler yapılandırılmış katılımlı olmayan gözlemler ve katılımcılarla yapılan odak grup görüşmeler yoluyla elde edilmiştir. Sınıf öğretmenliği eğitimi son sınıf öğrencileri ve bu öğrencilerin staja gittikleri okullardaki öğretmenler araştırmanın çalışma grubunu oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada gözlem ve görüşmelerden elde edilen veriler betimsel analizle çözümlenmiştir. Araştırmadan çıkarılan en genel sonuç ilkokul sınıflarında yazmanın geliştirilmesine yönelik uygulamaların yetersiz olduğu yönündedir. Sınıf düzeyinin değişmesine rağmen yazma öncesinde, yazma sırasında ve yazma sonrasında sınıflarda yapılan çalışmalar farklılaşmamaktadır. Araştırmada elde edilen sonuçlar doğrultusunda uygulamaya yönelik öneriler geliştirilmiştir.


Author(s):  
Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland ◽  
Viktor Schønning ◽  
Bodil Elisabeth Valstad Aasan ◽  
Randi Træland Hella ◽  
Jens Christoffer Skogen

The extent of mental health problems among adolescents seems to be on the rise, and this observed trend has often been linked to a coinciding increase in social media use. The goal of the current preliminary study was to investigate how senior high school personnel experience the role of social media in relation to the mental health of their pupils. Two focus group interviews (total n = 11) were completed and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, resulting in 4 themes and 11 subthemes. The results illustrate that school personnel experience social media as a tool for communication, but also as a potential cause of mental health issues and reduced academic performance among pupils. The participants called for schools to become better equipped to meet the opportunities and challenges of social media.


Author(s):  
Jessica J. Ferguson ◽  
Nancy L.I. Spencer

Women within parasport experience discrimination due to marginalization associated with gender and disability. In this study, the authors gain the insights of women parasport athletes about the affordances and constraints to inclusion with an emphasis on the role of coaches, using an ecological approach. Guided by qualitative description, the authors conducted individual and focus group interviews with ten women experiencing disability to explore their experiences and perspectives of inclusion in parasport. Two primary themes were identified: (a) within parasport and (b) beyond parasport, emphasizing the critical role of relationships with coaches and athletes to experiences of inclusion. The discussion highlights the multilevel influences and specific barriers that challenge inclusion, such as few numbers of women athletes, the need for coach expertise, and co-ed playing environments. In doing so, the authors also offer specific recommendations for coaching in women’s parasport.


2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 990-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olof Sundin ◽  
Hanna Carlsson

Purpose This paper investigates the experiences of school teachers of supporting pupils and their apprehensions of how pupils search and assess information when search engines have become a technology of literacy in schools. By situating technologies of literacy as sociomaterial the purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss these experiences and understandings in order to challenge dominant views of search in information literacy research. Design/methodology/approach Six focus group interviews with in total 39 teachers working at four different elementary and secondary schools were conducted in the autumn of 2014. Analysis was done using a sociomaterial perspective, which provides tools for understanding how pupils and teachers interact with and are demanded to translate their interest to technologies of literacy, in this case search engines, such as Google. Findings The teachers expressed difficulties of conceptualizing search as something they could teach. When they did, search was most often identified as a practical skill. A critical perspective on search, recognizing the role of Google as a dominant part of the information infrastructure and a co-constructor of what there is to know was largely lacking. As a consequence of this neglected responsibility of teaching search, critical assessment of online information was conflated with Google’s relevance ranking. Originality/value The study develops a critical understanding of the role of searching and search engines as technologies of literacy in relation to critical assessment in schools. This is of value for information literacy training.


2019 ◽  
pp. 135910531989040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Tranberg ◽  
Magdalena Andersson ◽  
Mef Nilbert ◽  
Birgit H Rasmussen

This article explores the lived experience of informal caregivers in cancer care, focusing on the perceived burden and needs of individuals seeking support from an informal group for next of kin. A total of 28 individuals who were closely related to a patient with cancer participated in focus group interviews. Three themes were identified: setting aside one’s own needs, assuming the role of project manager, and losing one’s sense of identity. Together they form the framing theme: being co-afflicted. The characteristics of informal caregivers are shown to be similar to those of people with codependency, motivating development of targeted interventions from this perspective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 666-690
Author(s):  
Sangeeta Arora ◽  
Harpreet Kaur

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop, measure and empirically validate a scale that captures the full dimensionality of selection attributes considered by customers when choosing a bank. Design/methodology/approach Focus group interviews were conducted and a well-structured questionnaire was designed. The validity of this scale was tested in accordance with the psychometric scale development procedure. Findings Contrary to some assertions in past literature, the results suggested service delivery and cost/price as among the most important determinants of the bank selection decisions of consumers. Practical implications The practical implications drawn from this study involve the seven constructs which could be adopted by the bank managers, advertising executives and marketing experts in providing good quality services resulting in overall higher levels of customer satisfaction. These decision makers can apply the constructs from the study to identify factors most appealing to both potential and existing customers and build up effective marketing strategies to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Originality/value This research paper signifies the leading studies for advancing a validated tool to measure the customers’ selection decisions for banks. As a result, this valid and reliable scale would bring standardization to research conducted in the field of bank selection attributes.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kiss ◽  
Laura Pfeiffer ◽  
József Popp ◽  
Judit Oláh ◽  
Zoltán Lakner

It is well-documented that fitness trainers could play an important role in the nutrition-related behaviour of their clients based on their personalised nutrition-related counselling activities, but there are considerable concerns all over the world about the level of their knowledge to become nutritional coaches. In the framework of the current study based on qualitative (focus-group interviews) and quantitative (questionnaire and analysis of responses by multivariable methods, as well as structural equation modelling) methods, it has been proven that (1) theoretically, both the trainers and the dietitians acknowledge the importance of cooperation in the optimisation of coaching efficiency and advisory work due to some “professional jealousness” and differences in professional background, as well as in culture, so it is hard to find a common platform for cooperation, especially in market segments characterised by relative low levels of purchasing power; (2) due to lack of regulation, there is a high heterogeneity of professional competences of trainers in general and their nutritional competences, in particular; (3) the majority of trainers do not have an objective picture on his/her effective nutritional knowledge, and they often offer a much wider scope of services (e.g., nutritional counselling for clients with chronic diseases) which are well beyond their professional knowledge and (4) the dietary guidelines have not become an integral part of professional knowledge, even at the level of specialists. To improve the current—in some cases, dangerous—situation, the following steps should be taken: (1) enhancement of the level of professional qualification of future trainers, integrating the practice-oriented approaches and emphasising the role of teamwork by simulation-based practices; (2) highlighting in a clear way the professional and ethical boundaries of the activities of trainers and (3) working out an efficient incentive system for the continuous professional development of trainers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ailbhe Kenny

This article examines the musical lives of children of asylum seekers living under direct provision in Ireland. Direct Provision is a controversial state system of communal housing for asylum seekers while they wait for their refugee applications to be processed. One third of all asylum seekers living under Direct Provision in Ireland are children. A knowledge gap exists on the cultural rights and needs of these marginalised children. Through participatory methods, the research presented examines the role of music for these children within one of the direct provision settings as well as their musical values, identities, and types of musical participation engaged in. Data was collected through six participatory music workshops, video observations, a researcher reflective log and focus group interviews. There were 11 children involved aged between 7–12 years, representing six nationalities and both genders. Findings reveal the importance and relevance of the contexts of music-making within temporary accommodation settings as well as the broader national and international contexts of children living within asylum seeking systems.


2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura McFarland-Piazza ◽  
Alison Lord ◽  
Melissa Smith ◽  
Belinda Downey

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY was to explore how connections between families, communities and educators can be facilitated in teacher education courses through the use of playgroups. Barriers to building relationships, as well as the perceived benefits of these relationships to families and pre-service teachers, were also explored. Participants were involved in weekly university-based community playgroups. Focus group interviews were conducted and the constant comparative method was used to analyse interview transcripts. Themes of ‘Constraints’ and ‘Enablers’ emerged from pre-service teachers' transcripts, indicating that they were initially uncomfortable with community and family involvement but eventually made connections as to why this was important. The theme of ‘positive relationship building’ emerged from parents' transcripts, indicating that they saw building relationships with families and communities as an important role of early childhood educators. Implications for the importance of authentic learning situations for fostering these relationships in teacher education courses are discussed.


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