bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Alignment
Authors: Puth Gustav
Published: September 2018

The primary focus of this entry is on arguing the imperative of optimal alignment between strategic communication and the execution of the strategic intent of the organization. From an internal perspective, strategic communication takes the form of continuous strategic discourse between all leaders and their followers, as well as targeted contextualization to ensure that the generically formulated strategic intent gets to be translated to make sense in all of the various structural and functional work contexts throughout the organization. From an external perspective, strategic communication aimed at engaging with external stakeholders needs to be aligned with the internal strategic communication in order to avoid the emergence of a reputation gap between what an organization says about itself and what it is seen to be doing.
Audience
Authors: Schrøder Kim Christian , Gulbrandsen Ib T.
Published: September 2018

The entry defines audiences in a digital, mediatized society as the people who, in their capacity as social actors, are attending to, negotiating the meaning of, and sometimes participating in the multimodal processes initiated or carried by institutional media. The first part of the entry discusses the concept of audience in relation to a number of competing theoretical concepts such as “public,” “user,” and “participants.” The second part outlines the historical development of audience research through three consecutive, coexisting paradigms: behavioral, reception, and participation. The third part discusses the ways in which the concept of audience is handled in the field of strategic communication, noting how the concept of stakeholders has developed as an alternative to, or refinement of, the traditional understanding of an audience as a static and coherent group of organizational outsiders. In many cases, there is no “the audience,” but instead, multiple actors who listen to, and participate in, the organization's strategic communication.
Claims Culture
Authors: Tindall Natalie T. J.
Published: September 2018

The concept of claims culture was recently introduced into the discipline of strategic communication. Social media have triggered a monumental shift as people have moved from being citizens to consumers, thus creating a claims culture. The shift to a claims culture occurred as citizens began to expect from local governments the choice and quality of services they had come to expect as consumers. In the private sector, consumers act as citizens and require companies to show corporate citizenship and social responsibility. In the public sector, the obedient citizen has been replaced by the consumerist citizen, one who follows a market logic when asking for public services. For organizations to counter and contend with this kind of actively engaged publics, imagined communities, and participatory culture, they need to have a multitude of varied approaches and work strategically with communication.
Communication Effects
Authors: Ji Yi Grace , Chen Zifei Fay , Yook Bo Ra , Stacks Don W.
Published: September 2018

This entry identifies and delineates the effects of strategic communication, and specifically those brought about by a strategic communication program/campaign. Therefore, communication effects as discussed here are different from the general term “media effects” that is closely related to studies of mass communication. In this entry, strategic communication effects are defined as the results of and impact from a strategic communication program/campaign. Particularly, the results can be reflected in the form of outputs, outtakes, and outcomes, among which outcomes are the primary focus of analysis for strategic communication effects. This entry provides an overview of the different strategic communication effects components and explains how they are measured and evaluated through systematic research. In addition, the impact of the development of technology and social media on strategic communication effects is addressed.
Communication Management
Authors: Gregory Anne
Published: September 2018

This entry examines how communication is organized and managed within organizations: its contribution to planned outcomes and how it is structured to achieve outcomes. It does this from three perspectives. First, it examines organizationalcontext, which provides the backcloth for all management activities. Second, it looks at theenablingandtransformative contributionof communication at four strategic levels: societal, corporate, stakeholder, and functional. Finally, it considers how communication departments may bestructured. A conclusion is that a well‐structured and managed function operating at all strategic levels is an indicator of how seriously an organization takes the strategic communication specialty. It also impacts on how effectively strategic communication can undertake its work and realize its potential for the organization.
Communication Planning
Authors: Bütschi Gerhard
Published: September 2018

In this entry, the core features or elements of the communication planning function are discussed. The mission, scope, and purpose of the communication planning function all depend on the definition of the term “planning.” A broad definition of the term has been selected that applies to communication planning. Plancontentsset the target values, parameters, and framework for future decisions as to how an organization will communicate with its various stakeholders. Communicationplansconsist of goals, objectives, proposed tasks and actions, resource procurement, and resource allocations. If the communication function is to produce effective long‐range, medium‐range, and short‐range communication plans, then a given number of decision‐making problems need to be solved in setting up the communication planning function. An organization has an effective communication planning function if it controls and optimizes 12 variables that are elements of the so‐called communication “planning concept.”
Communication Studies
Authors: Lee Jaesub
Published: September 2018

After 100 years of disciplinary evolution, communication studies has matured into multidisciplinary scholarly inquiries, a diversified curriculum, and complex academic units. Academics in the United States have played a primary role in developing communication studies that began with a narrow but passionate belief in rhetoric and public speaking as essential to democratic society. This paradigm began to connect with media studies as a result of studies in propaganda, persuasion, leadership, and information theory coupled with systems theory. Communication studies advanced in step with the two world wars, the Cold War, the maturation of related disciplines, and other social events during the last half of the twentieth century. The current state of the field indicates that communication studies, by nature and choice, remains strategic. Communication studies guides strategic structures, fractures, functions, discourses, contexts, and meanings relevant to human activities in dyads, groups, organizations, communities, and societies.
Communication Tactics
Authors: Hallahan Kirk
Published: September 2018

Communication tactics are actions taken to implement a strategy. Tactics can be specified in advance as part of a prescriptive or deliberate strategy outlined in a written plan but often are identified and improvised during the implementation of a communication effort and thus can reflect emergent operational strategies. Tactics are typically grounded in the function in which they are employed and chosen based on the communicator's personal expertise and experience, observance of communication activities by others, historical precedence, convenience, requests or inquiries by others, directions or recommendations by clients, and/or imperatives imposed by external circumstances. Various types of research, analysis, counseling, message planning, message content, message design, message timing, channel selection, oversight and control, and assessment tactics are employed in the development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of a strategic communication effort.
Consumer Culture
Authors: Sloth Erik Kristian , Kjeldgaard Dannie
Published: September 2018

This entry discusses the relationship between marketing theory and the concept of consumer. Specifically, it focuses on the emergence of the research tradition labeled consumer culture theory (CCT) and relates this theory to market‐oriented strategic communication. The historical development of marketing thought and consumer culture is briefly outlined, followed by an overview of the research streams of CCT. Three shifts in marketing's conceptualization of consumers are outlined and the implications of these shifts for market‐oriented strategic communication are discussed. The way marketing has been implicated in the emergence of the consumer culture is then examined, and finally, after a discussion of how the development of a reflexive postmodern or late modern consumer culture has given rise to new thoughts on marketing‐oriented strategic communication, the entry shows how viewing strategic communication from a consumer culture perspective has a significant impact on how organizations can use communication to fulfill their mission.
Core Values
Authors: Seeger Matthew W. , Seeger Henry S.
Published: September 2018

Values are broad preferences, general guiding principles, and accepted standards for behaviors and outcomes. Core values inform strategic communication processes and serve as persuasive appeals in public relations and issue management campaigns. Values are also used to make judgments of right and wrong, good and bad, desirable and undesirable, and to assess organizational legitimacy and corporate social responsibility. Values are increasingly important factors in strategic communication activities.
Corporate Governance
Authors: de Beer Estelle
Published: September 2018

This entry discusses why, in the contemporary business environment, an integrative approach to strategic communication management has to include a corporate governance perspective. Apart from wealth and value creation, corporate governance is also concerned with building and maintaining the relationship between the organization and its stakeholders. It can therefore be said that the two functions complement one another. Today's firms are expected to be virtuous—they are called upon to be socially responsible and to act as corporate citizens. Corporate governance therefore provides an ideal context for being virtuous and for practicing ethical strategic communication to the benefit of all parties concerned. In this way it also assists with building a good corporate reputation in its efforts to create intangible value.
Cultural Diversity
Authors: Gaither T. Kenn
Published: September 2018

This entry suggests that cultural diversity is a strategic imperative in strategic communication and public relations—as important as the sharing of ideas and transportation of goods across geopolitical boundaries. The entry summarizes the case for cultural diversity and briefly describes its recent history and definitional problems before splitting it into the two areas that predominate in the literature: first, the perspective within an organization, including the demographics of its employees and how an organization fosters an environment of inclusivity and pluralism; second, the perspective outside an organization, such as how it communicates across and to cultures in ways that are effective, sensitive, and ethical. The entry concludes by offering insights into future research connecting cultural diversity and public relations.
Dialogue
Authors: Kent Michael L.
Published: September 2018

“Dialogue” generally refers to dialogic theory, a body of interpersonal communication principles explicated in the twentieth century by Martin Buber, and others, and going back to ancient Greece. In scholarly practice, “dialogue” is used to refer both to the informal use of the word “dialogue” to mean talk or conversation, and to the more formal use of (genuine) dialogue as a tool for understanding, relationship building, and cocreation of meaning. In some fields such as politics and journalism, “dialogue” or public interaction is seen as important to democracy and community building, and is inherently valuable simply because it takes place. However, for scholars and professionals in other fields such as communication and public relations, genuine dialogue is based on an understanding of formal dialogic principles such as risk, trust, propinquity, mutuality, and positive regard. Not all two‐way communication and conversation is considered dialogue.
Employee Engagement
Authors: Mazzei Alessandra
Published: September 2018

Employee engagement is a unique concept that includes a personal trait expressing a disposition toward enthusiasm that, interacting with situational factors, determines a persistent psychological state of cognitive absorption in one's work, emotional dedication, and vigor, a physical‐energetic component. This attitude toward work leads to discretionary in‐role and extra‐role behavior that is strategically focused and tied to purpose and organizational relevance. Employee engagement engenders better employee performance and contributes to the results of the company. On the downside, it can drain an employee's energy and entails risk of burnout and overengagement. In addition, it may be that employees are engaged in behaviors that are right for the organization, but not for themselves. Multiple antecedents and consequences are linked by direct, indirect, and reciprocal relationships. Human resource management practices, managerial style, and internal communication, are effective if they are intrinsically engaging.
Engagement
Authors: Johnston Kim A.
Published: September 2018

Engagement is a multidimensional relational concept featuring psychological and behavioral attributes of connection, interaction, participation, and involvement, designed to achieve or elicit an outcome at individual, organization, or social levels. Viewed as an ethical and socially responsive approach to strategic communication practice, engagement offers an adaptive mechanism to support how organizations understand and respond to changes in their social environments over time.
Gatekeeping
Authors: Erzikova Elina
Published: September 2018

Gatekeeping involves a human or technological process used to control information flow. An initial conceptualization of gatekeeping was journalism‐based and focused on the process of selecting what becomes news, with reporters and editors playing the role of human filters. Subsequent theory development saw gatekeeping as the process that includes not only selection but also the way news stories are shaped and presented. The digital environment created a variety of new ways to perform gatekeeping and prompted the reconceptualization of the framework to acknowledge the role of the gated, those who are affected by gatekeepers' decisions.
Impact Assessment
Authors: Macnamara Jim
Published: September 2018

Evaluation in various fields of strategic communication has focused for some time onoutputsrather than outcomes and impact, and researchers have lamented a “stasis” and “deadlock” in relation to evaluation in practices such as corporate communication, public relations, and some specialist fields such as health communication. However, a number of initiatives in the USA, UK, and Europe have brought fresh focus to the importance of identifying and demonstrating the impact of communication—albeit questions including “impact on whom” and “for whose benefit” remain important matters for debate in the context of strategic communication as it is defined in this encyclopedia. This entry summarizes recent progress in assessing and demonstrating the impact of communication as well as key issues for further debate and research.
Integrated Communication
Authors: Smith Brian G. , Knighton Devin
Published: September 2018

Integrated communication is both a concept and practice of strategic communication management. Developed from the marketing concept of integrated marketing communication (IMC), integrated communication is a comprehensive communication management program built on communicative synergy, functional collaboration, stakeholder management, and communication measurement. The purpose of integrated communication is to build stakeholder–organization relationships through coordination of stakeholder stakes into consistent and targeted communication behavior.
Intranet
Authors: Cunconan Terry M.
Published: September 2018

Intranets, once defined as local and private, continue to evolve as sophisticated means of creating private and shared communication networks within and among organizations. The concept of intranets has evolved rapidly since its first use in the mid‐1990s. Advances in data management and connectivity within and among organizations as well as a focus on collaborative efforts with clients and/or partners have rapidly changed the use of intranets. Intranets have enhanced the strategic value organizations place on organizational networks and continue to reshape the boundaries for virtual work processes.
Issue Arenas
Authors: Vos Marita
Published: September 2018

This entry clarifies the issue arenas approach to communication. This approach suggests how to conceptualize a more dynamic stakeholder approach and emphasizes that multi‐stakeholder interaction is centered on issues rather than organizations as such. Organizations function in a competitive environment where issues arise and spread fast. Stakeholder and network theory, agenda setting, and issues management form the theoretical basis of the issue arena approach. The current emphasis is on understanding the interplay among the different actors, the framing of issues in the discourse, and the dynamics of issues discourse in the online environment. Future directions for research are outlined, including roles and power relations in the network, the features of the virtual media involved, and the development of the discourse over time as influenced by the communication strategies employed.
Knowledge Communication
Authors: Kastberg Peter
Published: September 2018

In the knowledge‐intensive organization, possessing knowledge is a prerequisite, but it is not sufficient. The fundamental problem is how to convey what an organizational member knows in such a way that it may be valuable to a relevant stakeholder, while alleviating personal, disciplinary, organizational, and so forth asymmetries that may stand in the way. Knowledge communication offers a prism through which to study this fundamental organizational issue. Knowledge communication is strategic communication. As strategic it is deliberately goal‐oriented, the goal being the mediation of understanding across organizational knowledge asymmetries. As communication it is participative (interactive) and the communicative positions converge on the (co)construction of (specialized) knowledge. The knowledge communication research program is problem‐driven, deriving its problem areas from organizational structures, environments, settings, climates, and forums in which agents may (or may not) be stimulated to interact with one another and/or with one or more media in order to overcome knowledge asymmetries.
Leader–Follower Perspectives
Authors: Simonsson Charlotte
Published: September 2018

This entry provides a presentation of different leader–follower perspectives. Traditional leadership research has a psychological orientation and focuses on leaders as persons. Leaders are conceptualized as active communicators and subordinates/followers as more or less passive recipients, which implies a monologic, transmission‐oriented view of communication. In recent years, there has been a turn in leadership research with an increased focus on leadership as a mutual, discursive process. Followers are conceptualized as coproducers of leadership, and leadership is conceived of as a dynamic, fluent process with interchanging roles. The notion of leadership as a social, discursive process goes hand in hand with a dialogic, constructionist view of communication.
Media, News
Authors: Fredriksson Magnus , Pallas Josef
Published: September 2018

News media are of particular importance for strategic communication. The efforts organizations make to attract journalists' interest and gain media attention are plentiful. This centrality is the result of a strong interdependence between organizations and news media and the number of functions news media fulfill for organizational activities. Theoretically one can discern four analytically distinct—but interrelated—roles: (i)information provider; (ii)agenda‐settes; (iii)scrutinizer; and (iv)legitimizer. What role(s) media actually play in a given situation is the result of the media system's figuration and situational circumstances.
Meta‐Organizations
Authors: Brunsson Nils
Published: September 2018

Meta‐organizations—industry associations, trade unions, international government organizations, and the like—are organizations in which the members are not individuals but other organizations. A common purpose of meta‐organizations is to communicate a particular identity that denotes its members as one type of organization, often one with an allegedly higher status than that of nonmembers. Another common purpose is to represent the interests of the members in public discourse or vis‐à‐vis lawmakers. Achieving these purposes is not a trivial task because meta‐organizations have particular difficulties in solving conflicts among their members and because they suffer from competition for autonomy between themselves and their members.
Network Society
Authors: Clausen Lars , Tække Jesper
Published: September 2018

Strategic communication needs a thorough understanding of the social forms of the interaction, organization, and social structure it works within and through. Success is a scarce resource, and organizations compete to fulfill their mission and advance toward specific goals. In this entry, we present the five strands of theory on the network society. Each theoretical position has its specific implications for acting toward strategic goals. Taken together, the five perspectives give a thorough understanding of the conditions for successful strategic communication in the twenty‐first century.
Organization
Authors: Heide Mats
Published: September 2018

Organization is a fundamental aspect of strategic communication, since organizations are always involved in one way or another when strategic communication is performed. There are many definitions of organization, but almost all of them exclude communication, even if communication is implicitly present. Communication has a performative aspect and produces and reproduces organizations. Two aspects of organizations that are essential are structure and culture. Both have a positive side, making organization life easier and more efficient, and a negative side, where the structure or culture hinders organizational members in their work.
Public Affairs
Authors: Fleisher Craig S.
Published: September 2018

Public affairs (PA) includes strategic communication (SC) and related management processes enabling organizations to better engage primarily with government and perform in their nonmarket and/or public policy environment. The communication professionals who specialize in addressing nonmarket phenomena are public affairs officers (PAOs). Through using their SC competencies, some of which are unique to the PA field and are outlined in this entry, strategic PA communicators have regular opportunities to make substantial differences to the ability of their organizations to succeed in influencing the development, harmonization, and implementation of beneficial organizational and public policies. Effective PAOs earn the attention, resources, time, and trust of their senior‐most executives by helping to dynamically align their organization and its strategies with issues and stakeholders in the nonmarket environment.
Relationship Management
Authors: Brønn Peggy Simcic
Published: September 2018

In the 1980s Professor Mary Ann Ferguson inspired a shift in public relations from an instrumental or functional focus to an emphasis on relationships between organizations and their publics. This focus is known as the “relational approach,” and public relations was subsequently viewed as being about building and maintaining an organization's relationships with its stakeholders. Subsequently, Hutton defined relationship management and Ledingham suggested it as a general theory of public relations. Broom, Casey, and Ritchey, however, noted that, in the increasing research and writing on relationships, the concept was assumed to have a common meaning that needed no clarification. They made the case that, while everyone talks about relationships, few attempt to actually define them. This entry reviews the definition of relationships and its application to organizations, first in marketing and then in public relations.
Rhetorical Arena
Authors: Johansen Winni
Published: September 2018

Rhetorical arena theory can be defined as a social space that opens up when a crisis breaks out and in which multiple voices communicate to, with, past, against, or about each other. Rhetorical arena theory represents a first step toward an understanding of the communicative complexity of organizational crises. The theory is based on a multivocal approach investigating the multiple interactions among voices inside the rhetorical arena. The arena model consists of a macro component that provides an analytical overview of voices and patterns of interaction in the arena, and a micro component that focuses on what is being communicated, when and where, by whom, and how each individual communication process between a sender and a receiver is mediated by or articulated through four different parameters.
Risk Society
Authors: Raupp Juliana J. C.
Published: September 2018

Risk society is a metaphor for second modern societies facing new kinds of risk. Risk society theory is mainly associated with the German sociologist Ulrich Beck. He understood risks as unintended consequences of modernization, industrialization, and globalization. A risk society attempts to master uncontrollable risks and uncertainties that it has itself produced. With respect to strategic communication and risk communication, risk society theory suggests adopting a societal understanding of risks and reflecting on broader political implications of risks.
Social Movements
Authors: Hensmans Manuel , van Bommel Koen
Published: September 2018

Social movement researchers have been interested in how forms of collective action advance social change. This entry presents four main research traditions that study the ways in which social movements aim to achieve their mission, namely, by mobilizing resources, taking advantage of political opportunities, framing issues in advantageous ways, and engaging in discursive hegemonic struggle. Examining these research traditions highlights not only the connection between social movement theory and strategic communication, but also offers a number of future avenues for research that might reveal insights into how organizations can go beyond narrow issues of self‐interest and communicate purposively to advance their mission and change social reality.
Storytelling
Authors: Mouton Nicolaas T. O. , Kjærbeck Susanne , Rasmussen Rasmus Kjærgaard
Published: September 2018

This entry explicates the concept of storytelling, and similar notions like “strategic narrative,” by describing its development, delineating its defining features, and discussing its distinct functions. Its beginnings can be traced to a broader narrative turn within the humanities and social sciences. As the concept traveled across disciplinary boundaries, it constantly evolved and expanded. Today, the notion of narrative has become so broad that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish from concepts like discourse. To capture what is peculiar about narratives, it is useful to focus on their core features, such as diachronicity, and their central functions, such as their ability to frame aspects of a perceived reality by (re)drawing the boundaries of where a story is seen to begin and end.
Strategic Communication
Authors: Heath Robert L. , Johansen Winni , Hallahan Kirk , Steyn Benita , Falkheimer Jesper , Raupp Juliana J. C.
Published: September 2018

Strategic communication (SC) is the purposeful, normative use of communication functions and discourse processes by entities to accomplish their missions. Currently, scholars and practitioners approach SC from four perspectives: SC as public relations/corporate communication, SC as a comparative framework for examining processes employed across various functions and professional disciplines, SC as a structure to integrate purposeful communication functions within organizations, and SC as a meta‐process that is an integral part of strategic management and stresses organization‐wide strategy, normative functions, discursive processes, and the critical imperative for entities to serve the public interest. This master entry also examines the state of SC scholarship across the globe.
Strategic Competencies
Authors: Tench Ralph , Topić Martina
Published: September 2018

Organizations are increasingly facing pressures to professionalize the workforce to be able to cope with constant changes in technology and growing expectations from stakeholders. This has subsequently influenced scholarly and practitioner interest in these discussions and led to a growth in the recognition and importance of designing appropriate communication strategies. However, discussing strategic communication has raised questions about who has the competencies to cope with these changes, and how organizations can effectively manage their employees to achieve organizational goals. In this context and when discussing and defining strategic competencies, several problems have been identified such as the role and influence of internal communication, managing human resources, employee training, and higher education programs.
Strategy as Ideology
Authors: Sison Marianne D.
Published: September 2018

This entry discusses strategy as a manifestation of organizational ideology. Ideology underpins the strategic intent of organizations in the private, public, and civil society sector. An organization's ideology is reflected in its discourse, its approach to processes, and its praxis. Neoliberal organizations focus on efficiency and effectiveness where decision making is limited to the powerful few. More social‐justice‐oriented organizations, including social enterprises, aim toward participatory and communitarian approaches that enable multiple stakeholder perspectives. Cultural contexts also shape and determine ideological and strategic positions of organizations.
Symbolic Capital
Authors: Ihlen Øyvind
Published: September 2018

Symbolic capital concerns reputation and has roots in the other forms of capital that a social actor might possess, including social, economic, and cultural capital. The notion invites a perspective on how organizations attempt to position themselves in different contexts where different types of capital are appreciated. In some fields, like business, your symbolic capital is closely tied to your ability to make a profit. In others, like academia, a different hierarchy is in place with roots in your education, publications, and so forth. Strategic communication and public relations can be seen as organizational activities aimed at building and securing the symbolic capital of organizations in their respective fields as they make up the social world.
Transparency
Authors: Wehmeier Stefan
Published: September 2018

This entry provides an overview of the concept of transparency in the field of (strategic) communication. Literature on transparency can be found in many fields of communication research such as corporate communications, marketing, journalism, and public affairs. In all of these fields different approaches to transparency exist. The functionalist approach defines transparency as information giving. This definition includes the idea that more information leads to a better public understanding of organizational actions; legitimacy and trust are understood as outcomes of such transparent communication. The interpretive perspective focuses more on the understanding of transparency by the receiver and on the communicative interaction between senders and receivers. Here as well as in the critical approach, transparency is not seen as a solution to communicative problems of an organization but as a concept that challenges organizations in many ways, as understandings of transparency differ and as it seems unwise to talk about all organizational topics openly in the public sphere.
Triple Bottom Line
Authors: Conradie Pieter
Published: September 2018

Triple bottom line (
TBL
) is primarily an accounting concept intended to provide a full account of the social, environmental, and economic sustainability impacts of a business organization. This entry first defines what a
TBL
account of sustainability should look like if understood in terms of the definition of sustainable development, as stated in the Brundtland Report of 1987. Second, it illustrates that
TBL
reporting is one of four types of accounts developed to account for sustainability, and that other forms of accounting may have a more direct relationship with the requirements of sustainable development. Third, it considers the main schools of thought in academia related to accounting for sustainability and comments on future research directions. Finally, it suggests that
TBL
is a relevant approach to strategic communication in the era of sustainability and indicates how the theories and concepts of various communication fields can broaden the process of integrated reporting.
Vulnerability
Authors: Avery Elizabeth Johnson , Dugger John
Published: September 2018

Understanding the vulnerability that publics experience in their daily and work lives is central to planning and communicating in order to enhance their resilience and preparedness should some risk manifest itself with health, safety, or well‐being consequences. Vulnerability, in this circumstance, is a key concept because government, industry, and individual efforts need to be combined into effective efforts to identify, plan for effective response, mitigate, and even avert vulnerability. From a strategic communication standpoint, both affective and cognitive components of the vulnerability of publics are important to understand, as one will most likely affect the other (e.g., increased fear may lead to an enhanced sense of vulnerability). Strategic communication with vulnerable populations entails identifying vulnerability at both the community and individual levels, the relationships between the vulnerable population and the risk it is susceptible to, and developing effective communication strategy for them.
Development of Single‐Fiber Piezocomposite Transducers for 3‐D Ultrasound Computer Tomography
Authors: Zapf Michael , Hohlfeld Kai , Ruiter Nicole V. , Pfistner Patrick , van Dongen Koen W. A. , Gemmeke Hartmut , Michaelis Alexander , Gebhardt Sylvia E.
Published: September 2018

Ultrasound Computer Tomography (USCT) medical imaging is a promising approach for early detection of breast cancer. At Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) a 3‐D USCT system is developed. The region‐of‐interest (ROI) of 10 × 10 × 10 cm3 volume is surrounded by a aperture of 2014 semi‐spherical positioned ultrasound transducers. Results from a first patient study reveals the requirement of a significantly increased ROI to cover bodily variations. Design considerations and simulations show a demand for circular transducers with a diameter of ca. 500 µm, increasing the opening angle of the transducers to ca. 60°. Piezofiber composite technology is predestinated to simply provide circular transducers of the required dimensions. Moreover, piezocomposites based on single PZT (lead zirconate titanate Pb[ZrxTi1‐x]O3) fibers enable a cost‐effective and series‐production alternative to currently used dice‐and‐fill composites. A transducer design is presented which utilizes individually arranged single piezoceramic fibers with 460 μm in diameter within piezocomposite discs. As a result, fibers are independently addressable as single transducer elements allowing for the desired transducer arrangement. The electrical performance of each piezoceramic fiber is determined proofing a strong dependence both of the coupling coefficient and the resonance frequency from the transducer thickness. In further processing, the piezocomposite discs are connected to printed circuits, integrated into a cylindrical housing, and backfilled with polyurethane. Ultrasound characteristics such as sound pressure and opening angle are evaluated quantitatively. The results show that the transducer opening angles lie in the expected range, that the desired center frequency is achieved and that the bandwidth could be preserved compared to former dice‐and‐fill transducers.
A Self‐Healing Room‐Temperature Liquid‐Metal Anode for Alkali‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Guo Xuelin , Ding Yu , Xue Leigang , Zhang Leyuan , Zhang Changkun , Goodenough John B. , Yu Guihua
Published: September 2018

Given the high energy density, alkali metals are preferred in rechargeable batteries as anodes, however, with significant limitations such as dendrite growth and volume expansion, leading to poor cycle life and safety concerns. Herein a room‐temperature liquid alloy system is proposed as a possible solution for its self‐recovery property. Full extraction of alkali metal ions from the ternary alloy brings it back to the binary liquid eutectic, and thus enables a self‐healing process of the cracked or pulverized structure during cycling. A half‐cell discharge specific capacity of up to 706.0 mAh g−1 in lithium‐ion battery and 222.3 mAh g−1 for sodium‐ion battery can be delivered at 0.1C; at a high rate of 5C, a sizable capacity of over 400 mAh g−1 for Li and 60 mAh g−1 for Na could be retained. Li and Na ion full cells with considerable stability are demonstrated when pairing liquid metal with typical cathode materials, LiFePO4, and P2‐Na2/3[Ni1/3Mn2/3]O2. Remarkable cyclic durability, considerable theoretical capacity utilization, and reasonable rate stability present in this work allow this novel anode system to be a potential candidate for rechargeable alkali‐ion batteries.
Voltaglue Bioadhesives Energized with Interdigitated 3D‐Graphene Electrodes
Authors: Singh Manisha , Nanda Himansu Sekhar , O'Rorke Richard D. , Jakus Adam E. , Shah Ankur Harish , Shah Ramille N. , Webster Richard D. , Steele Terry W. J.
Published: September 2018

Soft tissue fixation of implant and bioelectrodes relies on mechanical means (e.g., sutures, staples, and screws), with associated complications of tissue perforation, scarring, and interfacial stress concentrations. Adhesive bioelectrodes address these shortcomings with voltage cured carbene‐based bioadhesives, locally energized through graphene interdigitated electrodes. Electrorheometry and adhesion structure activity relationships are explored with respect to voltage and electrolyte on bioelectrodes synthesized from graphene 3D‐printed onto resorbable polyester substrates. Adhesive leachates effects on in vitro metabolism and human‐derived platelet‐rich plasma response serves to qualitatively assess biological response. The voltage activated bioadhesives are found to have gelation times of 60 s or less with maximum shear storage modulus (G′) of 3 kPa. Shear modulus mimics reported values for human soft tissues (0.1–10 kPa). The maximum adhesion strength achieved for the ≈50 mg bioelectrode films is 170 g cm−2 (17 kPa), which exceeds the force required for tethering of electrodes on dynamic soft tissues. The method provides the groundwork for implantable bio/electrodes that may be permanently incorporated into soft tissues, vis‐à‐vis graphene backscattering wireless electronics since all components are bioresorbable.
Manipulating Luminescence of Light Emitters by Photonic Crystals
Authors: Wu Suli , Xia Hongbo , Xu Jiahui , Sun Xiaoqian , Liu Xiaogang
Published: September 2018

The modulation of luminescence is essential because unwanted spontaneous‐emission modes have a negative effect on the performance of luminescence‐based photonic devices. Photonic crystals are promising materials for the control of light emission because of the variation in the local density of optical modes within them. They have been widely investigated for the manipulation of the emission intensity and lifetime of light emitters. Several groups have achieved greatly enhanced emission by depositing emitters on the surface of photonic crystals. Herein, the different modulating effects of photonic crystal dimensions, light‐emitter positions, photonic crystal structure type, and the refractive index of photonic crystal building blocks are highlighted, with the aim of evaluating the fundamental principles that determine light propagation. The applications of using photonic crystals to manipulate spontaneous emission in light‐emitting diodes and sensors are also reviewed. In addition, potential future challenges and improvements in this field are presented.
Extraordinary Field Enhancement of TiO2 Porous Layer up to 500‐Fold
Authors: Yoshihara Kumi , Sakamoto Masanori , Tamamitsu Hironori , Arakawa Minori , Saitow Ken‐ichi
Published: September 2018

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is known as a very important material for photocatalysts, the photoelectrode for hydrogen evolution reaction, and the porous layer of perovskite solar cells. Their properties as well as device performances such as photoconversion efficiencies are significantly enhanced if integration of TiO2 providing a large field enhancement of light is made possible. However, the field enhancement has not been revealed for TiO2 materials, and then increased device performances have not been reported either so far. Here, extraordinary field enhancement of a porous TiO2 layer, mesoscopic film, prepared by a facile wet process in conjunction with ball milling and drop casting is shown. The field enhancement is investigated with respect to the fluorescence intensity of a dye molecule and an enhancement factor (EF) of up to 500 is achieved, which corresponds to the largest EF for a semiconductor. Furthermore, EF is up to 30 000 after numerical corrections. The large EF is realized for a porous TiO2 layer composed of a specific particle size of 550 nm, which is consistent with the results of fluorescence intensity, scattering intensity, and two different theoretical calculations based on Mie scattering theory, with respect to particle size. A special advantage of the current system is the mesoscopic porous layer giving many hot spots among TiO2 particles of the specific size.
Minute Organic Memory Fabricated by Laser Scanning and Selective Metal‐Vapor Deposition of a Diarylethene–Cu Composite Film
Authors: Tsujioka Tsuyoshi , Hoshimoto Kannei
Published: September 2018

One of the major challenges in the field of organic electronics is miniaturization and integration of electrical components. Such miniaturization, however, has been restricted strictly so far because of the difficulty in fabricating minute electrodes on organic layers and their patterning. The conventional metal electrode has been fabricated generally using vacuum evaporation with a shadow mask, and the resolution of the shadow mask limits the electrode size. In this study, a minute organic memory cell fabricated by laser scanning and maskless Mg‐vapor deposition is reported. This fabrication method is based on selective metal‐vapor deposition on photochromic diarylethene (DAE). To obtain electrical bistability for memory operation, a DAE–Cu composite film, prepared by Cu deposition onto the DAE surface at a high substrate temperature, is adopted. The optimum condition to achieve the compatibility of selective Mg‐vapor deposition and electrical bistability is revealed here. A larger ON–OFF ratio (OOR) in electrical bistability is obtained in a smaller cell and the 10 micron sized memory cell with a large OOR of 105 is demonstrated.
Decreased survival and increased rate of fibrotic progression in essential thrombocythemia chronicled after the FDA approval date of anagrelide
Authors: Tefferi Ayalew , Szuber Natasha , Vallapureddy Rangit R. , Begna Kebede H. , Patnaik Mrinal M. , Elliott Michelle A. , Christopher Hook C. , Wolanskyj Alexandra P. , Hanson Curtis A. , Ketterling Rhett P. , Pardanani Animesh , Gangat Naseema
Published: September 2018

First‐line cytoreductive drug of choice in high risk essential thrombocythemia (ET) is currently hydroxyurea, a practice based on the results of a randomized study; second‐line drugs of choice include pegylated interferon‐α, busulfan and anagrelide. Anagrelide clinical trials were pioneered by the late Murray N. Silverstein (1928‐1998) of the Mayo Clinic whose studies led to FDA approval in March 1997. The current study represents a retrospective examination of the potential impact of anagrelide therapy on survival and disease complications in ET. 1076 patients with ET were considered (median age 58 years; females 63%); risk distribution, according to the international prognostic score for ET (IPSET), was 28% high, 42% intermediate, and 30% low. Overall (OS), myelofibrosis‐free (MFFS) and thrombosis‐free survival data were compared for ET patients diagnosed before and after the 1997 FDA approval date for anagrelide; a significant difference was apparent in OS (P = .006; HR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1‐1.7) and MFFS (P < .001; HR 4.2, 95% CI 2.7‐6.5), in favor of patients diagnosed prior to 1997; the difference was sustained during multivariable analysis that included IPSET. Similarly stratified survival data in polycythemia vera (n = 665) and primary myelofibrosis (n = 1282) showed no similar impact on survival (P = .3 and .17, respectively). The current study represents a retrospective analysis and suggests significantly decreased OS and MFFS in ET patients diagnosed after the FDA approval date of anagrelide. Whether or not anagrelide therapy was to blame for the worsening of OS and MFFS over time cannot be assumed and requires validation in a prospective study.
Relationships between the digit ratio (2D:4D) and game‐related statistics in professional and semi‐professional male basketball players
Authors: Klapprodt Katelyn L. , Fitzgerald John S. , Short Sandra E. , Manning John T. , Tomkinson Grant R.
Published: September 2018

Objectives

The primary aim of this study was to examine relationships between digit ratio (2D:4D) and game‐related statistics in professional and semi‐professional male basketball players. The secondary aim was to quantify differences in mean 2D:4Ds between starting and reserve players.

Methods

Using a cross‐sectional design, 93 male basketball players from the professional Australian National Basketball League and the semi‐professional South Australian Premier League were measured in‐season for height, mass, and 2D:4D, with game‐related statistics collected end‐season. Linear relationships between right and left 2D:4Ds and game‐related statistics were quantified using nonparametric partial correlations, and differences in mean 2D:4Ds between starting and reserve players were quantified using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). All partial correlations and ANCOVAs were adjusted for playing experience, body size, and competitive standard.

Results

2D:4D was a weak to moderate negative correlate of points scored and assists‐to‐turnovers ratio, indicating that males with lower 2D:4Ds were generally better offensively as they recorded more points and assists relative to turnovers. The difference in mean 2D:4D between starting and reserve players was negligible.

Conclusions

2D:4D was favorably correlated with open‐skill sports performance, as evidenced by the better offensive statistics of male basketball players with lower 2D:4Ds. These results probably reflect the organizational benefits of prenatal testosterone and indicate that 2D:4D may be a useful complement to traditional physical, physiological, skill, and behavioral predictors of basketball success.