Nieuwsarchief

Crisis communication via social media: twitter works best

Social media, especially twitter, can be successfully used for organizational crisis communication.

Research by communication scientists of VU University Amsterdam showed that. This is the first experiment that examined both the effects of different (social) media as sharing and commenting behavior.

Effect of crisis communication on reputation
Friederike Schultz, Sonja Utz (both VU University Amsterdam) and Anja Goeritz (University of Wuerzburg) examined the effects of various crisis response strategies (apology, sympathy, information) and media (online newspaper, blog, or twitter) on perceived reputation, “secondary crisis communications” (sharing information and leaving a message) and reactions (willingness to boycott). The results showed that the medium mattered more than the message. Respondents who read the tweet were less likely to boycott the organization than respondents who read a blog or a newspaper article. The respondents who received the tweet and clicked on the included link to the blog post perceived the highest reputation.

Press release: Crisis communication via social media: twitter works best

Presentation of Patti Valkenburg, professor of Youth and Media at the UvA

Patti Valkenburg , professor of Youth and Media at the UvA, and receiver of the highest scientific award in the Netherlands  the NWO Spinoza Prize 2011, will give a presentation for the VU Communication science Department "Developmental media effects research: Five challenges for the future", on Monday 27th June, location, Metropolitan building Z-009, 15.30h-17.00h.

Patti Valkenburg performs groundbreaking research into youth and the media and has developed a unique interdisciplinary specialisation which straddles the boundaries between education, psychology and communication science. Valkenburg is the most productive and one of the most widely quoted communication scientists in Europe.
Valkenburg studies, among other things, the consequences of internet use on the social lives of children and teenagers. She also investigates how media use, genetic predisposition and family and friends influence the development of cognitive skills, ADHD and aggression. Valkenburg is also active in the public sphere. She was one of the initiators of the ‘Kijkwijzer’ (the classification system for film, programmes and video games in the Netherlands) and has written many books about young people and the media, including Vierkante Ogen and Beeldschermkinderen (Square eyes and Children's Responses to the Screen).

Blood, Gore, and Video Games: Effects of Violent Content on Players.

On Monday, 20 June from 16.00 - 17.00 prof. Brad Bushman (Ohio State University /VU University Amsterdam) will give a presentation on his latest research about the effect of violent video game content on players. 

The presentation will take place at VU University, Metropolitan Building, Buitenveldertselaan 3 (Amsterdam), room Z-009.

Blood, Gore, and Video Games: Effects of Violent Content on Players
In today’s popular culture, the video game industry has established itself as a major force, surpassing the movie and music industries. Most people now play video games. They are played on consoles, computers, and handheld devices (including mobile phones). The top selling video games contain lots of blood and gore. Bushman will discuss his research on the effects of violent games on players. He will also discuss his recent research on the effects of prosocial and relaxing video games on players.

Lecture "Blood, Gore, and Video Games" by prof. Brad Bushman from Social Sciences VU University on Vimeo.

Elly Konijn appointed full professor

Elly Konijn from the Department of Communication Science and CAMeRA has been appointed Professor of Communication and Media Use on the Fenna Diemer Lindeboom Chair as of 1 December, 2010.

With this new position VU University Amsterdam presents Elly Konijn as a very talented female scholar and a role model for PhD students and (future) students. Elly Konijn will hold one of the four Fenna Diemer Lindeboom chairs, that have been created to increase the number of female professors at VU University. The chair is named after dr. Fenna Diemer-Lindeboom, who was a defender of women's interests at VU University and passed away in 2004.

 

PhD dissertation

Christian Burgers will defend his PhD dissertation in the Aula at Radboud University Nijmegen on Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 13:30 hours.

Verbal irony: Use and effects in written discourse

“Well done, mate!” If somebody has actually performed well, this utterance can be interpreted literally. If the utterance is a comment on a complete disaster, however, it is an example of verbal irony. An ironic utterance is often misunderstood, which can lead to communication problems between sender and addressee.

In his PhD dissertation, Christian Burgers investigates the use and effects of verbal irony in written discourse. He firstly found that – in contrast to what many linguists presuppose – it is difficult to identify a typical ironic utterance. In most written genres, irony is used in different ways. In addition, Burgers found that it is possible to use textual features of an ironic utterance to predict its complexity and appreciation: language users can use these features to simplify their ironic utterances – or not.