Abstract

     Systemic racism and discriminatory practices continue to disproportionally expose Black children and families to less than optimal health and economic resources. COVID-19 sheds existing light on how longstanding systemic inequalities affecting Black children and families create racial disparities in accessing material resources. The purpose of this study (N = 704 Black caregivers) is to better understand the relationship between experiences of racial discrimination, access to material resources (i.e., health-promoting resources and economic resources), and Black children’s behavioral functioning during the pandemic. Through the application of ordinary least squares regression analysis, we find that inadequate material resources (both health-related risks and economic hardship) during the pandemic were associated with heightened caregiver report that their child was frequently fussy or defiant (externalizing) and frequently anxious or fearful (internalizing). The study found no significant links between caregivers’ experiences of discrimination during the pandemic and children’s behavioral functioning. However, the study found a significant link between caregivers’ concern for their children’s experiences of discrimination and their children’s externalizing behaviors. Findings from this study offer an important contribution to understanding how factors rooted in systemic racism—access to material resources—and experiences of discrimination affect Black children’s well-being during COVID-19.

Introduction

     While countless studies demonstrate the positive relationship between access to material resources (e.g., health-promoting resources and economic resources) and children’s externalizing (e.g., impulsivity, noncompliance, and aggression) and internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal) behaviors, there is a stark reality that access to these much-needed resources is differentially patterned across children and families of various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Inequities in material resources directly affect children’s early developmental outcomes (Duncan, Magnuson & Votruba-Drzal, 2015). For instance, difficulty paying for basic needs (e.g., food, housing, utilities, health care, etc.) and economic insecurity have also been linked to children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Specifically, researchers note that developing in financially stressed environments has the potential to alter positive caregiver behaviors associated with children’s positive cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development (e.g., Longo, McPherran Lombardi & Dearing, 2017). Furthermore, health-related risks, conceptualized broadly to include threats such as mental health symptomology and lack of health insurance coverage, among both caregivers and children pose threats to children’s development. Caregiver depressive symptoms, which are heightened among families possessing low-income socioeconomic resources (Silva, Loureiro & Cardoso, 2016), have shown deleterious links with children’s behavioral functioning (e.g., Trapolini, McMahon & Ungerer, 2007). Additionally, children who lack health insurance coverage are more likely to experience delayed or unmet physician care, such as well-baby and well-child visits (Lave et al., 1998). When children miss well-baby or well-child visits, their caregivers also miss opportunities to receive support and guidance about their children’s behavioral and emotional functioning (Weitzman et al., 2015). These threats to children’s development are particularly pronounced during early childhood, when children’s biology and behavior are rapidly shaped by their environments and experiences (e.g., Shonkoff et al., 2012).

Conclusion

     Early childhood is a sensitive period for children’s development impacted by biological, neurological, and environmental contexts. However, not all children are afforded the same opportunities to meet their potential due to their socio-demographics (i.e., skin color, socioeconomic status). The findings from this study offer an important contribution to understanding how factors rooted in systemic racism—access to material resources (health-promoting resources and economic resources) — and experiences of discrimination, affect young Black children’s well-being during COVID-19, a global pandemic that disproportionately impacts Black children and their families and communities. While interventions in the early years cannot address all problems, especially problems due to historical racism, equitable opportunities during the first year of life could stymie disparities later in life.

     The structural determinants of early learning must be placed at the center of policy decision making to ensure equitable access, experiences, and outcomes for Black children and their families (Iruka, 2020). Addressing the challenges faced by young Black children and their families requires attending to social policies that impact their daily lives from housing, education, and labor, policies that impact families’ socioeconomic position and upward mobility. Families’ socioeconomic status greatly influences their access to resources, opportunities, time, and functioning to meet their children’s needs, critical in the early years (McLoyd, 1990). Families’ socioeconomic position also influences the experiences children have inside and outside the home, such as access to high quality early care and education and health care services. The findings from this study underscore the importance of delivering on the promise for Black children and their families as they remain resilience in the face of 2 pandemics – COVID-19 and racism.

Abstract

Background

     More than 130 million individuals in the United States have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, all adults in the Unites States now have access to one of three COVID-19 vaccines. As part of the vaccination procedure, Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) fact sheets, which contain information regarding the vaccine, are provided. The purpose of this study was to analyze the ease of reading (i.e., readability) of the EUA-approved fact sheets for the vaccines currently available in the United States, the V-Safe adverse event survey script, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website information on COVID-19 vaccines designed for the general public in the United States.

Methods

     We acquired the Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen EUA fact sheets, as well as the V-Safe survey script and the CDC website information regarding COVID-19 vaccines. These documents were analyzed for their complexity regarding the following readability factors: average length of paragraphs, sentences, and words; font size and style; use of passive voice; the Gunning-Fog index; the Flesch Reading Ease index; and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level index.

Results

     Only the V-Safe adverse-event survey script met readability standards for adequate comprehension. The mean readability scores of the EUA fact sheets and the CDC website were as follows: Flesch Reading Ease score (44.35 avg); Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (10.48 avg); and Gunning-Fog index (11.8 avg). These scores indicate that at least a 10th-grade level education would be required to understand these reading materials.

Conclusion

     The average person in the United States would have difficulty understanding the information provided in the EUA fact sheets and CDC COVID-19 vaccine website documents; however, the V-Safe survey was written at an adequate reading level. To ensure that the general public fully understands information regarding COVID-19 vaccines, greater care and effort should be given to the development of simplified information material.

Introduction

     The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has resulted in a global pandemic and the subsequent development of vaccines. Vaccine recipients are encouraged to read several vaccine information documents before they receive a vaccine, including reviewing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website on COVID-19 vaccines and the vaccine-specific emergency-use authorization (EUA) fact sheet for the Pfizer, Moderna, or Janssen vaccine they are receiving. Subjects are also encouraged to sign up for an adverse-event tracking survey called V-Safe after they receive their vaccination. In addition, the CDC website on COVID-19 and the EUA fact sheets contain basic vaccine information for the general public, including potential benefits, risks, side effects, and necessary precautions. The purpose of this study was to analyze the readability of the EUA fact sheets, the CDC website on COVID-19 vaccine questions, and the V-Safe adverse-event survey script for vaccines in the United States to determine if they meet the guidelines for adequate public readability.

Results

     We reviewed the COVID-19 vaccine fact sheets for the Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen vaccines available under EUA in the US, the complete V-Safe adverse event survey script, and the CDC general public website on information about COVID-19 vaccines. No significant differences were detected in the Microsoft scoring metrics between the two independent study authors who analyzed readability.

     Document length ranged from 5 to 18 pages (8.25 avg). The number of words (including headers) ranged from 1,662 to 5,564 (3,086.8 avg). Average words per page ranged from 175.9 to 334.2 (294.8 avg), and average words per paragraph ranged from 7.0 to 25.1 (17.76 avg). Font size ranged from 11 to 16 points. All documents used sans serif fonts. The average word length ranged from 4.9 to 5.4 characters (5.18 avg). Average sentence length ranged from 9.8 to 18.7 words (14.4 avg). See Table 2.

This study aims to examine the trends of internal communication research through a quantitative content analysis of published articles in public relations and other communication journals. Research topics, theoretical frameworks, methodology, and authorship information were analyzed using 223 articles. Results indicate that internal communication research in public relations scholarships has exponentially increased since 2011. Research topics on internal communication have diversified since 2000, from descriptive studies illustrating internal communication practices to a variety of relevant phenomena on employee and organizational outcomes. Public relations theories, such as organization–public relationship and symmetrical communication, have been frequently applied in internal communication research. In terms of methodology and sample, quantitative and qualitative methods have been equally utilized, and employees from multiple organizations were frequently used as a type of sample in a large portion of research works. The most productive researchers and institutions of internal communication research in public relations were also identified. Implications for ongoing internal communication research in public relations disciplines are discussed. To address the limitations of the current study, future studies should incorporate an interdisciplinary and a global perspective.

Introduction

Internal communication is the art and science of “managing interdependence and building mutually beneficial relationships between the organization and its employees” (Men & Bowen, 2017, p. 12). The rapid growth of internal communication as a discipline and profession is highlighted in the words and actions of academics and practitioners. In particular, internal communication is one of the “fastest growing specialization in public relations and communication management” (Verčič, Verčič, & Sriramesh, 2012, p. 223). According to the Seventh Communication and Public Relations Generally Accepted Practices (GAP) study conducted by four leading public relations associations, senior-level practitioners reported that internal communication becomes one of core responsibilities of public relations Annenberg School of Communications, University of Southern California, 2012. The advancement of internal communication as an independent domain is also a global trend, as evidenced by an increasing number of think tanks and professional bodies emerging across the globe. In 2010, internal communication practitioners in the UK launched the new Institute of Internal Communication as a professional organization separated from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. In 2012, the Institute for Public Relations in the U.S. launched its Organizational Communication Research Center dedicated to serving as “knowledge aggregator, model innovator and thought leader in the area of employee communication and engagement” (OCRC, 2019). IC Kollectif, a Canada-based non-profit organization, has played a key role in publishing research reports on internal communication while fulfilling its mission in connecting internal communication professionals, educators, and researchers across the globe (IC Kollectif, 2017).

Utopia is a culturally constructed vision of an ideal human condition. Although its contents vary cross-culturally, utopian visions exist across cultures and therefore utopian thinking is a widespread human proclivity. When activated, a utopian vision can engage citizens with their on-going societal processes by activating a motivation to criticize and change the status quo, but may also disengage them from their society, enticing them to wallow in their impossible dream. Utopias animate cultural dynamics – the formation, maintenance, and transformation of culture over time – as a critical part of humanity’s effort to collectively self-regulate our construction of society.

Introduction

Long before Thomas More’s coinage of the term, Utopia, humanity has engaged in utopian thinking. When broadly construed as an imagined ideal way of living, utopianism is discernible in most,ifnot all,human culturaltraditions[e.g. 1–4]. From a psychological perspective, utopia can be understood as a symbolically constructed representation of an ideal human world. It is symbolically constructed because it does not currently exist, but is imagined, represented, and communicated in symbolic forms using language, pictures, or othermaterials.Itis about an ideal, or even perfect,world that humans can potentially live in or perhaps construct. As such, utopia is first and foremost a cultural artefact — a product of human imagination, a potential driver of human striving, and is therefore a significant subject matter for cultural dynamics [5]: investigations on the formation, maintenance, and transformation of culture over time.

Utopia and ideology

Mannheim’s [6] Ideology and Utopia is a classic text that contrasts utopianism to ideology. In his view, ideology is a worldview that maintains the status quo, whereas a utopia is meant to change it. He regarded both as more or less coherent depictions about a societal state, which diverge from the actual state of the society as it is. Mannheim arguably takes what Jost et al. [7] called a critical approach to ideology. Thisis because he regards ideology as serving the function of maintaining the existing social system as highlighted in system justification theory [8,9
], and he suggests that ideology can function to mask the social reality at times. In contrast, he regards utopia as functioning to challenge and alter it. In this sense, utopian thinking can activate what Johnson and Fujita [10] called system change motivation (also see Refs. [11,12]).

In this paper, we aim to contribute to the literature on post-growth futures. Modern imaginings of the future are constrained by the assumptions of growth-based capitalism. To escape these assumptions we turn to utopian fiction. We explore depictions of work in Cokaygne, a utopian tradition dating back to the 12th century, and William Morris’s 19th century News from Nowhere. Cokaygne is a land of excessive consumption without work, while in News from Nowhere work is the route to the good life. These competing notions provide inspiration for a post-growth vision of work. We argue that biophysical and social dynamics mean that in a post-growth economy we are likely to have to be less productive and work more. But, this can be a utopian vision. By breaking the link between work and consumption at the level of the individual, we can remove some of the coercion in work. This would free us to do jobs that contribute to the social good, rather than generate exchange value, and empower us to fight for good work. Finally, we draw on eco-feminist analyses of capitalism to argue that by challenging labour productivity growth we can also challenge wider forces of oppression.

Introduction

To achieve sustainable societies we are likely to have to move beyond growth based economies. Historically, economic growth has been coupled with environmental impact. It is extremely unlikely that we will be able to decouple one from the other (Hickel and Kallis, 2019; Jackson and Victor, 2019). There are a number of dynamics that drive the growth-environment coupling. One key example is that the socioeconomic structures that incentivise resource efficiency gains also incentivise using those gains to fuel further growth in production. Under such dynamics, efficiency gains ultimately drive up resource use (Jackson, 2017; Mair, 2019; Sakai et al., 2019). Addressing this and other drivers of growth will have major implications for how we live. In this paper we take the issue of work as a case in point. Currently, work is bound up with growth dynamics. Take, for example, the ‘productivity trap’ (Jackson and Victor, 2011). To reduce their costs, grow profits and break into new markets, firms attempt to increase labour productivity. The net result of labour productivity growth is that fewer people are needed to produce the same amount of goods. This means that without growth people are made unemployed. Under the political economy of growth-based capitalism, unemployment means a loss of social status and only limited access to the material goods of life. Consequently, the political economy of work in wealthy capitalist economies puts pressure on all of us to support growth.

1. Introduction

2. Related work

3. Methodology

4. Case study

5. Discussion and implications

6. Conclusions

Acknowledgement

References

Abstract

Racism is increasingly recognised as a key driver of unfair inequalities in power, resources and opportunities across racial groups. A comprehensive understanding of racism is beneficial to activist groups, policymakers and governments. Traditional approaches, such as surveys and interviews, are usually time-consuming and inefficient in capturing the occurrence of large-scale racism. In this study, we utilise routinely collected data available on tourism websites to assess self-reported racism in the tourism domain. We present a data acquisition procedure that collects racism-related reviews from the Internet at the global scale and then utilise statistics and natural language processing techniques to analyse and explore racism in terms of its tendency, distribution, semantics and characteristics. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated in a case study, in which we acquire racism-related data at the global scale and validate the impact of racial discrimination on tourists’ experience.

Introduction

Racism is a social phenomenon that should not be ignored. It is a key factor that leads to unfair and avoidable inequalities in power, resources and opportunities across racial or ethnic groups (Berman & Paradies, 2010). This claim is reflected not only by increasing political attention but also by growing media coverage (Rodrigues, Niemann, & Paradies, 2019). Racism has various manifestations. Thus, it has been studied as a concept (i.e. beliefs, ideologies or worldviews) and as an action (i.e. forms of racial discrimination, such as offensive language or racist practices) (Paradies, 2016; Priest & Williams, 2017). Racism research is inherently multidisciplinary and has been the focus of research in humanities (Levy, 2017), social sciences (Henricks, 2015), cultural studies (Seikkula, 2019), economics (Lane, 2016), and law (Hirsh & Cha, 2018), among others.

With the development of the Internet, especially the rise of social networks, assumed anonymity and digital freedom of speech encourage people to freely disclose their racist ideologies or adopt an aggressive online behaviour with limited consequences. In today’s digital era, racism has become common and virulent on the Internet. It has also drawn much research attention in various fields, from engineering and technical science to psychology and social sciences (Jakubowicz et al., 2017; Bliuc, Faulkner, & Jakubowicz, 2018; Fortuna & Nunes, 2018).

In this manuscript, we integrate work on political public relations research, strategic management, and multitrack diplomacy (from international relations scholarship) to advance the concept of citizens’ political public relations (PR), defined as strategies and choices devised by organized, local citizens to enhance inter-group and/or intra-group relations among conflicting groups. We demonstrate citizens’ political PR in action, using a case study to show how one activity planned by a group of organized everyday Ghanaian citizens, a football (soccer) tournament, helped promote better relationships among conflicting communities. We articulate the impact of not only a deliberate strategy devised by the group, but also of an emergent strategy that became evident through the choices made by the citizens in organizing the tournament. Theoretical implications of this new integrative conceptualization of citizens’ political PR for public relations scholarship are discussed.

Introduction

That public relations and/or communication as an organizational function is gaining increased legitimacy around the world is indisputable. Indeed, recent reports indicate that not only are organizations in North America recognizing the importance of public relations (Penning & Bain, 2019), so too are organizations around the world, including in Asia (Kim, Krishna, & Plowman, 2018), South America (Alaimo, 2016), and Africa (Nsehe, 2015). Such growth in the practice of public relations around the world has been paralleled by the development of a robust academic discipline, with conceptualizations and articulations of different theoretically driven and grounded models of public relations. From normative, systems approach-based models (e.g., Grunig, Grunig, & Dozier, 2002), relationship-centric models (Ledingham & Bruning, 1998), and dialogic models (Kent & Taylor, 2002), to critical explorations of public relations practitioners being activists within the organization (Holtzhausen & Voto, 2002), public relations scholars have contributed extensively to our understanding of what public relations practice is and what it should be. However, one enduring criticism of public relations scholarship continues to be the ethnocentrism of North American-dominated models of public relations. For years scholars have called for further models of public relations and its practice that are informed by the cultures and societies in which they are set rather than applications of models from the West (e.g., Sriramesh, 2003; Halff & Gregory, 2014). To this end, scholars have offered insights from and examples of public relations practice from around the world, including the Middle East (Duthler & Dhanesh, 2018), South Africa (Venter, 2010), India (Patwardhan & Bardhan, 2014), Ghana (Wu & Baah-Boakye, 2009), and Colombia (Pastrana & Sriramesh, 2014) among many others. Notably, however, few models and examples exist of public relations strategies in action in Africa, particularly West Africa. Although a rich body of knowledge exists on public relations in South Africa (e.g., Benecke & Oksiutycz, 2015; le Roux, 2014), fewer examples of public relations in other parts of Africa, particularly West Africa, have been forthcoming.

Social media might represent the greatest social innovation/revolution in the history of communication, fundamentally altering how humans communicate, and the practice of public relations, journalism, advertising, marketing, and business. Dozens of theories and concepts including dialogue, engagement, identification, social presence, uses and gratifications, conversational human voice, and many others inform social media. However, what has commonly taken place in social media contexts and public relations has been the importation and application of other theories and concepts, rather than exploring and clarifying the unique features and capabilities of social media per se. This essay argues that social media represent a new communication paradigm, and this essay takes up the challenge of building social media theory for public relations by identifying features of social media that have emerged from existing research as fundamental to understanding social media, and eventually developing a theory(s) of social media for public relations.

Introduction

Research on social media theory in the public relations and communication literature is sparse. Ngai, Tao, and Moon (2015), for example, reviewed what they call an “exhaustive” list of theories that have been used in social media research, identifying nearly three dozen theories from an assortment of disciplines, but argue that no specific theories of social media yet exist. Of course, there are a few scholars trying to build social media theory (cf., Dijck & Poell, 2013). However, just as media scholars have various interests depending upon the medium and their professional practices (cf., Bignell, 2013; Goodwin & Whannel, 2013; Pecora, Murray, & Wartella, 2006), so too are public relations scholars studying social media in a variety of unique ways relevant to their own communication context (Dhanesh & Duthler, 2019; du Plessis, 2018; Gesualdi, 2019). However, no one has yet proposed a social media specific theory for public relations. Social media are more than just an interface that offers visual, textual, and aural affordances. Social media have become a way of life for hundreds of millions of global citizens. However, before academics and professionals can begin to maximize the value of social media for public relations, or any other professional context, the field needs to develop useful definitions and theoretical constructs for thinking about communication in mediated environments. What print and online journalists do with social media tools is very different from what advertisers or marketers do, or what the broadcast industry does. Although the features of social media are still the same, their application or reification are not. As one anonymous reviewer of an earlier version of this essay noted, over the last 100 years, there has never been a theory of media for public relations, rather public relations has adapted its practices to take advantage of the unique features of other media. Public relations needs to do the same in the internet age: to develop an understanding of the unique features of social media most useful in public relations, rather than just treating social media as a tool for messaging.

After thirty years of development in mainland China, public relations is suffering from a stigma because of its negative connotations, misconception and paradoxical perception among the general public, and development constraints. To overcome this stigmatization, a positive public relations theory that posits the positive functions of public relations in contemporary China is proposed by integrating the three public relations dimensions (i.e., communication, organization-public relationships, and ecological networks), the dialogic theory of public relations and the Chinese philosophical thinking of Yin and Yang. To achieve this, the paper first explains the cause of stigmatization in public relations. Second, it introduces the three dimensions of public relations as a profession and discipline. It then articulates how the dialogic theory of public relations and the Yin Yang philosophy contribute to the development of positive public relations. Lastly, it proposes the Taiji model of public relations and the underpinnings of positive public relations. It is important to note that positive public relations serves as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, existing theories of public relations.

Introduction

Research about public relations in mainland China (hereinafter “China”) has drawn wide academic attention in a variety of topics, such as public relations and Chinese modernity (e.g., Hu, Huang, & Zhang, 2015), corporate social responsibility (e.g., Hung-Baesecke, Chen, & Boyd, 2016; Kim & Ji, 2017), social media for public relations practitioners (e.g., Luo & Jiang, 2012), public diplomacy (e.g., Zhong & Lu, 2013), issues and strategies in public relations (e.g., Meng, Yan, & Hung-Baesecke, 2013), crisis management (e.g., Liu, Chang, & Zhao, 2009), and stakeholder engagement and organization-public relationships (OPRs) on social networking sites (e.g., Chen, 2017; Men & Tsai, 2013). However, modern public relations in China, originally driven by the market economy in the early 1980s (Hung & Chen, 2004), is struggling with its legitimacy as a profession and discipline for many reasons (Chen, 2009; Hu et al., 2015; Huang, 2018). Existing public relations literature, largely developed in North America, has demonstrated public relations as a function that provides values in relationship cultivation and development (Grunig & Huang, 2000), reputation management (Hong & Yang, 2011), and stakeholder engagement (Johnston & Taylor, 2018). Unfortunately, public relations is stigmatized in China and most Chinese societies despite the rapid growth of studies conducted in these areas that contribute to the body of knowledge about it. To overcome this stigmatization, this conceptual paper proposes a positive public relations theory that posits the positive functions of public relations in contemporary China by integrating the three public relations dimensions (i.e., communication, organization-public relationships, and ecological networks), the dialogic theory of public relations and the Chinese philosophical thinking of Yin and Yang. To that end, the paper first explains the cause of stigmatization in public relations applying Foucault (1984) problematization. Second, it introduces the three dimensions of public relations as a profession and discipline. It then articulates how the dialogic theory of public relations and the Yin Yang philosophy contribute to the development of positive public relations. Lastly, it proposes the Taiji model of public relations and the underpinnings of the positive theory of public relations. It is important to note that positive public relations serves as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, existing theories of public relations.

This article traces the early form of public information services during the colonial period to provide new insights into the historical development of Malaysia’s public relations. The first formal information agency created in 1910 was based in London to promote the early practices of public relations for British Malaya and its interests in Britain. British consolidation during the years of economic boom and depression, until the achievement of Malaysian Independence, was aided by the early information services. The article makes an alternative argument about the beginnings of Malaysian public relations based on colonial economic and political interest as against other previously held views

Introduction and literature review

A discussion about the beginning of public relations in any given country draws keen interest and debate. Tracing the origins and development of public relations can produce varying results and interpretations based on the premises of scholars. It can be equally challenging because of scarce sources and difficulty accessing materials (L’Etang, 2009). With regard to the beginnings of public relations in Malaysia, one interpretation claims that public relations in the country existed during the time of the old Sultanates as part of the administrative bureaucracy. Adnan (1985) narrated the presence of public relations-related activities under the controlled administration of the Melaka Sultanate in the 15th century, referring to the works of court officials. Another view was that public relations was an outcome of modern history, drawing its strength from the social and political national consciousness movement against the British colonialist (Nordin, 1986). Ahmad Nordin, one of the early public relations practitioners, approached the development of public relations in Malaysia as an organized agitation in 1945 at the end of World War II (Nordin, 1986). He claimed that the field embodied propaganda-related activities that were undertaken by the British administration and the Malaysian movement for nationhood. For Nordin, this movement for independence constituted the early forms of public relations. Idid (1980, 1995, 2004) associated the development of public relations in Malaysia with the growth of government bureaucracy, mass media and communication technologies claiming that organized public relations activities in Malaysia began with the establishment of the Department of Information of 1939 during the British administration as a World War II propaganda machinery. Many scholarly views of public relations development in Malaysia point to British influence (Idid, 1995; Nordin, 1986). The Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM), set up in 1962, was itself influenced by the practice and ideology of the British Institute of Public Relations established in 1948 (Idid, 2005). IPRM adopted the definition of public relations from the British group. The British Ministry of Information, formed for the Second World War, nurtured the Department of Information in Malaysia, first, through the creation of the Department of Information in 1939, and then later, through the Department of Information and Publicity in 1941 (Idid, 1995). British scholars (Anthony, 2012; L’Etang, 2009, 2013; Moloney, 2000) credited the Empire Marketing Board (EMB) to the beginnings of public relations in the British Commonwealth of Nations.