This study marks a shift in research focus from verbal to visual aspects in crisis communication ... more This study marks a shift in research focus from verbal to visual aspects in crisis communication and contributes to the emerging field of visual crisis communication by exploring the use of images in the Scandinavian press when reporting on and/or commemorating a disaster. We used rhetorical arena theory (RAT) and a social semiotic approach to visual analysis to investigate how fifteen newspapers from Sweden, Norway and Denmark visualised the MS Estonia disaster ten, fifteen and twenty years after the sinking of the ship. We examined 93 images published on the anniversaries in 2004, 2009 and 2014 to determine what kinds of images accompanied the press reports and how these changed over time. The results demonstrate that the images, which changed considerably over time, represented the disaster both as an irreversible loss and as a process with a strong symbolic value.
In February 2015, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of the LEGO Group, invited the national and internati... more In February 2015, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of the LEGO Group, invited the national and international press to a financial briefing at the company's headquarters in Billund (Denmark). 2014 had been an exceptional year of growth for the LEGO group. Nevertheless, most of the journalists present in the room were surprised when the Danish CEO suddenly began to dance in front of the audience while singing ‘Everything is awesome’ from the LEGO Movie. Why did he do it? Was it out of spontaneous joy? Or was there a strategy behind his actions? And what were the reactions of the media and LEGO employees? What can a CEO who is dancing and singing for a few seconds or minutes in front of a group of journalists tell us about leadership roles and leadership communication? The aim of this chapter is to provide plausible answers to these questions. We combine theory of dancing with three different approaches to the study of leadership: (1) a strategic approach: the CEO as a Performer, (2) a po...
International Journal of Business Communication, 2019
In this study, we investigate a sample of 15 popular crisis management books (PCMBs), written by ... more In this study, we investigate a sample of 15 popular crisis management books (PCMBs), written by crisis consultants and published between 1986 and 2018 in the United States or in the United Kingdom. The aim of the study is to examine (1) how the authors of PCMBs position themselves in front of their readers, clients, and competitors, including public relations professionals and academics; (2) how they understand and present organizational crises and the practice of crisis management and crisis communication as their field of expertise; and (3) how they promote this expertise using various types of message strategies and rhetorical packaging. The findings of the study reveal that PCMBs are more diverse than expected and that they cover important aspects of crisis management often neglected by academic publications. The article concludes with some implications for practice, research, and education.
The aim of this conceptual article is to study a possible dual relationship between public relati... more The aim of this conceptual article is to study a possible dual relationship between public relations and the new institutionalism. How can neo-institutional organizational theory contribute to public relations research, including answering the question: How is public relations (corporate communication or strategic communication) institutionalized in private and public organizations? And how, vice versa, can public relations contribute to the neo-institutional study of organizations, including answering the question: How does public relations institutionalize? In the first part of the article, a short up-to-date précis of the new institutionalism is given demonstrating how this theoretical framework within organizational sociology has developed through various stages and in various directions. The focus is on the shift towards a more complex and interactive understanding of how and why organizations adopt institutionalized norms. In the second part of the article, the new interest in...
Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 2016
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the Telenor customer complaints crisis triggere... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the Telenor customer complaints crisis triggered on the company Facebook site in August 2012. More specifically, the paper focusses on how friends and enemies of a company interact, and how faith-holders serve as crisis communicators in a rhetorical sub-arena that opens up on Facebook. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a textual analysis of 4,368 posts from the Telenor Facebook site, and an interview with the senior digital manager of Telenor. Findings – Not only current and previous customers but also those from rival telephone companies were active in the Facebook sub-arena. The customers complaining about the company services were met not only with the response of Telenor, but also with counter-attacks from faith-holders acting in defense of Telenor. However, these faith-holders were using defensive response strategies, while Telenor used accommodative strategies. Research limitations/implications – Organizationa...
International Journal of Strategic Communication, 2016
The aim of the study was to investigate the formation intensity of the urban heat island (UHI) in... more The aim of the study was to investigate the formation intensity of the urban heat island (UHI) in Białystok, a relatively small city in northeastern Poland. The UHI development was determined on the basis of meteorological data obtained from two weather stations of the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Białystok, one located in the city center, and the other on its outskirts. The measurements of temperature gathered by automobile traverses along streets running from the city limits through the center were carried out in order to provide spatial diversity of the studied phenomenon. The results indicated that UHI in Bialystok is very clear. The intensity of this phenomenon changes in the daily cycle, with the peak in the evening. During the year the heat island is the most pronounced in the spring.
International Journal of Strategic Communication, 2015
Hepatitis B and C are serious public health problems worldwide. Thalassemia patients are dependen... more Hepatitis B and C are serious public health problems worldwide. Thalassemia patients are dependent on blood transfusions throughout their life and are at high risk of viral infections. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B/C infections and different clinical parameters in multitransfused thalassemia population. In this study, 262 multitransfused β-thalassemia patients were enrolled from the capital twin cities of Pakistan. The presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level, serum creatinine, serum ferritin, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, and splenectomy were analyzed. The overall prevalence of HBV and HCV was 3.08% and 55.73%, respectively, with 100% of patients older than 20 years had HCV infection. The ALT levels among HBV-and HCV-positive thalassemia patients were 92.62 ± 41.57 U/L and 98 ± 63.65 U/L, respectively; creatinine values observed were 0.4 ± 0.35 mg/dL (for HBV) and 0.39 ± 0.24 mg/dL (for HCV), while serum ferritin levels were 6865.87 ± 1649.13 ng/dL (for HBV) and 5445.95 ± 3059.28 ng/dL (for HCV). A total of 74.8% and 82.20% of HBV-and HCV-positive patients had hepatomegaly with an average increase in liver size of 4.17 and 4.33 cm, respectively. Splenomegaly was observed in 64.9% and 67.12% of HBV-and HCV-positive patients with an average increase in spleen size of 4 and 4.46 cm, respectively. Splenectomy was observed among 14.50% and 15.75% of HBV-and HCV-infected thalassemia patients. There is a strong need to properly screen blood before transfusions to reduce the future load of viral hepatitis from Pakistan.
This study marks a shift in research focus from verbal to visual aspects in crisis communication ... more This study marks a shift in research focus from verbal to visual aspects in crisis communication and contributes to the emerging field of visual crisis communication by exploring the use of images in the Scandinavian press when reporting on and/or commemorating a disaster. We used rhetorical arena theory (RAT) and a social semiotic approach to visual analysis to investigate how fifteen newspapers from Sweden, Norway and Denmark visualised the MS Estonia disaster ten, fifteen and twenty years after the sinking of the ship. We examined 93 images published on the anniversaries in 2004, 2009 and 2014 to determine what kinds of images accompanied the press reports and how these changed over time. The results demonstrate that the images, which changed considerably over time, represented the disaster both as an irreversible loss and as a process with a strong symbolic value.
In February 2015, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of the LEGO Group, invited the national and internati... more In February 2015, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of the LEGO Group, invited the national and international press to a financial briefing at the company's headquarters in Billund (Denmark). 2014 had been an exceptional year of growth for the LEGO group. Nevertheless, most of the journalists present in the room were surprised when the Danish CEO suddenly began to dance in front of the audience while singing ‘Everything is awesome’ from the LEGO Movie. Why did he do it? Was it out of spontaneous joy? Or was there a strategy behind his actions? And what were the reactions of the media and LEGO employees? What can a CEO who is dancing and singing for a few seconds or minutes in front of a group of journalists tell us about leadership roles and leadership communication? The aim of this chapter is to provide plausible answers to these questions. We combine theory of dancing with three different approaches to the study of leadership: (1) a strategic approach: the CEO as a Performer, (2) a po...
International Journal of Business Communication, 2019
In this study, we investigate a sample of 15 popular crisis management books (PCMBs), written by ... more In this study, we investigate a sample of 15 popular crisis management books (PCMBs), written by crisis consultants and published between 1986 and 2018 in the United States or in the United Kingdom. The aim of the study is to examine (1) how the authors of PCMBs position themselves in front of their readers, clients, and competitors, including public relations professionals and academics; (2) how they understand and present organizational crises and the practice of crisis management and crisis communication as their field of expertise; and (3) how they promote this expertise using various types of message strategies and rhetorical packaging. The findings of the study reveal that PCMBs are more diverse than expected and that they cover important aspects of crisis management often neglected by academic publications. The article concludes with some implications for practice, research, and education.
The aim of this conceptual article is to study a possible dual relationship between public relati... more The aim of this conceptual article is to study a possible dual relationship between public relations and the new institutionalism. How can neo-institutional organizational theory contribute to public relations research, including answering the question: How is public relations (corporate communication or strategic communication) institutionalized in private and public organizations? And how, vice versa, can public relations contribute to the neo-institutional study of organizations, including answering the question: How does public relations institutionalize? In the first part of the article, a short up-to-date précis of the new institutionalism is given demonstrating how this theoretical framework within organizational sociology has developed through various stages and in various directions. The focus is on the shift towards a more complex and interactive understanding of how and why organizations adopt institutionalized norms. In the second part of the article, the new interest in...
Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 2016
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the Telenor customer complaints crisis triggere... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the Telenor customer complaints crisis triggered on the company Facebook site in August 2012. More specifically, the paper focusses on how friends and enemies of a company interact, and how faith-holders serve as crisis communicators in a rhetorical sub-arena that opens up on Facebook. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a textual analysis of 4,368 posts from the Telenor Facebook site, and an interview with the senior digital manager of Telenor. Findings – Not only current and previous customers but also those from rival telephone companies were active in the Facebook sub-arena. The customers complaining about the company services were met not only with the response of Telenor, but also with counter-attacks from faith-holders acting in defense of Telenor. However, these faith-holders were using defensive response strategies, while Telenor used accommodative strategies. Research limitations/implications – Organizationa...
International Journal of Strategic Communication, 2016
The aim of the study was to investigate the formation intensity of the urban heat island (UHI) in... more The aim of the study was to investigate the formation intensity of the urban heat island (UHI) in Białystok, a relatively small city in northeastern Poland. The UHI development was determined on the basis of meteorological data obtained from two weather stations of the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Białystok, one located in the city center, and the other on its outskirts. The measurements of temperature gathered by automobile traverses along streets running from the city limits through the center were carried out in order to provide spatial diversity of the studied phenomenon. The results indicated that UHI in Bialystok is very clear. The intensity of this phenomenon changes in the daily cycle, with the peak in the evening. During the year the heat island is the most pronounced in the spring.
International Journal of Strategic Communication, 2015
Hepatitis B and C are serious public health problems worldwide. Thalassemia patients are dependen... more Hepatitis B and C are serious public health problems worldwide. Thalassemia patients are dependent on blood transfusions throughout their life and are at high risk of viral infections. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B/C infections and different clinical parameters in multitransfused thalassemia population. In this study, 262 multitransfused β-thalassemia patients were enrolled from the capital twin cities of Pakistan. The presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level, serum creatinine, serum ferritin, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, and splenectomy were analyzed. The overall prevalence of HBV and HCV was 3.08% and 55.73%, respectively, with 100% of patients older than 20 years had HCV infection. The ALT levels among HBV-and HCV-positive thalassemia patients were 92.62 ± 41.57 U/L and 98 ± 63.65 U/L, respectively; creatinine values observed were 0.4 ± 0.35 mg/dL (for HBV) and 0.39 ± 0.24 mg/dL (for HCV), while serum ferritin levels were 6865.87 ± 1649.13 ng/dL (for HBV) and 5445.95 ± 3059.28 ng/dL (for HCV). A total of 74.8% and 82.20% of HBV-and HCV-positive patients had hepatomegaly with an average increase in liver size of 4.17 and 4.33 cm, respectively. Splenomegaly was observed in 64.9% and 67.12% of HBV-and HCV-positive patients with an average increase in spleen size of 4 and 4.46 cm, respectively. Splenectomy was observed among 14.50% and 15.75% of HBV-and HCV-infected thalassemia patients. There is a strong need to properly screen blood before transfusions to reduce the future load of viral hepatitis from Pakistan.
Man har en øget forståelse af, at kriser ikke kun er forårsaget af menneskelige fejl, men også ka... more Man har en øget forståelse af, at kriser ikke kun er forårsaget af menneskelige fejl, men også kan vaere "normale" eller systemimmanente (jf. f.eks. Perrow 1984).
The insights presented in the report shed light on current and future trends in the communication... more The insights presented in the report shed light on current and future trends in the communication field in the Nordic region. The study explores important themes such as diversity, equality and inclusions; empathic leadership in communication teams and dimensions such as organizational commitment, work engagement and mental health; CommTech and the digital transformation of communications; external consulting in communications including complexity, quality and the need for quality standards. It also covers a look to the future by exploring strategic issues and work practices in the profession in the years to come. All results are compared across the Nordic countries and they are benchmarked against the rest of Europe.
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Papers by Winni Johansen