Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to design a case study to explore how a mining and construction company, located in the Zambian Copperbelt, practices corporate social responsibility (CSR), which has a vital role to play in the mining industry because of its importance in a range of areas including: the local economy, avoiding a negative impact on the environment and society and occupational safety. This is especially true in the developing parts of the world. Numerous initiatives, guidelines and tools have been made available for CSR practice but very little is known about the usefulness of the new CSR-standard International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26000. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was designed to explore how a mining and construction company, located in the Zambian Copperbelt, practices CSR within the health area and to discuss the possible merits of ISO 26000 for CSR development in the mining industry in the developing world. Findings – Our findings show that, despite the fact that ISO 26000 is primarily a series of guidelines, it can be used to evaluate and improve a company’s CSR practice even if that company is already considered as a frontrunner within CSR. The standard can give valuable advice when designing community development programs and allocating the use of charity donations. Further, our study has shown that traditional management systems based on occupational health and safety standard 18001 and ISO 14001 can rather effectively support actions and expectations in ISO 26000. Research limitations/implications – The research context is Zambia, so there might be limitations when applying the results to other cultural and geographical settings. Practical implications – The paper is a useful source of information about the practical implementation of CSR within the health area. Originality/value – Much of the literature within the field of practical implementation of CSR is focusing on the philanthropic activities. This paper brings more information about practical implementation of CSR in core corporate business.

This study found that a week of prime-time programming on the broadcast networks yielded 4,347 commercial messages (either for products/services or movie trailers/television program promotions), of which 536 (12.3%) contained some form of aggression (physical, verbal, or "fortuitous"). Those 536 messages then formed the sample used in this content analysis. Among the key findings, it was found that just over half of the commercials combined aggression with humor. Humor was more common when the aggression was fortuitous. Psychoanalytic humor was the most frequently employed humor technique, followed by incongruity and then superiority.The study of the presence of aggression in television programs is very common, but considerably less frequent are analyses of aggression appearing in television commercial content (commercials for products and services as well as promotional messages for television programs and movie releases). Yet a cursory glance at commercial content shows that there are depictions of harm or injury experienced by characters. In fact, anecdotal observation suggests that such depictions are often played for laughs, with the advertised product or service shown as a solution to a problem depicted comically through injury. The combination of aggression and humor has the potential to contribute to desensitization and aggressive behavior by making light of harm. This study documents aggression in a sample of commercial ) is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her research interests include media effects on children, representations of gender in the media, and media literacy.Angela Paradise (M.A., University of Massachusetts, Amherst) is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her research interests include media violence, video games, and media literacy.Qianqing Ren (M.A., Beijing Foreign Studies University) is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her research interests include effects of advertising and marketing, media literacy, and quantitative research methods. content drawn from prime-time television and measures its co-occurrence with the humorous intent of the commercial.The unpredictability of potential exposure of children to aggression in commercial content makes this a worthy issue to research. Unlike programs that now bear ratings that caution parents about objectionable content, commercials and movie trailers show up on screen quickly and largely without warning. If that commercial content contains aggression, children may be incidentally exposed, despite the best efforts of even the most vigilant parents.

While many studies have addressed the impact of media literacy interventions on knowledge of specific topic areas, fewer have explored improvements in media literacy skills as outcome measures. This study analyzed the impact of a media literacy intervention on participants' critical thinking skills and understanding of media literacy principles by addressing the topics of body image and media representations of gender and race. A two-group, longitudinal experimental design was implemented using college-aged student participants across multiple introductory communication course sections (n = 198) at a public university in the southeast. Results were significant for several media literacy measures for the treatment group after exposure to the intervention compared to the control group. These findings were persistent over the duration of the semester as demonstrated in the second posttest.

This quantitative study investigates linkages between integrative learning experiences provided by student-run firms and fostering professional self-efficacy or the confidence to do one’s job effectively and efficiently. Based on a survey of 182 students involved in student-run agencies, this research measured students’ professional self-efficacy (confidence) in being able to perform 23 communication tasks. It also measures attribution respondents award to their student-run agency experiences in attaining that confidence. The study suggests changes to pedagogy and provides evidence for the effectiveness of student-run firms in preparing graduates for responsibilities in the professions of advertising, public relations, integrated communication, and strategic communication.