This article explores approaches to crisis communication and the application of those approaches by organizations responding to a disaster. The authors conducted a survey of 107 state government agencies to learn about government efforts in situations requiring crisis communication. Generally, the survey results suggest that although state agencies enjoy a positive relationship with the media, they have little proactive communication with the media, and less than half have a written crisis communication plan. Significant associations were found between the variables under study, including size of the organization, roles in crisis situations, media relationships, and preparation of a crisis communication plan. Case studies and additional evaluations of communication resources are needed to help determine the ability of the public sector to respond effectively to crises. This article considers the needs of state agencies and proposes a conceptual approach that synthesizes a crisis communication process designed for the public sector.

This exploratory study investigated the effect of visiting therapy dogs on college-student perceived and physiological stress the week prior to final exams. Students (n = 78) were randomly assigned to order of a therapydog intervention and attention-control condition, each 15 minutes long. Students completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a stress visual analog scale (SVAS), and provided saliva for measuring nerve growth factor (sNGF) and alpha amylase (sAA), prior to randomization. Saliva samples and SVAS were again collected after each condition. There was no effect of group order on demographics, PSS, or initial SVAS. Repeated measures models were used to analyze the complete data sets of 57 students. There were no significant differences in sAA between or within students completing the intervention and control conditions. sNGF was not subjected to analysis as most levels were undetectable. Significant differences in SVAS scores were found between the intervention and control condition, with large effect sizes. SVAS scores were lower following the intervention, regardless of condition order (intervention first, p = 0.0001, d = 1.87; intervention second, p = 0.0004, d = 1.63). No SVAS differences were found for the control condition. Based on these findings, campus events with visiting therapy dogs represent a costeffective, easily accessible activity to reduce perceived, but not physiological, stress for college students prior to final exams.Keywords: animal-assisted activities, exam stress, human-animal interaction, therapy dogs Offering students the opportunity to interact with friendly dogs during exam periods is gaining popularity at colleges and universities. Tufts University, Emory University Law School, Kent State University, Harvard Medical School, and Yale Law School are among those offering such opportunities (Turner 2012;Christensen 2013). While anecdotal accounts of the popularity and benefits of these dog visits are reported, no formal studies of efficacy have been published. Before advocating for dog visits to address exam-related stress in college students, we first need evidence that such activities are effective in reducing student stress.It is well known that exams are a major stressful experience for college students. Elevated exam stress has been associated with increased tension and depression (Gilbert et al. 1996), poorer academic performance (Ng, Koh and Chia 2003), and lower student expectations of their grades (Austin, Saklofske and Mastoras 2010). Exam stress has also been negatively associated with physiological indicators of stress and immune function. Preuß and colleagues (2010) used salivary cortisol to measure physiological stress responses in college students before and after taking written and oral exams. Cortisol concentrations were elevated before, but not after, written exams and were higher before and after oral exams. Based on their findings, the authors concluded that while written exams caused a mild anticipatory stress response, oral exams elicited a strong...

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Internal and external workplace diversity and the technology-induced time constraints of multinational competition make the challenge of improving organizational communication bigger than ever. Narrative paradigm or the "storytelling" theory has been proffered as an effective cross-cultural communication tool, but this article presents the idea that storytelling goes beyond that and fills the diverse communication needs of today's heterogeneous workforce. It presents a model of storytelling as a complete organizational communication tool, discusses how to effectively apply storytelling in the diverse work environment, and proposes some opportunities for further research.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary study of the effect of the presence at work of employees' dogs on stress and organizational perceptions.Design/methodology/approachA pre‐post between‐group design with repeated measures was used to compare differences between employees who bring their dogs to work (DOG group), employees who do not bring their dogs to work (NODOG group), and employees without pets (NOPET group) on physiological and perceived stress, perceptions of job satisfaction, organizational affective commitment, and perceived organizational support.FindingsCombined groups scored significantly higher on multiple job satisfaction subscales than the reference norm group for these scales. No significant differences were found between the groups on physiological stress or perceived organizational support. Although perceived stress was similar at baseline; over the course of the day, stress declined for the DOG group with their dogs present and increased for the NODOG and NOPET groups. The NODOG group had significantly higher stress than the DOG group by the end of the day. A significant difference was found in the stress patterns for the DOG group on days their dogs were present and absent. On dog absent days, owners' stress increased throughout the day, mirroring the pattern of the NODOG group.Originality/valueThis paper provides the first quantitative exploratory study of the effects of pet dogs in the workplace setting on employee stress and perceptions of satisfaction, support and commitment.