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Oral communication and presentation skills are considered key competencies for many academic fields and professions, including science-related ones. Therefore, it is vital that students are given sufficient class time in the curriculum for practicing public speaking. It is well documented in the literature that video technology can be of valuable aid in enhancing oral skills, and FlipGrid is a relatively new video discussion platform that has become popular for this purpose. The aim of this study is two-fold. First, the literature regarding FlipGrid is explored to understand how educators around the globe use the platform. Second, a case study is presented where FlipGrid is used and evaluated as a tool for practicing and assessing oral science communication. A mixed-method approach was used to evaluate FlipGrid with the participation of 112 students. Findings indicate that although the use FlipGrid in science fields is limited, it can be a useful platform for practicing oral science communication.

This article explores how communication management is being practiced in Greece and sheds light on the impact exerted by social media practice and knowledge of communication roles on practitioners' involvement in organizations' strategic management process. This article also tests how communication roles interact with the different aspects of social media management. To this end, a quantitative survey was conducted using an online self-administered questionnaire that was completed by 107 communication practitioners in Greece. Communicators in the sample exhibited more knowledge for the technician role and performed managerial tasks to a lesser extent. Greek practitioners are mainly involved in routine operations, but they also perform strategic tasks as they provide input in strategic planning by scanning the environment to identify issues and help management develop goals. Concerning their social media practice, they seem to be involved with tactical activities such as content creation and engagement enhancement. The results also show that social media activities did not influence practitioners' involvement in strategic management, which was instead affected by the communication roles of manager and technician. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present an approach that utilizes several mixed reality technologies for touristic promotion and education. More specifically, mixed reality applications and games were created to promote the mountainous areas of Western Macedonia, Greece, and to educate visitors on various aspects of these destinations, such as their history and cultural heritage. Location-based augmented reality (AR) games were designed to guide the users to visit and explore the destinations, get informed, gather points and prizes by accomplishing specific tasks, and meet virtual characters that tell stories. Furthermore, an immersive lab was established to inform visitors about the region of interest through mixed reality content designed for entertainment and education. The lab visitors can experience content and games through virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) wearable devices. Likewise, 3D content can be viewed through special stereoscopic monitors. An evaluation of the lab experience was performed with a sample of 82 visitors who positively evaluated features of the immersive experience such as the level of satisfaction, immersion, educational usefulness, the intention to visit the mountainous destinations of Western Macedonia, intention to revisit the lab, and intention to recommend the experience to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study pursues a line of inquiry into male and female candidates' political campaign strategies on Facebook, drawing a sample from the 2019 National elections in Greece. The findings suggest that both genders disseminate one-way campaign information and address a wider palette of political issues than the ones typically associated with their gender. Some stereotypical patterns regarding traits and issue expertise seem to persist; females are more expressive in terms of visual content and use of emoticons, choose personalization and dialogic communication more frequently and emphasize culture and women's issues. Men are more often associated with negative campaigning, prioritize "masculine" issues such as employment and foreign affairs, and generate a greater level of user engagement. The results indicate that social media do not constitute an alternative communication channel that equalizes existing power structures. Instead, they seem to reflect the status quo and may hinder women candidates' efforts to gain visibility and communicate with the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines the discourse of the then Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, following the 2018 July wildfire disaster in the Eastern Attica suburbs including Mati to reveal the frames employed by the main protagonist utilizing existing framing models while also incorporating the notions of ethic of care and strategic ambiguity. The then government received extensive criticism by the media and political opponents in regard to the management and communication responses of the then Prime Minister. A content analysis was conducted to the statements made by the then Prime Minister. Findings indicate that Tsipras during the initial stages of the crisis acknowledged the extent of crisis while also emphasizing the successful crisis response efforts. Moreover, strategic ambiguity along with low levels of "caring" were important elements of Tsipras' narrative at the initial stage. As the public outrage and criticism intensified, Tsipras incorporated a more caring profile and presented the disaster as a "critical opportunity" by shifting the blame to previous governments and proposing policy changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an actor-center approach, the present study sheds light on the intersection between populist communication and Facebook campaigns in the context of the 2019 general elections in Greece. Specifically, the study focuses on how populist actors in Greece campaigned on Facebook and examines their communicative performance in terms of user engagement in comparison with that of their opponents. For this purpose, a quantitative content analysis was performed by analyzing the Facebook posts published by populist and non-populist candidates over one week preceding the July 7 elections. Results suggest that candidates from populist parties, such as SYRIZA (Coalition of the Radical Left) and EL (Greek Solution), were outpaced by the mainstream New Democracy party that won the election. Moreover, significant differences are observed between populist and non-populist actors regarding the communication strategies utilized. Results suggest that different communication strategies have varying effects on user engagement depending on the populist identity of candidates, as well as their position in the left-right political spectrum. Several practical implications are proposed regarding the effective orchestration of Facebook campaigns by populist and non-populist actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study sheds light on the under-researched relationship between social media content and citizens' engagement, as well as the impact of dialogic communication on citizens' engagement. To this end, Facebook content of the five largest Greek municipalities was examined. A six-dimensional typology of social media content posted by local governments on Facebook was proposed. The results suggest that dialogic posts and posts that trigger offline participatory activities exerted significant influence on all forms of citizens' online engagement. It is recommended that social media managers of local governments in Greece, as well as other countries with similar public administration styles and social media usage patterns, create dialogic loops with their citizenry by addressing users' questions and concerns through Facebook posts. Moreover, they could publish rich media content on Facebook in the form of videos and posts that mobilise citizens to participate in various offline activities (e.g., events, council meetings). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates sea-based adventure experiences on the Greek island of Rhodes and their impact on tourists’ satisfaction, word-of-mouth (WOM) and re-experience intentions. On-site surveys were conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. Results indicated that the experiential dimensions of hedonism, escapism, and socialization were positive antecedents of tourists’ satisfaction and behavioral intentions. In contrast, flow experience was negatively related to the behavioral intentions of sea adventure tourists. Marketers should carefully design and manage sea-based experiences in order to satisfy and retain their customers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study, using cluster analysis, segmented the Greek summer camping market based on the extraordinary experience scale proposed by Arnould and Price (1993), using cluster analysis. Four distinct segments were derived, namely: Social–Naturalist Campers, Indifferent Campers, Pure Naturalist Campers, and Adventurous–Experiential Campers. Furthermore, these segments were profiled based on several postvisit variables (i.e., satisfaction, intention to revisit, nostalgia, word-of-mouth (WOM) activity, and WOM praise). Finally, the study concludes with the development of marketing strategies for reaching and serving the most attractive segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]