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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 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]

Using prior models regarding online consumer behavior and adoption of technological innovations the present study aims at identifying various factors that might impact on tourists’ intention to adopt mobile augmented reality gamified applications for tourism destinations and to decipher the impact of serious tourism games on tourists’ perceptions and behaviors towards a destination. Based on a literature review the present study developed a conceptual model that considers important antecedents that could impact tourists’ intention to adopt a mobile augmented reality gamified applications for a tourism destination. Moreover, tourists’ responses to usage of serious tourism games were also identified. The hypothesized model suggests that tourists’ intention to use augmented reality serious games for tourism could be influenced by environmental factors concerning the design of the application, the technical characteristics of the application as well as the features of smart mobile devices of users. Tourist characteristics related to personal traits and demographics, perceived benefits (enjoyment, ease of use and usefulness), and motivations (entertainment, knowledge, curiosity, exploration, immersion, escapism, physical activity, social interaction) were also found to be important antecedents of tourists’ intentions towards mobile augmented reality serious tourism games. Furthermore, this study shed light on the impact of tourism gamified applications on tourist behavior. Analysis of prior studies indicates that tourists’ usage of these applications can influence their perceived utilitarian and hedonic value and in turn result in increased levels of awareness, loyalty, word-of-mouth communication, and engagement of tourists with the destination. Results will help researchers test empirically the impact of the identified factors on tourists’ usage intentions and subsequent responses. Moreover, practitioners and game developers could design user centered gamified applications that enhance tourists’ satisfaction with the application and the destination as well.

In this paper, we study the concepts, materials, tools, and applications that constitute what we call augmented reality (AR) for the wine industry. A comprehensive review of what are the basic multimedia content for constructing successful AR applications for wine products is given. To this end, we provide a detailed analysis of how AR technology is used to create augmented “live” wine labels, and how digital storytelling has revolutionized wine products marketing. Also, we describe the use of AR technology to promote winemaking companies to influence consumer preferences. Finally, we report the characteristics of future research directions and some open issues and challenges on using AR for wine product promotion.

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]

A study investigates the possible opportunities and threats for competitors when a company in the same industry faces a product-harm crisis. Results suggest that consumers are willing to buy competitorsE products when a company in the same industry faces a medium or high level crisis and has displayed low levels of social responsibility.