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MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR PUBLISHES ARTICLE ON HOW UNIVERSITIES USE FACEBOOK

Monmouth University Communication Professor Sheila McAllister’s study examining Web sites and Facebook presences of the top 100 universities in the world was published in Public Relations Review, January 2012.

Professor McAllister’s study examined if universities use new media tools and how the world’s top universities use Facebook as an interactive forum that give voice to key stakeholders. The content analyses of the Web sites and Facebook platforms show that more than half of the universities have Facebook pages.

The key findings of the study include:

  • Only 39% of the Web sites offered links to the Facebook pages
  • Users cannot post content or photos, or participate in discussions and wall posts on more than half of the Facebook pages

Professor McAllister explains: “The voices of key stakeholders are being silenced via a media that is intended to provide open forums for dialogue.”

Professor Sheila McAllister’s major area of study is public relations, with primary emphasis on relationship building public relations activities via the Internet. She views the practice of building organization-public relationships from an interpersonal communication perspective and sees dialogic communication as a critical function in building and maintaining organization-public relationships.  She is also interested in the role that dialogic communication plays in communicating identity, image, and branding.

Professor McAllister is available for interviews by calling 732-571-7553, or sending e-mail to smcallis@monmouth.edu.

To view the full article, visit www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363811111002050

Media contact: Petra Ludwig at 732-263-5507