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Top 9 ROI Metrics for Expertise Marketing

When it comes to digital marketing, organizations are looking for data-driven solutions that are proven to support their bottom line. Here are 9 families of quantitative and qualitative metrics that will help you measure and track the success of your organization’s Expertise Marketing. (Taken from Chapter 5 of Expertise Marketing Whitepaper: Next Wave in Digital Strategy) REPUTATION Move Brand Metrics - Position research, client work, thought leadership perspectives and achievements in the context of relevant topics in the news. MARKET AWARENESS Move Search Metrics - Boost search-engine rankings and increase overall breath of search results. LEAD GENERATION Grow Inbound Leads - Increase the number of direct lead inquiries from the following audiences: Customers |  Students |  Patients  |  Donors  |  Patients  |  Media  |   Recruits  | Conferences  | Partners  |  Alumni  | & More... AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT Drive Engagement Metrics - A single familiar digital touchpoint provides access to all content marketing assets and encourages enhanced content browsing. Download our Free Whitepaper Expertise Marketing: The Next Wave in Digital Strategy TALENT DEVELOPMENT Boost People Performance -   Better engage stakeholders, researchers & subject-matter experts in the development and distribution of content. INTERNAL COLLABORATION Improve Teamwork & Internal Efficiency - Better coordinate the knowledge and resources across internal communications teams and other departments as they engage experts.  Provide a faster, more efficient way to generate content for breaking news and events. CONTENT CONTRIBUTION Expand Reach - Increase the size of the organization’s digital footprint by aggregating more content and distributing it contextually to multiple websites and third-party databases. EFFICIENCY Deliver More with Less - Help employees get their jobs done faster and more efficiently. Enable them to find information faster, speed up internal processes and foster collaboration among people in multiple locations. LEVERAGE CURRENT & FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE Extract More Value From Existing Investments - Properly integrated, new technology investments should integrate seamlessly to leverage existing/proposed infrastructure such as content management systems (CMS). What’s most important to you? Get in touch with Deanne and start the conversation about how ExpertFile can begin moving that dial within 6 weeks. Get Your Copy and Get Started Expertise Marketing: The Next Wave in Digital Strategy About ExpertFile ExpertFile is the world’s first Expertise Marketing Platform that helps organizations solve the challenge of creating, managing and amplifying expert content. Our software platform and services help you showcase your people and their insights to the audiences that matter across a range of channels including distribution through the Associated Press to over 15,000 newsrooms.  Learn more about ExpertFile.

Chinese scientists are creating CRISPR babies

A daring effort is under way to create the first children whose DNA has been tailored using gene editing. When Chinese researchers first edited the genes of a human embryo in a lab dish in 2015, it sparked global outcry and pleas from scientists not to make a baby using the technology, at least for the present. It was the invention of a powerful gene-editing tool, CRISPR, which is cheap and easy to deploy, that made the birth of humans genetically modified in an in vitro fertilization (IVF) center a theoretical possibility. Now, it appears it may already be happening. According to Chinese medical documents posted online this month, a team at the Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen, has been recruiting couples in an effort to create the first gene-edited babies. They planned to eliminate a gene called CCR5 in hopes of rendering the offspring resistant to HIV, smallpox, and cholera. He Jiankui leads a team using the gene-editing technology CRISPR in an effort to prevent disease in newborns. The clinical trial documents describe a study in which CRISPR is employed to modify human embryos before they are transferred into women’s uteruses. The scientist behind the effort, He Jiankui, did not reply to a list of questions about whether the undertaking had produced a live birth. Reached by telephone, he declined to comment.  However, data submitted as part of the trial listing shows that genetic tests have been carried out on fetuses as late as 24 weeks, or six months. It’s not known if those pregnancies were terminated, carried to term, or are ongoing. [After this story was published, the Associated Press reported that according to He, one couple in the trial gave birth to twin girls this month, though the agency wasn't able to confirm his claim independently. He also released a promotional video about his project.] The birth of the first genetically tailored humans would be a stunning medical achievement, for both He and China. But it will prove controversial, too. Where some see a new form of medicine that eliminates genetic disease, others see a slippery slope to enhancements, designer babies, and a new form of eugenics. Dr. Sullivan serves as professor of pharmacy practice and director of the Center for Bioethics. His research and writing interests include biomedical ethics, moral philosophy, and reproductive ethics. Contact him today for your story! Simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.

Baylor Journalism Professor, Public Relations Ethics Expert, Selected as Arthur W. Page Fellow

Marlene Neill, Ph.D., assistant professor of journalism, public relations and new media in Baylor University’s College of Arts & Sciences, has been designated as a research fellow at the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication, a research center at the Penn State University College of Communications. The Page Center has asked Neill to focus on developing a response to a new report from the Commission on Public Relations Education that recommends public relations education programs offer a stand-alone ethics course, as well as integrate ethics throughout curriculum. The study found that public relations professionals ranked ethics third behind writing and communication as a necessary competency to work in public relations. In addition, public relations professionals in the study indicated that new professionals are not meeting their expectations in this area. “This is a great project because it combines my interests, the first being ethics, which is an area that I enjoy studying, and the second is a focus on public relations education,” Neill said. “I will be teaching the media ethics class in the spring for the first time, and one of the things I like about doing these studies is that it helps me gather insights from industry and then bring those insights back to the classroom.” Since receiving her invitation in June, Neill has begun preparations for research this fall with different groups across the nation, including the Public Relations Society of America. She will use the Delphi research method, where she will gather feedback from a variety of experts including senior- and middle-management executives as well as young professionals, and will then follow up with in-depth interviews, which last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. In addition, she will be serving on a subcommittee of the Commission on Public Relations Education, which is charged with making recommendations for public relations ethics curriculum. “On a typical study, I’ll spend about nine months going through the process of collecting the data, analyzing it, writing the papers, presenting to conferences and submitting to journals,” Neill said. “The second year will be spent preparing reports and writing recommendations based on those findings. While it sounds like a long time, when you think about it from that perspective, there’s a lot involved in doing an in-depth study like this.” In-depth interviews work well for this type of study, Neill said, because they provide specific examples of dilemmas and how people choose to handle them. “With qualitative research, you really get an understanding of the decision-making that people go through when faced with an issue and the step-by-step process they take to reach those decisions,” Neill said. “You get that inside scoop into the motivations and reasons for their actions.” Neill had previously received four grants from the Page Center, which resulted in a book, “Public Relations Ethics: Senior PR Pros Tell Us How to Speak Up and Keep Your Job,” published in 2018, as well as four journal articles, four academic conference papers and two top paper awards. In one of her most recent studies, Neill found that millennials often do not expect to face ethical dilemmas and do not feel prepared to address them. “There is a need to improve and enhance our ethics training at our colleges and universities, and by tapping in to what is actually happening in the industry, it makes it more relevant and helps better prepare students for some of the issues they will be facing today,” Neill said. As part of her subcommittee, Neill will gather sample syllabi and other teaching resources from universities across the nation and then share them with different public relations educators to help them prepare to cover ethics in ethics courses, as well as other public relations courses.

Why Some Mannequins Are Turning Blue, Taking a Dive and Putting on Weight

Baylor University fashion expert and author explains new twists in 'silent selling' -- and why frustrated customers may be relieved Women have long griped about pencil-thin mannequins in clothing displays, saying they bear little resemblance to real women’s bodies and make shopping frustrating and depressing. But the criticism is beginning to make inroads, and some members of the apparel industry are introducing changes to stop idealizing thin bodies and make mannequins more inclusive — among them creating mannequins with curvier shapes, modeling the figures after disabled people and, in a very different approach, fashioning forms that are totally unrealistic, says Baylor University researcher Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., co-author of the textbook "Fashion Forecasting” and associate professor of apparel merchandising in Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences. And more change may be in the works, prompted by research. A 2017 study published in the Journal of Eating Disorders found that 100 percent of the female mannequins studied in two large English cities represented an underweight body size — one that would be “medically unhealthy.” (Note: While female mannequins look scrawny, many of their male counterparts are brawny. Only 8 percent of male mannequins represented an underweight body size — although many appeared “unrealistically muscular,” researchers said.) Divita, who conducts research on the apparel industry, tracks trends and makes fashion predictions, offers some observations in this Q&A: Q: If mannequins are supposed to be a “silent seller” and a strong method for attracting customers, why are they so skinny that it is discouraging to women who are average or bigger? Why can’t their makers pack a few extra plastic pounds on them? A: For one thing, mannequins are expensive. The material for one that’s larger is going to cost more, the same way it is for plus-size garments, because you use more material. Typical department store mannequins can cost on average $500 to $900, and it can cost $150 just to repair a joint on a broken mannequin. In New York, where the retail industry is widely unionized, in some stores the sales associates are not allowed to touch the store mannequins. That responsibility is solely for visual merchandisers as a means of protecting the store’s investment. Another reason smaller mannequins have been appealing to retailers is that smaller dimensions make it easier to put on and remove clothing. Q: Wouldn’t it be worth the investment to make them bigger to showcase more realistic or inclusive figures and attract those customers? A: I recently visited the corporate offices of plus-size design company ELOQUII in New York, and their creative director, Jodi Arnold (B.S.H.E. ’88), shared with me that 65 percent of U.S. women are over size 14. Yet they represent only 17 percent of apparel spending. It’s hard to determine cause and effect: are they not spending on apparel because a wide variety of options aren’t available? Or is it that a wide variety of options are not available because this market does not spend on apparel? ELOQUII is betting on the former. In addition to their online store, they’ve recently begun opening brick-and-mortar storefronts which, unlike their website, feature merchandise on mannequins. Hopefully as the plus-sized apparel market continues to grow, the increased demand for plus-sized mannequins will result in wider representation of mannequin body types overall. Q: If most mannequins don’t reflect the majority of women’s physiques, where does the inspiration come for their sizes and shapes? A: Many mannequins can be sculpted using the measurements of live models or even have their proportions based on a celebrity who has a widely admired figure. Just like there is no standard apparel sizing system for women, there is no standard sizing system for display mannequins. Q: Besides beginning to be a bit more realistic in size, how are mannequins evolving? A: We are used to traditionally seeing mannequins in static poses like standing or sitting. With the rise in popularity of activewear, stores are devoting more floor space to this merchandise category, and it only makes sense to put those mannequins in dynamic positions like doing yoga poses or running. Another great example of dynamic poses can be found in swimwear: there are some great displays of mannequins diving. The impact of dynamic poses such as these are heightened when mannequins are displayed in groups of five or seven. Dynamic poses are currently being taken to the next level by actually suspending mannequins from the ceiling, so who knows how far this trend can go? One way to address representation is to go in the opposite direction and make a mannequin that is totally unrealistic. The last time I was shopping, I saw an entire section merchandised with glossy light-blue mannequins. This is actually a very clever way of appealing to everyone by targeting no one. Another interesting thing is that new technology allows visual merchandisers to creatively alter a mannequin’s appearance without changing it permanently by printing vinyl stickers to affix to mannequins’ faces. Merchandisers can print out bold lips or dramatic eyelashes, affix them to the mannequin in the display and easily take them off when they are done, which gives visual merchandisers yet another way to attract our attention. ABOUT LORYNN DIVITA, Ph.D. Divita is the author of the textbook “Fashion Forecasting” (Fourth edition, Fairchild Books). Her publications have appeared in the Journal of the Textile Institute and Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, both published in England; Clothing and Textiles Research Journal and Journal of Textile and Apparel Technology and Management. She is the United States editor for the Bloomsbury Fashion Business Case Studies project and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Fashion, Style and Popular Culture. Divita received her B.A. in French and B.S. in fashion merchandising from California State University Chico, her Master’s degree in apparel manufacturing management from University of Missouri, and her Ph.D. in textile products marketing from University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Baylor Professors Use Whale Earwax to Reconstruct Whale Stress Levels Spanning More Than a Century

In a follow-up to their groundbreaking study, Baylor researchers were able to reconstruct baleen whales’ lifetime stress response to whaling and other manmade and environmental factors spanning nearly 150 years. Using a technique they pioneered six years ago, Stephen J. Trumble, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, and Sascha Usenko, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental science, both in Baylor University’s College of Arts & Sciences, analyzed earplug laminae, a growth layer representing six months found in whale earwax, as part of their recent study published in Nature Communications this month. Using earplugs taken from fin, humpback and blue whales originating in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans from 1870 to 2016, Trumble and Usenko were able to determine the whales’ cortisol levels, a stress-response hormone, to industrial whaling, World War II wartime activities and sea-surface temperature. “This is the first-ever study to quantify temporal stress patterns in baleen whales,” Trumble said. “While the generated stress profile spans nearly 150 years, we show that these whales experienced survivor stress, meaning the exposure to the indirect effects of whaling, including ship noise, ship proximity and constant harassment, results in elevated stress hormones in whales spanning vast distances.” Whaling had a significant impact on whales’ cortisol levels. During the 1960s when whaling was at its peak with 150,000 whales harvested, cortisol peaked to a maximum and was the highest average in whales in the 20th century, according to the study’s findings. Second in a three-part exclusive online look at content from the Natural History Museum's Whales: Beneath the surface exhibition featuring Dr. Stephen J. Trumble and Dr. Sascha Usenko. During World War II when whaling declined, whales still showed an increase in cortisol levels. Trumble and Usenko suggest the impact of the theater of war. “The stressors associated with activities specific to WWII may supplant the stressors associated with industrial whaling for baleen whales,” Usenko said. “We surmised that wartime activities such as under water detonation, naval battles including ships, planes and submarines, as well as increased vessel numbers, contributed to increase cortisol concentrations during this period of reduced whaling.” When whaling moratoriums were introduced in the mid-1970s, whaling decreased as well as cortisol levels—reaching their lowest concentrations. “From the 1970s through the 2010s whaling counts were reportedly zero in the Northern Hemisphere, but mean cortisol levels steadily increased, with recent peaks reaching near the maximum levels observed before whaling moratoriums,” Usenko said. The impact of stress on whales could have larger implications for baleen whales, which are “considered sentinels of their environment and indicators of anthropogenic or manmade stressors,” Usenko said. “This study shows that anthropogenic stressors results in a physiological response in large whales. These chronic stressors may impact life history events such as reproductive parameters,” Trumble said. “Lastly, human-based stressors such as warming sea surface temperatures may also result in elevated stress in these whales.” The research pair has expanded the number of museums they partner with and currently have more than 100 additional earplugs to process. Earplugs were provided through a collaboration between the investigators and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Natural History London. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference. ABOUT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University's oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 26 academic departments and 13 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines.

Fundamental research hailed as new horizon in hypersonic flight

PHOTO Cutline: Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, Ph.D., professor emeritus in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering. (Photo courtesy of the VCU College of Engineering) Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus in VCU’s Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, together with investigators at the University of Peking, China, has revealed an aerodynamic heating mechanism that sheds new light on the behavior of ultra-high-speed aircraft.         Their discovery comes as news outlets including CBS, CNN and the Washington Post are reporting on the tightening race among China, the U.S. and Russia for dominance in hypersonic systems, aircraft and weapons that travel more than five times the speed of sound.         Researchers previously thought sudden heat spikes, which make hypersonic flight impractical for many applications, occur when air flows reach maximum turbulence. However, Gad-el-Hak and his collaborators have demonstrated through theory, experiments and numerical simulations that temperatures actually jump just before turbulence sets in. The National Science Review has called their achievement “a major progression in hypersonic transition.” The American Institute of Physics said this investigation denotes “a new horizon” for future studies of hypersonic heating phenomena.        The discovery is expected to accelerate applied military and commercial hypersonic research for the design of future spacecraft, intercontinental ballistic missiles and hypersonic vehicles. Gad-el-Hak emphasizes that such applications result from fundamental research. Unlike applied investigations, which set out to solve practical problems, fundamental research seeks to improve scientific understanding of the natural world.         “I have two unflinching scholarly beliefs,” Gad-el-Hak said. “Fundamental science eventually, albeit in fits and starts, leads to a nation’s health, happiness and prosperity, and ‘walls’ between nations hinder that progress.”        

Pressure to lower drug prices may lead to recalls, particularly of generics

The pressure being placed on drug companies to reduce prices as a result of President Donald Trump’s recent proposals, likely will intensify with the Democrats’ taking control of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections. Research by George Ball, assistant professor of operations and decision technologies at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, highlights why consumers should be concerned beyond the high prices of their prescriptions. Ball is the lead author of a recent paper in the Journal of Operations Management which found that extreme price competition in the generic pharmaceutical market -- designed to make medications more affordable -- may be putting more patients at serious health risk. This was evidenced by a higher number of product recalls caused by manufacturing-related problems. "Extreme price competition in the generic pharmaceutical market has some unexpected risks that regulators and lawmakers may not have foreseen when pushing for cheaper drugs," Ball said. “There's a downside to cheaper drugs: You can't guarantee that they're going to be of the exact same quality," Ball said. "This research demonstrates that regulators and insurers may want to temper their intense public pressure placed upon pharmaceutical companies to bring prices down. Such pressure may come at a cost: poorly manufactured drugs." Ball can point to examples of recent generic drug recalls that occurred because of manufacturing problems. He is available at 812-856-0625 and gpball@indiana.edu. Copies of the paper are available.

Election 2018: Wake Forest University experts

From state constitutional amendments to immigration, Wake Forest faculty experts can comment on a variety of 2018 midterm election-related topics. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ John Dinan, professor of political science and international affairs North Carolina Politics State Constitutional Amendments Congressional Redistricting Author of the book, “State Constitutional Politics: Governing by Amendment in the American States,” Dinan is available to comment on amendments appearing on the 2018 ballot in North Carolina and in 28 other states. From voter ID to judicial vacancies, he can place particular amendments in nationwide and historical perspective. Based on his research, he can also address the arguments and issues that routinely surface in campaigns supporting and opposing various amendments. Dinan closely follows North Carolina political races and teaches courses on campaigns and elections, state politics and Congress and policymaking. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Allan Louden, professor of communication Political Campaigns and Advertising Political Debates Social Media and Politics From presidential debates to political advertising, Louden has provided expert commentary and analysis for a wide range of national and regional media outlets. He follows political advertising and candidates’ debates in presidential, Senate, gubernatorial and high-profile House races. Under Louden’s leadership, Wake Forest University’s debate team won the national debate tournament. He can comment on political advertising strategies and how social media, including viral videos, impacts races. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ John Llewellyn, associate professor of communication Political Speeches Political Scandals Public Apologies Llewellyn focuses on political speeches and rhetoric. He is a scholar of rhetoric whose work includes analyzing persuasive language from the nation’s most prominent politicians, coaches and civil rights leaders. A former speechwriter and public information officer, Llewellyn also specializes in crisis communication, having studied the intersection of politics and public relations for nearly 30 years. He can also comment on political scandals and public apologies. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Betina Wilkinson, associate professor of political science and international affairs Latina/o/x Voters Wilkinson can offer insights and commentary on Latino voters for the midterm elections. She is an expert on Latino political behavior in the U.S., studies Latinos in U.S. politics, national and local immigration policy, and racial attitudes among Latinos and other ethnic groups. She can discuss the demographics and election-related priorities of Latinos. Wilkinson authored a chapter “North Carolina Latinos: And Emerging Influential Electorate in the South” in the book “The Pivotal Role of the Latino Electorate in the 2012 Election.” She is also the author of “Partners or Rivals? Power and Latino, Black and White Relations in the 21st Century.” ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Katy Harriger, professor of politics and international affairs Young Voters Federal Special Prosecutor/Robert Mueller U.S. Supreme Court A leading national expert on the federal special prosecutor, Harriger can address the influence the Mueller investigation may have on the 2018 elections. She is the author of The Special Prosecutor in American Politics and is regularly interviewed by national media outlets on the use of federal special prosecutors in American government. Harriger also studies political participation and voting among young people (including college students) and is the co-author of “Speaking of Politics: Preparing College Students for Democratic Citizenship through Deliberative Dialogue.” She can provide expert commentary on the latest Supreme Court developments and how they will likely impact midterm elections. She co-authored the book “American Constitutional Law” published in 2017. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pisapia, assistant professor of politics and international affairs Gender and Politics Teacher Protests Political Parties and Education Reform Women Running for Congress Gender Equality and Constitutional Law Kavanaugh Hearings Pisapia studies American political development with a focus on women, gender and politics and can comment on tensions between liberal and conservative social groups and the unprecedented number of women who are engaged in political movements, and who are seeking elective office this year. He can also address partisan polarization around education policy, religious freedom and, sex and gender equality in constitutional law, including the significance of the Kavanaugh hearings in the context of the #metoo Movement. Pisapia is working on a book titled, “Educating a Nation: Women’s Empowerment and the Shape of American Federalism. He won the 2013 Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for scholarship on women and politics. He teaches courses on American politics and political thought. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Hana Brown, associate professor of sociology and Gale Faculty Fellow Immigration Brown studies the effects of immigration and racial divisions on policy outcomes and the micro-level effects of state actions on the lives of racial minorities and immigrants. Her research also focuses on the political origins and political consequences of social inequalities. She teaches courses on political sociology, social inequality, and race and ethnicity in politics. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Can white evangelicals still swing the midterms?

Evangelicals overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. And they overwhelmingly prefer Republican candidates in the midterms. They’re also reliable voters -- and support for Trump among white evangelicals remained at an all-time high with just days to go. Democrats, on the other hand, will rely on a less-certain electorate of young and diverse voters. This could make the difference in Tuesday's outcome. “Social conservatives could swing important races across the country if other voters don’t turn out in the numbers Democrats are hoping for,” writes Dylan Scott on Vox.com, which called white evangelicals “the sleeping giant of the midterms.” Still, according to The New York Times: “Young evangelicals are questioning the typical ties between evangelicalism and Republican politics. Many said it had caused schisms within their families. And many described a real struggle with an administration they see as hostile to immigrants, Muslims, L.G.B.T.Q. people, and the poor. They feel it reflects a loss of humanity, which conflicts with their spiritual call.” Emile Lester, assistant professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, is an expert in religion and politics whose research published by the First Amendment Center has been featured in The New York Times, The American Interest, USA Today and on C-Span, NPR and various other media outlets around the nation. Emile is available to speak with reporters about the political behavior of evangelical Christian voters. Just click on his icon to arrange an interview. 

Professor McCarthy presents latest research at Groceryshop Conference

eMeals offers significant financial sustainability advantages over meal kit companies like Blue Apron according to a study presented this week at GroceryShop by Dan McCarthy, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. view more