Communication Technology 2012 Abstracts
Open Papers
A Wii, a Mii, and a New Me? Testing the Effectiveness of Wii Exergames in Increasing Children’s Enjoyment, Engagement, and Exertion in Physical Activity • Cui Zhang; Charles Meadows; Kimberly Bissell • Although previous studies have noted that exergames increase physical activity and physical exertion compared to sedentary videogames, no empirical studies have compared the differences between types of exergames in relation to physical exertion and perceived enjoyment. This pilot study investigated the perceived enjoyment, engagement, and overall exertion of children and adolescents while playing Wii exergames through an experimental design.
Cancer Talk on Twitter: Community Structure and Information Sources in Breast and Prostate Cancer Social Networks • Itai Himelboim, University of Goergia, Telecommunications; Jeong Yeob Han • This study suggests taking a social networks theoretical approach to predict and explain patterns of information seeking among Twitter prostate and breast cancer communities. We collected profiles and following relationships data about users who posted messages about either cancer over one composite week. Using social network analysis, we identified the main clusters of interconnected users and their most followed hubs (i.e.: information sources sought).
Doing it all: an exploratory study of personality predictors of media multitasking • Gunwoo Yoon, University of Illinois at Urbana-Chapmaign; Zongyuan Wang, Department of Advertising, College of Media, UIUC; Jun Ha Lee, University of Illinois; Jen Moss, University of Illinois; Brittany Duff, University of Illinois; Gunwoo Yoon, University of Illinois at Urbana-Chapmaign; Zongyuan Wang, Department of Advertising, College of Media, UIUC; Jun Ha Lee, University of Illinois; Jen Moss, University of Illinois; Brittany Duff, University of Illinois • Media multitasking is increasing among media consumers. This is thought to be due to increase in media content options and the availability of those options on multiple mediums due to rapid technological advancements. While there has been initial research in other areas such as computer science or cognitive psychology on multitasking as a general behavior, there has been less work on media multitasking.
Engagement with News Content in Online Social Networks • Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch; S. Shyam Sundar, Pennsylvania State University • This study explores how sharing and discussing news stories through social networking sites may engage readers. 333 participants were randomly assigned to use Facebook to share a news story using the site’s various features or respond to a friend’s shared news story. Results show that the effects of sharing news content depend heavily on network feedback. Social features, such as posting on another friend’s wall and tagging friends, are key to engaging with news content.
Exploring the Elaboration Likelihood Model in Cancer Communication: Extending Experimental Testing of Attitudes to Organizations and Blogs • Paula Rausch, National Cancer Institute • Using Elaboration Likelihood Model as a framework, this 2x2x2 experiment investigated the message processing that occurred among consumers of novel cancer treatment messages disseminated through a health organization-sponsored blog and their effects on previously untested attitudes toward the organization and the treatment blog. To some extent, involvement, source credibility and argument strength each influenced these attitudes, showing some support for ELM’s central and peripheral processing hypotheses in this context. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Exploring the Knowledge Production Gap in the Chinese Micro Blogosphere • Lu Wei, Zhejiang University; Mengdi Wang • Lu Wei, Zhejiang University; Mengdi Wang • Microblog sites provide the users with an unprecedented platform of knowledge production, and offer social researchers a great opportunity to investigate this new phenomenon. Taking the microblog discussion about nuclear power after Japan’s tsunami in 2011 as an example, this study seeks to explore the knowledge production in the Chinese microblogosphere from the following aspects. First, what are the forms and content of knowledge produced by Chinese microbloggers? Second, are there any differences in the knowledge production and how to explain these differences? Third, do knowledge producers have different social influences in the microblogosphere?
Patterns of participation in new media in China: Analysis from a public health crisis • Fangfang Gao, Zhejiang University • The rise of citizen engagement in information production and dissemination creates a new realm for grassroots public discourse, providing broader implications for the flow of information in China’s traditionally controlled media environment. This study examines the Chinese Internet users’ patterns of participation in new media such as blogs and discussion forums during a public health crisis, the tainted milk formula scandal in China from 2008 to 2011, showing the growing influence of new media in China. The implications of the findings were discussed.
Pills and Power-Ups: Substance Use in Video Games • Ryan Rogers; Jessica Myrick, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Sri Kalyanaraman; Eric White • In contemporary video games, it is not uncommon for a player’s avatar to take painkillers, get drunk on virtual alcohol, or chug an energy drink. The presence of substance use in video games has been studied to some degree. Yet, noticeably absent are analyses of fantasy substance use, despite its ubiquity in modern video games. The valence of substance use consequences is similarly ignored in analyses, despite substance use being a common mechanism in video games to enhance the players’ ability to reach in-game goals and objectives.
Predicting Communal and Connective Public Goods Contribution in SNS: Network Incentives and Social Value Orientations • Wang Liao, Tsinghua University; Yusi Liu, Tsinghua University; Jianbin Jin, Tsinghua University • As benefit to the public, the public goods were easily damaged by free ridings. Thus it was crucial to encourage the user-generated content (UGC) contribution, especially on the social networking sites (SNSs). Drawn upon the communication public goods theory, based on a combination of the online questionnaire and mined data (N = 728) from a Chinese social networking site, this paper explored how the prestige and the social embeddedness had become network incentives to encourage the SNS users with three categories of social value orientations to contribute to both communal and connective public goods.
Rethinking the dynamics of new media adoption: The case of smart TV • Sungjoon Lee, Department of Journalism and Communication Studies, Cheongju University • The purpose of this study is to build a more effective integrated adoption model for new media technologies than the existing frameworks, and to test its usefulness. The newly proposed model consists of six major constructs drawn from the diffusion of innovation theory (DIT), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the model of innovation resistance (MIR), as applied to the context of smart TV adoption in South Korea.
Some effects of Internet access among rural and small-town respondents • Adam Maksl, University of Missouri; Alecia Swasy, University of Missouri; Esther Thorson, University of Missouri-Columbia • The purpose of this study is to build a more effective integrated adoption model for new media technologies than the existing frameworks, and to test its usefulness. The newly proposed model consists of six major constructs drawn from the diffusion of innovation theory (DIT), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the model of innovation resistance (MIR), as applied to the context of smart TV adoption in South Korea. To collect data, an online survey was used.
Tagging and Identity Construction Online: Taking Tag Usage on Sina Weibo Microblog for Example • Xuan Xie, Hong Kong Baptist University • Microblogging sites have been one of the main online spaces for individuals in Chinese society. Users perform multiple aspects of themselves through static elements and dynamic activities and construct multiple identities. With the reference to identity theories, this study took tag usage on microblogging site Weibo for example to discuss identity construction by identity markers online. With a content analysis on self-imposed tags in selected profiles, it was found that personal identity was more salient than social identity in general.
The Effects of Internet Use and Internet Efficacy on Offline and Online Engagement • Weiwu Zhang, Texas Tech University; Sherice Gearhart, Texas Tech University • This paper examines the effects of Internet use, social network site use and Internet efficacy on online and offline participation using the 2010 Pew Internet and American Life Project ‘Social side of the Internet’ survey (N = 2,303). Results show that general Internet use and social network site use enhance online participation. However, neither of them increases offline participation. Individual Internet efficacy enhances online and offline participation, but group Internet efficacy decreases offline participation. Implications of the findings of this study for democratic engagement are discussed.
The Efficacy of State Health Departments to Promote Public Health Messages: The Case of Twitter • Bobby DeMuro, University of Memphis; Erin Willis, University of Memphis; Courtney Meeks, University of Memphis • The proliferation of social media websites provides opportunities for health information to be easily and inexpensively disseminated, especially Twitter – the fastest-growing social media site with more than 175 million users. Online communication has proven successful in supporting public health intervention efforts. This study applied textual analysis (N=1,245) to examine how state health departments use Twitter to communicate with their publics. Practical implications are discussed for health promotion and education.
The Political Implications of Media Repertoires • Su Jung Kim, Northwestern University • This study investigates media use patterns across platforms (i.e., media repertoires) and the differences in user background characteristics, total news consumption, political interest, political knowledge, and voter turnout among representative users of each media repertoire group. This study identified five distinctive media repertoires (TV-oriented Entertainment Fans, Internet Maniacs, Traditional News Seekers, Tabloid Newspaper Readers, and Cable Junkies) and found significant differences in age, gender, education, and political variables associated with each media repertoire group.
Understanding User Adoption and Behavior of Smartphone: An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model • Sangwon Lee, Central Michigan University; Moonhee Cho, University of South Florida; Euna Park, University of New Haven • This study examines the behavior of South Korean smartphone users based on an integrated theoretical model, which employs the extended technology acceptance model, uses and gratification theory, theory of reasoned actions, and diffusion of innovations. A national smartphone user survey conducted in South Korea found that perceived usefulness affects the formation of attitude toward smartphone use and actual smartphone use. The results of the structural equation modeling analyses also suggest that perceived ease of use had a significant impact on perceived usefulness.
Young Journalists Today: Journalism Students’ Perceptions of the Ever-Evolving Industry • Stephanie Daniels • Today’s journalism students are learning in a time in which new technology innovations, including online news sites, blogs, and social media, have become a prominent part of the journalism industry. Whether it’s newspapers, public relations, or broadcast, technology has become a part of every area of journalism. While several studies have focused on how journalism classes should be taught in lieu of this change, how students are learning and how they feel about this changing industry has yet to be shared.
Faculty Papers
Like me plz: Examining influence and social capital within the Knight News Twitter discourse • Julie Jones, Gaylord College of Journalism; Aimei Yang, Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication; Adam Saffer; Jared Schroeder, University of Oklahoma • Influence within social groups is often conceptualized as information flow through key actors to a larger collective (Lazarsfeld, Berelson, & Gaudet, 1948; Merton, 1949) or, similar to finding value in real estate ventures, dependent on location (Barabási, 2001; Burt, 1992; 1999). Both approaches, though, value the role of bridging actors as a means of connection between core groups. In social network terminology, bridging actors fill structural holes. This study examined how structural holes were associated with social capital, namely endorsement of grant proposals.
Alternative Media in a Digital Era: Comparing Information Use Among U.S. and Latin American Activists • Summer Harlow, University of Texas at Austin; Dustin Harp, University of Texas at Arlington • As activists use the Internet to bypass traditional media gatekeepers, disseminate their own messages, and mobilize protests, this study explores how activists in the U.S. and Latin America view activism in relation to mainstream and alternative media, particularly online media. Survey results show activists distrust corporate media and most frequently get their news online. Also, despite the digital divide, they view the Internet as an alternative public space for staying informed and for waging activism.”
Ban it or Use it? The Impact of Smartphone on Student Connectedness and Out-of-class Involvement • Xun “Sunny” Liu; Nancy Burroughs, California State Univeristy, Stanislaus; VIckie Harvey, California State University, Stanislaus; Qing Tian • In the current study, we investigate the roles of smartphones on student connectedness and out of-class involvement. Based on the technological acceptance model and the involvement theory, this study examines factors that will impact educational smartphone use, and how this specific type of smartphone usage, will determine student connectedness in the class and their out-of-class involvement. 267 college students were surveyed and a structural equation model was developed to explain out-of-class involvement.
Blinded by the Spite? A Path Model Exploring the Relationships among Partisanship, Polarization, Reliance, Selective Exposure and Selective Avoidance of Blogs, Social Network Sites and Twitter on Democratic Measures • Thomas J. Johnson, University of Texas at Austin; Barbara Kaye, University of Tennessee at Knoxville • Despite fears that selective exposure and selective avoidance could deepen polarization and negatively affect the democratic process, few studies have directly studied this phenomenon. This study explore whether selective exposure and avoidance to blogs, social network sites and Twitter directly influence confidence in government, political interest and political knowledge or more indirectly through polarization. Selective exposure and avoidance proved weak indicators of polarization. Instead, partisanship is the stronger predictor of confidence, knowledge and interest.
Blog credibility: examining the influence of author information and blog “reach” • Porismita Borah • By using two experiments, the present study examines the influence of two factors: identity of the blogger (ordinary blogger vs. journalist blogger) and reach of the blog (low vs. high) on blog credibility. Findings show that in case of the general audience the journalist blogger was perceived as more credible. Results also show that reach of the blog influenced blog credibility only in the case of the ordinary citizen blogger. Implications are discussed.
Bridging People, Building Knowledge: An Examination of Chinese Web Users’ Adoption of Social Media for Knowledge Sharing • Yu Liu; Cong Li • A large number of Web users today are using social media platforms (e.g., Wikipedia) to share knowledge online. To further advance theoretical understandings of such a phenomenon, this study examines why certain Chinese Web users “accept” Wikipedia for knowledge sharing based on the Technology Acceptance Model. A total of 248 Chinese consumers are surveyed. It is found that when people perceive using Wikipedia to share knowledge is useful and easy, they tend to form a favorable attitude towards it, which in turn leads to actual usage behavior.
Diffusion of news services and political news in mobile media: A time budget perspective • Xiaoqun Zhang, Bowling Green State University; Louisa Ha, Bowling Green State University; Sung-Yeon Park, School of Media & Communication, Bowling Green State University; Korea University, Seoul, ROK • This study applied the time budget perspective to explore the diffusion of mobile news services and political news. It highlighted the uniqueness of mobile media in terms of enhancing the time availability for news usage. The findings showed that people with tight time budget get more mobile news services than people with loose time budget, and people who are interested in political news spend more time on mobile news than people who are not.
Digital Conversion: Social Media, Engagement, and the “I am a Mormon” Campaign • Brian Smith • Religion and social media represent a unique context for exploring communication and relationship cultivation. The relationship between religious organizations and their publics (i.e. members, converts) is arguably deeper than other organization-public relationships, and social media facilitates communication towards relationship cultivation through real-time response and digital interactivity. This study, an analysis of social media efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) via its social platform www.Mormon.org, explores the ways in which members use communication technology to represent their beliefs and values online.
Does Twitter Make Us More Knowledgeable? The Moderating Role of Need for Orientation • Eun-Ju Lee, Seoul National U; Soo Youn Oh, Seoul National University • A web-based survey (N=306) examined how Twitter use affects individuals’ news knowledge, in conjunction with the need for orientation. The longer high NFOs had used Twitter, the better informed they were of hard news, but the time spent on Twitter daily was negatively associated with their soft news knowledge. Additional analyses suggested that the ability to process public affairs information, rather than the information-seeking motivation, accounts for the widening gap in hard news knowledge.
Effects of Three Dimensions of Web Navigability on Attitudes and Perceptions of an Organizational Site • Bartosz Wojdynski, Virginia Tech • This study examines the differential effects of three distinct dimensions of Web site navigability (logic of structure, clarity of structure, and clarity of target) on perceptions of a non-profit organization’s Web site. A 2 x 2 x2 factorial between-subjects experiment (N=128) examining the distinct contributions of these dimensions showed that logic of structure and clarity of structure influenced perceived navigability, while logic of structure and content domain involvement affected attitudes toward the Web site.
Fighting death: The effects of punitive difficulty on video game enjoyment, immersion and need satisfaction • Mike Schmierbach; Brett Sherrick, The Pennsylvania State University; Mu Wu, Pennsylvania State University • Although many theoretical accounts focus on the importance of properly balanced challenges for video game enjoyment, little empirical scholarship tests the effects of difficulty. Using an experiment, this study demonstrates the consequences of player death and remaining challenge on feelings of competency and flow. Results show death inhibits both, while less skilled players enjoyed a challenging game more after accounting for number of deaths.
Get in the Game: Customization, Immersion, Autonomy and Enjoyment • Keunyeong Kim, Pennsylvania State University; Julia Woolly, The Pennsylvania State University; Mike Schmierbach; Julia Daisy Fraustino, The Pennsylvania State University; Mun-Young Chung • Games increasingly allow players to adjust their experience, whether through modifying settings, changing their appearance, or selecting ways to advance their character. We present the results of an experiment in which players could customize their spaceship avatar between levels, demonstrating that this enhanced enjoyment in several ways. Players felt more autonomous, had greater feelings of control, and were more immersed when able to customize, compared with a control condition.
Imagining the Future of Journalism Through Open-Source Technology: A Qualitative Study of the Knight-Mozilla News Technology Partnership • Nikki Usher; Seth Lewis, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities; Todd Kominak, George Washington University • This paper examines how journalists and technologists engaged in a high-profile partnership to re-imagine news for the digital age. We qualitatively analyzed a series of online videos (N=49) pitching group members’ open-source solutions for news. In light of the literature on journalism innovation and open-source technology and culture, and in the context of this connection between “hacks” and “hackers,” we identify key themes that articulate the future of news as process, participation, and social curation.
Influencing public opinion from corn syrup to obesity: A longitudinal analysis of the references for nutritional entries on Wikipedia • Marcus Messner, Virginia Commonwealth University; Marcia DiStaso; Yan Jin, Virginia Commonwealth University; Shana Meganck, Virginia Commonwealth University; Scott Sherman, Virginia Commonwealth University; Sally Norton, Virginia Commonwealth University • The collaboratively edited online encyclopedia Wikipedia has continuously increased its reliability through a revised editing and referencing process. As the public increasingly turns to online resources for health information, this study analyzed the potential impact and the development of the referencing as the basis for Wikipedia content on nutritional health topics between 2007 and 2011.
It’s Not Easy Trying to Be One of the Guys: The Effects of Avatar Attractiveness, Avatar Gender, and Purported User Gender on the Success of Help-Seeking Requests in an Online Game • T. Franklin Waddell, Pennsylvania State University; James Ivory, Virginia Tech • Although research suggests that offline stereotypes guide online interactions, fewer studies have examined whether users’ responses to avatar traits differ depending on avatar owners’ gender. This experiment measured effects of avatar attractiveness, avatar gender, and purported user gender on the assistance users received during 2,300 interactions. The most attractive avatars received more assistance, and female users were assisted less if their avatar was male or unattractive. Implications for sex roles in virtual environments are discussed.
Making a Kinection: Competitive and Collaborative Multiplayer Gameplay in Exergames • Wei Peng, Michigan State University; Julia Crouse, Michigan State University • Although multiplayer mode is common among contemporary video games, the bulk of exergaming research looks at participants on an individual basis. Additionally, the play space is virtually an unstudied area. To fill the gap in the literature, the current study investigated different modes of multiplayer features and the play space in exergames and their effects on enjoyment, future play motivation and actual physical activity intensity.
Mobile Communication Competence and Mobile Communication usage: Based on College Students’ Analysis • Fan-Bin Zeng, Jinan University; Zhang Rong • Based on a survey on college students in XX University (N=1218) using mobile communication at present, this study develops a measure of college students’ mobile communication competence and mobile communication usage. By conducting an exploratory factor analysis on mobile communication competence, this study identifies three latent constructs: technique -efficacy factor, preference-affection factor and communication-appropriateness factor; along with conducting an exploratory factor analysis on mobile communication usage, this study identifies two latent constructs: leisure-entertainment factor and communication – interaction factor.
Mortality salience effects on selective exposure and cognitive processing on the Web • Robert Magee, Virginia Tech; Bartosz Wojdynski, Virginia Tech • A factorial experiment (N = 215) produced patterns of interactions that illustrate the relationship between dispositional and situational factors that drive selective exposure. Individual’s issue-related attitudes appeared to drive their Web site browsing behavior, as a match between an individual’s issue-related attitudes and the content of the Web site resulted in a greater number of page views. However, this relationship between content domain involvement and selective exposure appeared to occur only when individuals were not primed to reflect on their own mortality.
Motivations to contribute to commons-based peer production: A survey of top English-language Wikipedia contributors • Yoshikazu Suzuki, University of Minnesota; Jisu Huh, University of Minnesota • This study examined the motivations of functional peer production, and tested the relationship between different motivation dimensions and satisfaction. Results from a survey of the top Wikipedia contributors identified eight distinctive motivational factors, and suggest that contributing to Wikipedia is driven by both individual and social motivations focused on benefitting both the self and the others. The creative stimulation factor was significantly and positively correlated with satisfaction gained from contributing to Wikipedia.
Multitasking and Social Television: Use of Television and Social Media in a Multi-Platform Environment • Jiyoung Cha • Recognizing the multi-video platform and individualized video viewing environment, this study examines why people watch television, how people consume social television, and why people seek social television. Results suggest that people feel affection for television as a medium itself—a feeling that is independent of the content available on television. The motives for seeking social television include sense of community, social bonding with existing networks, reinforcement of online persona, entertainment, information sharing, social movement, self-documentation, and incentives.
My Whole World’s in My Palm!: Teenagers’ Mobile Use and Skill • Yong Jin Park, Howard University • Mobile communication has emerged as a new channel for increasingly networked teenagers. While some celebrate new possibilities for autonomy, others are concerned that the increased use of mobile-based communication can lead to social disparities in digital skill and status replication. Using a national survey dataset (n = 552), we examined how mobile-mediated behavior among teens (12-17) interacts with the characteristics of socio-demographics and mobile access to predict levels of diverse mobile use and skill and consequences of skill-use differences.
Networking for Philanthropy in Social Network Sites • Yoojung Kim, City University of Hong Kong; Wei-Na Lee • Social Network Sites (SNSs) provide a unique social venue to engage a large young generation in philanthropy through their networking capabilities. This study attempted to develop an integrated model that incorporates social capital into the Theory of Reasoned Action. Consistent with the theory’s predictions, volunteer behavior was predicted by volunteer intention which was influenced by attitudes and subjective norms. In addition, social capital, produced by the extensive use of SNS, was as an important driver of users’ attitude and subjective norms toward volunteering via SNSs.
Online Health Communities and Chronic Disease Self-Management • Erin Willis, University of Memphis • This research used content analysis (N=1,960) to examine the computer-mediated communication within online health communities for evidence of chronic disease self-management behaviors, including the perceived benefits and perceived barriers to participating in such behaviors. Online health communities act as informal self-management programs led by peers with the same chronic disease through the exchange of health information. Online health communities provide opportunities for health behavior change messages to educate and persuade regarding arthritis self-management behaviors.
Personalized News: How Filtering Shapes News Exposure • Michael Beam, Washington State University; Gerald Kosicki, The Ohio State University • This study is designed to contribute to understanding the impact of technologies that facilitate selective exposure on news reading and public opinion. Specifically, this study investigates attitudinal and behavioral differences between users and non-users of personalized news filtering systems. Results from a series of regression analyses of secondary survey data collected from national random samples of U.S. adults show a positive relationship between using personalized news systems and increased exposure to offline news.
Political Television Hosts on Twitter: Examining patterns of interconnectivity and self-exposure in Twitter Political Talk Networks • Itai Himelboim, University of Goergia, Telecommunications • This study takes a social networks approach to studying the Twitter talk of users and media evoked by politically oriented cable television hosts. Two potentially socially beneficial implications of these user interactions are examined: the interconnectedness of users as an indication for an exchange of opinions and information, and exposure to a political diversity of information sources. Twitter data was captured for four hosts, the conservatives Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, and the liberals, Rachel Meadow and Keith Olbermann.
Predicting Internet Risks: A Longitudinal Panel Study of Gratifications-sought, Internet Addiction Symptoms and Social Media Use • Louis Leung, Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study used longitudinal panel survey data collected from 417 adolescents at two points in time one year apart. It examined relationships between social media gratifications-sought and social media use measured at Wave 1 and Internet addiction changes in Wave 2. In addition, we also explored relationships between social media gratifications-sought, Internet addiction symptoms, and social media use measured at Wave 1 and Internet risks changes in Wave 2.
Psychological Individual Differences and the U&G of Facebook: The relationship between personality traits and motivational reactivity and the motivations and intensity to use Facebook in Taiwan • Kanni Huang, Michigan State University; Anastasia Kononova, American University of Kuwait; Yi-hsuan Chiang, Shih Hsin University; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University • A cross-sectional survey from Taiwan (N = 3,172) explored the relationship among psychological individual different factors, the motivations to use Facebook, and the intensity to use Facebook. Our findings indicated extraversion, resiliency, and originality/talent were the strongest predictors of the motivations to use Facebook. Aversive system activation (DSA) significantly predicted information sharing, entertainment, passing time, and medium appeal. All motivations to use Facebook significantly predicted the intensity of its use.
Should I Trust Him? Effects of Profile Cues on eWOM Credibility • Qian Xu, Elon University • A 2 (number of trusted members: small, large) x 2 (profile picture: without, with) x 2(review valence: negative, positive) between-participants experiment was conducted to explore how two profile cues, i.e. the reputation cue and the picture cue, on a consumer review website individually and interactively affected consumers’ cognitive trust and affect trust in the product reviewer. The psychological mechanisms for the cues’ influence on perception of review credibility were also examined.
Showing off Where I am? The Interplay of Personality Traits, Self-disclosure, and Motivation on Facebook Check-ins • Shaojung Sharon Wang, Institute of Communications Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan • This study explored how personality traits, extraversion, and narcissism function to influence self-disclosure, which in turn, impacts intensity of check-in on Facebook. Moreover, exhibitionism as a motivation that might mediate the relationship between self-disclosure and the intensity of check-in behavior on Facebook was also investigated. Using survey data collected through Facebook check-in users in Taiwan (N=523), the results demonstrated that although extraversion and narcissism might not directly impact check-in intensity on Facebook, the mediation effects of self-disclosure and exhibitionistic motivation were particularly salient.
Smartphone News Consumption: The Absence of Location-Based Services within Today’s Mobile News Apps • Amy Schmitz Weiss, San Diego State University • As media organizations grow their social media strategies, skills in using these platforms have become increasingly important for aspiring mass communication professionals. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how students are already using social media and what benefits they perceive from incorporating Twitter as a required course assignment in college mass communication classes. Findings show students are positive and enthusiastic about the assignment; gender was significant in two areas.
Technology Disruption Theory and Middle East Media • Ralph Berenger, American University of Sharjah; Mustafa Taha, American University of Sharjah • This paper examines media technology disruption theory and its affect on Middle East mass media and audiences. Every major information technology innovation throughout history has caused some form of social disruption, from fears that telephones would electrocute the users in a thunderstorm, to moral or media panics like the War of the Worlds broadcast in the 1930’s, to current attempts to manipulate digital images for political reasons.
The Active Citizen’s Information Media Repertoire: An exploration of local-community news habits in Madison, WI, during the digital age • Sue Robinson, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Active community members such as school officials, police officers, nonprofit directors and librarians approach information about their city as a way to stay involved and improve the community. Digital technologies have reconfigured how people know about their cities, specifically what news sources they might go to. Sampling from one Midwest community’s most engaged citizens, this research details and formalizes the emerging media-information repertoires built on local news sources, including: their motivations for seeking news, the structuring conditions for particular media usage, the norms of usage they are developing, and the perceived consequences for that use.
The influence of video game controllers on game-player’s self-awareness, sense of control and enjoyment • Jeeyun Oh, Penn State University; Mun-Young Chung; Mike Schmierbach • This study investigates the impact of a motion controller upon players’ level of enjoyment and related variables. A 2 (Motion controller vs. Control) X 2 (Mirroring vs. Control) between-subject experiment has been performed with Tiger Woods PGA Tour in Nintendo Wii console. A mirror image of self inhibited the sense of control over gameplay only when it was combined with a motion controller, which was the strongest, positive predictor for both players’ feeling of presence and enjoyment.
Transported into the Twitter World: When Politicians’ Twitter Communication Affects Public Evaluations of Them • Eun-Ju Lee, Seoul National U; Soo Yun Shin, Seoul National University • In a web-based experiment, participants (N = 217) viewed either a politician’s Twitter page or his newspaper interview with identical content. Exposure to the Twitter page heightened the sense of direct interaction (social presence), which induced more favorable impressions of and a stronger intention to vote for him, only among those more prone to get “transported” into a narrative. Reading the newspaper interview, however, significantly enhanced issue recognition and facilitated issue-centered (vs. person-centered) message processing.
User Behaviors in Social Commerce • Don Shin • Social commerce, a new form of commerce that involves using social media, has been rapidly developing. This study analyzes consumer behaviors in social commerce, focusing on the role of social influence in social commerce. A model is created to validate the relationship between the subjective norm and trust, social support, attitude, and intention. The results of the model show that the subjective norm is a key behavioral antecedent to use social commerce.
Using a constructivist approach to teach SEO tactics to PR students • Mia Moody; Elizabeth Bates • Enough evidence is available to support the idea that students need to be equipped with search engine optimization (SEO) skills to succeed in the public relations field; however little has been written on what they actually know. Furthermore, much of what has been published on the topic has been in trade publications rather than scholarly journals. To fill this void, this paper discusses the intricacies of SEO and offers a skills assessment tool and tips for integrating the technique into PR courses.
What Are You Worrying about on Social Networking Sites? Empirical Investigation of Young Social Networking Site Users’ Perceived Privacy • Yongick Jeong; Erin Coyle • Privacy is an important issue because it shields personal information from unwanted exposure. This study examines various aspects of privacy on social networking sites (SNSs). The findings indicate that young users generally are more concerned about the information they provide to traditional SNSs (Facebook) than microblogging sites (Twitter) and worry more about people with authoritative roles (authoritarian privacy) than those they know less about (distant relations).
What Motivates Consumers to Accept User-Generated Contents on Product Review Websites? • Yunjae Cheong, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies; Kihan Kim, Seoul National University; Hyuksoo Kim, The University of Alabama • This study was designed to provide insights into why people accept user generated contents on product review (UGPR) websites. Recently, UGPR has significantly transformed consumers’ purchase process in various product categories, becoming an indispensable tool for consumers and practitioners. Accordingly, this study builds a comprehensive theoretical model to explain factors that drive acceptance of UGPR websites. We examined four latent variables of UGPR message acceptance, which are perceived source expertise, message objectivity, media credibility, and self-source similarity.
When Old and New Media Collide: The Case of WikiLeaks • Elizabeth Hindman, Washington State University; Ryan Thomas • The emergence of WikiLeaks and other non-journalist information providers as major players on the political landscape raises a number of important issues for media scholars and practitioners. Among them is the advent of organizations harnessing new communication technologies to keep a watchful eye on powerful interests, a monitorial role traditionally occupied by “old media” outlets like newspapers. This qualitative study examines U.S. newspaper editorial responses to WikiLeaks’ 2010 release of U.S. State Department diplomatic cables.
Student Papers
A Comparative Content Analysis of Dialogic Theory on Fortune 1000 Facebook and Twitter Pages • Christopher Wilson, University of Florida; Weiting Tao, University of Florida • Social media sites (i.e., SMSs) like Facebook and Twitter are more important for public relations than ever before. Many of the academic studies in public relations on the relationship-building potential of SMSs are based on Kent and Tayor’s (1998, 2002) dialogic theory for websites. However, the measures used to test the dialogic principles on SMSs have been inconsistent even on similar social media platforms, making it difficult to compare results and replicate findings.
Agenda Setting in the Internet Age: The Reciprocity Between Using Internet Search Engines and Issue Salience • ByungGu Lee, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Jinha Kim, University of Wisconsin-Madison • This study investigates the relationships between information-seeking activities on the Internet and public perceptions of issue importance. Previous research suggests that information seeking can precede perceptual decisions such as judgment about national importance of an issue. Also, evidence indicates that such judgment can lead to subsequent information-seeking activities. Simply put, a reciprocal relationship can be established between information seeking and issue salience.
Are Wikimedia Less Susceptible to Censorship than Mainstream Media? • Jim DeBrosse, Ohio University • In a case study of Wikipedia and Wikinews coverage of Project Censored’s Top 10 Censored Stories of 2010-2010, this paper found that Wikinews failed to cover any of the 10 censored stories while Wikipedia covered one story and provided partial matches for five others. Wikinews’ total failure may be attributed primarily to its lack of reporting resources and its emphasis on breaking news.
Comments on YouTube Videos: Understanding the Role of Anonymity • M Laeeq Khan, Michigan State University • In this paper, in addition to understanding the commenting behavior on YouTube videos, the role of anonymity is discussed in light of SIDE theory. Comments were categorized in four major categories—appreciative, criticisms, flames and spam. Contrary to the common belief that YouTube videos are characterized by widespread flaming, it was found that even with anonymous user names, a majority of comments posted were appreciative as compared to derisive.
Democracy, Press Freedom, and Facebook: Identifying Conditional Diffusion of Technology • Shin Lee, University of Washington • Given the global diffusion of Facebook, this study predicts democracy and press freedom to serve as its determinants beyond Internet use. Using a sample of 107 countries, this study finds support for each of proposed hypotheses: 1) Internet diffusion does not necessarily increase Facebook penetration; 2) Facebook diffusion diminishes in countries with higher levels of ICT development; 3) democratic growth corresponds to Facebook diffusion; and 4) less press freedom increases Facebook diffusion in autocratic countries.
Educating the New Media Professional: Using the Technology Acceptance Model to Investigate Professional Media Students’ Technological Adoption • Tobias Hopp, University of Oregon • Despite the fact that post-secondary departments offering instruction in the fields of journalism, communication, advertising, and public relations have increasingly emphasized the use of new media production technologies, universities across the country have generally failed to investigate the factors that impact technological adoption on the part of students.
Examining Gender Differences in Using Facebook for Social Connections: An Application of Uses and Gratifications Theory • Chen-wei Chang, University of Southern Mississippi • This study applied Uses and Gratifications theory to investigate how men and women used Facebook to interact with others in different ways and further explored the similarities and contradictions regarding their “gratifications sought” (motivations) and “gratifications obtained” from the social activities on Facebook. A paper-based survey was administered in a public southern university in March 2012.
Exploration of Online Support Community for Excessive Gamers • Seol Ki, Rutgers University • This exploratory study examined the structure of OGANON community and the emerging pattern of social support exchange among community members- excessive gamers and their close people such as friends and family. Through ethnographic observation based on grounded theory approach, communication differences between daily online chat meeting and message boards are found and discussed. Online chat meeting is a source of confession and self-help through ritualized monologues whereas message boards are main sources of exchanging mutual help with other members.
Old Dogs & New Media: Examining Age and Teaching Focus in the Debate Between Technology and Tradition in the Journalism Classroom • Jeffrey Riley, University of Florida • In this study, journalism educators at AEJMC-accredited universities were surveyed to find their opinion about the importance of traditional skills and theories versus technologically based skills and theories in the modern journalism classroom. The journalism educators were also asked to fill out demographic and characteristic information, including age and teaching focus. This study drew from in-group out-group biases, selective perception, and diffusion of innovations for the theoretical basis. A total of 652 participants completed the survey.
SNS use on mobile devices: An examination of gratifications, civic attitudes and engagement in China • Yang Cheng, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Jingwen Liang • This study, based on the Mainland China context, explores the relationships between gratifications-sought, social network sites (SNSs) uses on mobile devices, civic attitudes and civic engagement in a charity credibility crisis. Through a survey research of 760 university students from the Southeast China, results show gratifications sought and civic attitudes can significantly predict SNS use on mobile devices and civic engagement. It argues that mobile-based communication plays an important role in encouraging individuals’ civic engagement.
Technostalgic Photography and Damon Winter’s “A Grunt’s Life” • Heidi Mau, Temple University • This research is a discourse analysis of Damon Winter’s 2010 publication in The New York Times of iPhone/Hipstamatic app photographs of soldiers in Afghanistan, and the subsequent disruption in the online mediasphere when this work was acknowledged by the 2011 POYi photography competition. This paper contributes to scholarly discussions concerning the evolution of photography – its tools, images and interactions with a public – with a particular focus in scholarship addressing how technological changes might affect visual meaning in photojournalism.
The Effects of Ambient Media: What unplugging reveals about being plugged in • Jessica Roberts, University of Maryland; Michael Koliska, University of Maryland • Ambient media is a way to conceptualize the information environment in which so many of us live. It is no secret that we increasingly live in a world rich in information and communication technology and media that bring us that information. Besides television, radio, newspapers and computers, we now carry devices with us — mobile devices with digital content, such as phones, iPods, and PDAs, which have become ubiquitous around the world, and provide constant access to a world of information.
The Role of Motivations and Anonymity on Self-disclosure in SNSs: A Comparison of Facebook and Formspring • Hyunsook Youn, Rutgers • Individuals have motivations when searching for platforms to fulfill their needs. Especially, advance of communication technologies offers individuals with a variety of ways they can express. This study explores individual motivations behind using different social network sites to fulfill their various needs. Also, one of the benefits online platform provides is to hide oneself behind screen although it can be considered either positive or negative. Different levels of anonymity each site offers may result in unusual degree or amount of one’s self-disclosure.
The smartphone: Next digital divide? • Joseph Jai-sung Yoo, The University of Texas at Austin • The objective of this study is to determine whether socioeconomic status influences the ownership of smartphones and compare the use patterns between smartphone users and non-users. Results indicate that SES is not a deciding factor and functions not provided in traditional mobile phone can explain the use associated with smartphones. This study examines differences in feeling life satisfaction between smartphone users and non-users. Due to wide distribution of smartphone, there were no differences.
The YouTube Platform: The Nomad in Participatory Culture • Mark Lashley, University of Georgia • This paper argues that discussions of user interactions with YouTube can be framed around theories of participatory culture, and brings to light how Montfort & Bogost’s (2009) work in “platform studies” might be applicable to explain how YouTube operates as a space where computing is enabled. To tie together these two conceptual frames, a number of postmodern precepts from Deleuze & Guattari (1987) are applied, most notably the concept of “nomadology” as it applies to users of the video sharing site. It is hoped that, in the future, this theoretical language can be used in analysis of YouTube content in order to better understand the interactions between space and user.
Tweeting Every Touchdown: Analyzing the Twitter Use of Sports Fans through the Uses and Gratifications Theory • Natalie Brown, University of Alabama • This study surveyed 217 sports fans to define which sports fans use Twitter, and how their satisfaction with social media use is impacted by their motivations for tweeting. This study adds to both social media and uses and gratifications literature by identifying the motivations for social media use that are unique to sports fans. Results showed that sports fans primarily use Twitter for surveillance and information gathering rather than for social reasons, calling into question whether Twitter should continue to be referred to as a “social media” Web site, or whether it has evolved to bridge traditional and new media.
Tweeting Life-casting or Public Affairs?: Journalists’ Tweets, Interactivity, and Ideology • Na Yeon Lee, University of Texas – Austin; Yonghwan Kim; Ji won Kim, The university of Texas at Austin • This study examines how Korean journalists use Twitter by analyzing what topics they talk about and with whom they interact on Twitter, and investigates whether these usage patterns vary according to newspapers’ ideology. A content analysis of 494 tweets by 52 randomly selected Korean journalists showed that more than half the tweets were topics related to public affairs, such as politics and social issues, and 56% of the tweets were “in reply to” or “re-tweet” responses.
Understanding the Technological Advantages of Web Surveys: Can Response Formats Impact Data Quality? • Clay Craig; Patrick Merle • The utilization of technologically advanced web-based survey software is becoming prevalent. Along with this proliferation, advancements in survey customizations provide researchers with a plethora of visual and structural elements to compose appropriate designs, yet pose the question of the impact such technological possibilities have on data quality. This study, (N = 188) an embedded experiment in a web survey, examines three response formats (radio button, slider scale, and text entry) to determine their influence on participants’ decisions.
What has Social Networking Service (SNS) research done for the half decade? Review, critiques, and discussion of the studies from 2006 to 2011 • Yin ZHANG, The Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study presents an extensive review of the scholarship on social networking service (SNS) from 2006 to 2011. Through a full scan and content analysis of the academic publications in six high ranking SSCI journals, seventy-four articles were identified for review. The topical, theoretical and methodological trends of current studies are summarized and discussed.
What’s on Your Mind? What Facebook Users Disclose in their Status Updates and Why • Edson Tandoc, University of Missouri-Columbia; Heather Shoenberger, University of Missouri • Studies have explored what people disclose on Facebook but not specifically what people say in their status updates, a feature that allows users to express their thoughts, opinions and feelings to their network in real time. Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, this study uncovers the themes that users divulge on their status updates on Facebook and the factors that drive these sometimes very intimate disclosures.
Who says what about whom: Cue-taking dynamics in the impression formation processes on Facebook • Jayeon Lee; Young Shin Lim, Ohio State University • Social information processing theory claims that computer-mediated communication users form impressions of others they encounter on the Web by taking heuristic cues available in the environment. As social media offer various cues from the sides of both the target and unknown others, however, the way people utilize cues on the Web also has become more complex.
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