Graduate Education Interest Group 2010 Abstracts
Making the Case for Critical Media Literacy: Goals and functions in undergraduate education • Seth Ashley, University of Missouri-Columbia • Media literacy is the province of a vast array of educational goals and a diverse field of study. This theoretical paper examines and seeks consensus among existing understandings of media literacy and aims to advance the definition, establish clear goals for media literacy and justify its inclusion in general liberal arts education. The paper emphasizes the role of critical media literacy education in preserving quality journalism and democratic self-governance.
The Success of Opting Out? Political Information in the Changing Media Environment • Leticia Bode, University of Wisconsin – Madison • As technology develops, the sources from which people may obtain political information continue to increase. This paper represents a first step in understanding the implications of the increasing prevalence and use of alternative information flows online. By examining the systematic differences between purposive information seeking (Google News) and possible sources of incidental exposure to political information (Twitter). We address important differences between the two, but verify the ability to be incidentally exposed to political information.
Wait, Who Said That? The Role of Source Cue Placement in Argument Evaluation • D. Jasun Carr, UW-Madison; Emily Vraga, University of Wisconsin-Madison • The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act mandates that campaign advertisements identify their origin. This requirement provides an opportunity to examine a real-world impact of source cue placement on the persuasive process. Utilizing a 2 x 2 (cue placement by consonant vs. dissonant ad exposure) experiment to explore the effects of cue placement on the persuasive impact of an advertisement, we find that cue placement matters more when individuals are not motivated to process the ad.
I Want to Help Others: Empathy and Distance effects on Compassion, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intentions • Sheetal Chhotu-Patel, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • An experimental study examined the self’s compassion, attitude, and prosocial behavioral intentions in response to a news story about a suffering other. The results showed that the interplay between empathy in relation to a suffering other in a news story and the geographical distance of the other were inconsistent to a certain degree with previous theoretical findings. Theoretical and applied implications and recommendations for future research on emotion and social cause messaging are discussed.
A New Area of Video Game Research? The Pro-Social Effects of Playing Violent Video Games Cooperatively • J.J. De Simone, University of Wisconsin – Madison • Given their prevalence in American culture, violent video games’ negative effects are a heavily studied phenomenon in the social scientific literature. However, many studies analyze the issue on the individual level, hence ignoring the potential pro-social effects of playing violent games cooperatively with another person. This research review discusses the relevant literature, analyzes problems with the current state of the research, and posits future directions for study of the pro-social effects of collaborative play of violent video games.
Directing the Dialogue: The Relationship Between YouTube Videos and the Comments They spur • Stephanie Edgerly, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Emily Vraga, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Timothy Fung, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Kajsa Dalrymple, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Timothy Macafee, University of Wisconsin-Madison • This study performs a content analysis of YouTube videos and comments about the Proposition 8 campaign in California. Specifically, we examine how a video’s focus and tone are related to comment features. We find consistent support for the flow of information from topics mentioned in the video to topics addressed in commentary, as well as uptake of an uncivil tone from the video to the comments. Implications are discussed for promoting quality online information exchanges.
The Writing on the Wall: A Content Analysis of College Students’ Facebook Groups for the 2008 Presidential Election • Kevin W. Bowers, University of Florida; Juliana Fernandes, University of Florida; Magda Giurcanu, University of Florida; Jeffrey C. Neely, University of Florida • This study looks at student Facebook groups supporting one of the 2008 presidential candidates from largest land-grant universities in seven battleground states. The findings reveal that students are using Facebook to facilitate political involvement. Pro-Obama groups demonstrated higher site activity than pro-McCain groups. Discussions related to the political civic process, policy issues, campaign information, and praise for the supporting candidate overpass topics related to social interactions across all groups during both Primary and General Election seasons.
Birds of a Feather Flock Together – Homophily in Online Social Networking Sites such as Facebook • Mia Fischer, College of Charleston • Facebook recently registered its 400 millionth user. Positioning itself as a leader of interactive, participant-based online Web 2.0 media, Facebook promises to change how we communicate even more fundamentally, in part by digitally mapping and linking peripatetic people across space and time. As socio-demographic boundaries are torn down, it may seem as if Facebook runs counter to 50 years of sociological research regarding what is known as homophily, the tendency of individuals to associate only with like-minded people of similar age and ethnicity. This study investigated how the concept of homophily, taken out of its traditional interpersonal context, is evident in relationships on Facebook. Quantitative methods in form of an online survey among a purposive sample of 447 Facebook users were employed. Participants clearly depicted signs of inbreeding homophily regarding age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, educational level, occupation and income; all factors typically segmenting our society. Despite participants’ strong belief in Facebook’s ability to globally connect people with different socio-demographic backgrounds, exclusively pre-existing offline relationships were fostered. Aware of their account privacy settings, users rigorously restricted profile access to outsiders, such as professors, strangers and parents. This can be seen as an attempt to maintain Facebook’s original college niche community status, further rising issues of identity construction in online environments. If Web 2.0’s interactive media disseminating user generated content really provides potential for social and political change, an analysis of homophilious factors on Facebook is a first indicator to infer about the factual possibilities of such desired changes.
A Theory of Planned Behavior Study of the HPV Vaccine: a comparative analysis of college students’ intention to get the vaccine in the United States and South Korea • Eun Go, University of Florida • This study explored factors that can affect the behavioral intention to get the HPV vaccine of American and Korean female college students using the TPB. Results indicated that both American and Korean female college students’ attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control regarding the HPV vaccine were significantly associated with the intention to be vaccinated. Involvement was also positively related to both attitude and behavioral intention to get the HPV vaccine for both sets of respondents. Furthermore, subjective knowledge could predict behavioral intention with greater accuracy than perceived behavioral control could.
News Framing of Swine Flu in Time of Global Economic Recession: A Comparison of Newspaper Coverage in the United States and China • Miao Guo, University of Florida; Fangfang Gao, University of Florida • This study examined the news coverage of swine flu (H1N1) by newspapers in the United States and China in terms of prominence, news source selection, and frames. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the volume of front-page coverage of swine flu between the U.S. and Chinese newspapers, indicating that the number of cases of swine flu in these two countries had little to do with the volume of news coverage. However, the patterns of source selection and the presence of economic consequences, health severity, human interest, international action, and conflict news frames varied depending on the newspaper’s country of origin and newspaper type. Social context, culture, media structure, and different focuses of media outlets were utilized as the influential factors that contribute to the differences.
Three Decades of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs • Wan Jung, Univ. of Florida; Jihye Kim, Univ. of Florida; Eun Soo Rhee, Univ. of Florida • The current study content-analyzes topics, trends, authorships, and patterns found in studies on Direct-To-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising (DTCA) published in 97 U.S. journals between 1981 and 2009. Two hundred thirty nine papers were analyzed in this study. The results demonstrate a definite pattern of increase in DTCA research, the existence of a wide variety of individual and organizational contributors, and a need for better methodological rigorousness in DTCA research.
A convergence journalism course design grounded by education-psychological research of knowledge types and transfer • Adam Kuban, University of Utah • Current convergence journalism research rarely offers transparent examples of what faculty should consider in their attempts to become more convergence-focused. Three instructors at a public university in the Intermountain West applied education-psychological theories related to knowledge transfer and how people learn to the content created for a new convergence journalism course. The resultant course design—grounded in theory—could serve as a template for journalism educators who wish to develop their own course.
Understanding Web Identity: Approaches to the Study of Identity and Self-Expression in Cyberspace • Mark Lashley, University of Georgia • This paper examines the body of literature on social media and online social networking as they relate to expression of individual identity. The paper argues that, while many theoretical approaches have been taken to the study of identity in online spaces, the work of Goffman and the theory of Impression Management provide the most useful and versatile framework for ongoing inquiry in this area.
Canonical Correlation Analysis of Online Video Advertising Viewing Motivations and Access Characteristics • Joonghwa Lee, University of Missouri; Hyunmin Lee, University of Missouri-Columbia • This study investigates consumers’ motivations for watching online video advertising, and the relationship between the motivations and access characteristics of viewers. Findings revealed five different motivations for viewing online video advertising—social interaction, relaxation, information, escapism-pass time, and entertainment. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that the desire to fulfill viewing motivations are positively correlated with frequencies to actively access Web sites, and frequencies to visit different types of Web sites. Implications and future research are discussed.
Star Wars Revisited: An Analysis of Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric On The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) • Ji Hoon Lee, University of Florida • This study analyzes President Ronald Reagan’s discourse advocating the Strategic Defense Initiative by focusing on the use of language, motivational appeals and speaker’s character and addresses how he rhetorically justified the apparent change in American foreign policy. The study also illustrates how he was able to deal with such sensitive issue as nuclear weapon and come out with highly persuasive speeches for the public during the times of the Cold War.
Internet Service Providers and Defamation: The United States and the United Kingdom Compared • Ahran Park, university of Oregon • This paper compares ISP liability for online defamation in the United States and the United Kingdom. Because American and English defamation laws have the same root, ISP liability for defamation in England would deserve attention from U.S. lawyers and scholars. In addition, English libel law has more reason to compare for online research in that the CDA of the United States and the Defamation Act of the United Kingdom were the first attempts anywhere in the world to legislate ISP liability at the same year in 1996. Thus, this comparative research will be helpful to online speakers and ISPs who have similar common law background but eventually fall under different online defamation laws.
Celebrity Endorsements and Nonprofit Charitable Organizations: The Role of Celebrity Altruistic Motive and Identification • Sun-Young Park, University of Florida; Moonhee Cho, University of Florida • The not-for-profit charitable organizations are undergoing a significant burst of enthusiasm over the potential uses of celebrity endorsers. The current study aims to investigate the effects of attributions of a celebrity’s motive and identification with a celebrity who supports a charity on publics’ attitudinal and behavioral responses. Specifically, the findings of this study attest to source effects on consequential responses, including the perceptions of and attitudes toward the celebrity’s credibility, the celebrity’s endorsement, the nonprofit organization, and intentions to donate money and volunteer time to the charitable organization. This study lays the theoretical groundwork about the factors that influence the effects of celebrity endorsement and provides nonprofit charitable organizations with useful managerial implications of using a celebrity to endorse a socially worthy cause. Overall, the findings suggest that to maximize celebrity endorsement effectiveness, nonprofit practitioners should keep in mind the importance of attributions of celebrity motive as well as celebrity identification. Implications, limitations, and future research are suggested.
Does market matter? Proximity, placement, graphics, and topic in News Recommendation Engines on newspaper Websites • Ed Simpson, Ohio University • The Internet inherently has been seen as a worldwide medium, offering equal access across the globe to information to anyone with the proper equipment and connections. Yet, newspapers inherently serve a local general market, based primarily on geography. Key questions arise about whether traditional elements of news definitions and play remain applicable in the digital environment. In other words, when it comes to newspaper Websites, does market matter? In order to begin addressing these questions, which are important for understanding industry trends and theoretical implications involving Internet usage, this study focused on self-selected items in News Recommendation Engines on eight national and regional newspaper Websites. This content analysis examined 1,248 items contained in NREs. The primary entry point into the study, guided by the theory of uses and gratifications, was to seek whether significant differences in self-selection items could be detected across markets. This study found such differences. The most prominent findings included wide variances in the origin of items self-selected as well as the type of item appearing. The findings suggest, overall, that traditional news values, such as proximity, timeliness, and impact, do affect self-selection patterns, and that findings of self-selection patterns on national Web sites such as New York Times and Yahoo! News, do not necessarily reflect what is happening on newspaper Web sites in general.
The impact of technology-enabled learning: A comparison of ideal versus real. • Lakshmi N Tirumala, Texas Tech University; Catherine Team, Texas Tech University • The current study examined the differences between traditional classroom learning versus technology mediated learning (video podcasting). A 3-minute instructional video was delivered through a podcast with the same topic taught in a traditional classroom by the same instructor. This study used a between-subjects design with one independent variable and multiple dependent variables. The sample size consisted of 72 students from a large southwestern university who participated in the study. The study found no significant difference in students’ evaluations of the instructor between the video podcast condition and the conventional classroom condition. On the other hand, the student perceptions toward the classroom condition were found to be significantly positive compared to the student perceptions toward the video podcast condition.
Unusual Pathways to Issue Engagement: How Dispositional Cynicism Conditions Incivility Effects on Television Political Talk Shows • Ming Wang, University of Wisconsin-Madison; porismita borah, University of Wisconsin-Madison; David Wise, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Keith Zukas, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Bryan McLaughlin, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Michael Mirer, University of Wisconsin • In this study, we attempt to explicate the effects of televised political talk shows on viewer issue engagement and how they are conditioned by dispositional cynicism and skepticism. Using an experiment manipulating guest tone and host style on a talk show, this study finds that strong cynics were more likely to engage than weak cynics when both guests were civil. We offer a revisionist account of how talk shows and cynicism impact the public.
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