Communication Technology and Policy 2003 Abstracts
Communication Technology and Policy Division
U.S. and Local Commercial Television Broadcast Stations of the World Wide Web • Pi-Yun An, Southern Mississippi • The purpose of this study is to investigate how the U.S. local commercial television broadcast stations have established their identity and deliver content in cyberspace and how they respond to improving Internet technology. By examining the content and mechanisms of current local broadcasters’ Web sites, this study allows for comparison with previous research and provides a basis for future comparison studies of trends.
Why They Chat: Predicting Adoption and the Use of Chatrooms • David J. Atkin, Leo W. Jeffres, Kimberly Neuendorf, and Ryan Lange, Cleveland State and Paul Skalski, Michigan State • The present study profiles the users of online chat rooms and other online services, focusing on social locators, media use behaviors and communication needs associated participation in community activities. Data were collected from a probability sample of over 300 respondents in a major metropolitan market located within the Midwest. Findings generally fail to confirm the upscale, heavy media-use, technology adopter profile posited by diffusion theory.
Corporate Monopolies and the Making of American Broadcasting, 1920-27 • Misook Baek, Iowa • This paper examines the role of the public interest in dealing with compounding relations between the antidemocratic political pressure of corporate monopolies and the rationale of technological progress, and how the public interest is constituted in those relations. In this examination, particular attention will be placed on alternative policy proposals of a noncommercial sector, which were drawn from a grassroots interpretation of the public interest based on the public utility nature of radio broadcasting.
Consumer Awareness and Adoption of Digital Television: Exploring the Audience Knowledge, Perceptions, and Factors Affecting the Adoption of Terrestrial DTV • Sylvia M. Chan-Olmstead and Byeng- Hee Chang, Florida • This study investigates the levels of consumer awareness and knowledge of digital television (DTV) in the United States. It also explores the consumer perceptions of DTV characteristics, benefits, and importance. Various consumer characteristics and DTV perceptions were examined to assess their influence in the adoption of DTV. It was found that the consumers have many misconceptions of DTV, and their DTV knowledge level is most related to personality traits and Internet usage/tenure.
Refocusing the Issues in the Legal Protection of Databases: The Application of Economic Characteristics of Databases • Byeng-Hee Chang and Seueng-Eun Lee, Florida • This paper tries to provide a new framework which can refocus the issues surrounding the legal protection of databases from an economic perspective. The authors assume that databases have economic values and are exchanged by providers (sellers) and users (buyers) in a market. Using the economic properties of databases as criteria, this paper reviews previous legal cases and suggested database protection bills.
The State of Convergence Journalism: United States Media and University Study • Carrie Anna Criado and Camille Kraeplin, Southern Methodist • This study’s focus is exploratory: to determine the extent to which U.S. media companies and university journalism schools have embraced convergence journalism, defined as the sharing of content and/or staff. Survey data show that the majority of both newspapers and TV stations have forged convergence partnerships – nine in 10 newspapers and eight in 10 TV stations. Likewise, just under nine in 10 of the college administrators surveyed had incorporated convergence training into their curriculum.
Conceptualizing the Convergence Craze: A Three-Dimensional Model of Multimedia Curriculum Reform • George Daniels, Alabama • No abstract available.
Web Publishing Confronts International Jurisdiction in Defamation Cases: Implications of Dow Jones v. Gutnick • Constance K. Davis, Purdue • The Dow Jones company is defending itself in defamation actions in Australia and Great Britain, where libel laws favor plaintiffs, because of articles that were available on Web sites in those countries. This paper examines the implications of United States publishers who fight libel cases in countries where their Web sites can be viewed and the recourse those publishers have should they lose, then compares it to similar jurisdictional questions in the United States.
Determinants of Global Internet Diffusion: An Exploratory Study • Daniela Dimitrova, Iowa State and Richard P. Beilock, Florida • There is an increasing digital divide around the world, yet little is known about the factors that affect Internet diffusion on a global level. In this study, a model was developed and estimated to explain global inter-country differences in Internet usage rates (IUR), as measured by Internet users per capita. Income was found to be the most important determinant. Two other important determinants were the openness of a society and infrastructure, using telephone and personal computer densities as proxies.
Consumer Judgements of Source Credibility in an Online Environment: A Functional Approach • Mohan J. Dutta-Bergman, Purdue • Recently, experts have become increasingly concerned about the quality of health information on the Internet. One of the critical concerns related to quality focuses on the credibility of online health information. Of particular emphasis is the role of the source in determining the quality of information received by the consumer. An important question, therefore, is: How do consumers go about evaluating the credibility of the source? Based on the 1999 HealthStyles data, this paper compares users and non-users of the Internet.
Internet Regulation – An Oxymoron? • Maria Fontenot, Tennessee • Several Congressional attempts to protect children from obscenity on the Internet have been dismissed by the courts. This paper focuses on two of those attempts: the Communications Decency Act of 1996 and the Child Online Protection Act of 1998. It examines and analyzes Supreme Court cases and decisions related to the two statutes and the First Amendment implications of regulating the Internet and World Wide Web. It also identifies regulatory patterns and addresses what lies ahead for cyberspace regulation.
The Interplay of Old and New Media: How the Traditional News Agenda Affected Web Searches Before and After September 11, 2001 • Cary Roberts Frith and Debashis “Deb” Aikat, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • The focusing events of September 11 led to the melding of the traditional media agenda and online agenda, as defined by Web search trends. Based on several multi-faceted theories related to agenda setting, this paper examined Web search trends before and after the September 11 attacks by analyzing actual keywords entered by Google search engine users in August, September, and October 2001. In subsequent analyses, the top search queries were compared with television and print media coverage of the same issues.
Liberating Friendships through IM? Examining the Relationship between Instant Messaging and Intimacy • Yifeng Hu, Vivian Smith, Nalova Westbrook and Jackie Fowler Wood, Penn State • This study explores the relationship between Instant Messenger use and intimacy between friends. Results showed IM use was positively associated not only with affective intimacy, but also with verbal and social intimacy. Findings are consistent with the Relationship Liberated perspective of Computer-Mediated-Communication, and suggest that IM promotes rather than hinders intimacy. Moreover, frequent conversation via IM actually encourages the desire to meet face-to-face. Theoretical as well as practical implications of the results are discussed.
Bridging Newsrooms and Classrooms: Preparing the Next Generation of Journalists for Converged Media • Edgar Huang, Karen Davison, Twila Davis, Anita Nair, Stephanie Shreve and Elizabeth Bettendorf, South Florida-St. Petersburg • This study has provided empirical evidence that will help journalism educators make informed decisions about how to teach media convergence. A national survey was conducted among college professors, news professionals, and news editors. The study found strong support for training generalists and teaching new technology while continuing to emphasize critical thinking in journalism schools. It concludes that dealing with media convergence in college journalism education is an urgent necessity.
Facing the Challenges of Convergence: Media Professionals’ Concerns of Working Across Media Platforms • Edgar Huang, Karen Davison, Stephanie Shreve, Twila Davis, Elizabeth Bettendorf and Anita Nair, South Florida-St. Petersburg • This paper examined some top concerns in the media industry brought up by media convergence including the need to update news staff, production quality, compensation for multiplatform productions and the legitimacy of media convergence. An online national survey was conducted both among merged and non-merged daily newspapers and commercial TV stations to find out to what extent such concerns were shared by editors/news directors and news professionals and what their answers were to such concerns.
Bridging the Digital Divide? A National Survey of the Integration of Internet-based Technologies in Undergraduate Journalism and Mass Communication Classes • Cassandra Imfeld and Koang- Hyub Kim, North Carolina • As one of the first national studies surveying the technological landscape of undergraduate classes in journalism and mass communication programs in the 2l’ century, this research presents an encouraging picture of professors’ integration of Internet-based technologies into their classrooms. In addition, this study examines the motivations behind professors’ rejection or adoption of such innovations. Based on several statistically significant relationships, the authors propose an exploratory model that predicts professors’ integration of Internet-based technologies into their classrooms.
Universal Service: Expanding the ‘possibility space’ of Policy Discourse • Krishna P. Jayakar, Penn State and Harmeet Sawhney, Indiana • A number of proposals have been put forward to reform universal service and make it compatible with the new competitive telecommunications environment in the United States. The diversity and apparent contradictions between these proposals makes the public policy dialog scattered and confused. This paper introduces the idea of a ‘possibility space’ delineated by two dimensions – ‘intervention’ and ‘locus’ – that lays out the contours of the emerging intellectual landscape by placing past practices as well as present proposals on the same conceptual plane.
Flow as a Determinant of Online Purchasing Intention: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach • Jaw-Won Kang and Chang-Hoan Cho, Florida • The recent exponential growth rate of online shopping suggests that the Web has already been an important new medium for commerce. The purpose of this study is to reveal whether there exists the relation between “flow” and purchasing intention on the Web, and how the flow impacts the intention to purchase on the Web under a theoretically based model. To achieve the purpose, this study made an effort to integrate the theory of flow with the more traditional theory of planned behavior through a structural equation modeling approach.
To Broadband or Not to Broadband: The Impact of High-speed Internet on Knowledge and Participation • Nojin Kwak, Marko Skoric, Ann Williams and Nathaniel Poor, Michigan • This study investigates the impact of high-speed Internet on political and civic engagement. More specifically, we aim to examine the added value of broadband over dial-up connection with respect to individuals’ knowledge about current affairs, offline interpersonal-political and social-recreational—engagement, and community participation. Furthermore, we investigate the similarities and dissimilarities between early Internet and broadband adopters in terms of political and civic benefits that the respective technology has brought to early users.
Web Traffic Analysis Using Social Network Approach • Jae-Shin Lee and Geri Gay, Cornell; Cho Hichang, National University of Singapore • The focus of this study is to examine Web traffic patterns using the social network perspective. Social network analysis examines relationships among entities and helps find structural patterns of relationships. In this study, we recorded students’ Web surfing behaviors in log files and their Web surfing patterns were visualized using social network diagrams. With social network diagrams, we were able to display how traffic to different Web sites were interrelated.
Effects on Course Materials Available on the Web on Students’ Learning Attitude and Outcome • Xigen Li, Louisiana State • A survey of students in a large state university found use of Web-enhanced course materials was not associated with positive attitude toward attending classes. However, use of Web-enhanced course materials was found partly associated with both perceived positive learning process and learning outcome. Two thirds of the students accessed course materials on the Web quite often. The course materials on the Web that the students wanted the most were lecture notes.
Coming of Age in the E-Generation: A Qualitative Exploration of How Young People Use Communication Technology for Identity Building and Social Interaction • Sally J. McMillian and Margaret Morrison, Tennessee • Analyzing autobiographical essays written by 72 young adult college students, this study investigates how coming of age concurrently with interactive technologies has influenced their identity building and social interaction. Using a grounded theory approach, four axial themes (defining self, defining community, social interaction within the family, and social interaction with others) and two selective coding categories (duality and dependence) emerged to offer some insight into what it means to grow up in the E – generation.
Determinants of Instant Messaging Use • Namkee Park, Southern California • Instant messaging is a technological innovation featuring near-real-time communication and interactivity between users, which also exhibits network effects in its diffusion. This study identifies a profile of instant messaging users and empirically tests the prediction of network effects. The study results indicate that technological innovativeness is the only significant factor in predicting instant messaging use. It was also found that network effects play a critical role for the users to choose a specific service.
Both Sides of the Digital Divide in Appalachia: Uses and Perceived Benefits of Internet Access • Daniel Riffe, Ohio • No abstract available.
Antecedents and Consequences of Online Trust: Explaining Support for Censorship and Filtering of Internet Content • Mike Schmierback, Jaeho Cho, Heejo Keum, Hernado Rojas, Dhavan V. Shah, Wisconsin-Madison and William P. Eveland Jr., Ohio State • Trust has traditionally been important in understanding social exchanges and social capital. Online, trust may facilitate these or other processes. We test the relationship between two forms of online trust – interpersonal and privacy – and online participation, comfort and efficacy. We also consider how these variables predict support for online censorship and filtering software. Comfort and efficacy generally predict online trust, while those who are more trusting are less likely to support online restrictions.
Political Talk and Political Messaging: Models of Mediated Information Effects on Civic Engagement • Dhavan V. Shah, and Jaeho Cho, Wisconsin-Madison; William P. Eveland Jr., Ohio State and Nojin Kwak, Michigan • We examine the effects of informational use of traditional media and the Internet on civic engagement. Using a two-wave panel survey data, we find information effects on civic engagement are largely mediated through interpersonal political discussion and interactive political messaging. Most notably, online information seeking and interactive political messaging -use of the Web as a resource and a forum – strongly influence civic engagement, often more so than do uses of traditional print and broadcast media.
The Transition to Digital Television: Are We There Yet? • James A. Wall, Southern Illinois • This paper discusses the current transition from analog to digital television (DTV) and considers the advantages, capabilities, and limitations of DTV from the perspective of both broadcasters and consumers. In addition to high-definition television (HDTV), the impending DTV transition brings to the forefront new technological uses and capabilities for broadcast television including multicasting, datacasting, and enhanced TV.
Massively Multiplayer Mayhem: Aggression in an Online Game • Dimitri Williams and Marko M. Skoric, Michigan • Research on violent video games suggests that play leads to aggressive behavior. The first longitudinal study of an online violent video game with a control group tested for changes in several aggression measures and for cultivation effects. The findings did not support the assertion that a violent game will cause substantial increases in real-world aggression, but cultivation effects were found. The findings are presented and discussed, along with their implications for research and policy.
The TV that Watches You: Privacy Concerns Involving TiVo • Kevin D. Williams, Georgia • This paper focuses on privacy concerns related to TiVo’s collection of data from individual subscribers. The author contends that TiVo’s privacy policy and collection of data do not violate any current statutes. Although no law specifically regulates TiVo, the author believes legislation will be constructed based on three pre-existing statutes: The Stored Communications Act, the Cable TV Privacy Act, and the Video Privacy Protection Act.
News on the Web: How Much Print and Broadcast Top News Converge in New Media • Jin Xu and A.J. Baltes, Bowling Green State • This study examines how print and broadcast sites converge with respect to top story updating and story depth. Samples consisted of all the real time updates in twenty randomly selected 24-hour periods collected simultaneously from seven print and four broadcast websites by an automated procedure. Analysis focused on front-page updating, individual story updating, times of updating, distinct story output, and story length.
Perceived Motives for Clicking on Multimedia Features on News Web Sites: An Exploratory Study • Amy Zerba, Florida • The purpose of this research is to explore readers’ perceived motives for clicking on multimedia features on news sites. Findings suggest that technology difficulties are slowing the advancement of multimedia features on news sites, yet a fast connection and story interest could override these factors. The study also showed a significant positive relationship between increased exposure to news sites and the motive statement “I learn better with audio/video.”
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