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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Authentic Leadership In Illness Blogs: What We Can Learn From Jaw Surgery Bloggers, Marilyn Mitchell
Authentic Leadership In Illness Blogs: What We Can Learn From Jaw Surgery Bloggers, Marilyn Mitchell
Marilyn Mitchell
This paper argues that authentic leadership theory provides a useful model for explaining the communication of orthognathic or jaw surgery bloggers. Previous studies concluded that illness blogs can empower patients, but no research considered any leadership theory as a model for blogging. For this study, 24 publicly available blogs were analyzed to find expressions that demonstrated each of the four components of authentic leadership, which are self-awareness, relational transparency, communication based upon an internalized moral perspective, and balanced processing of information. The research also analyzed blog comments to find expressions that demonstrated followers’ development of the positive psychological capacities of …
Credibility Strategies Of Popular Health Websites: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Parkinson's Information Pages, Abigail Bakke
Credibility Strategies Of Popular Health Websites: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Parkinson's Information Pages, Abigail Bakke
English Department Publications
Though using e-health is a common patient practice, unregulated and inaccurate online medical content can pose real dangers. To effectively convey important and accurate health messages, online health organizations must make their information stand out as trustworthy. To identify credibility strategies, I conducted a rhetorical analysis of Parkinson’s disease content from the two most popular U.S. health websites: NIH.gov and WebMD. Based on the range of credibility strategies identified in these webpages, I recommend that medical writers and e-health designers convey both expertise and trustworthiness to build credibility in their content.