Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Measuring News Media Literacy, Adam Maksl, Seth Ashley, Stephanie Craft

Journal of Media Literacy Education

News media literacy refers to the knowledge and motivations needed to identify and engage with journalism. This study measured levels of news media literacy among 500 teenagers using a new scale measure based on Potter’s model of media literacy and adapted to news media specifically. The adapted model posits that news media literate individuals think deeply about media experiences, believe they are in control of media’s influence, and have high levels of basic knowledge about media content, industries and effects. Based on measures developed to assess news media literacy, highly news literate teens were found to be more intrinsically motivated …

Guiding Digital And Media Literacy Development In Arab Curricula Through Understanding Media Uses Of Arab Youth, Jad P. Melki

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The role of new media in the Arab uprisings and the news of widespread surveillance of digital and mobile media have triggered a renewed interest in Arab audiences research, particularly as it pertains to these audiences’ critical abilities and digital media literacy competencies. Taken for granted have been Arab youth’s widespread use of social media for activism and political expression and their suspicion of government monitoring and privacy threats. This study questions these assumptions and attempts to provide a more accurate picture of Arab youth’s media uses, with the goal of informing the development of digital and media literacy curricula …

Eliciting Behavior From Interactive Narratives: Isolating The Role Of Agency In Connecting With And Modeling Characters, Francesca R. Dillman, Ryan Rogers, Lisa Barnard

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

A key component differentiating interactive storytelling from non-interactive media is agency, or control over character choices. A series of experiments show that providing agency over a character increased the user-character connection, which then increased engagement in a character-consistent charitable act. Findings were observed in technologically simple online narratives that controlled for navigation/controller differences, graphics, sounds, lengthy play, and avatar customization. Effects emerged even though users did not practice these acts by making their character behave charitably. Findings were robust across happy and unfortunate endings and across first-, second-, and third-person narrative perspectives. Findings suggest promise for developing inexpensive ‘‘storygames’’ to …

Mymedialife - Population-Driven New Media Social Marketing And Branding, Kenny Shults, Victoria Sterkin, Emily Hanlen

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This workshop is intended for adolescent service providers and anyone interested in discovering new ways to conduct community outreach and marketing. This workshop will:

1. Examine how youth are consuming and utilizing new media in their lives, and the impacts of the new-media revolution on adolescent behavior, learning, and socialization.
2. Demonstrate how behavior science is organically infused into social marketing efforts.
3. Provide practitioners with an overview of a program that both teaches adolescents the fundamentals of social marketing (behavior-change) campaigns, but structures a process wherein youth envision, design, produce, and disseminate the campaign on behalf of the host agency.
4. Present MyMediaLife …

A Critical-Cultural Analysis Of Evolving Music Technology And Human Communication: Should We Let The Music Do The Talking?, Erin Warren

Communication Studies

Noted media communication scholar Marshall McLuhan said it best when he famously asserted “the medium is the message.” He continues on, recognizing that “the personal and social consequences of any medium -- that is, of any extension of ourselves -- result from the new scale Warren 5 that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology” (McLuhan 7). One category of mediums it applies best to is music. This interests me, as a communication studies student and as someone who aims to understand the role that human interaction plays in music technology. In …

Social Media And Celebrities: The Benefits Of A Social Media Presence, Kristin Wright

Journalism

This study analyzes celebrities and their social media presence and how they can benefit from using different social platforms. The rise of social media has caused people to rely on it for news, viewing content, and making connections with others. Celebrities no longer have to relay messages or content through their managers and publicists before releasing it. The way people interact through social media has allowed celebrities to engage their fans, enhance their career, and ultimately increase their stardom. This study investigates how social media impacts a celebrity’s career and what the best practices are for receiving positive benefits.

Breaking Into The Business: A Guide To Creating A Dynamic Resume Reel And Securing A Job In Today’S Television News Industry, Christina Favuzzi

Journalism

Broadcast journalists are experiencing turbulence in their field of expertise due to increasing digitalization and decreased funding. It is becoming commonplace for reporters to work as one-man-bands, or “multimedia journalists,” shooting and editing their own video in addition to writing and reporting. For people looking to begin a career in the highly competitive broadcast news industry, there is a great deal of information to understand and consider prior to beginning the job search. Creating a dynamic resume reel is central to landing a job as an on-air reporter. However, with the development of digital-first and multimedia journalism, there are certain …

Net Children Go Mobile:Full Findings From Ireland, Brian O'Neill, Thuy Dinh

Reports

Net Children Go Mobile is a two-year research project funded under the European Commission’s Safer Internet Programme. Seven countries participated in the project: Denmark, Italy, Romania, United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal and Belgium.

Findings from the survey are compared with EU Kids Online which because of the similar methodology adopted allows trends to be identified.

The project uses quantitative and qualitative methodologies to investigate access and use, risks and opportunities of mobile internet use. This report presents the full findings of the survey with extracts from qualitative data about young people’s use of mobile internet technologies in Ireland.

500 young people, …

Smart Data - How You And I Will Exploit Big Data For Personalized Digital Health And Many Other Activities, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Virtual Conference And Meeting Systems: Resources For Online Connections, John Gottfried, Laura Delancey, Carol L. Watwood, Amanda Hardin

DLTS Faculty Publications

Librarians have always tried to stretch the limits of applicable technologies to create effective connections among researchers and resources. We thrive on the tools and tactics that help us do this, and we are always on the prowl for newer, better alternatives. This is one of the best ways we have of keeping high service standards in the face of shrinking budgets and skeletal staffing. Fortunately, there have never been so many technologies to choose from, and there have never been so many challenges calling out for technological intervention.

Hosting online instruction sessions is, for example, an excellent opportunity for …

On Using Synthetic Social Media Stimuli In An Emergency Preparedness Functional Exercise, Andrew Hampton, Shreyansh Bhatt, Gary Alan Smith, Jeremy S. Brunn, Hemant Purohit, Valerie L. Shalin, John M. Flach, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper details the creation and use of a massive (over 32,000 messages) artificially constructed 'Twitter' microblog stream for a regional emergency preparedness functional exercise. By combining microblog conversion, manual production, and a control set, we created a web based information stream providing valid, misleading, and irrelevant information to public information officers (PIOs) representing hospitals, fire departments, the local Red Cross, and city and county government officials. PIOs searched, monitored, and (through conventional channels) verified potentially actionable information that could then be redistributed through a personalized screen name. Our case study of a key PIO reveals several capabilities that social …

Citizens Of The World: An Autoethnography Of Couchsurfing And Uncertainty Reduction Theory, Anderson Santos

Masters Theses

This study examines through an autoethnography the culture of couchsurfing and the process of hospitality networks through computer mediated communication in five European countries during three months of 2012. Using Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a framework the study was divided into five topics and analyzed using Uncertainty reduction theory. The study found that couchsurfers have needs and prioritize these needs as The hierarchy of needs predicts. CouchSurfers also employ uncertainty reduction strategies similar to those used within computer mediated communication when choosing their host. Over 20 hosting experiences have been analyzed in this study. The field data was collected …

Leave Them (Texting) Kidz Alone, Melody Bowdon

UCF Forum

By trade, I am a professor of writing and rhetoric. In layman’s terms, this makes me an English teacher. These are deeply dreaded words for many people. When I identify my profession to new acquaintances, I get a range of responses: obviously, some people don’t find it that interesting—it’s not like I’m an astronaut or plastic surgeon, and everyone has known her or his fair share of English teachers. Others, though, have very strong reactions, letting me know that they hate English or have never been “good at it.”

Living Proof: Autobiographical Political Argument In We Are The 99 Percent And We Are The 53 Percent, Doron Taussig

Media and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

People often cite life experiences as evidence in political arguments, though personal experience is far from generalizable. How do these arguments work? In this paper, I consider the rhetorical dynamics of “autobiographical political argument” by examining We are the 99 Percent and We are the 53 Percent, two blogs that use autobiographical stories to make discursive points. I argue that these autobiographical appeals efficiently use all three of Aristotle’s persuasive “proofs”—logos (logic), ethos (credibility), and pathos (emotion). Then I show that many of the blogs’ stories focus on “redemption,” a theme personality psychologists have found emphasized in the narrative …

Mobile Technologies And The Incidence Of Cyberbullying In Seven European Countries: Findings From Net Children Go Mobile, Brian O'Neill, Thuy Dinh

Articles

The harmful effects of bullying and harassment on children have long been of concern to parents, educators, and policy makers. The online world presents a new environment in which vulnerable children can be victimized and a space where perpetrators find new ways to perform acts of harassment. While online bullying is often considered to be an extension of persistent offline behavior, according to EU Kids Online (2011), the most common form of bullying is in person, face-to-face. With the rise in use of mobile Internet technologies, this balance is changing. Increased levels of use and more time spent online accessed …

Icils 2013: Information About The Australian Data Files, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ICT - Digital Literacy

This document details the national variables that are available in the Australian International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2013 data files. The data files are located in the ICT – Digital Literacy series.

Icils 2013: Australian Teacher Data [Spss], Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ICT - Digital Literacy

This dataset (SPSS zipped) is a data source for the report: International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013: Australian students’ readiness for study, work and life in the digital age.

The International Computer and Information Literacy study (ICILS) methodology is complex. Prior to undertaking any analyses, it is recommended data users become familiar with all the information (for example, plausible values and replicate weights) required to understand and analyse the data files.

Information about the Australian ICILS 2013 data files is available here.

The ICILS 2013 User Guide, to accompany ICILS data, is available for download here.

The …

Icils 2013: Australian Teacher Data [Sas], Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ICT - Digital Literacy

This dataset (SAS zipped) is a data source for the report: International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013: Australian students’ readiness for study, work and life in the digital age.

The International Computer and Information Literacy study (ICILS) methodology is complex. Prior to undertaking any analyses, it is recommended data users become familiar with all the information (for example, plausible values and replicate weights) required to understand and analyse the data files.

Information about the Australian ICILS 2013 data files is available here.

The ICILS 2013 User Guide, to accompany ICILS data, is available for download here. …

Icils 2013: Australian School Data [Spss], Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ICT - Digital Literacy

This dataset (SPSS zipped) is a data source for the report: International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013: Australian students’ readiness for study, work and life in the digital age.

The International Computer and Information Literacy study (ICILS) methodology is complex. Prior to undertaking any analyses, it is recommended data users become familiar with all the information (for example, plausible values and replicate weights) required to understand and analyse the data files.

Information about the Australian ICILS 2013 data files is available here.

The ICILS 2013 User Guide, to accompany ICILS data, is available for download here. …

Icils 2013: Australian School Data [Sas], Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ICT - Digital Literacy

This dataset (SAS zipped) is a data source for the report: International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013: Australian students’ readiness for study, work and life in the digital age.

The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) methodology is complex. Prior to undertaking any analyses, it is recommended data users become familiar with all the information (for example, plausible values and replicate weights) required to understand and analyse the data files.

Information about the Australian ICILS 2013 data files is available here.

The ICILS 2013 User Guide, to accompany ICILS data, is available for download here. …

Icils 2013: Australian Student Data [Spss], Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ICT - Digital Literacy

This dataset (SPSS zipped) is a data source for the report: International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013: Australian students’ readiness for study, work and life in the digital age.

The International Computer and Information Literacy study (ICILS) methodology is complex. Prior to undertaking any analyses, it is recommended data users become familiar with all the information (for example, plausible values and replicate weights) required to understand and analyse the data files.

Information about the Australian ICILS 2013 data files is available here.

The ICILS 2013 User Guide, to accompany ICILS data, is available for download here. …

Icils 2013: Australian Student Data [Sas], Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ICT - Digital Literacy

This dataset (SAS zipped) is a data source for the report: International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013: Australian students’ readiness for study, work and life in the digital age.

The International Computer and Information Literacy study (ICILS) methodology is complex. Prior to undertaking any analyses, it is recommended data users become familiar with all the information (for example, plausible values and replicate weights) required to understand and analyse the data files.

Information about the Australian ICILS 2013 data files is available here.

The ICILS 2013 User Guide, to accompany ICILS data, is available for download here. …

Exploring Ways Social Media Data Inform Public Issues Communication: An Analysis Of Twitter Conversation During The 2012-2013 Drought In Nebraska, Adam Wagler, Karen J. Cannon

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

Social networking sites often are used to maintain close social ties, but increasingly they are used for information and news dissemination, specifically about major events and crises. In 2012, a historic drought struck the Midwest, destroying or damaging portions of major field crops in major agricultural production states. By the end of August 2012, 90% of Nebraska was declared in extreme or exceptional drought, leading to bans on irrigation, damaged crops, and record-low yields as well as damaging the state’s leading economic sector. This case study used social media monitoring and analysis to explore online Twitter conversations related to this …

Gender-Based Violence In 140 Characters Or Fewer: A #Bigdata Case Study Of Twitter, Hemant Purohit, Tanvi Banerjee, Andrew Hampton, Valerie L. Shalin, Nayanesh Bhandutia, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Public institutions are increasingly reliant on data from social media sites to measure public attitude and provide timely public engagement. Such reliance includes the exploration of public views on important social issues such as gender-based violence (GBV). In this study, we examine big (social) data consisting of nearly fourteen million tweets collected from Twitter over a period of ten months to analyze public opinion regarding GBV, highlighting the nature of tweeting practices by geographical location and gender. We demonstrate the utility of Computational Social Science to mine insight from the corpus while accounting for the influence of both transient events …

#Advocatingforchange: The Strategic Use Of Hashtags In Social Media Advocacy, Gregory D. Saxton, Jerome N. Niyirora, Chao Guo, Richard D. Waters

Public and Nonprofit Administration

Social media continues to change how advocacy organizations mobilize, educate, and connect with their constituents. One of the most unique yet understudied tools available on social media platforms is the hashtag. Little research exists on how social work and advocacy organizations use hashtags, much less on how such use can be effective. This study examines the hashtag use by 105 constituent members of the National Health Council, a national US-based patient/health advocacy coalition. The study presents an inductive coding scheme of the types of hashtags employed, analyzes inter-sectoral differences in hashtag usage, and examines the relationship between hashtag use and …

Knowledge Enabled Approach To Predict The Location Of Twitter Users, Revathy Krishnamurthy, Pavan Kapanipathi, Amit P. Sheth, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan

Kno.e.sis Publications

Knowledge bases have been used to improve performance in applications ranging from web search and event detection to entity recognition and disambiguation. More recently, knowledge bases have been used to analyze social data. A key challenge in social data analysis has been the identification of the geographic location of online users in a social network such as Twitter. Existing approaches to predict the location of users, based on their tweets, rely solely on social media features or probabilistic language models. These approaches are supervised and require large training dataset of geo-tagged tweets to build their models. As most Twitter users …

Mining Behavior Of Citizen Sensor Communities To Improve Cooperation With Organizational Actors, Hemant Purohit

Kno.e.sis Publications

Web 2.0 (social media) provides a natural platform for dynamic emergence of citizen (as) sensor communities, where the citizens generate content for sharing information and engaging in discussions. Such a citizen sensor community (CSC) has stated or implied goals that are helpful in the work of formal organizations, such as an emergency management unit, for prioritizing their response needs. This research addresses questions related to design of a cooperative system of organizations and citizens in CSC. Prior research by social scientists in a limited offline and online environment has provided a foundation for research on cooperative behavior challenges, including ‘ …

Value Oriented Big Data Processing With Applications, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan

Kno.e.sis Publications

We discuss the nature of Big Data and address the role of semantics in analyzing and processing Big Data that arises in the context of Physical-Cyber-Social Systems. To handle Volume, we advocate semantic perception that can convert low-level observational data to higher-level abstractions more suitable for decision- making. To handle Variety, we resort to semantic models and annotations of data so that intelligent processing can be done independent of heterogeneity of data formats and media. To handle Velocity, we seek to use continuous semantics capability to dynamically create event or situation specific models and recognize relevant new concepts, entities and …

The Paradox Of Public Diplomacy On The Web: An Empirical Analysis On Interactivity And Narratives Of Nation-States' Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Web Sites, Hyung Min Lee, Kevin Y. Wang, Yejin Hong

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Against the backdrop of Habermas’ theory of communicative action, we empirically analyzed the level of interactivity and narratives offered in nation-states’ ministry of foreign affairs Web sites. A multiple regression analysis was performed in an attempt to identify factors affecting the level of interactivity in such Web sites. Findings revealed that the level of economic development is the sole significant factor in regards to the level of interactivity. Further, self-interested, goal-directed, and strategic purposes behind the allegedly transparent, engaging, and interactive public diplomacy were evidenced through a critical analysis of the objectives, key issues, and target publics addressed and highlighted …

Video Games As Meaningful Entertainment Experiences, Mary Beth Oliver, Nicholas David Bowman, Julia K. Woolley, Ryan Rogers, Brett I. Sherrick, Mun-Youn Chung

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

We conducted an experiment to examine individuals’ perceptions of enjoyable and meaningful video games and the game characteristics and dimensions of need satisfaction associated with enjoyment and appreciation. Participants (N = 512) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups that asked them to recall a game that they found either particularly fun or particularly meaningful, and to then rate their perceptions of the game that they recalled. Enjoyment was high for both groups, though appreciation was higher in the meaningful- than fun-game condition. Further, enjoyment was most strongly associated with gameplay characteristics and satisfaction of needs related to competency …