Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Killer Serials: Amazon’S Kindle Vella, Kathi Inman Berens

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

Can Amazon's Kindle Vella Break Through With Younger Readers? From its inception, Amazon has pushed book publishing toward a digital future that other entertainment industries such as video games and streaming media have been quicker to embrace. Kindle Vella, one of Amazon’s most recent digital programs, is worth watching.

Kindle Vella is a serialized reading experience folded into Amazon’s Kindle app. It quietly launched in July 2021. If it can catch on, it has enormous potential to capture the attention of a new generation of readers and writers already engaging serialized stories in apps like Webtoons and Wattpad--GenZers reading serialized …

Lindenwood Digest, March 2, 2022, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been a digital employee newsletter since 2009.

Lee Isaac Chung, Minari (2020): Having An Amerikorean Life, Nagehan Uzuner

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Minari by Lee Isaac Chung is a drama which chronicles the life of a Korean family who moves to the USA during 1980s in pursuit for a better life. The acculturation process is experienced differently by family members. Children are mostly bored with their new life in the rural area of Arkansas while their mother, Monica, is terrified of living in a mobile home which is made of a truck trailer in the middle of nowhere. Meanwhile, the grandmother joins the family from Korea to take care of the kids with a more positive approach dealing with their struggles. The …

Correlation Between Social Media Use And Eating Disorder Symptoms: A Literature Review, Makenna Rose Burger

Kinesiology and Public Health

Importance: Social media is a pervasive influence in modern society presenting many potential public health implications.

Objective: The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize current research regarding social media and eating disorders.

Methods: Primary research was gathered from Google Scholar and OneSearch database resulting in 7 articles. Articles were examined for common themes.

Results: Common themes found in the resulting research is the prevalence of ‘thinspiration’, gamified content, and overlap of eating disorders with other mental illnesses. Several articles found a significant correlation between social media use and the severity of eating disorder symptoms. …

A User-Generated Content Analysis On The Quality Of Restaurants Using The Tourqual Model, Tiago S. Mondo, Andre R. C. Perinotto, Valerio Souza-Neto

Journal of Global Business Insights

The restaurant market is becoming more competitive, and businesses are challenged to differentiate themselves in this sector in terms of quality of services. This research aimed to identify the specific indicators for measuring the quality of restaurant service in Brazil. Based on a quantitative paradigm, we adopted a user-generated content analysis with a sample of 1,143,631 customer reviews from 35,611 restaurants in seven Brazilian cities available on the TripAdvisor platform. We collected and registered the data in text and analyzed the results with the support of T-LAB software. Moreover, we adopted TOURQUAL Protocol (Mondo, 2014) to identify the main requirements …

Car Accidents, Smartphone Adoption And 3g Coverage, Jonathan Hersh, Bree J. Lang, Matthew Lang

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

This paper examines the relationship between smartphone use by drivers and traffic accidents in California between 2001 and 2013. In order to estimate smartphone use, we first show that widespread adoption of modern smartphones began in 2009 after the release of the iPhone 3G and T-Mobile G1. This information is combined with annual 3G coverage maps that are constructed from cellular tower information in a machine learning framework. In a difference-in-differences framework, we estimate the combined effect of smartphone adoption and 3G coverage along quarter-mile road segments. Controlling for census tract population density, road and year fixed effects, Poisson regression …

Designing Respectful Tech: What Is Your Relationship With Technology?, Noreen Y. Whysel

Publications and Research

According to research at the Me2B Alliance, people feel they have a relationship with technology. It’s emotional. It’s embodied. And it’s very personal. We are studying digital relationships to answer questions like “Do people have a relationship with technology?” “What does that relationship feel like?” And “Do people understand the commitments that they are making when they explore, enter into and dissolve these relationships?” There are parallels between messy human relationships and the kinds of relationships that people develop with technology. As with human relationships, we move through states of discovery, commitment and breakup with digital applications as well. Technology …

Lindenwood Digest, February 23, 2022, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been a digital employee newsletter since 2009.

Rise Of Social Media Influencers As A New Marketing Channel: Focusing On The Roles Of Psychological Well-Being And Perceived Social Responsibility Among Consumers, Jihye Kim, Minseong Kim

Integrated Strategic Communication Faculty Publications

This empirical research investigated the structural relationships between social media influencer attributes, perceived friendship, psychological well-being, loyalty, and perceived social responsibility of influencers, focusing on the perspective of social media users. More specifically, this study conceptually identified social media influencer attributes such as language similarity, interest similarity, interaction frequency, and self-disclosure and examined the respective effects of each dimension on perceived friendship and psychological well-being, consequently resulting in loyalty toward social media influencers. The authors collected and analyzed data from 388 social media users in the United States via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk with multivariate analyses to test the hypothesized associations …

Lindenwood Digest, February 16, 2022, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been a digital employee newsletter since 2009.

Predictors Of Online Patient Portal Use Among A Diverse Sample Of Emerging Adults: Cross-Sectional Survey, Julie A. Wright Ph.D., Julie E. Volkman Ph.D., Suzanne G. Leveille Rn, Daniel J. Amante Mph, P.Hd.

Communications and Language Studies Faculty Journal Articles

Background: Health self-management is increasingly being influenced by emerging health information technologies (IT), especially online patient portals. Patient portals provide patients with direct access to their health information, electronic tools to manage their health, and additional opportunities to engage with their care team. Previous studies have found that patient portal use is highest among patients with high eHealth literacy, the ability to find health information from electronic sources and apply the knowledge gained to solve a health problem. The role of eHealth literacy on patient portal use appears to be especially strong among older adults with chronic diseases. The use …

The Inclusion Of Medical And Health Experts In The Coverage Of Covid-19 In Print Media In Kenya, Sarah Okuoro

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

When the first cases of coronavirus infection emerged in Kenya, the focus of print media moved to cover COVID-19 pandemic stories. This study aimed to analyze the extent to which medical experts were included in the reporting since patient zero was diagnosed in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to identify the sourcing methods adopted by mainstream print media, analyse the incorporation of health and medical experts and examine the nature of information given by health and medical experts in the coverage of COVID-19 stories in the first one year since the diagnosis of patient zero in Kenya. The study adopted …

How The Social Media Phenomena Of Publishing Private And Personal Information About Prominent Public Figures Is Influencing Ethical Decision Making By Legacy Media Editors, Evelyne Nyakiega Kahungu

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

The social media revolution continues to impact legacy media’s ethical decision-making protocols, especially when dealing with private and personal information of public figures published on these platforms by non-legacy media actors. The objectives of this study were: to examine the ethical dilemmas that legacy media editors are confronted with when private and confidential information of public figures is reported by non-legacy media content producers; to determine what considerations legacy media journalists make before publishing that information on their platforms; to assess the ethical decision-making protocols that legacy media editors in Kenya follow when dealing with the private information of public …

Digital Native Media: Growing Online Audiences And Challenges Of Monetization, Martin Wachira Njoroge

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

Digital native media platforms have grown and amassed massive audiences and readership online. Despite the audience growth, they have been experiencing challenges in monetizing and generating revenues. The objectives of the study were: (a) to establish monetization opportunities for digital native media houses, given their growing online audience numbers, (b) to determine strategies deployed by digital native media to help them monetize online content given the high numbers on the digital platforms, and (c) to establish challenges digital native media are facing in leveraging the online audiences and monetizing the content. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and employed …

The Adoption Of Artificial Intelligence In Newsrooms In Kenya: A Multi-Case Study, Peter Mwangangi Kioko

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

Deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in newsrooms is gaining prominence across the world, with the technology being used to enhance the processes of news gathering, packaging, and distribution. The objectives of this study were to: explore the extent of use of AI in newsrooms in Kenya, determine the factors driving the adoption of AI or lack of it, and identify the challenges and opportunities presented by the adoption of AI in newsrooms in Kenya. The study was guided by the theory of disruptive innovation, the technology acceptance model, and the domestication of technology theory. Qualitative research approach and the exploratory …

Online Audiences And Gatekeeping: User Comments And Their Influence On Editorial Processes In Newsrooms In Kenya, Beryl Anyango Oywer

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

There has been an ongoing debate in Kenyan newsrooms on whether or not to retain the comment section on news websites in the wake of Social Media Networks which allow the media to still get user feedback devoid of any liability of unregulated third-party comments. This study set to establish the role and influence user comments have on editorial processes as well as explain what value media houses that have retained the comment section are receiving. Using methodological triangulation, this study analysed the nature of user comments, how comments influence editorial processes and the value the three media houses with …

News Consumption Habits On Social Media: A Study Of Unemployed Kenyan Millennials At National Employment Authority In Kasarani Sub-County, Teresia Wambui Ndonye

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

Social media started as a social meeting point where users met to socialize, network and connect. The earliest users of social media applications were millennials and with time they became addicts and spent a lot of time online. The study aimed to identify the social media applications Kenyan Millennials use to consume news, what motivates them to use the applications, the gratification they get and amount of time they spend on news on social media. The study was carried out at the National Employment Authority headquarters in Kasarani Sub-County. The study targeted all walk-ins to the office for a period …

News Processes, Opportunities And Challenges In Converged Kenyan Newsrooms: A Case Study Of Standard Group Plc, Agnes Aineah

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

Convergence is not a new concept in Kenya’s media industry. Legacy media organizations in Kenya have relaunched several times in an attempt to integrate their newsroom operations and to create digitally fronted newsrooms. This study explores the news processes that converged newsrooms have put in place to support the integration of previously distinct media operations and the opportunities and challenges inherent in converged newsrooms in Kenya. It is a case study of Standard Group PLC which fully converged its newsroom operations in April 2021 after having undergone several convergence attempts “with little success” (Vaseling, 2021). This study was guided by …

Towards A News Industry Framework For Tackling The Vice Of Brown Envelope Journalism: Perceptions Of Journalists And Public Relations Practitioners In Uganda, Sandra Lamwaka

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

Journalism, just like any other institution in society has been tainted with acts of corruption and bribery or what is scholarly known as Brown Envelope Journalism (BEJ). The practice takes shape in form of cash, gifts/ freebies, and incentives, given to a journalist to influence the reportage of news. This has affected the quality of news and undermined fundamental journalistic principles. Anchored on McQuail’s theory of Media and Society and the Social Responsibility Theory of the Press, this study sought to examine journalists and PR practitioners’ perceptions of BEJ and what the industry can employ to address the vice The …

Monetising Digital Content: Lessons From Nation Media Group, Augustine Kipkosgei Sang

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

The advent of digital media has seen legacy news organisations record a decline in revenue as audiences shifted online, where access to information was relatively cheaper and more convenient. Newspaper circulation plummeted, and so did their revenue as advertisers followed the audiences online, where the media were abundant and could pay less. Media houses switched focus to digital after traditional models were disrupted, the intention being to use digital to plug the losses in legacy platforms. Within this tenet, this study sought to determine the lessons learned by legacy media in Kenya and identify the critical success factors in the …