Search

This study uses systems theory to explore relationships between individual, micro, meso, and macro factors and expected future religious practices of students studying at a Seventh-day Adventist university. The study operationalizes system theory in context of both public relations and spirituality. The primary purpose is to understand relationship between each level of systems theory and students' expectations about future religious practices. Key recommendations include the need to increase use of digital communication tools, the value of distinguishing between understanding and belief/action at the micro level, and the importance of supporting spiritual development outside the context of organized religion.

This study examines factors such as academic preparation, socioeconomic status, faculty/student relationships and extracurricular activities in different colleges at a public research university. The goal of this study is to begin to understand the cultures of different broad academic disciplinary areas where students may study advertising and public relations. Student survey responses combined with institutional data about those students did reveal differences based on academic disciplinary areas. Communication students were somewhat less prepared academically, more likely to be the first in their family to attend college, most likely to report having a faculty mentor and most likely to be involved in student media. They also engaged in internship and co-op experiences, used career services and were more active in Greek life than students in most other colleges. Students in business, arts and sciences and professional disciplines also participated in the study and multiple significant differences were found.

In July 2011, the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees approved a new strategic plan called VolVision for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) campus. VolVision provides the road map for UTK to become a Top 25 university. For more than a year before the board approved the plan, faculty and administrative leaders led focus groups and other meetings seeking input from faculty, staff, and students on the university's mission, vision, values, and priorities. The collaborative strategic planning approach contributed to the buy-in by a diverse group of constituents and provided a big picture perspective of "issues, problems, or opportunities" across campus (Sanaghan, 2009, p. 4). Task forces developed action profiles around five priorities: undergraduate education, graduate education, faculty and staff, research, and infrastructure. The focus of this chapter is on undergraduate education. Both authors served on the task force that developed twenty-four action profiles related to undergraduate education. The task force organized profiles into four areas: maintain student quality, support transition into the first year, support graduation, and enhance efficiency and effectiveness. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

Presents an analysis of 19 studies that apply content analysis techniques to the World Wide Web. Offers how researchers can apply content analysis to the Web with primary focus on formulating research questions/hypotheses, sampling, data collection and coding, training/reliability of coders, and analyzing/interpreting data. (SC)

This study uses systems theory to explore relationships between individual, micro, meso, and macro factors and expected future religious practices of students studying at a Seventh-day Adventist university. The study operationalizes system theory in context of both public relations and spirituality. The primary purpose is to understand relationship between each level of systems theory and students' expectations about future religious practices. Key recommendations include the need to increase use of digital communication tools, the value of distinguishing between understanding and belief/action at the micro level, and the importance of supporting spiritual development outside the context of organized religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gain a better understanding of online brand communities, this study has examined why people joined in online brand communities and whether there were some differences in the motivations of Internet users based on different cultures. Open-ended questions were asked to the community members from both South Korean Automobile Online Brand Communities (KAOBC) and American Automobile Online Brand Communities (AAOBC) in the first stage and then generated and utilized an online survey for the study. The study found that KAOBC members tended to have a stronger social network, business, and communication motivations than AAOBC members. As a primary motivation, information seeking is the strongest motivation for members of both KAOBC and AAOBC. They had a similar level of information motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study uses Harold Innis's concepts of space- and time-biased media to examine digital media for 10 years beginning in 2005. Both syndicated spending data and industry trade press were used to assess trends and changes. After the recession of 2008, spending for online media surpassed spending on print for the first time. Digital was the dominant medium covered in most years of trade articles; however, the coverage of the rise (and fall) of media types was not as linear as was the actual change in spending. Additional analysis showed that trade press coverage focused mostly on the advertising agency business and that digital media were more central to core topics than were other media types. Concepts of time and space (Innis 1951, 2007) were also explored as overarching themes within the sample. Implications for theory, practice, and pedagogy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines factors such as academic preparation, socioeconomic status, faculty/student relationships and extracurricular activities in different colleges at a public research university. The goal of this study is to begin to understand the cultures of different broad academic disciplinary areas where students may study advertising and public relations. Student survey responses combined with institutional data about those students did reveal differences based on academic disciplinary areas. Communication students were somewhat less prepared academically, more likely to be the first in their family to attend college, most likely to report having a faculty mentor and most likely to be involved in student media. They also engaged in internship and co-op experiences, used career services and were more active in Greek life than students in most other colleges. Students in business, arts and sciences and professional disciplines also participated in the study, and multiple significant differences were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the strategic plan Vol Vision for course scheduling adopted by the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville, Tennessee. They mention that the plan focuses on various areas including undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty. They also discuss a brief chronology of actions taken by the university from 2009-2013 which enabled students to continue their graduation.

This chapter focuses on selected collaborative initiatives involving academic and student affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass media in the USA have hosted news content and delivered audiences to advertisers. While advertiser support for traditional news media has been dropping, activities of online 'citizen journalists' have been on the rise. A key question for both traditional news organizations and citizen journalists is who will pay for online news. In-depth interviews were used to gain insight into consumer understanding of changes in the relationship between news and advertising as both adapt to the online environment. Three types of news and advertising users emerged: engagers, receivers, and avoiders. The research also identified three approaches to user-generated content: broad participation, participation primarily in interpersonal exchanges, and avoidance. Implications are discussed for how these consumer perceptions and activities might shape future funding of online news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Senior citizens are often positioned as 'have nots' in the digital age, but internet use among older Americans ranges from 68 per cent among those just entering their senior years to 17 per cent of those age 75+. About 70 per cent of online seniors report using the internet for health information. This study uses grounded theory to explore online health communication among older Americans. Open-ended survey responses from 357 internet users age 55+ were analyzed. Selective coding categories were: empowerment, personal and professional communities, and watchdogs and peer assumptions. These themes are discussed in the context of health communication literature with suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile advertising is gearing up for success, but researchers and practitioners need to understand how to measure the effectiveness of this advertising form—particularly the factors that drive mobile messages home in different cultures. This study identifies key measures of effectiveness as well as antecedent variables in the context of 629 Korean and American consumers. Entertainment and credibility were key factors predicting positive attitude and purchase intention among both Koreans and Americans. However, this study found multiple cross-cultural differences—particularly in informativeness, perceived interactivity, and the value of mobile advertising. Theoretical explanations and practical implications are suggested. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of interactivity in Web sites is an important extension of a long tradition of analyzing content of media messages. But both interactivity and online analysis of content and features offer unique challenges to researchers. This study develops and tests a tool for measuring interactivity in the context of health-related Web sites. The tool was flexible enough to distinguish among multiple types of interactivity and powerful enough to show differences in interactivity based on domain type. Thus, it should have a relatively long life as a multifaceted tool for the tough job of measuring interactivity online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing autobiographical essays written by 72 young adult college students, this study investigates how coming of age concurrently with the internet and related technologies has influenced these young people's lives. An understanding of how the technology is influencing the various domains of their lives provides a window on what Internet use may be like for future generations. Essays revealed insights into four primary domains: self, family, real communities, and virtual communities. Within each of these domains, participants' responses tended to focus on key dualities. Additionally, these young people report a growing dependency on the internet for activities ranging from managing their daily lives to building and rriaintaintng virtual coinniunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advertisers spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl advertising. Are those ads part of larger campaigns? Specifically is the Web integrated with Super Bowl advertising? This study examined overall strategy (transformational vs. informational), message strategy (what to say), and creative strategy (how to say it) of the 2003 Super Bowl ads and related Web sites. Television commercials used transformational strategies more than did Web sites. Message strategies were more consistent across media than were creative strategies. Thus, campaigns may be integrated in "what to say" even when the "how to say it" seems different. Some unexpected relationships were found between message and creative strategies but these findings highlight the need to tailor messages to technological capabilities of media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing communication models and definitions of interactivity provide both background and structure for a new model of cyber-interactivity that is introduced and explored in this article. Two primary dimensions, direction of communication and level of receiver control over the communication process, provide the primary framework for this new model of computer-mediated cyber-interactivity. A study designed to explore the applicability of this model analyzed 108 health-related websites using both perception-based and feature-based measures of these two dimensions. No significant correlation was found between the perception-based and feature-based models. The perception-based model was a better predictor of attitude toward the website and perceived relevance of the subject of the website than the feature-based model. However, the feature-based model may hold greater promise as a tool for website developers who seek to incorporate appropriate levels of interactivity in their websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a content analysis of Chinese and U.S. newspaper coverage of the Internet in China. Coverage of business and economic concerns, culture and social issues and law and policy directions; Trends in the growth of Internet use in the country.

The literature on interactivity includes many assumptions and some definitions but few tools for operationalizing the concept of interactivity in computer-mediated environments. This article takes an early step in filling that gap. In-depth interviews with 10 individuals who work and teach in the field of interactive communication led to a conceptual definition of interactivity based on six dimensions: direction of communication, time flexibility, sense of place, level of control, responsiveness, and perceived purpose of communication. Suggestions are made for applying these dimensions to multiple forms of computer-mediated communication. Future research should empirically test the existence and application of these dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the level of interactivity at health-related sites on the Internet. Web sites of nonprofit organizations which utilize interactive capacity; Web sites of for-profit organizations which do not use interactive capacity; Health communication; Uses of computer-mediated communication; Interactivity and content classifications of site creators.

The article presents a survey of executive directors of associations on public relations in trade and professional associations. Respondents of the survey include directors from medical, health, education, technical, engineering, scientific, legal and trade associations and shows whether the respondent was from an association in Washington, D.C. Centralization was discovered to have an important negative correlation using the two-way symmetric model, but no-other important hypothesized relationships were attained.

Introduces a series of article about the concept of interactivity in relation to computer-mediated communication.

Earlier studies clearly have shown that older adults are going online and accessing health information, but they are not a monolithic group. The goal of this study is to identify different types of older online Americans and to examine their online health information attitudes and behaviors. A total of 424 individuals age 55+ responded to an online survey. Three types of users were found based on demographic and computer-use factors: power users, well-to-do, and older men. Two types were found based on health attitudes and behaviors: health traditionalists and health technologists. The study found interesting relationships among these groups and also explored their use and evaluation of specific types of health-related websites and their motivations for going online. Suggestions are made for extending this research to other populations and further exploring the theoretical model of senior's online health interactions (SOHI) that drives the study.

Background: This study seeks to understand rural working women, their knowledge of health systems, and how breast health issues fit into their lives. A key aim of this study was to identify regionally and culturally specific factors that influence how these women approach breast health and to identify ways that more positive breast health behaviors can be achieved., Methods: Five focus groups (N = 42) were conducted among women at sites where the Breast Health Outreach Program (BHOP) had been conducted. Focus groups were composed of 7 to 10 women who were in about the same age cohort., Results: Women provided multiple insights about their attitudes and behaviors related to breast heath concerns. Analysis of the data revealed that many of the comments clustered around two types of "systems" in these women's lives: the professional health care system and personal community systems. The BHOP provides a bridge between these two systems and seems to facilitate positive actions. Workplace health professionals also provide a bridge between professional and personal systems., Conclusions: Women exhibited the general distrust of the medical system that the literature indicates is often associated with Appalachian culture. However, this study found that distrust can be overcome with education programs that meet women where they live and work. Such programs are most likely to be successful when the materials and methods are sensitive to Appalachian culture and when medical services are brought into the community.