Carolyn A. Lin

Audience Attributes, Media Supplementation, and Likely Online Service Adoption

Despite the explosive potential for revenue growth on the Internet, research suggests that the advertising industry remains perplexed about how to reach consumers in this new medium. Drawing from several bodies of literature including diffusion, motivation, and media substitution theories, this study explores potential predictors for online service adoption. Findings indicate that the cognitive and affective gratification-seeking factors were the strongest predictors of likely online service adoption. By contrast, whereas adopter attributes were moderate predictors, the existing adoption cluster and media use attributes were both weak predictors of likely online service adoption.

Usability Testing by Older Adults of a Computer-Mediated Health Communication Program

Failure to adhere to an antihypertensive regimen and interactions between antihypertensives and other medicines represent serious health threats to older adults. This study tested the usability of a touch-screen-enabled personal education program (PEP). Findings showed that older adults rated the PEP system usability, system usefulness, and system-use satisfaction at a moderately high level for prototype-1 and at an exceptionally high level for prototype-2. A 201.91% reduction in interface errors and a 31.08% decrease in interface time also were found between the two trials. This participatory usability design was highly successful in tailoring its program interface design to accommodate older users to enhance their health communication and technology use efficacy.

The influence of online forum and SNS use on online political discussion in China: Assessing Spirals of Trust

Echoing the significance of mobile online networks in fueling the Arab Spring, the present study seeks to better understand social media influences in China by studying political activity among Chinese netizens. A survey of Chinese college students examines the influence of online social networks in the context of political attitudes and political participation. Study results reveal a moderate but positive impact of online forum and social networking site use on online political discussion. Implications for political change in the social networking era, particularly in regimes that practice Internet censorship like Chinas, are discussed.

Predicting Webcasting Adoption via Personal Innovativeness and Perceived Utilities

ABSTRACT Broadcasting over the internet presents a new frontier for media and advertising industries to conquer. At the local level, the greatest asset of a television station is its “localism”—with the audience still regarding television stations as the most effective source for local weather, traffic, and sports news as well as advertising—compared to cable television, public television, newspapers, magazine, or the internet. Hence, the unique advantage that a television station website can offer may involve providing locally-oriented webcasting services as well as serving as a portal to features and other websites of local interest. This study explored the profile of early adopters of webcasting, the potential predictors of webcasting adoption, and audience interest in different types of local webcast features. A national sample representing the top 50 television markets in the United States was interviewed via a computer-assisted telephone interviewing system for data collection. Study results found that webcasting adopters suited the profile of “early adopters” of online technology. Moreover, personal innovativeness, perceived utilities of webcasting as well as online-use frequency and per-online-use duration were found to be significant predictors of webcasting adoption (although demographic characteristics were not). Findings on audience adoption interest in local webcast features, and their implications for advertisers, were also discussed.

Communicating Food Safety via the Social Media The Role of Knowledge and Emotions on Risk Perception and Prevention

This study examined the Chinese public’s use of Weibo (a microblog platform) and their cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses to a series of food safety crises. Based on a sample of 1,360 adult Weibo users across China, the study found that Weibo use contributed to cognitive and behavioral responses to food safety concerns, but access to other online and off-line news and information outlets was largely irrelevant. Emotional response toward the food safety incidents was a stronger predictor of both food safety risk perception and prevention action, relative to food safety incident awareness and factual awareness. Theoretical and social implications of study findings are discussed.

Exploring the Online Radio Adoption Decision-Making Process: Cognition, Attitude, and Technology Fluidity

Even though online radio services have been available since the mid-1990s, academic research on online radio diffusion remains scarce. The present study explores how online radios value-added affordances may help shape the cognitive and affective responses to influence the adoption process among terrestrial radio listeners. Results show that online radios fluid technology attributes, positive adoption beliefs and attitudes, and functionally similar technology clusters are significant predictors of online radio adoption. A lack of familiarity with online radio and low affinity with radio listening might have contributed to the lack of interest in online radio adoption.

Online news as a functional substitute for offline news

Contents: Preface. Part I: Overview. B. Garrison, Online Newspapers. M.B. Salwen, Online News Trends. P.D. Driscoll, Legal Issues and Online Journalism. Part II: Studies of Online News Audiences and Content. M.B. Salwen, B. Garrison, P.D. Driscoll, The Baseline Survey Projects: Exploring Questions. R.A. Abdulla, B. Garrison, M.B. Salwen, P.D. Driscoll, D. Casey, Online News Credibility. R.D. Driscoll, M.B. Salwen, B. Garrison, Public Fear of Terrorism and the News Media. M.B. Salwen, P.D. Driscoll, B. Garrison, Third-Person Perceptions of Fear During the War on Terrorism: Perceptions of Online News Users. C. Imfeld, G.W. Scott, Under Construction: Measures of Community Building at Newspaper Web Sites. C. Lin, M.B. Salwen, R.A. Abdulla, Uses and Gratifications of Online and Offline News: New Wine in an Old Bottle? C. Lin, M.B. Salwen, B. Garrison, P.D. Driscoll, Online News as a Functional Substitute for Offline News. W. Dibean, B. Garrison, Online Newspaper Market Size and the Use of World Wide Web Technologies. Part III: Online News Posters. R.A. Abdulla, What They Post: Arabic-Language Message Boards After the September 11 Attacks. D.J. Atkin, L. Jeffres, K. Neuendorf, R. Lange, P. Skalski, Why They Chat: Predicting Adoption and Use of Chat Rooms. Appendix: National Telephone Survey Questionnaires, 2001-2002.

Communicating Social Relationships via the Use of Photo-Messaging

The present study applied theories of diffusion, technology acceptance, and uses and gratifications via an exploratory model to explain the photo-messaging behavior of 682 college students. Structural equation modeling results indicate that greater photo-messaging activity within ones social network predicts personal relationship formation and relationship maintenance motives. Relationship maintenance motives had a stronger influence on behavioral intention to adopt photo-messaging than did relationship formation. Technology cluster ownership also predicts perceived ease of use for photo-messaging activity. The technology acceptance model (TAM) conceptualizations were generally supported for photo-messaging.

Selective News Exposure, Personal Values, and Support for the Iraq War

News media coverage of the Iraq war plays a significant role in informing the public about the war event itself. This study examined whether exposure to different news sources had an impact on the publics opinion on the war starting from the initial military-action phase through the early postwar period. It also explored how the publics patriotic values, political orientations, and religious convictions influenced the relations between their news source exposure and support for (or opposition to) the war.

Predicting user response to sponsored advertising on social media via the technology acceptance model

Abstract Sponsored advertising has generated strong advertising revenues for Facebook in recent years. As sponsored ads are built on an interactive platform that could be seen as invasive to user privacy, the growth of this advertising platform has important implications for consumers, and advertisers alike. As little research is available on consumer response to sponsored advertising as an interactive technology innovation, the current study assesses the effects of user perceptions of privacy risk, intrusiveness concerns and utilities of sponsored advertising on consumer attitudes and purchase intent. Testing a model derived form the technology acceptance model (TAM), the study found that privacy and intrusiveness concerns are both valid antecedent variables to perceived usefulness but not perceived ease of use of sponsored advertising. While both antecedent variables also influence consumer attitudes toward sponsored advertising, only privacy concerns have an impact product purchase intentions. The hypothesized relations between perceived usefulness, ease of use, attitudes and purchase intentions were also validated.