Kang Namkoong

Why blog? (then and now): exploring the motivations for blogging by popular American political bloggers:

Despite the impact that influential American political bloggers have had on public policies and the mainstream media agenda in recent years, very little research is currently available on the most widely read political bloggers.Through a survey of 66 top American political bloggers, the present study examines this elite group by analyzing their initial and current motivations for blogging as well as their online and offline behaviors. The findings demonstrate that nearly all motivations for blogging have increased over time, with the most substantial increases occurring in extrinsic motivations. The results also reveal a significant association between extrinsic motivations and blogger online and offline political participation. This study demonstrates that future research on political blogs needs to look beyond blog readers and blog content and investigate the influential political bloggers themselves.

Empathic Exchanges in Online Cancer Support Groups: Distinguishing Message Expression and Reception Effects

Past studies on the efficacy of participation in online cancer support groups have primarily focused on the role of expression in the accrual of health benefits for participants. Unfortunately, few steps have been taken to determine whether this observed effect arises solely from the internal mental processes underlying the act of expressing or, perhaps, owes something to a nuanced, multidimensional understanding of expression that includes reception of responses to what is expressed. To test for the multilayered effect, we attend to one of the key concepts in the online support community scholarship: empathy. Our findings suggest that it is a combination of empathy expression and reception that is crucial to attaining optimal benefits for cancer patients. Further, our finding supports the buffering hypothesis that empathic expression provides a salutary effect for patients who experienced a higher degree of concern associated with their cancer diagnosis and follow-up treatments.

Expression and reception of treatment information in breast cancer support groups: How health self-efficacy moderates effects on emotional well-being

OBJECTIVES To examine the effects of exchanging treatment information within computer-mediated breast cancer support groups on emotional well-being, and to explore whether this relationship is moderated by health self-efficacy. METHODS SAMPLE 177 breast cancer patients using an electronic Health (eHealth) program with discussion group. MEASURE expression and reception of treatment information; emotional well-being scale (0, 4 months). ANALYSES hierarchical regression. RESULTS Effects of expression and reception of treatment information on emotional well-being were significantly greater for those who have higher health self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS Results conditionally support prior research finding positive effects of treatment information exchanges among breast cancer patients. Such exchanges had a positive impact on emotional well-being for those with higher health self-efficacy, but they had a negative influence for those with lower health self-efficacy. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Given that the association between emotional well-being and exchanging treatment information was moderated by health self-efficacy, clinicians should explain the role of health self-efficacy before encouraging patients to use eHealth systems for treatment exchanges.

An eHealth system supporting palliative care for patients with non-small cell lung cancer: A randomized trial

In this study, the authors examined the effectiveness of an online support system (Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System [CHESS]) versus the Internet in relieving physical symptom distress in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Giving and receiving emotional support online: Communication competence as a moderator of psychosocial benefits for women with breast cancer

This study examines the moderating role of emotional communication competence in the relationship between computer-mediated social support (CMSS) group participation, specifically giving and receiving emotional support, and psychological health outcomes. Data were collected as part of randomized clinical trials for women diagnosed with breast cancer within the last 2 months. Expression and reception of emotional support was assessed by tracking and coding the 18,064 messages that 236 patients posted and read in CMSS groups. The final data used in the analysis was created by merging (a) computer-aided content analysis of discussion posts, (b) action log data analysis of system usage, and (c) baseline and six-month surveys collected to assess change. Results of this study demonstrate that emotional communication competence moderates the effects of expression and reception of emotional support on psychological quality of life and breast cancer-related concerns in both desired and undesired ways. Giving and receiving emotional support in CMSS groups has positive effects on emotional well-being for breast cancer patients with higher emotional communication, while the same exchanges have detrimental impacts on emotional well-being for those with lower emotional communication competence. The theoretical and practical implications for future research are discussed.

YOUTUBE AND PROPOSITION 8: A case study in video activism

The present study uses Californias Proposition 8 campaign as a case study for an exploratory investigation of video activism online. We conducted a content analysis of a sample of Proposition 8 videos drawn at random from the results of a keyword search of YouTube. Main findings from the analysis (N = 801) show that a majority of the videos were made up of original content and took a position against Proposition 8. The results also show that video posters on different sides of the debate drew on different mixes of video forms as the election debate progressed. A greater proportion of ‘Yes on 8’ videos were scripted and professionally produced while ‘No on 8’ videos were more often amateur creations and served to witness the widespread protests in the aftermath of the election.

Media, social proximity, and risk: a comparative analysis of newspaper coverage of Avian Flu in Hong Kong and in the United States.

This study uses the psychometric paradigm (Renn & Rohrmann, 2000; Slovic, 1992) as an analytic framework to analyze the risk dimensions being conveyed in media coverage of Avian flu in Hong Kong and in the United States between 2003 and 2007. A quantitative content analysis of The New York Times and South China Morning Post stories showed different patterns of avian flu related risk content coverage. The differences revealed that dimensions related to dreadfulness, catastrophic potential, uncertainty, and unfamiliarity were more emphasized in The New York Times than in South China Morning Post. The authors discuss the implications.

Predictors of the change in the expression of emotional support within an online breast cancer support group: A longitudinal study

OBJECTIVES To explore how the expression of emotional support in an online breast cancer support group changes over time, and what factors predict this pattern of change. METHODS We conducted growth curve modeling with data collected from 192 participants in an online breast cancer support group within the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS) during a 24-week intervention period. RESULTS Individual expression of emotional support tends to increase over time for the first 12 weeks of the intervention, but then decrease slightly with time after that. In addition, we found that age, living situation, comfort level with computer and the Internet, coping strategies were important factors in predicting the changing pattern of expressing emotional support. CONCLUSIONS Expressing emotional support changed in a quadratic trajectory, with a range of factors predicting the changing pattern of expression. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS These results can provide important information for e-health researchers and physicians in determining the benefits individuals can gain from participation in should CMSS groups as the purpose of cancer treatment.

The Politics of Emotion: News Media Attention, Emotional Responses, and Participation During the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election

This study examines the mediating role of emotions toward presidential candidates in the relationship between news media attention and political campaign participation. Numerous studies have investigated the effect of news media attention on political participatory behavior. Research in this area, however, focused mostly on cognitive variables as influences on peoples behavior. We hypothesize that emotional reactions to candidates can mediate the effect of news media attention on political campaign participation. Using the 2004 American National Election Studies, we test this hypothesis employing structural equation modeling. Results show that both news media attention and the amount of emotions toward candidates are positively associated with political campaign participation. The relationship between TV news attention and political participation is fully mediated by the emotions toward both candidates, whereas the relationship between newspaper attention and political participation is partially mediated. In other words, TV news only has an indirect effect on political participation through emotional reactions toward candidates.

Communication, Reasoning, and Planned Behaviors: Unveiling the Effect of Interactive Communication in an Anti-Smoking Social Media Campaign

Abstract This study examines direct and indirect effects of interactive communication in an antismoking social media campaign. To that end, we pose a multitheoretical framework that integrates communication mediation models and the Theory of Planned Behavior. To test the theorized model, we conducted an experiment using a two-group pretest–posttest design. Participants (N = 201) were randomly assigned into two experimental conditions: “campaign message reception only” as a control group and “message reception and social interaction” as a treatment group, in which the participants contributed to the antismoking campaign by posting their own campaign ideas and information they found through mediated and interpersonal communication. The findings show that interactive communication catalyzes the participants’ information searching behaviors through diverse communication channels. In turn, increased media use plays a crucial role in changing their attitudes and perceived social norms about smoking behaviors, and eventually reducing smoking intention. This study affirms that the theory of planned behavior is effective in predicting behavioral intention and demonstrates the usefulness of a multitheoretical approach in interactive campaign research on social media.