Kevin Wombacher

Work-Related Communication Technology Use Outside of Regular Work Hours and Work Life Conflict The Influence of Communication Technologies on Perceived Work Life Conflict, Burnout, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions

The purpose of this study was to investigate employee perceptions of the influence of communication technology use outside of regular work hours on perceptions of work life conflict, burnout, turnover intentions, and job satisfaction. An online survey of 168 employees from more than 30 companies in a Midwestern city was conducted to assess relationships among these variables. The results indicated that hours of work-related communication technology use outside of regular work hours contributed to perceptions of work life conflict. However, positive attitudes toward communication technologies predicted decreased work life conflict. Controlling for worker age, perceived life stress, and attitudes toward communication technologies, work life conflict was found to predict job burnout and job satisfaction, but not turnover intentions. The authors discuss implications of the study findings for management practices, limitations of the study, and directions for future research.

Framing Medical Tourism: An Analysis of Persuasive Appeals, Risks and Benefits, and New Media Features of Medical Tourism Broker Websites

This study explores the benefits and risks featured in medical tourism broker websites, as well as the types of persuasive appeals that these websites use to attract potential customers, from a framing theory perspective. In addition, it examines relationships among types of appeals and specific types of health-related services offered by medical facilities abroad and the role of new media modalities within medical tourism broker sites. A content analysis of 91 medical tourism broker websites was conducted. The results indicate that the websites highly emphasized benefits while downplaying the risks. Specifically, despite offering consumers complicated and risky medical procedures, the websites failed to report any procedural, postoperative, or legal concerns associated with them. Moreover, the results indicated that the websites relied on heavy use of new media features to enhance the appeal of the medical services that were offered. The implications of these findings, future directions for research, and limitations of the study are discussed.

NekNominate: Social Norms, Social Media, and Binge Drinking

ABSTRACT This study examines the social-media-based binge drinking game NekNominate and how this phenomenon is related to social norms. NekNominate is a game wherein players are nominated to film themselves “neking” or chugging copious amounts of alcohol or drinking alcohol in a novel or humorous manner. The player then nominates other players via social media who then have a specific timeframe in which they must complete their challenge or face ridicule. Health communication research on drinking behaviors has often looked at the role of social norms in determining these behaviors. News stories (n = 44) of NekNominate and tweets (n = 851) culled using the hashtag #NekNominate during three different time periods are analyzed to identify the normative forces at play in this recent phenomenon.

The effects of computer-mediated communication anxiety on student perceptions of instructor behaviors, perceived learning, and quiz performance

ABSTRACT Online environments increasingly serve as contexts for learning. Hence, it is important to understand how student characteristics, such as student computer-mediated communication anxiety (CMCA) affects learning outcomes in mediated classrooms. To better understand how student CMCA may influence student online learning experiences, we tested a proposed model based on the instructional beliefs model (IBM) to determine how CMCA influenced perceptions of instructor credibility, electronic propinquity, and learning outcomes (i.e. perceived learning and quiz performance). This model was compared with the IBM and the newly proposed model provided a better fit to the data. This model helps explicate the direct and indirect effects of CMCA in online learning environments.

An evaluation of the ‘protect their future’ video intervention on parents’ intentions to immunize adolescents

ABSTRACT Background: This study tested the influence of the ‘Protect Their Future’ video intervention on adult intentions to vaccinate their adolescents. Method: The study included 529 parents of 11- to 19-year-old adolescents in Appalachian Kentucky enrolled in group randomized controlled trial arms at 14 health clinic and community sites (seven in each arm) across eight counties. Approximately half the parents (n = 263) were enrolled in the full intervention. Participants in the intervention and control did not significantly differ by education, race, percentage working full-time or gender. Results: Individuals in the intervention were 3.2 times more likely (P = .005) to intend for their female adolescent to receive HPV immunization. However, there was no support for the multivariate model for male HPV immunization. Inconsistent reasoned action findings for HPV, meningitis and flu intentions are also discussed. Conclusions: This study suggests the importance of immunization-specific information motivating parents embedded in a general ‘adolescent vaccination platform’ promotion video may be most supportive in immunization contexts where the descriptive norms are well established parents, as is currently the case for meningitis, flu and female HPV immunization rates. Implications for male HPV parental education needs are discussed.

“I used to be an addict. I’m still an addict. I’m always going to be a recovering addict”: Understanding the challenges of individuals seeking recovery

ABSTRACT Background and Objective: Although preventable, substance addiction has become one of the most prominent public health problems facing the nation. As a result, treatment programs and centers have focused resources and efforts on aiding individuals on their path to long-term recovery. However, the constant threat, reinforced by high incidence, of relapse presents a major obstacle to long-term recovery. Relapse prevention programs are designed to target social and psychological factors contributing to lapses in sobriety. Yet, the exact factors that can impact long-term recovery and prevent or lower the instances of relapse are not always clear. The current study explores the major contributors to relapse as experienced in a male residential treatment center. Methods: The data were gathered through 31 in-depth interviews in a residential halfway house treatment facility for substance use recovery. Results: The results of the study underscored social support and interpersonal relationships as major factors impacting long-term recovery. More specifically, lack of efficacy in managing interpersonal relationships and building new support networks were identified as essential barriers to long-term recovery. Conclusions: The management of interpersonal relationships seems to be a key to long-term recovery, which emphasizes the need for strategies that underscore the development of positive relationships that will strengthen resistance to relapse and long-term recovery.

The complexities of place in crisis renewal discourse: A case study of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting

The discourse of renewal is an established strategy for crisis recovery. The current analysis examines the role that place plays in postcrisis communication, in general, and the discourse of renewal, specifically. We describe the extent to which place-bound crises affect the ability of an organization to enact a discourse of renewal. We propose a modification of renewal discourse to include place as a condition that may make the successful enactment of renewal rhetoric more likely. Specifically, we argue that the place of the crisis can be a decisive element in whether or how renewal is enacted. We analyse the case of the Sandy Hook School shooting to explicate the opportunities and challenges of dealing with a place-bound crisis.

Exploring barriers for psychiatrists in discussing substance abuse with child and adolescent patients: a multiple goals approach

ABSTRACT Patients suffering from psychiatric illnesses, however, are often at increased risk for substance use disorders; therefore, it is important for practitioners to have effective conversations about substance use with these patients. Child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs), in particular, are in a unique position to identify early substance use and affect the trajectory of adolescents who are at increased risk for substance abuse. To better understand such communication between psychiatrists and their patients, we conducted 21 in-depth interviews with CAPs to explore what barriers exist to prevent or dissuade CAPs from discussing substance abuse with their patients. We found barriers to effective communication at the micro, meso, and macro levels within the ecology of the field of psychiatry. A multiple goals perspective allowed us to determine how these barriers affect communication choices. Findings from the study highlight the significant communication challenges faced by psychiatrists in this context.

Using the integrative model of behavioral prediction to understand college students’ STI testing beliefs, intentions, and behaviors

ABSTRACT Objectives: To identify salient behavioral determinants related to STI testing among college students by testing a model based on the integrative model of behavioral (IMBP) prediction. Participants: 265 undergraduate students from a large university in the Southeastern US. Methods:Formative and survey research to test an IMBP-based model that explores the relationships between determinants and STI testing intention and behavior. Results: of path analyses supported a model in which attitudinal beliefs predicted intention and intention predicted behavior. Normative beliefs and behavioral control beliefs were not significant in the model; however, select individual normative and control beliefs were significantly correlated with intention and behavior. Conclusions: Attitudinal beliefs are the strongest predictor of STI testing intention and behavior. Future efforts to increase STI testing rates should identify and target salient attitudinal beliefs.

Does Yik Yak Promote Risky Health Behavior on College Campuses

ABSTRACT This study offers an analysis of how healthy and risky behaviors are discussed on an emerging social media platform. We sought to understand what behaviors are communicated and if they are encouraged or discouraged. We completed a content analysis of messages (n = 3,776) posted to Yik Yak captured three times a day on 4 days of the week across two separate weeks. We analyzed messages to determine the category of the behavior, an appraisal of the behavior, and normative voting feedback. Our results show that risky behaviors were discussed with greater frequency and received more user votes than healthy behaviors. Exposure to these messages could influence other students’ perceptions of norms associated with these risky behaviors. We suggest further research to determine how Yik Yak may affect normative perceptions on college campuses.