Research and Insights

May 24-28
Washington, D.C. 

Osama Albishri, doctoral student

State-Sponsored Media Diplomacy and Bilateral Agenda-Building in the Qatar-Gulf Crisis“

Authors: Osama, Albishri,  Xiaomeng Lan, doctoral student, Spiro Kiousis, executive associate dean

Abstract: Following the diplomatic dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, this study aims to evaluate the evaluate the mediated public diplomacy efforts by the two government through state-sponsored media from an agenda-building perspective. Both Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera were regarded as media arm for their respective government and they both aim to promote their agenda to regional and international media. The study used content analysis of Arabic and English news items from Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera in addition to 9 media outlets from United Arab Emirate, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Iran, Turkey, USA and UK. The contributions of this study to mediated public diplomacy and political public relations are discussed

 Jordan Alpert, assistant professor, Advertising

Identifying the communication strategies of e-cigarette brands on Twitter using computer-aided text mining and content analysis / Trends in Advertising and Media Coverage of E-Cigarettes

Authors: Jordan M. Alpert, Huan Chen, Alyssa M. Jaisle, Yunpeng Zhao, Jiang Bian

Abstract:  Using computer-aided text mining, we identified and categorized the most frequently utilized communication strategies among the top selling e-cig brands on Twitter.

Phillip Arceneaux, doctoral graduate

Panel: Methodological Quality Beyond Boundaries: Expanding the Robustness of Existing Approaches and Pioneering New Ways Forward in International Research

Organizers: Lindsey Bier, Phillip Arceneaux, Zhao Huang, Jerome Chariatte, Rong Han.

Abstract: This workshop will foster discussion about current concerns related to research strategies and methods employed to investigate communication phenomena that require data collection in international/intercultural contexts. The purpose of this workshop is to generate diversity of thought and critical reflection about data quality within post-positivistic and interpretive paradigms and within qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method approaches. Further, this workshop will examine trends in both academic and government-directed research to provide best practices for testing hypotheses and developing theories while minimizing data collection errors and preserving analytical objectivity amid the challenges of international research. This workshop will be of interest to those who study international communication, intercultural communication, public diplomacy, nation branding, political communication, and global media as well as regional studies.

The relationship management function of public affairs officers in Chile: Identifying opportunities and challenges in an emergent market

Authors: Claudia Labarca; Phillip Arceneaux; Guy Golan

Abstract: While the term public affairs is widely used in professional and academic circles, there is little consensus over what it actually means. This study advances knowledge in public affairs scholarship by exploring key definitions and functions of the profession as understood by its practitioners. Unlike many studies that focus on the United States and Europe, this research provides insight on public affairs practices in Chile, a country representative of the larger industry in South America. Based on interviews with 12 public affairs professionals, three themes emerged. The key function of Chilean public affairs includes lobbying, government relations, and indirect influence over decision makers. Second, aligning organizational interests and the public good is a prominent principle required for a company’s long term success. Finally, there is concern amongst public affairs practitioners over the state of the industry in Chile, which suffers from inadequate regulation and transparency, resulting in diminished trust in the profession. Such insights hold merit for the evaluation of public affairs practice as represented in public discourses of the profession versus first-hand insider experience.

Carma Bylund, associate professor, Public Relations

The Longitudinal Impact of a Communication Skills Workshop on Doctors’ Behavior 

Authors: Kelsy-Ann Adams (UF), Tripiti Sinha, Abdelhamid Afana, Mohamed Yassin, Ahmed El Geziry, Awais Nauman, Sheyma Al Romaihi, Ambika Anand,

Abstract: Communication skills education is still relatively new in some non-Western countries. Further, most evaluation research on communication skills education examines only short-term impact. In our communication skills program in a Middle Eastern country, we took an innovative approach, assessing how the course impacted participants’ knowledge, attitudes and behavior over time. Our aims were as follows. Aim 1: To assess the impact of the communication skills course on participant outcomes. Aim 2: To assess the length of time since course completion associated with participant outcomes. Aim 3: To assess participant gender or clinical position associated with participant outcomes.

Huan Chen, assistant professor, Advertising

Predominant Models of Public Relations in Barbados Since Independence: A Qualitative Study on Practitioners’ Perspectives 

Authors: Pamala Proverbs, doctoral student, Huan Chen

Abstract: This study explores the models of public relations practiced in the Caribbean island of Barbados. The public relations industry is relatively well established in Barbados, given the presence of a professional body and multinational corporations. However, there is little scholarly research on how it developed or is practiced. This study seeks to answer these questions through qualitative interviews with 20 senior-level professionals using the predominant models of public relations practiced in the U.S. and internationally as a benchmark. This knowledge is particularly important not only for scholarship but also for companies making market entry into the Caribbean to be able to navigate local idiosyncrasies.  The implications of the study’s finding are further discussed.

Ann Christiano, director, Center for Public Interest Communications

Kelly Chernin, research association, Center for Public Interest Communications

Linda Hon, professor and program director, Public Relations

Panel: Bridging Borders: Public Interest Communications in the Global Context

Abstract: Since public interest communications is an emerging, interdisciplinary field, we invite submissions for this half-day preconference to reflect on the theme of public interest communications in the global context. Submissions can address theoretical and conceptual advancements, current challenges, or any other contemporary topic that explores the societal importance and impact of public interest communications in all its various forms. We welcome a wide range of theoretical perspectives and research methodologies.

Mary Ann Ferguson, professor, Public Relations

Panel Discussant: Relationship Management: Dealing with Publics in a Special Context

Bridging Transformational Leadership, Transparent Communication, and Employee Openness to Change: The Mediating Role of Trust.

Authors: April Cen Yue, Rita Men, Mary Ann Ferguson

The Joint Effect of Corporate Social Irresponsibility and Social Responsibility on Consumer Outcomes

Authors: April Cen You, Mary Ann Ferguson

Carla Fisher, associate professor, Advertising

Uncertainty and previvors’ cancer risk management: Understanding the decision-making process.

Authors: Marleah Dea,  Carla L. Fisher

Award: Top Paper, Health Communication Division

 Abstract: Women at risk for breast cancer face complex risk-related uncertainty for themselves and their family members. This risk-related uncertainty is more intense and experienced chronically for women with hereditary breast or ovarian cancer (HBOC), particularly women who test positive for a BRCA genetic mutation or “previvors.” Women’s risk management medical decisions can be a way to manage their uncertainty but little is known about how uncertainty informs their decision or how uncertainty is impacted by these medical decisions. We used an uncertainty management theoretical lens to interview 46 previvors about their decision-making process. A thematic analysis revealed two uncertainty management (i.e., risk-reducing) decision-making pathways (preventive surgery and increased surveillance) with each pathway encompassing a three-part process of 1) uncertainty appraisal, 2) medical decision (i.e., uncertainty management strategy), and 3) outcomes. Themes associated with each pathway help illustrate women’s variant experiences of uncertainty and, as such, how uncertainty can influence women in distinctive ways and contribute to different medical decisions. Moreover, the findings highlight how women’s chronic uncertainty living with a BRCA mutation can be quite different based on their medical decision. Findings advance theoretical thinking about uncertainty and risk management as an ongoing, distressful chronic experience and also highlight the importance of life-span phenomena in women’s decision-making process.  Based on these findings, we constructed a theoretically informed decision-making model that can be used as a translational tool to aid genetic counselors and previvors facing these risk-reducing medical decisions.

Partnering with Mommy Bloggers to Disseminate Breast Cancer Risk Information: A Social Media Intervention

Authors: Wright, K., Fisher, C. L., Rising, C., Afanaseva, D., Burke-Garcia, A., Cai, X.

Abstract Although women seek information online about how to reduce breast cancer risk, they may not be obtaining scientifically-based information. Social media platforms, like blogs, offer a way to disseminate health information, educate the public, and promote healthy behavior. Blogs written by mothers are increasingly recognized as a channel that women utilize to make personal and family health-related decisions. We developed and evaluated a blog intervention to disseminate breast cancer and environmental risk information to mothers. We teamed with “mommy bloggers” to disseminate a message that we developed and tailored for mothers and daughters based on scientific evidence from the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP). Results indicated that blog readers who were exposed to (and specifically recalled) the BCERP-adapted intervention messages from mommy bloggers had higher breast cancer risk/prevention information exposure scores and higher breast cancer risk/prevention information satisfaction and influence scores than those who did not see (or recall) them. Mommy bloggers may be important opinion leaders for some women and key to enhancing the messaging, delivery, and impact of environmental breast cancer risk/prevention information on mothers

Explaining acupuncture in family medicine: Patients’ and physicians’ use of metaphor.

Authors: Fisher, C. L., Ledford, C., Crawford, P.

Abstract: Metaphorical language has long been used by patients and providers to explain health experiences. Still, some studies indicate that metaphors can be counterproductive and inhibit patients’ willingness to try new treatments, especially those that are unfamiliar, complex, or stigmatized. This is particularly complex in integrative settings where conventional medicine providers (family medicine physicians) offer patients complementary and alternative therapies, like acupuncture. To fully determine the potential translational value of metaphor, scholars argue that we must “prepare, test, and practice” metaphors that represent both patients’ and providers’ preferences.  This study provides both physician- and patient-generated metaphorical explanations of acupuncture treatment, thereby illustrating how conventional medicine physicians Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation and patients make sense of a traditionally Eastern medical practice by using concepts familiar to them. The results could be used to develop interventions or translational tools.

Linda Hon, professor and program director, Public Relations

The effects of technology-mediated communications on elderly-related issue campaigns: The interplay of perceived probability, construal level, and message appeal.

Authors: Ah Ram Lee, CJC doctoral student, Linda Hon

Abstract: Since the elderly population has been increasing rapidly in many areas of the world, developing effective communication strategy to reduce young adults’ negative perceptions of the elderly has become a crucial topic. The current research examined the potential positive and negative effects of age-morphing technology as a persuasive tool on reducing ageism and promoting positive attitude and actions to address the elderly issue of Alzheimer’s Disease. Study I examines the main and interaction effects of construal level and perceived probability of getting Alzheimer’s Disease on ageism, attitude toward the elderly, behavioral and donation intentions. Also, two competing theoretical frameworks, construal level theory (CLT) and perspective taking, were tested to understand underlying mechanisms. Study II explores message appeals as a boundary condition to improve the potential negative outcomes of technology-mediated communications. The findings showed that age-morphing technology can serve as a strategic communication tool that elicits favorable outcomes depending on how it is combined with perceived probability and message appeals. Also, the results showed the effects of the technology were better explained with CLT rather than perspective taking.

Myiah Hutchens, assistant professor, Public Relations

Asymmetry of partisan media effects? Examining the reinforcing process of conservative and liberal media with political attitudes.

Authors: Hmielowski, J. D., Hutchens, M. J., Beam, M. A.

Abstract: Research has shown that political polarization among the public in the United States is increasing. Moreover, there is growing evidence that partisan media is partially responsible for shaping the polarized electorate. Within this area of research, one ongoing debate has been whether both liberal and conservative media are contributing to polarization symmetrically or if conservative media is the primary source of polarization. In this paper, we assess the extent to which the processes tied to the use and effects of partisan media appear across liberal and conservative outlets or whether they are unique to conservative media. We test reinforcing spiral models with liberal and conservative media sources and attitudes toward three political issues (immigration, law enforcement, and gun control) during the 2016 Presidential Election. Our results find evidence that over-time and reinforcing effects are more prominent for conservative media outlets. However, there are also signs that a liberal echo chamber is present.

Promoting CSR programs/activities via social media: Social judgement and spiral of empowerment.

Authors: Moon Lee, Jung Won Chun, CJC doctoral student, Myiah Hutchins, Jungyun Won, CJC doctoral student

Abstract: We investigated effects of online comments on individuals’ support and willingness to speak out about a company’s CSR program/activity via social media. Two online experiments with 277 participants for study 1 and 553 participants for study 2 were conducted. People with positive prior attitude are more likely to speak out when reading both positive public opinion poll results and two-sided online comments. People with negative prior attitude were less willing to speak out when reading others’ two-sided comments than negative comments. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are further discussed in the context of public relations and CSR management.

Benjamin Johnson, assistant professor, Advertising

Panel: Boundary Expansion and Narrative Persuasion: The Situational Self and Effects of Video Storytelling

Panel: Confirmation Bias in the 2017 Japanese Snap Election: Comparisons with American and German Findings

Spiro Kiousis, executive associate dean and professor, Public Relations

Panel: Advocacy and Activism in Public Relations

Co-Panelists from UF: Lauren Griffin, post-doctoral associate, and doctoral students Xiaomeng Lan, Barbara Mylsik, Pamala Proverbs and Sofiya Tarasevich

Janice Krieger, director, STEM Translational Communication Center

Panel: Examining Researchers’ Attitudes towards an Interdisciplinary Academic Center: A Social Identity Approach

Co-Panelists from UF : Rachel Damiani, Vaughan James, STCC research assistant;  Samantha Paige, , STCC post-doctoral associate; Elizabeth Flood-Grady,  STCC post-doctoral associate; Edward Neu, UF CTSI; , Claire Baralt, UF CTSI

Panel: Seeking and Securing External Funding For Health Communication Research

Moon Lee, associate professor, Public Relations

Promoting CSR programs/activities via social media: Social judgement and spiral of empowerment.

Authors: Moon Lee, Jung Won Chun, CJC doctoral student Myiah Hutchins, Jungyun Won, CJC doctoral student

Abstract: We investigated effects of online comments on individuals’ support and willingness to speak out about a company’s CSR program/activity via social media. Two online experiments with 277 participants for study 1 and 553 participants for study 2 were conducted. People with positive prior attitude are more likely to speak out when reading both positive public opinion poll results and two-sided online comments. People with negative prior attitude were less willing to speak out when reading others’ two-sided comments than negative comments. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are further discussed in the context of public relations and CSR management.

Panel: Social Media Use for Corporate Social Responsibility

Panel: CSR Communication and Effects

Panel: The Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT): Revisit and Implications

Panel: Online Social Support

Yu-Hao Lee, assistant professor, Telecommunication

Panel: Political Psychology and Reactions to Sentiments in Social Media News Headlines

Jiawei Liu, Post-doctoral Associate, STEM Translational Communication Center

Examining Communication Techniques to Promote Clinical Trail among Health Research Registry Participants

Authors: Ab Liu, J., Flood-Grady, E., Paige, S., Lee, D. Nelson, D. R., Elizabeth, S., Freed, D., Krieger, J. L.

Abstract: Health research registries have great potential to increase awareness of research opportunities among diverse patient populations and reduce disparities in clinical trial accrual. However, little research has focused on patients’ intentions to participate in clinical trials once they are enrolled in the registry and their intentions to remain in the registry over time.  In this study, patients (N = 467) enrolled in a university-based health research registry (i.e., Consent2Share) in the southeastern region of the US participated in an online survey. Based on our results, health research registry knowledge, perceived values (i.e., social values, benefits, barriers), self-efficacy, trust, having chronic health concerns, and consent recall were positively correlated with health research registry retention and clinical trial participation. Health research registry consent recall had significant positive associations on knowledge, values, trust, likelihood of participating in future studies, and intentions to remain enrolled in the research registry. Thus,  the process of consenting patients to the research registry is important for retention in health research registry as well as actual clinical trial recruitment. The current study identifies key points of emphasis to expand participation in research registries as a strategy to increase clinical trial enrollment, such as the deployment of precision message and interventions.

Frank LoMonte, director, Brechner Center for Freedom of Information

The “Social Media Discount” and First Amendment Exceptionalism

Abstract: Through case studies and comparing parallel bodies of U.S. law, this paper examines American society’s growing willingness — and most especially, that of the federal judiciary — to accept intrusive regulation of online expression in ways that would never be countenanced as to other mediums. The paper questions, as both legally unsound and societally unhealthy, the proposition that individuals must accept as a matter of course that it is standard practice for supervisors to punish out-of-office speech based on subjective determinations of “professionalism” or “appropriateness.” The extension of “good-conduct policing” into individuals’ social-media lives risks, counterproductively, excluding those with the greatest subject-matter expertise from the marketplace where discourse should be the most freewheeling. The growing creep of educational institutions’ disciplinary authority into their students’ off-hours lives, the paper argues, “normalizes” this authoritarian drift. The risks are especially serious for the young and people of color, whose speech may be most discomforting to — and subject to contextual misinterpretation by — middle-aged white authority figures. The paper will draw on one such case, that of rapper Taylor Bell, expelled from his Mississippi high school for recording a music video replete with profanity and references to firearms, whose case was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, missing the opportunity to clarify this fraught area of First Amendment law.

The paper concludes with a comparative analysis of how the judiciary has applied a quite different “social media discount” to online speech in the context of libel claims. There, courts have readily understood that social media is a habitat for loose, figurative expression that reasonable readers do not take literally. The author maintains that the same approach should apply to evaluating the “punishability” of social-media speech by regulators. The law of employee and student rights should catch up with the evolving doctrine of online defamation law and, in so doing, restore the “social” to social media.

Jasmine McNealy, assistant professor, Telecommunication

Panel: Polarization Research and Emerging Platform Regulation

The rise of polarizing, false and manipulative discourse on social media platforms is now an accepted fact of the digital age. This panel of interdisciplinary scholars seeks to untangle what we know about how online architectures encourage and profit from rapid, hateful and destabilizing discourse. How might social science research inform new legal tests or ways of thinking about how and whether policy should address the problems we see?

Panel: “Yet I Am Not Ashamed”: A Qualitative Investigation of Doxxing

Rita Men, associate professor, Public Relations

Bridging Transformational Leadership, Transparent Communication, and Employee Openness to Change: The Mediating Role of Trust.

Authors: April Cen Yue, Rita Men, Mary Ann Ferguson

Examining the Effects of Symmetrical Internal Communication and Employee Engagement on Organizational Change Outcomes

Authors: Rita Men, Marlene Neill (Baylor University), April Cen Yue

Examining the Impact of Communication Climate on Organizational Change Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Organizational Identification

Authors: Marlene Neill, Rita Men, April Cen Yue

Paul Mena, doctoral student

The Effect of Data Visualization on Message Credibility and the Influence of Source Trustworthiness in the Context of News Information

 Abstract: Data journalism has emerged as a vibrant area in journalism practice in a context of decreasing trust in media institutions and the information they provide. Data visualization, as one of the key components of data journalism, may help efforts to increase trust in news information. However, the credibility of news stories containing data visualization may be influenced by how trustworthy a news source is perceived. Using an experimental design, this study explores the effect of data visualization on message credibility in the context of news information and the influence of source trustworthiness on that framework.

Pamala Proverbs, doctoral student

Predominant Models of Public Relations in Barbados Since Independence: A Qualitative Study on Practitioners’ Perspectives 

Authors: Pamala Proverbs, UFCJC doctoral student, Huan Chen

Abstract: This study explores the models of public relations practiced in the Caribbean island of Barbados. The public relations industry is relatively well established in Barbados, given the presence of a professional body and multinational corporations. However, there is little scholarly research on how it developed or is practiced. This study seeks to answer these questions through qualitative interviews with 20 senior-level professionals using the predominant models of public relations practiced in the U.S. and internationally as a benchmark. This knowledge is particularly important not only for scholarship but also for companies making market entry into the Caribbean to be able to navigate local idiosyncrasies.  The implications of the study’s finding are further discussed.

Jieun Shin, assistant professor, Advertising

The role of recommendation algorithms in curating vaccine information – A case study of books on Amazon. 

Authors: Jieun Shin, Thomas Valente

Abstract: This study examines the potential role of algorithms as a content curator in vaccine information, using Amazon’s search and recommendation algorithm as a case study. We collected vaccine related books (n=104) that appeared on the first 10 search result pages by Amazon for 7 consecutive days and content coded each book. We also collected Amazon’s recommendations for each vaccine book and mapped the network of recommendation among the books appeared on the first 10 pages. First, we found that the number of vaccine critical books was three times more than that of vaccine supportive books. Of these vaccine critical books, 40% were written by medical experts. Second, although we did not find evidence that their search algorithm systematically favored any particular type of books, the three top ranked books across seven days were all vaccine critical books. Lastly, using a network model, we also found that books sharing similar views of vaccines are recommended together such that when a user views a vaccine critical book, a host of other vaccine critical books are further recommended for the user. The three most frequently recommended books were also all vaccine critical books. Potential consequences of blindly applying commercial algorithms to complicated health messages are discussed.

Frank Waddell, assistant professor, Journalism

Panel: Virtual Reality Check: Statistical Power, Reported Results, and the Validity of Research on the Psychology of Virtual Reality and Immersive Environments

April Cen Yue, doctoral student

Fostering Employees’ Positive Change Reactions: The Role of Internal Communication and Employee Empowerment

Bridging Transformational Leadership, Transparent Communication, and Employee Openness to Change: The Mediating Role of Trust.

Authors: April Cen Yue, Rita Men, Mary Ann Ferguson

Examining the Effects of Symmetrical Internal Communication and Employee Engagement on Organizational Change Outcomes

Authors: Rita Men, Marlene Neill (Baylor University), April Cen Yue

The Joint Effect of Corporate Social Irresponsibility and Social Responsibility on Consumer Outcomes

Authors: April Cen You, Mary Ann Ferguson

Examining the Impact of Communication Climate on Organizational Change Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Organizational Identification

Authors: Marlene Neill, Rita Men, April Cen Yue