What's APPening to news? A mixed-method audience-centred study on mobile news consumption

News is increasingly being consumed on a multitude of media devices, including mobile devices. In recent years, mobile news consumption has permeated individuals’ news consumption repertoires. The main purpose of this study is twofold: (1) gain insight in how mobile news outlets infiltrated the broader news media repertoires of mobile device owners and (2) understand in what circumstances mobile news is consumed within these news media repertoires. The key is to understand how and why this widening agency in appropriating various places and social spaces in everyday life relates to general news media consumption (Peters, 2012). This two-phased study aims to illuminate how mobile device owners position their mobile news consumption in relation to other types of news media outlets. First, a guiding cluster analysis of a large-scale questionnaire (N = 1279) was preformed, indicating three types of news consumers. Second, in order to thicken the originally derived clusters, a mixed-method study was set up, combining objective data originating from mobile device logs with more subjective audience constructions through personal diaries and face-to-face interviews (N = 30). This study reveals the Janus-faced nature of mobile news. On the one hand, the majority of news consumers dominantly relies on traditional media outlets to stay informed, only to supplement with online mobile services in specific circumstances. Even then, there is at least a tendency to stick to trusted brand materials. On the other hand, these mobile news outlets/products do seem to increasingly infiltrate the daily lives of mobile audiences who were previously disengaged with news

Niche Comparisons: towards a new approach for analyzing competition and organizational performance in the international construction market

postprin

Interpersonal Media Among Americans’ Sympathy Groups: Theory of the Niche and Satisfying Social Needs

This paper was presented at the National Communication Association conference, November 16-19, 2023 in New Orleans, LA.This manuscript extends the theory of the niche by examining the frequency of interpersonal media use among participants’ personal network, and by reporting the degree to which individuals perceive three social needs are satisfied by nine forms of communication. From April 21 to May 3 of 2021, a quota sample of American adults (N = 1,869) completed four name generation tasks to identify up to 16 alters, leading to an average of four alters per person (n = 7,471). Participants indicated the frequency with which they communicated with each alter using eight interpersonal media as well as face-to-face communication in the past year. Participants’ relationship partner type (e.g., spouse, friend) was tied to media use, which suggests particular media are favored for distinct relationship types. Analyses of the social needs (i.e., causal conversation, meaningful talk, efficient exchange) suggested a clear hierarchy among interpersonal media and minimal niche overlap. The association between need satisfaction and frequency of use, however, demonstrated that as people perceive their social needs being met they more frequently use all interpersonal media. Taken together, the results suggest that although there are differences between interpersonal media in terms of perceived need fulfilment, increased experience with using interpersonal media with one’s personal network is tied to increased perceptions of the modality’s ability to meet social needs. The results are discussed in light of theory of the niche and channel expansion theory. This manuscript extends the theory of the niche by examining the frequency of interpersonal media use among participants’ personal network, and by reporting the degree to which individuals perceive three social needs are satisfied by nine forms of communication. From April 21 to May 3 of 2021, a quota sample of American adults (N = 1,869) completed four name generation tasks to identify up to 16 alters, leading to an average of four alters per person (n = 7,471). Participants indicated the frequency with which they communicated with each alter using eight interpersonal media as well as face-to-face communication in the past year. Participants’ relationship partner type (e.g., spouse, friend) was tied to media use, which suggests particular media are favored for distinct relationship types. Analyses of the social needs (i.e., causal conversation, meaningful talk, efficient exchange) suggested a clear hierarchy among interpersonal media and minimal niche overlap. The association between need satisfaction and frequency of use, however, demonstrated that as people perceive their social needs being met they more frequently use all interpersonal media. Taken together, the results suggest that although there are differences between interpersonal media in terms of perceived need fulfilment, increased experience with using interpersonal media with one’s personal network is tied to increased perceptions of the modality’s ability to meet social needs. The results are discussed in light of theory of the niche and channel expansion theory

Mobile social media in inter-organizational projects: Aligning tool, task and team for virtual collaboration effectiveness

Inter-organizational projects face unique challenges and opportunities due to team diversities and task complexity. Mobile social media like WhatsApp and WeChat emerge as new-generation collaboration tools in such endeavors. Based on a literature review, this study posits that how well team-tool, task-tool and team-task relationships are handled shape virtual collaboration effectiveness. The conceptual framework, validated with the interviews from inter-organizational project team members in China and the USA, leads to a research model. The results of a larger-scale survey confirm that tool usability, task fit and team connectivity contribute to virtual collaboration effectiveness, which affects project management success and team appreciation. In addition, there are noticeable cross-country differences, especially the opposite moderating effects that degree of use imposes on the relationship between virtual collaboration effectiveness and project management success. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed

Where does the time go? An experimental test of what social media displaces and displaced activities’ associations with affective well-being and quality of day

Drawing from media displacement theory, this article explores which activities are displaced when individuals spend time on social media. Community and undergraduate participants (N = 135) were randomly assigned to five conditions: no change in social media use, or abstinence from social media for 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 4 weeks. Participants completed a daily diary measuring how they spent time each day, affective well-being, and quality of day for 28 days. The results indicate that abstinence from social media increased time spent engaged in seven activities, primarily browsing the Internet, working, childcare, and cooking/cleaning. In addition, associations among psychosocial outcomes and the displaced activities were examined. Time spent working, sleeping, and cooking/cleaning were negatively associated with affective well-being and quality of day. On days participants used social media, minutes of use were negatively associated with quality of day. The results suggest that social media primarily displaces unpleasant or neutral activities

Affinity Through Instant Messaging

This is the Author's Pre-Print.The present manuscript explores affinity seeking, testing, and signaling in initial interactions of opposite-sex strangers using instant messaging. Sixty dyads (N = 120) interacted for 20 minutes and participants identified when they showed liking and when they perceived their partner showing liking in the interaction transcript. Participants also reported overall liking for and the perception of being liked by their conversation partner on a survey instrument. The results indicated that participants who perceived more liking in the text and accurately decoded messages of liking from their partner, believed their conversational partner liked them more. Participants who perceived more disliking messages in the text liked their conversational partners less and believed their partner liked them less as well. Six dyadic analyses using structural equation modeling demonstrated that effects of affinity seeking, testing, and signaling were moderated by participant sex. For females, sending messages of disliking, perceiving messages of disliking, and accurately decoding of disliking were associated with overall liking of their male conversational partner. The implications of interpreting affinity messages in the formation of online relationships are discussed

Young Latinos Use of Mobile Phones: A Cross-Cultural Study

Article discussing a cross-cultural study designed to analyze how young people, operationalized in this study as people of Latino descent between the ages of 18-25, are using their mobile phone for various applications and what particular gratifications they derive from using the phone

The composition and role of convergent technological repertoires in audiovisual media consumption

This mixed-method research focuses on the growing appropriation of multiple screen devices for audiovisual media consumption. Based on survey measures, we distinguish three patterns: (a) maintaining the status quo, by mainly drawing upon television, (b) broadening up the repertoire, by extending television with computers and mobile devices, or (c) even replacing television by a computer. Next, we draw upon insights from niche theory, rationalising media choices in terms of competing gratifications. This perspective is however too one-sided, as our results indicate that habit is a much stronger explanatory variable, especially when a broad range of devices are appropriated. In a follow-up qualitative study, based on Q-methodology, we found that the orientations towards what people seek in audiovisual technologies are only mildly contingent with specific technology appropriation. This problematises the very substance of niches in the audiovisual: as technologies are capable of the same benefits, their discriminating power is declining. Hence, in future applications of niche theory, gratifications and habits of communication modes (what people do with media technologies) should be taken into account, rather than media as tied to a specific technology. Niche theory's core remains, but its applications should be updated to theoretical insights matching the evolving media environment

Media społecznościowe: współczesne środowisko edukacyjne czy „cyfrowe tsunami”?

For several years, cyber communication has been an integral part of a social awareness. At first, it was treated as something irrelevant – a tidbit which then became a trend which later on became an integral part of (virtual) reality. During that time it has gone through several phases of dynamic development to finally transform into (cyber) environment which is perceived by modern-day teenagers as something natural. Digital exchange of information has entered into almost every element of our lives – especially education – processes of teaching and learning. It has also caused quite considerable changes – not only in technological areas but also in social and professional segments of our lives.Od kilkudziesięciu lat komunikacja cyfrowa na dobre zagościła w świadomości społecznej. Początkowo traktowana była jako ciekawostka, moda, z czasem stała się trendem, aż w końcu rzeczywistością (wirtualną). W tym czasie przechodziła kolejne fazy dynamicznego rozwoju, aby osiągnąć stan, w którym dzisiejsi nastolatkowie świat wirtualny utożsamiają z naturalnym środowiskiem. Cyfrowa wymiana informacji wkroczyła do wszystkich dziedzin naszego życia, nie omijając szeroko pojętej edukacji, procesów nauczania/uczenia się, przyczyniając się do niemałej rewolucji – nie tylko tej technologicznej, ale przede wszystkim społeczno-zawodowej