The effects of infotainment on public reaction to North Korea using hybrid text mining: Content analysis, machine learning-based sentiment analysis, and co-word analysis

This study proposes alternative measures of infotainment’s effects on audience perception and reception of news on social media, focusing on infotainment coverage of North Korea. We determine the elements of framing strategies and narrative styles in facilitating public attention, positive and negative responses, and engagement in news content. We used the YouTube application programming interface to collect data from VideoMug, Korea’s most popular YouTube channel, run by the Seoul Broadcasting System. We examined 23,774 replies commenting on North Korea-related video clips from July 1, 2018, to May 17, 2019. The findings show that entertainment and human interest frames were effective in drawing public attention to news coverage about North Korea. Using humor and colloquial language facilitated public attention (both positive and negative) and public engagement. Over half (59.55%) of the comments generated positive emotions; less than one-third generated negative emotions (31.41%); and a few generated neutral ones (9.03%). The infotainment approach helped make South Koreans’ attitudes toward North Korea and inter-Korean relations more positive. A small number of users who served as top authorities were extremely partisan and conducted intense debates about infotainment practices. This study’s hybrid analytical framework using computerized text mining techniques offers both theoretical and methodological insights into the function of infotainment in the context of social media

An Agenda for Open Science in Communication

In the last 10 years, many canonical findings in the social sciences appear unreliable. This so-called “replication crisis” has spurred calls for open science practices, which aim to increase the reproducibility, replicability, and generalizability of findings. Communication research is subject to many of the same challenges that have caused low replicability in other fields. As a result, we propose an agenda for adopting open science practices in Communication, which includes the following seven suggestions: (1) publish materials, data, and code; (2) preregister studies and submit registered reports; (3) conduct replications; (4) collaborate; (5) foster open science skills; (6) implement Transparency and Openness Promotion Guidelines; and (7) incentivize open science practices. Although in our agenda we focus mostly on quantitative research, we also reflect on open science practices relevant to qualitative research. We conclude by discussing potential objections and concerns associated with open science practices

Investigating Country Identity and Citizen Diplomacy: The Case of Cultural Mediators in Vietnam

This dissertation investigates country identity and citizen diplomacy by examining cultural mediators’ perceptions of and communication about their own country during people-to-people exchanges. A cultural mediator is a non-state citizen diplomat who communicates with foreigners in business, educational, or social environments to reconcile cultural differences. The country identity constructs examined herein are physical appeal, economic appeal, culture and heritage, political appeal, human capital, social appeal, and emotional appeal. A non-Western, one-party, postwar, developing country, Vietnam provides a rich context for exploring this dissertation’s phenomena. To many Americans, Vietnam is a war. Vietnam, however, is a country undergoing economic, technological, and social change. With its progressing role in Southeast Asia and geographic proximity to China, Vietnam is critical to U.S. interests, and Vietnam’s leaders favor improved trade initiatives and military-to-military ties. However, a divisive wartime history and disparate cultural values and political systems complicate U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic relations. This dissertation employs a survey (N = 368) and interviews (N = 27) with Vietnamese cultural mediators and participation observation hours (N = 27) of citizen diplomacy activities between Vietnamese and foreigners in Vietnam. While supporting the influence of heritage and culture, human capital, social appeal, and physical appeal on cultural mediators’ positive feelings toward their own country, the results expand the country identity theoretical framework by adding a family variable to the heritage and culture scale and a work ethic variable to the human capital scale. The results reveal economic appeal as a positive significant predictor of citizen diplomats’ amount of communication with foreigners about country identity. Cultural mediators perceive mutuality in citizen diplomacy: Foreigners learn to navigate a new cultural system, while cultural mediators develop intercultural communication skills and expand their international network as a step toward integration into the global economy. This dissertation offers evidence that relational communication during citizen diplomacy acknowledges cultural differences to highlight favorable aspects of country identity. This dissertation provides strategies for promoting the nation brand to domestic publics and stimulating collaboration with foreign publics. The theoretical implications extend beyond Vietnam with insight into how citizen-directed grassroots diplomacy networks advance cultural alliances through communication structure and synergy

An Agenda for Open Science in Communication

In the last 10 years, many canonical findings in the social sciences appear unreliable. This so-called “replication crisis” has spurred calls for open science practices, which aim to increase the reproducibility, replicability, and generalizability of findings. Communication research is subject to many of the same challenges that have caused low replicability in other fields. As a result, we propose an agenda for adopting open science practices in Communication, which includes the following seven suggestions: (1) publish materials, data, and code; (2) preregister studies and submit registered reports; (3) conduct replications; (4) collaborate; (5) foster open science skills; (6) implement Transparency and Openness Promotion Guidelines; and (7) incentivize open science practices. Although in our agenda we focus mostly on quantitative research, we also reflect on open science practices relevant to qualitative research. We conclude by discussing potential objections and concerns associated with open science practices.publishe

Characterization, Design, and Function of the Mitochondrial Proteome: From Organs to Organisms

Mitochondria are a common energy source for organs and organisms; their diverse functions are specialized according to the unique phenotypes of their hosting environment. Perturbation of mitochondrial homeostasis accompanies significant pathological phenotypes. However, the connections between mitochondrial proteome properties and function remain to be experimentally established on a systematic level. This uncertainty impedes the contextualization and translation of proteomic data to the molecular derivations of mitochondrial diseases. We present a collection of mitochondrial features and functions from four model systems, including two cardiac mitochondrial proteomes from distinct genomes (human and mouse), two unique organ mitochondrial proteomes from identical genetic codons (mouse heart and mouse liver), as well as a relevant metazoan out-group (drosophila). The data, composed of mitochondrial protein abundance and their biochemical activities, capture the core functionalities of these mitochondria. This investigation allowed us to redefine the core mitochondrial proteome from organs and organisms, as well as the relevant contributions from genetic information and hosting milieu. Our study has identified significant enrichment of disease-associated genes and their products. Furthermore, correlational analyses suggest that mitochondrial proteome design is primarily driven by cellular environment. Taken together, these results connect proteome feature with mitochondrial function, providing a prospective resource for mitochondrial pathophysiology and developing novel therapeutic targets in medicine. [Image: see text