All posts by kmagsam

SMC Faculty and Graduate Students have Research Accepted in Top Journal

Communication professors Dr. Magsamen-Conrad and Dr. Dowd, and graduate students Shrinkhala Upadhyaya and Claire Youngnyo Joa, have their research paper, Bridging the Divide: Using UTAUT to predict multigenerational tablet adoption practices, accepted in the refereed journal Computers in Human Behavior (impact factor 2.273; 5-year impact factor 3.047).

Their paper examined the “Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAUT) in the context of tablet devices across multiple generations. They tested the four UTAUT determinants, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions, to determine their contributions for predicting behavioral intention to use tablets with age, gender, and user experience as moderators. 899 respondents aged 19-99 completed the survey. They found consistent generational differences in UTAUT determinants, most frequently between the oldest and youngest generations. Effort expectancy and facilitating conditions were the only determinants that positively predicted tablet use intentions after controlling for age, gender, and tablet use. They also discuss the implications of ageism and gender discrimination of technology adoption. Finally, they argue that their findings can be extended to create effective training programs for the teaching, learning, and adoption of new technologies in a variety of organizational settings. Keywords: UTAUT, technology, adoption, age, training, gender

Full text is available here: http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/smc_pub/37/

Magsamen-Conrad, K., Upadhyaya, S., Youngnyo Joa, C., &
Dowd, J. (in press). Bridging the Divide: Using UTAUT to predict multigenerational tablet adoption practices. Computers in Human Behavior.

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Communication Undergrads Schonhardt, Stinson, Taylor, and Wilson to Present Research at OAGE Conference

Congratulations to undergraduate communication majors Casey Schonhardt, Brandon Stinson, Terry Taylor, and Ladonne Wilson will present their research at the Ohio Association of Gerontology and Education conference this April. Please continue reading for more information of their research projects, completed during independent studys/internship under the direction of Dr. MC.

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Older Adults and technology: Adoption and acceptance comes from relationships and encouragement from younger generations

           

            Paper to be presented by Casey Schonhardt

 

Abstract:

           

                          As technology progresses, older generations are being given ‘smart’ devices and are adopting these devices to keep up with daily life.  Stereotypes posit that the different generational groups perspectives on each other and the digital divide prohibit older generations from adopting new technologies. At the Wood Country Center on Aging located in Bowling Green Ohio, the small group communication class of Bowling Green State University teaches tablet classes once a week to interested older adults. Classes were observed using the STAM (Senior Technology and Acceptance Model), specifically the acceptance phase, over six weeks with narrative and phenomenological research methods. Observing and assisting four small groups teaching older adults different categories of smart tablets, conclusions were made on why older adults accept the technology and even come back for further classes. At the end of the project, it was found that the more positive and genuinely encouraging the students were, the more the older adults consistently attended classes and engaged in learning. Despite rumors of barriers of an age and digital divide, social cues, the relationships made, and the environment play a part in the motivation of technological diffusion in older adult’s daily life.

Introducing and Teaching Information Communication Technology to Senior Citizens

 Poster to be presented by Brandon Stinson

 

Abstract:

This poster examines older adults’ acceptance of information communication technologies (ICTs) as well as strategies for educating older adults about how to use ICTs. Information communication technology has become a key component in our society (Hernandez-Encuentra). For the majority of people it has become a pillar of their everyday lives (Trentin). Today however, many older adults are still reluctant to learn and integrate most information communication technology into their own lives (Gonzalez) as they have for years whenever new technology comes along. Research has shown that several different factors exist to explain why senior citizens do not welcome information communication technology (Loges). Even if they can be convinced to use this technology there are still several factors that can prevent them from both properly and efficiently using it. Researchers have shown that there are numerous methods to teach senior citizens how to properly use information communication technology with varying degrees of success (Jones). This poster will summarize what I have discovered through both compiling information as well as my personal observation with teaching seniors through Dr. Magsamen-Conrad’s Small Group Communication class and an internship at the Wood County Committee on Aging. During Dr. Magsamen-Conrad’s class in the Spring 2014 semester, small groups of five students spent six weeks in a classroom setting teaching older adults how to use tablets. This was the same idea at the internship. From July to August 2014 I taught roughly fifteen older adults how to use tablets in a mostly one on one setting. As older adults continue to become an increasingly larger portion of our population (Lam) it is becoming morevital than ever that they learn and accept information communication technology and become integrated with the rest of society (Feist).

 

 

RED: Retired, Engaged, and Determined

 Poster to be presented by Terry Taylor

Abstract:
My name is Terry Taylor. I am a senior at Bowling Green State University majoring in Communications with a minor in Geography. Iplan to submit a full paper to be considered for a student award and my professor’s name is Dr. Kate Magsamen-Conrad. I worked very close with Dr.MC through a communications class at the senior center that focused on small group communication. I look into the service that we provided through a series tablet classes held at Bowling Green’s senior center and explore the idea and possibility of expanding the market or services to this age demographic. With the age of retires about to reach and all time high due to the Baby Boomers and the fact that technology is changing and advancing every year, I feel that it is vital to provide similar services as we did in our tablet classes held through the senior center on a wider scale. I conclude with reasoning on why this increased knowledge and interaction through technology is imperative for older adults. My objective is to show a need for the increase in understanding of technology for older adults on a broad scale and to make it aware that this is very beneficial to them in physical, mental, social, and various other forms.

Older Adults Attitudes towards New Communication Technologies

 Poster to be presented by Ladonne Wilson

Abstract: As the amount of New Communication Technologies (NCTs) being created increases at an exponential rate it is important to better understand how all portions of our population take advantage of newer NCTs, including older adults. This study sought to better understand older adult’s attitudes towards NCTs as a means of learning and adaption as well as maintaining independence. The researchers argued that older adult’s attitudes toward NCTs have an effect on older adult’s perceived and therefore actual usability. This study was conducted by a communication research methods course at an Ohio public university and it included surveys and interviews of 525 older adults living in the Midwestern United States. The researchers divided the participants into four age groups, Builders, Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials, and focused primarily on web literacy, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy. The researchers found that there were significant generational differences in attitudes towards NCTs and younger generations were more likely to positively respond to newer NCTs than older generations. The researchers also found that older adults do not experience an immediate attraction to NCT’s unlike younger generations. The researchers posit that these results indicate that must be a greater focus on reducing the deficit between younger and older generations and their respective levels of NCT literacy.

 

“Beauty pageants objectify women” Dr. Faulkner quoted in The Miami Herald

Dr. Sandra Faulkner, director of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio (department of communication faculty member), argues that beauty pageants objectify women. “The focus is on youth and looking good and, in many ways, these are impossible standards. They reinforce comfortable notions on what being feminine and what being a woman should be all about.”

Read more here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/article7972452.html

Lack of reciprocity and low confidence in talking about cancer predict topic avoidance in couples

Drs. Maria Venetis (Purdue), Kathryn Greene (Rutgers), Maria Checton (College of Saint Elizabeth), and Kate Magsamen-Conrad (BGSU) have a new publication out in the Journal of Health Communication. 

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In this article, the authors use the Disclose Decision-Making Model to explore cancer-related topic avoidance among cancer patients and their partners. Participants include 95 dyads in which 1 partner had been diagnosed and/or treated for cancer. Variables of interest include death-, future-, sexuality-, and burden-related topic avoidance and dimensions of the Disclosure Decision-Making Model including information assessment, receiver assessment, relational quality, and discloser efficacy. Data were analyzed using linear regressions. Findings suggest that lack of reciprocity and efficacy are predictors of topic avoidance. The authors discuss implications of findings and suggests direction for future research.

 

Full text is available here: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/zs6uPVWTseC96YPkhj6c/full#.VL_H61ptTt4

 

Venetis, M. K., Greene, K., Checton, M. G., & Magsamen-Conrad, K. (2015, online first). Decision making in cancer-related topic avoidance. Journal of Health Communication. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2014.96536

 

TOP PAPER AWARD for docmc and SMC graduate students Wang, Tettah, and Lee (Univ. GA)

Dr. Magsamen-Conrad (dept. of communication) and SMC graduate students Fang Wang and Dinah Tettah, and University of Georgia graduate student Yen-I Lee received a Top Paper Award from the Communication and Technology Interest group. They will present the paper in April at the annual meeting of the Eastern Communication Association.

Their research discovered support for the ability of components of the Unified Theory of Adoption and Use of Technology to predict New Communication Technology intention and use (42%, controlling for age and gender), with facilitating conditions alone accounting for 26% of the variance. They were also able to explain more than 50% of the variance in e-health literacy combining UTAUT variables and CEW Fluency (computer-email-web fluency, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy explained 54% variance of e-health literacy). Finally, they found significant difference between generational groups across all variables, further explaining generational effects on attitudes towards NCTs and e-health literacy, which may have implications for health self-management. Results underscore a need to highlight the broader benefits of NCT literacy as opposed to representing it as a generational phenomenon to improve e-health literacy of older generations.

Magsamen-Conrad, K., Wang, F, Tettah, D., & Lee, Y-I. (2015, April). Generational differences in NCTs: An intergroup investigation of UTAUT determinants, computer-email-web fluency, and e-health literacy. Paper to be presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Communication Association (Communication and Technology Interest Group Submission), Philadelphia, PA.

SMC Graduate students Abuljadail, Wang, & Yang, and TCOMM Professor Dr. Ha have a new book chapter in press

Mohammad Abuljadail, Dr. Louisa Ha, Fang Wang & Liu Yang’s co-authored paper, “What Motivates Online Shoppers to “Like” Brands’ Facebook Fan Pages?” was accepted to be published as a refereed book chapter in the book Human Behavior, Psychology and Social Interaction in the Digital Era.

docmc honored in Ohio Magazine

Dr. Magsamen-Conrad was honored in Ohio Magazine’s annual Excellence in Education section as a Memorable Educator. Each year Ohio Magazine recognizes “remarkably talented and passionate teachers” from Ohio’s colleges and universities who engage students in “real-world learning experiences that are vital to a well-rounded education.”

docmc honored in Ohio Magazine
docmc honored in Ohio Magazine

COMM 2030 in the news

For the second year (4th semester), BGSU students and older adults of Bowling Green have worked together to build relationships and skills as they have bonded over technology at BG’s Senior Center and downtown library. College students enrolled in small group communication courses at BGSU have been conducting workshops for older adults from Bowling Green and surrounding communities to help the older adults better understand tablets (e.g., iPads, Kindles, Nooks, and Galaxys). The workshops were launched and continue at the WCCOA; they have now been expanded to include workshops at the Wood County District Public Library (WCDPL).

We held our second “graduation” celebration November 6 in the Dining Room at the Wood County Senior Center. The older adults brought delicious food, the WCCOA provided coffee, plates, etc., and BGSU’s Office of Service Learning covered additional beverages. We all enjoyed the poignant speech delivered by our graduation speaker, Dr. Dale Klopfer,  an Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Friends, family, and interested members of the public  joined the student teachers and older adult students in celebrating accomplishments in learning more about each other, teaching, leading, and technology.

Check out this great article in The Sentinel-Tribune http://m.sent-trib.com/community/senior/connections-made/article_ac2c26c6-6689-11e4-8b19-23de25146b19.html?mode=jqm and  the project’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/docmcICI?ref=hl

Even better news? We still have a few spots open if you’re interested in enrolling in COMM 2030 Spring 2015!

Illness management – It’s an “Us” Thing

When one person in a couple or a family has an illness the whole unit is affected. Our own Dr. MC has a series of publications exploring dyadic illness management (couples managing cancer or chronic illness) with her colleagues Dr. Kathryn Greene (Rutgers University), Dr. Maria Venetis (Purdue University), and Dr. Maria Checton (College of St. Elizabeth). The most recent publication came out in Health, Education, and Behavior yesterday (you should be able to access it here: http://heb.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/1090198114557121v2.pdf?ijkey=Q9u9h9kENN9A2lE&keytype=finite).  You may have seen the earlier post about another publication that was in press at Communication Monographs – that publication is now available as well (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03637751.2014.971415#.VGYQ4L5tSv0).

Congrats Drs MC, Greene, Venetis, and Checton!