Ph.D. - Communication and Information Sciences

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/1136

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What needs to be heard: The roles of audio description in preparing blind or low vision people for visits to public attractions
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2025) Koirala, Sajja; Oppegaard, Brett; Communication and Information Science
This dissertation uses naturalistic inquiry to identify, document, and assess the potential impacts of Audio Description (AD) in the Preparation Stage of a trip to a national park for people who are blind or who have low vision. AD is the verbal narration of key visual elements in media to make the visual information more accessible for people who cannot see or cannot see well. Blind or low vision people typically do not visit parks for leisure because of concerns about the many daunting obstacles that could emerge on their journeys, including inaccessible media, yet they also have a latent desire to commune with these parks, if the path is clear (Bandukda et al., 2020). The accessibility or inaccessibility of site media using AD sends clear signals to any potential visitor about expectations for such a trip. Originally conceptualized by scholars as a method for improving the accessibility of movies and television, AD continues to be mostly perceived as a feature for screen-based entertainment. However, AD could be helpful in many other mediated circumstances, including site brochures, wayside signs, and exhibits at national parks and other public attractions. To encourage that development, this dissertation focused on AD factors that are important in the Preparation Stage of a visit to a national park. Data was gathered through focus groups with 29 blind and low vision individuals at three national parks, which gave them a chance to voice what impacts AD had on their trips, particularly in the Preparation Stage. This research revealed that knowing about Audio Description when blind and low vision individuals are in the preparation stage of their visits to a site significantly increases their chances of visiting that site. Furthermore, blind and low vision individuals were found to want to know more about the park surroundings when they are planning their trips, and having mobility supporting descriptions at public attractions was also found to increase motivation for taking trips. In addition, participants expressed a strong preference for having AD more available on nature trails and in the outdoors at national parks.
Cybersecurity internship impacts on participant professional development and employment: A case study
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2025) Stevens, David James; Robertson, Scott; Communication and Information Science
In response to the growing need for qualified cybersecurity professionals, this study examines the impacts of a unique cybersecurity internship program at the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) in partnership with the U.S. Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) and industry partners. The ongoing program seeks to bridge the gap between academic training and real-world application, focusing on participant professional development and employment outcomes. This study covered the internship cycles from 2020 to 2023 using a mixed-method approach, surveyed 34 of the 46 program participants, and conducted follow-up interviews to assess the internship's effects on technical skills, professional development, personal growth, and employment.The findings indicate that the internship significantly enhanced participants' communication, research, and technical cybersecurity skills. However, challenges related to industry certification requirements, hands-on technical training, and US government job application processes were identified. The study highlights the importance of mentorship, hands-on experience, and industry certification in preparing students for careers in cybersecurity. Recommendations for improving the internship program include greater emphasis on certification preparation, expanded practical learning opportunities, and clearer guidance on job applications, particularly within the government sector.
MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS: THE PERFORMATIVITY OF SHORT-FORM VIDEOS AND THEIR AFFORDANCES
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2024) Wang, Yiting; Suthers, Daniel D.; Communication and Information Science
With short-form videos being ubiquitous, making sense of their performativity as well as the potential relationship (affordances) between people and short videos are imperative. Studies of social media from a performative perspective are increasing. However, two aspects are yet to be updated: a robust research method to study the emerging visual phenomenon, and a holistic system to explain short-form videos. Multimodal analysis, a method that pays attention to visual sense-making, comes in handy for researching visual and media literacy. Previous peer-reviewed and published pilot studies showed that short-form videos are theatrical. Building on this, this dissertation probes further, with a broader frame of reference that is performative, to understand the interactions between technology and people. The objective of this qualitative study was to study how the design of short video apps impacts people's creation, and the performative activities afforded by the platform. The goal is to enrich media literacy through multimodal communication. This research asks three questions: What affordances do short-form videos as a medium offer? How do users use these affordances in user-generated short-videos to create a performance? Among different communicative forms, do users’ use of affordances differ? Using walkthroughs, multimodal analysis, and several procedures from grounded theory, I explored how affordances of short-form videos are multi-layered, and the relationships between the layers. The results revealed 5 performative devices, 3 steps of video analysis, and 2 techniques to apply when determining modes. Results demonstrated three layers of affordances reflected by modes such as facial expressions (low-level); spatial relationships (intermediate level); and five performative devices (high-level). Results also suggest that behaviors of performativity are universal across three platforms, and that many principles applicable in still images work the same in short videos. The findings contribute to both the method level and the theory level of digital sense-making and media literacy. The dissertation adds onto ways of looking at short videos effectively and informs creators and users ways their creations can be looked at. It connects with the current discourse of disinformation and misinformation, the harm “harmless” humor can make, and media multitasking issues. As interdisciplinary research, this study bridges disciplines and contributes to the fields of media and communication studies, performance studies, and human computer interaction.
Exploring Cultural Affordances On WeChat
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2024) SUN, Yinan; Suthers, Daniel D.; Communication and Information Science
How social media, culture, and ordinary people as users influence each other is probably one of the most intriguing questions for scholars in the field of social media studies. To respond to this complex query, the dissertation project investigates the interaction between technology, individuals, and culture, utilizing a three-dimensional theoretical framework of cultural affordances, with a specific focus on WeChat and Chinese culture. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were employed based on the authors' two pilot studies. Data was collected from February to October 2022 through 31 in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Participants included 14 WeChat primary users (Group 1), ten college students using WeChat and other platforms (Group 2), and seven WeChat product managers/designers (Group 3). Additionally, follow-up discussions, non-participatory observations, and an anonymous voluntary survey were conducted. All were conducted in Mandarin via WeChat video chat due to COVID-19, lasting 60-90 minutes each. In total, seven behavioral changes and three perceptual changes in participants’ ways of using and perceiving WeChat, five cultural changes on WeChat, and one technological change of WeChat emerged from the collected data. The study addressed the pivotal roles of WeChat, ordinary users, and Chinese culture in molding behavioral patterns. Moreover, it discussed the intricate connections between the three dimensions of cultural affordances and explored the nuances distinguishing affordances and agency between human and nonhuman actors. In the end, the research project proposed innovative perspectives and alternative practices pertaining to the utilization and design of WeChat.
TECHNICALLY UTOPIA: TECHNOLOGY AND CONTROL IN UTOPIAN FICTION
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2024) Wilf, Joel; Winter, Jenifer Sunrise; Communication and Information Science
One of the enduring problems in the philosophy of technology is the question of control: do we control technology, or does it control us? This study explores the question of control in a new way. Using a conceptual framework from philosopher of technology Andrew Feenberg, we examine the conceptual designs of desired, future social systems – better known as “utopias” – to help us understand how today’s technology could shape future societies. Analyzing a sample of modern, fictional utopias, we ask: How do utopian societies use technology to meet their goals? How do utopian societies address risk and uncertainty? Do utopian societies treat information and communication technology (ICT) differently than other technologies? Do utopian societies implicitly follow a philosophy of technology? To answer these questions, we selected a purposive sample of utopias and conducted a qualitative content analysis on each of them. Coding categories were derived inductively from the data, guided by the conceptual framework mentioned above. The selected utopias were coded and analyzed to answer the research questions and ultimately address the question of control. The resulting insights enabled us to identify the underlying philosophy of technology in each of the utopias studied. The study advanced prior work on the use of technology – including ICT – in utopia. The results also led to a deeper understanding of social-technical risks and uncovering connections between Andrew Feenberg’s philosophy of technology – critical constructivism – and theories of utopia, as well as social systems engineering. Using these insights, the study provided a means by which the question of control could be framed and answered.
THE VISUAL SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVISM PRACTICE OF OPPONENTS TO COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATES
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2024) Karabelnik, Moshe; Winter, Jenifer Sunrise; Communication and Information Science
In recent years, digital images from smartphones and other networked cameras sharedon social media have largely replaced video recording devices that were commonly used by social activists to document protest practices. Networked cameras’ ubiquity has fundamentally changed the practices of political protest, activism, and social movements. This research brings to light how visual social media activism overlaps with practices of protest and social movements such as solidarity, cop watching, mobilization, and information sharing. In this dissertation, I explore the visual social media activism as practice using various social media accounts of opponents of the COVID-19 vaccination mandates, as well as the offline protest practices related to visual social media performed by these activists in Hawai‘i and Israel. Following the practice approach to cultural studies and the practice approach to media studies, I reveal and unpack the ways in which practices of protest are bundled into the practice of Visual Social Media Activism (VSMA) used by vaccination mandate1 opponents. My research poses the question: What do COVID-19 vaccination mandate opponents do in relation to visual social media, and how do these practices contribute to the production of symbolic power and the battle for control over public discourse against state and media institutions? For this purpose, I use a practice-oriented methodology in two ways: first, by using Visual Cross-Platform Analysis (Pearce et al., 2018) of visual social media shared by vaccination mandate opponents across different social media platforms and, in parallel, observation of VSMA online, and offline followed by interviews with the creators and audiences of anti-vaccination visual social media. By combining these methods, I show how VSMA functions in the everyday making of the social discourse around COVID-19 and civil liberties.
Aloha ʻĀina in the Library and Information Science Program: Understanding and Being a Hawaiian Place of Learning
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2024) Valeho-Novikoff, Shanye Natsue; Gazan, Rich; Communication and Information Science
Mānoa 2025 is our current strategic plan for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The plan has made it very clear that each member, program, and department of our campus have kuleana (responsibility) to learn, acknowledge, and engage in the wisdom of Aloha ʻĀina. (UH Mānoa, 2018). The purpose of this qualitative study of multiple bounded cases is to investigate and examine the Library and Information Science (LIS) faculty, haumāna(students), and advisory group membersʻ understanding, habits of mind, points of view, positionalities, and knowings of Aloha ʻĀina in relation to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoaʻs vision grounded in and as a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning. With this examination of the kaiāulu (community), the study supports the vision, mission, and direction of LIS with the intention to hoʻomālamalama; to cultivate the unique and trailblazing potential of our LIS community members to be the lamakū (torch; light; enlightenment) for Aloha ʻĀina in Librarianship and Information Science practices for Hawaiʻi nei and the world. This research is also a self-study that allows the opportunity for my own professional learning of my practices as an educator and information specialist-librarian and may lead to a unique practice of Hawaiian Librarianship. Transformative Learning Theory serves as the theoretical lens to guide and support this research. This theory examines the frames of reference or meaning perspectives of participants and is defined as the process by which we transform problematic frames of reference (mindsets, habits of mind, meaning perspectives) to make them more inclusive, discriminating, open, reflective, and emotionally able to change (Mezirow, 2008). Critical self-reflection is a key component of the process. From the Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native) perspective, the study is grounded in Moʻo (connection and succession). Moʻo practices are woven like a lei, infused throughout this research process. The Moʻo also transforms. If our haumāna (students) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa carry Aloha ʻĀina forward, through the education they receive, the research and creative works that they conduct, and the collaborations with the larger communities in addressing key issues that sustain and mālama Hawaiʻi, then Aloha ʻĀina is a very important practice that should be prevalent and active in the minds, spirits, policies, and actions of the Library and Information Science program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Designing Usable Knowledge Graphs: The Case of an Interdisciplinary PhD Program
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2023) Gardasevic, Stanislava; Gazan, Rich; Communication and Information Science
This study applies human-centered design principles and involves end users in creating a usableknowledge graph to explore the potential advantages of capturing and presenting networked knowledge in a domain for information discovery and decision-making. The case taken for the research is the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Communication and Information Sciences (CIS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and the Ph.D. students are the main user population for the knowledge-graph-based information system. The graph was designed to help this user population successfully progress through the degree by supporting them in information discovery, decision-making, and tacit knowledge exchange within the community. The study was conducted in three stages (i) requirements gathering, (ii) design of graph and visualizations (iii) evaluation of the graph, and these stages are presented through three papers. CIS Ph.D. students were involved in all study stages, and the methods applied were: semi-structured interviews, website usability study, workshops, surveys, and content analysis. One of the outputs of this study is a comprehensive CIS Knowledge Graph model and dataset that aggregates data from (i) multiple academic websites, (ii) metadata from publications and dissertations relevant to this community, and (iii) crowdsourced student data, making it a rich, multilayered network. Upon evaluating the utility of this dataset with CIS Ph.D. students in different stages of the program, the results show that having such a dataset available can be beneficial, especially for new students, as this approach saves them time and effort when looking for relevant information; helps them anticipate future steps and compare their progress with other students; and supports them in making data-driven decisions–especially concerning choosing research supervisor and collaborators–based on elicited statistics and the experiences of their peers and previous students. This study contributes to our understanding of the information needs of interdisciplinary Ph.D. students, showing that most of them rely on information they get from other community members. It produced the knowledge graph model that can be repurposed for other interdisciplinary research settings and a unique multilayered network dataset with pertinent use scenarios/queries that can serve as a testbed for designing graph visualizations. Finally, based on the end-user inputs and interactions with the knowledge graph hosted and demonstrated via the Neo4J graph database tool, the study produces the guidelines for designing information system that will host such a graph and will support the end users’ needs and requirements, with the emphasis on the tacit knowledge exchange.
TOP-DOWN APPROACH, BOTTOM-UP SOLUTIONS: OVERCOMING PERCEIVED CHALLENGES OF AN INDONESIAN E-GOVERNMENT-BASED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2023) Hamidati, Anis; Gazan, Rich; Communication and Information Science
The optimism surrounding e-government to improve government services has been widely documented and supported in public administration literature. This study looks at a long-standing government scholarship program in Indonesia, which shifted from traditional offline to solely online for its application process. This e-government initiative was imposed top-down to follow the larger government agenda in accelerating development through ICTs. Despite the promise of e-government, many initiatives failed. At the same time, as demonstrated in this study, there have been successes where users can conduct workarounds to achieve their goals rather than follow the previously designed pathways that did not work. These bottom-up solutions are sources of resilience that enabled the initiatives to work. This study identifies and categorizes perceived challenges to the e-government program into four overarching themes: bureaucratic, cultural, financial, and technical. Additionally, it delineates four themes of the workarounds employed in response to the challenges: workarounds conducted at the individual level, workarounds conducted with others, workarounds facilitated or conducted by others, and workarounds through public pressure. Acquiring these workarounds is attributed to the three primary learning strategies: drawing upon past learning experiences, obtaining professional guidance, and working with peers.
The College Esports Experience: Gaming, Identity, And Development
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022) Kauweloa, Nyle Sky; Winter, Jenifer S.; Communication and Information Science
An emerging esports scene has developed on college campuses across North America. The proposition universities are extending to students who qualify and become collegiate esports players includes expert training, access to dedicated competitive facilities, and university scholarships. Given the institutional investment in facilities and player support for esports programs, in an industry that still lacks a formalized process of professionalization, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine how players navigate the various demands, responsibilities, and tensions that constitute the role of a collegiate esports player. Employing Stebbins’ serious leisure perspective and Baxter Magolda's theory of self-authorship, the longitudinal study conducted at the University of California, Irvine’s Esports Program included on-site observations, repeated in-depth interviews with players, program staff, and student volunteers, along with an analysis of archival materials related to the program's development. The major findings of the study point to how a historical turn was implicated in the participants’ accounts. Instead of a sole focus on the future, players reflected on their pasts and the possibility of their time at UCI Esports as a means of redemption for unmet promises. Because UCI, as an educational institution, was seen as providing the “whole package,” players were excited by the prospects of pursuing a competitive collegiate career at a reputable school, while also fully engaged in a varsity program that could help prepare them with a structured path into upper echelons of professional play. However, the analysis also revealed nuanced motivations for why players selected to play for a collegiate program. For a select group of veteran players, a desire to meet parental expectations stood out as an important reason for participating in UCI Esports. Once on the team, the players revealed that commitment and effort at skilled development led to having to decide between one's passion for esports versus a focus on academics. Via the analytic framing of the “Crossroads,” an institutional battle between UCI Esports and its players emerged. Participants found themselves contesting the very institution that was supposed to support them. The expanded programmatic offerings that UCI Esports provided created tensions for players who wanted to use their time in the varsity program as a means of discovery and experimentation with elite competitive play. Players learned that institutional growth at UCI Esports conflicted with their cultivating competitive identities. Consequently, a sense of disillusionment overcame many players who faced disappointments in the program, with some seeing UCI Esports as not living up to the social, competitive, and institutional experience imagined. Thus, this work reveals novel and nuanced topics central to the discussion of balance and negotiation as part of the collegiate esports experience.
Usability of advertising preference tools on smartphones: AdChoices and Facebook Ad Preferences
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022) Garlach, Stacia M.; Suthers, Daniel D.; Communication and Information Science
Online behavioral advertising (OBA) is the practice of targeting consumers with ads based on data collected by tracking their online activities over time, and now across their devices. The online advertising industry in the U.S. has developed self-regulatory codes and practices over the past 20 years in response to privacy concerns raised by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These codes typically require providing notice that behavioral targeting may be occurring and offering consumers a choice to opt out of receiving behaviorally targeted ads. The FTC has raised concerns about how OBA practices affect consumers’ privacy in the mobile environment, due to the additional tracking technologies mobile devices afford. This research builds upon previous work that explored consumers’ comprehension of and attitudes toward OBA practices in general, and the online advertising industry’s notice-and-choice mechanisms in particular. It consists of two qualitative user studies that explored newer permutations of the industry’s OBA preference-setting tools in the mobile environment: AdChoices and Facebook Ad Preferences. These companion studies are related in that they both employ hands-on usability research of the live tools on mobile devices, document usability problems, and examine users’ mental models of what the tools do and how they function in the context of Norman’s (2013) Action Cycle. The results of both studies were consistent with previous research that has found serious usability problems that impact users’ ability to even find the tools, let alone understand what they do, and use them to exercise meaningful choice. Participants in the AdChoices study had limited awareness and almost no experience using the AdChoices icon; only one knew of and had used the Consumer Choice page for mobile web; and none knew about or had used the AppChoices mobile app. Participants in the Facebook study had some familiarity with its in-ad preferences controls, but most had never seen the account-level Ad Preferences tools. If users do not know these tools exist, it is impossible for them to be useful in helping users regulate their preferences for receiving behaviorally targeted advertising. Recommendations are made for improving the visibility and usability of these tools, but in the end, this only addresses a small part of a much larger problem. Online advertising is only the tip of an iceberg of the pervasive and often surreptitious practices of consumer data surveillance, collection, profiling, targeting, and algorithmic filtering that are deeply impacting our society.
Examining Open Access Information Infrastructures: A Sociotechnical Exploration Of Institutional Repository Models In Japan And The United States
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021) Beamer, Jennifer E.; Gazan, Richard; Communication and Information Science
This dissertation investigated the relationship of organizations with open access institutional repositories (IRs), the institutional and social contexts in which the IRs and the organizations evolved, and the social contexts in which they have been deployed and used (Kling, Rosenbaum and Sawyer, 2005). In terms of organizations supporting and maintaining IRs on a national level, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) in North America and its global affiliate SPARC in Japan are similar, and for this research they were examined and compared as case studies. Thus far, the literature has explored some aspects of the technical infrastructure of IRs, including various social practices and processes that have led to IR growth. Still, fewer studies have been conducted on how organizations shape IR socio-technical contexts in one society compared to another. For its analytical framework, this research used social informatics (SI) principles, i.e., the premise that technology user practices and research outcomes are mutually constituted by the interactions between technology affordances and broader context (Kling et al., 2003). Moreover, Scott's (2008) Institutional theory was used as a lens to understand organizational characteristics, including norms, rules, and activities of the organizations, thus providing a framing device for establishing boundaries via pillars and carriers to shed light on how SPARC NA and SPARC Japan have supported IR development. This study’s methods of data collection and analysis, i.e., Kling et al.’s Socio-Technical Interaction Networks (STIN) and Scott’s Institutional theory, provided direction for bounding, collecting, and analyzing of SPARC NA and SPARC Japan. Multiple research field-site visits were made, and qualitative semi-formal and in-depth interviews were performed with selected individuals in these organizations. Additionally, the analysis of data from supporting documents, websites, reports, and participant observations at organization-sanctioned activities contributed to the findings of this research. This study aims to contribute to the expansion of the Socio-Technical framework for understanding organizations and IRs in specific, and to the literature on the technological transformation and communication of research in general.
The Design, Development, And Deployment Of The National Library Service’s Digital Talking Book Program As A Socio-technical Process
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2020) Rose, Terence Lionel; Buente, Wayne; Communication and Information Science
The Digital Talking Books Program was developed between the 1990s and the 2000s to replace the Analog Cassette format, which had been developed during the 1960s to allow people with disabilities to access reading material. The Digital Talking Books Program was built around flash memory technology. The reasons for which the National Library Service for the Blind Print Disabled (NLS) supported their decision to employ this technology were as follows: (1) at that time, the flash memory technology was considered “state of the art”; (2) the format was sufficiently durable to be mailed via the United States Postal Service. This study examines the design, development, and deployment of this technology as a social-technical process. It will further explore NLS’s Digital Talking Book Program and Digital Talking Book Player’s development and implementation processes based on three perspectives. The first is the Patron’s perspectives, and the second is that of the Technology/artifact perspectives (Digital Talking Book Program, Digital Talking Book Player, and Adaptive/Assistive Technologies). The third is constituted by the Policy perspectives (stakeholders, laws, and regulations: On the local, state, and federal levels, international treaties, NLS’s policies, and congressional oversight). This dissertation will examine how these three perspectives interact to create and influence policy using social informatics as a theoretical framework. Additionally, these interactions are influenced by stakeholders who were involved throughout the decision making process; all these factors guided the planning and execution of the current program and the Digital Taking Book Player’s design and will impact the plans for a new Digital Talking Book Program and future designs for a new Digital Talking Book Player. This inquiry utilizes qualitative case study methods by analyzing documents using NIVO 10, which as a Computer-Assisted Qualitative Software Program (CAQDAS) that was used to examine NLS and the Digital Talking Book Program. This dissertation will apply the three perspectives to argue that the design, deployment, and deployment of NLS’s Digital Talking Book Program is a social-technical process.
Whose Health Is It Anyway? The Impact Of Employee Wellness Programs On Health Engagement
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021) Holden , Kelly Christine; Davidson, Elizabeth; Communication and Information Science
Throughout the United States (US), as the employer’s role in employee healthcare has shifted from the provider (e.g., the company doctor) to sponsor/payer via health insurance premiums, financial commitment has given employers a stake in their employee’s health. Thus, many employers develop employee wellness programs to encourage employees to better manage their health to reduce costs and increase employee productivity. Wellness programs aim to engage and promote healthy behaviors in individuals, while also focusing on preventative care—making employer-sponsored plans just one of many potential influences on an individual employee’s health-related behaviors. However, whether employer-sponsored wellness programs stimulate employees’ engagement in healthy behaviors is not clear. This study investigates the impact wellness programs have on an individual’s health engagement to examine how external motivators associated with the program may influence health behavior change and interact with each other and with internal motivations. This study includes a qualitative case study of two organizations with wellness programs and a cross-sectional survey of employees engaged with wellness programs. The case studies highlighted the influence of personal and contextual factors, such as wellness goals, convenience, and work-life balance in employees’ participation in wellness programs at one’s place of employment. It was clear from the case study that internal sources of motivation—including self-efficacy and decisional balance, underlying elements of the transtheoretical model—were vital to employees’ participation. In addition, the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, as identified in self-determination theory, were also important. The cross- sectional survey tested two research models. The first model evaluated how perceived workplace wellness utility, perceived wellness culture, perceived work-life balance, participation motivation, attitude toward health behaviors, self-efficacy, and IT-data feedback mechanisms influence wellness program participation. The second research model examined how perceived contextual factors and workplace wellness participation impacted healthy behaviors. The case study results and the cross-sectional survey provide support for the role of motivation, as influenced by both the transtheoretical model and self-determination theory, to encourage healthy behaviors. The case study highlighted company wellness culture as a vital influence on employees’ wellness participation behavior. However, in the cross-sectional survey, the company wellness culture was significant but less influential than the individual’s perceived work-life balance, attitude toward health behaviors, and self-efficacy. Throughout the last decade, corporate wellness programs have been widely promoted as a way to encourage healthy behaviors and thus improved health among employees, this study provides only weak evidence that such programs sustainably motivate employee behaviors.
Employee Engagement, Direct Voice Mechanisms, and Enterprise Social Network Sites (ESNS)
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021) Estell, Pamela; Davidson, Elizabeth; Communication and Information Science
Effective organizational communication allowing a two-way flow of communication between employees and upper management can foster greater levels of engagement and productivity. This is often referred to as providing opportunities for direct employee "voice." Observing the success of social technologies for personal use, employers have been eager to capitalize on social technologies to engage employees by implementing enterprise social network sites (ESNS), also referred to as workplace social media. Whether workplace social media will be an effective tool in enhancing voice and engagement, and what potential drawbacks exist for employees and firms have yet to be fully studied. Using fundamental concepts from the Self-Determination (SDT) and Social Cognitive Theories (SCT) as a guide, my research develops and tests a theoretical model examining the psychological motivations for voicing, perceived voicing affordances, as well as voice climate and communication style preferences, and their relationships to employee voicing behavior, engagement, and satisfaction. I validate the model using a field survey of participants who use workplace social media regularly, which is analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). My research provides important insights on voicing to both academics and managers seeking to productively leverage workplace social media in their firms.
Across The Generational Divide: Exploring Stigmas About Voluntarily Childless Women In Hawaiʻi
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021) Takaoka, Alicia; Crosby, Martha E.; Communication and Information Science
This research study examines the reactions to and perceptions of childless men and women to determine if the stigma of remaining a voluntarily childless woman is persistent across generations in a unique and diverse community when compared to the needs of a global niche community. Based on Halford’s 2006 research on failed account episodes in disclosures of childlessness by men and women and building on a preliminary study examining discourse about childless individuals in social networking sites and general perceptions toward childless individuals, this study seeks to evaluate the degree to which stigmas about the decision to remain childless could be considered failed accounts and the degree to which religion, age, and other factors impact perceptions of childless individuals, especially childless women.
The Design, Development, And Deployment Of The National Library Service’s Digital Talking Book Program As A Socio-technical Process
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2020) Rose, Terence Lionel; Buente, Wayne; Communication and Information Science
The Digital Talking Books Program was developed between the 1990s and the 2000s to replace the Analog Cassette format, which had been developed during the 1960s to allow people with disabilities to access reading material. The Digital Talking Books Program was built around flash memory technology. The reasons for which the National Library Service for the Blind Print Disabled (NLS) supported their decision to employ this technology were as follows: (1) at that time, the flash memory technology was considered “state of the art”; (2) the format was sufficiently durable to be mailed via the United States Postal Service. This study examines the design, development, and deployment of this technology as a social-technical process. It will further explore NLS’s Digital Talking Book Program and Digital Talking Book Player’s development and implementation processes based on three perspectives. The first is the Patron’s perspectives, and the second is that of the Technology/artifact perspectives (Digital Talking Book Program, Digital Talking Book Player, and Adaptive/Assistive Technologies). The third is constituted by the Policy perspectives (stakeholders, laws, and regulations: On the local, state, and federal levels, international treaties, NLS’s policies, and congressional oversight). This dissertation will examine how these three perspectives interact to create and influence policy using social informatics as a theoretical framework. Additionally, these interactions are influenced by stakeholders who were involved throughout the decision making process; all these factors guided the planning and execution of the current program and the Digital Taking Book Player’s design and will impact the plans for a new Digital Talking Book Program and future designs for a new Digital Talking Book Player. This inquiry utilizes qualitative case study methods by analyzing documents using NIVO 10, which as a Computer-Assisted Qualitative Software Program (CAQDAS) that was used to examine NLS and the Digital Talking Book Program. This dissertation will apply the three perspectives to argue that the design, deployment, and deployment of NLS’s Digital Talking Book Program is a social-technical process.
Bridging Formal and Informal Roles in Workgroups: Moving Beyond Followership Towards Supportership, A Case Study
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2019) Wolfgramm, Taunalei; Gazan, Richard; Communication and Information Science
Abstract The formal structure of an organization outlines its workflow and decision-making hierarchy, who reports to whom, and is embodied in the formal roles of its employees. However, as important as formal roles are there also exists another set of roles that will not be found on any organizational chart but that resides on an alternative informal social structure and can often be just as influential-- informal roles. This paper explores the interconnected nature of formal and informal roles within workgroups by identifying the informal social structure of the workgroup, how group members fit within that structure, and how this dynamic express influence and productivity within the workgroup. This is a 2-part exploratory case study that focuses on workgroups within organizations. Observations and informal interviews took place in 2 different organizations. The Constant Comparative Method was used throughout the entire process. The result is a 4-part framework in which to: 1. Systematically identify individual informal roles within the workgroup context. 2. Explore how those roles correspond to each other within the informal social structure with attention to their influence, alternative flows of information, and leadership. 3. When examined together, how those informal roles contribute or detract from formal workgroup productivity. 4. How to apply the framework. This paper introduces the concept of Supportership as an alternative to followership.
A Meta-Study and Content Analysis of Science Fiction in Computer Science Research
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2019) Jordan, Philipp; Robertson, Scott P.; Communication and Information Science
The depictions of advanced devices, innovative interactions and future technologies in science fiction are a regular topic in popular news and tech magazines. While actual studies concerning the usage of science fiction in computer science research are scarce and if any, rely mostly on anecdotal evidence and scattered oral accounts, such investigations are critical to better understand the potential utility and latent shortcomings of science fiction for computing research, innovation and education. Through a content analysis of science communication, this dissertation endeavors to shed light on the relationship between both domains. Based on a dataset of n=1647 computer science publications, retrieved in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library via a faceted, full-text search for `science fiction’, this dissertation presents a study of science communication. A random sample of n=500 records of the principal dataset is subjected to a detailed, qualitative content analysis over 10 variables, including an inter-rater agreement evaluation of n=125 publications between two raters for two interpretative variables – the type of research paper and the contextual usage of the science fiction referral. The results of the study show that science fiction, in the grand scheme of things, is a niche topic in computer science research. Within that margin, however, the results demonstrate that science fiction referrals appear primarily in opinion-type research contributions, most often for reasons of drawing inspiration and innovation into the research paper. In addition, the analysis of science fiction referrals, across paper types and contexts over time, indicates a transition and diversification from initially, informal contributions toward later on, a broader diversity of research publication types. Also, the study shows that science fiction films are more often referenced than science writings. Most recently, in publications from 2014-2017, an emphasis on a broad and diverse set of concrete, visual, science fiction – potentially indicating a shift away of scientists from written, interpretative science fiction – can be observed. The analysis of the most frequent, specific science fiction referrals reflects a narrow, mostly western-originated selection of the most popular, influential and iconic science fiction authors, writings, films, and characters of the 20th century, among those, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer, the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, including its main antagonist, HAL 9000. The results and implications of this study can guide computer scientists and educators to consciously utilize science fiction in their research and scholarship and therefore, contribute to forthcoming, innovative HCI and computer science research, application, and education. In addition, the results provide insight into the appropriation of popular culture within a technical-oriented, professional, academic science communication repository. Building upon extensive prior work, this dissertation moreover provides a methodological framework, which allows the meaningful discovery of interdisciplinary relations between computer science research and culture & art.
Examining the Influence of Wearable Health Monitors on Patients and Physicians in a Filipino Community
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2019) Loos, Joanne Romero; Davidson, Elizabeth; Communication and Information Science
Considerable growth in the use of wearable health monitors, paired with calls for more patient engagement, lead one to question how the increased adoption of wearables can be leveraged to improve health outcomes overall. Individuals of Filipino descent are at an increased risk for chronic conditions. This suggests that this population in particular could benefit from interventions aimed at increasing physical activity (PA) and improving health overall. Some studies have investigated wearables’ effectiveness at increasing an individual’s PA, while others have looked at patient participation in medical visits as mechanisms through which patients engage in healthier behaviors. As more individuals adopt wearables, the health data generated by these devices could become integrated in physician-patient communication in ways that might improve health outcomes. Further, the impact of these devices on psychological aspects related to health, such as self-efficacy, may have indirect effects that extend to communication in office visits. However, we do not yet know enough about how individual patients, particularly those of Filipino descent, will adopt these devices and whether or how their experiences with wearables will enhance, or potentially detract, from communication between physicians and patients during healthcare encounters. Drawing on studies about physician-patient communication, health behavior change, information technologies, and public health, this study sought to investigate: (i) how the use of a wearable affected self-efficacy, and (ii) how the use of a wearable affected physician-patient communication in a rural, predominantly Filipino community. This research employed a quasi-experimental field study with patient participants who were given Fitbit Flex devices and attended medical visits with their physicians. Patients were recruited from the private practices of a family doctor and an internal medicine physician in a rural, predominantly Filipino community in Oahu, Hawaii. The study incorporated multiple measurements and gathered data from questionnaires, recorded medical appointments, exported data from the wearable devices, phone interviews, and encounter notes. Results indicate that wearables show promise at enhancing physician-patient communication, but in unexpected ways. This study did not find significant relationships between wearable use and self-efficacy and/or patient participation in medical visits. However it found that, if incorporated into the conversation, wearables may help to improve physician-patient communication in medical encounters through other avenues, such as extending the conversation into lifestyle choices and providing a source of proof for patients to exhibit that they are following their doctors’ orders. This study highlights challenges that patients in this population might face when it comes to adopting a wearable and suggests potential avenues of exploring those challenges further. Digital divide issues are present and extend beyond access to resources and into usage of digital resources. This may counter adoption and restrict efficacy-enhancing mechanisms of devices in populations such as the predominantly Filipino population studied here. This research proposes an extended research model that may help to inform future studies of this nature.

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