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Augmented reality (AR) ads in entertainment programming are fairly new and not extensively studied. Given the lack of precedence, this exploratory study applies the Limited-Capacity Model and Schema Congruity Theory (SCT) to examine their advertising effects. We used a 2 (type of product placement: title sponsorship placement vs. background placement) × 2 (congruence with the characteristics of the programme: congruent vs. incongruent) × 2 (cross-screen advertising: 3D dynamic advertisement vs. 2D advertisement) × 2 (culture: United States vs. Taiwan) between-subjects experiment design. Our results show incongruent brand recall is greater than congruent recall for American viewers and Taiwanese viewers have better attitudes towards AR dynamic advertisement presentations of title sponsorships that are congruent with the programme. Global AR advertising campaigns can benefit from cultural differences. We propose three specific recommendations to advertisers seeking to apply AR in product placements: (a) For American viewers, incongruous product placements should be able to facilitate positive advertisement attitudes, (b) In TV shows, 2D advertisements can improve advertisement attitudes in some cases, and (c) For Taiwanese audiences, congruent title sponsorships or incongruent background placements can produce better advertisement attitudes.

PurposeThis study aims to examine entertainment TV shows' social media accounts to theoretically and practically explore the relationship between social media engagement and the performance (represented by ratings) of such shows.Design/methodology/approachBy using the data of a popular TV show in the USA, The Voice, the present study examined the messages on the Facebook fan page of the show and how these messages correlated with the ratings of the show. Social media usage data in the course of three seasons (Seasons 10–12, 82 episodes in total) were collected from Facebook (N = 1,192,722 messages). Both regression and sentiment analysis were performed.FindingsOverall, the findings revealed positive relationships of TV show ratings with both passive social media engagement (Facebook likes) and the number of official posts. However, active social media engagement was not positively related to show ratings.Originality/valueBy enhancing understanding of audience engagement with social media, our research extends knowledge related to the nature and development of viewer involvement with entertainment across different media platforms. Our results also help clarify how interpersonal communication (social media comments) and mass communication (TV programs) intersect. Practically, the findings could be applied to improve the interaction of TV audiences with show content, provide insights into the future of social TV development and inform decision-making amongst TV industry professionals.

The purpose of this study is to examine the process from technology exploration to acceptance for older adults. A senior technology exploration, learning, and acceptance (STELA) model is pr...

Drawing on the self-concept activation and goal-priming account of the priming effect, this study examined how self-concept—i.e., ideal self, ought self, and actual self—can be harnessed as a model for avatar customization in digital games to promote healthy-eating behavior. Female participants (N = 133) customized an avatar in a digital game to reflect either the ideal, ought, or actual self. Participants then selected food items for their avatar within the digital game as well as food items for themselves to eat afterward. Results suggest that for participants using an ought-self avatar, the extent to which they were conscious of their health was positively related to healthier food choice both within and after playing the game. No such effect emerged for participants who used an ideal- or actual-self avatar, indicating that participants formed the goal of being healthy only with regard to the ought self. This study demonstrates that avatar customization in a digital game can serve a regulatory function...

As Internet usage has proliferated in recent years so have online security threats. Internet users are increasingly susceptible to online security threats. Using a qualitative approach, this study conducted 18 focus groups to examine how three different generations perceive online safety, use coping strategies, and protect themselves online: Silent and GI generation (SGI) (born 1945 or earlier), older Baby Boomers (1946–1954), and Millennials (1977–1992). Results show that although each generation shares a variety of online safety concerns, SGIs and Boomers are more suspicious about online security, have less confidence in their abilities, are uncertain about the effectiveness of protection resources, perform fewer protection behaviors, and are more likely to rely on others’ assistance compared to the Millennial group. Our findings indicate online safety training is needed for all three generations, but especially for older adults. Tailored approaches are suggested to reach different generations.

Using information and communication technologies (ICTs) can improve older adults' quality of life. ICT use is associated with decreased feelings of loneliness and depression, along with increased feelings of independence and personal growth. However, limited access and low technological self-efficacy are key reasons why some groups, especially older adults, are excluded from being fully engaged in the digital world. In this study, we focus on older adults' technological self-efficacy, which is related to their actual use of technology and the second level digital divide. Specifically, we examine: 1) how older adults decide to use a new technology, tablet computers; 2) how they conquer the barrier of technological self-efficacy through using tablets; and 3) the impacts of using this new technology in their lives. Twenty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with older adults residing in independent living communities in a medium-sized city in the Deep South region of the United States. Observational and enactive learning played important roles for older adults in using tablets. Seeing others use tablets, getting recommendations from family members, or having tablets given to them were the primary reasons they started to use tablet computers. The ease of use feature of tablets helped solve the problem of lacking technological self-efficacy. Using tablets helped increase a sense of connectedness. Tablet computers may be one way to increase digital inclusion among older adults.

The main purpose of this study is to examine how older adults learn to use tablet computers. Learning to use new technologies (especially information and communication technologies, such as computers, tablets, and mobile phones) can help older adults to be included in this digital society. However, learning to use new technologies is not always easy, especially for older adults. This study focuses on how older adults learn to use a specific type of ICT and the role that social support plays in this process Data for this project are from 21 in-depth interviews with individuals who report owning tablet computers. We examine how older adults engage with new technologies and build up their digital literacy. The findings suggest that, for older adults to learn to use tablets, social support plays an important role. A key way that many participants report gaining expertise with the technology is through ‘playing around’ with the tablets. This is in line with social cognitive theory. Suggestions for how to help older adults learn to use new technologies are detailed.

With the rapid diffusion of mobile and fixed access platforms, access to broadband services has become widely available in high and medium-income countries. While overcoming gaps in broadband access remains an important and pressing policy issue, the realization of the benefits of advanced information and communication services is increasingly dependent on the quality of the available connectivity. In spite of this increasing importance of quality attributes, such as download and upload speeds, most theoretical and empirical studies of broadband availability have thus far focused on adoption. Only a handful of recent papers have sought to address the factors influencing broadband infrastructure quality. This paper examines the factors that influence the quality of fixed and mobile broadband access. Drawing on institutional economics, the study provides an integrated conceptual framework that allows analyzing the interaction of supply, demand, policy, and contextual factors. This approach allows differentiated insights into the effects of policy choices and their interactions with other factors. Policy instruments that are examined in detail include forms of unbundling and open access, the creation of competitive conditions, and the importance of public-private partnerships. For wireless broadband, we also control for aspects of spectrum policy and management. As is known from policy research, it is often a specific combination of policy choices that affects outcomes rather than any single measure. Prior empirical research suggests that the implementation of a consistent combination of policy choices matters greatly. To address this unique interaction of policy arrangements with outcomes, we pursue a dual approach using empirical methods that allow complementary insights. The application of panel methods allows the examination of sufficient conditions and of effect sizes of drivers of broadband quality. A second method, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), pioneered by sociologists and political scientists, allows the systematic exploration of interdependencies among these drivers. This quantitative method is better suited than traditional econometric models to explore the interactions between policy choices and the quality of broadband access. QCA allows a systematic examination of the necessary and/or sufficient conditions that influence broadband quality. Because the method is based in principles of set theory, it allows a flexible analysis of not only single policy instruments but also of their interaction with other policy and external conditions. We explore the drivers of both fixed and mobile broadband quality and potential interdependencies between the developments of them. Using Ookla and Akamai data of download speeds that are actually realized over the network infrastructure for a cross-national sample of OECD and medium-income countries, we focus on the role of public policy decisions as a determinant of quality and quality upgrades of access networks. We find that the most important factor with a positive effect on quality and quality improvements is competition. We also find evidence that regulatory interventions such as unbundling or open access provision do have a positive contribution in markets with limited competition. However, the findings also provide evidence that the best policy approach is dependent on the specific context of a country so that no single best practice model emerges from the observations. This paper builds on and significantly expands earlier work, some of which was presented at conferences before (but has not yet been published). A first model of the determinants of fixed broadband quality was presented at the European Regional Conference of the International Telecommunications Society in Florence (October 2013) and a preliminary discussion of QCA with a more limited sample, also focusing on fixed broadband, will be presented at the CPR LATAM conference in Bogota (May 2014). Compared to these earlier versions, the present paper expands the number of countries and adds mobile broadband as well as the interdependencies between fixed and mobile to the analysis.The paper contains methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions. Theoretically, it provides a more comprehensive analysis of the factors that shape broadband speeds. Methodologically, it applies a dual empirical approach to communications policy issues. Because that approach allows exploring the levers available to policy-makers more fully than econometric analyses alone, the paper also contains directly applicable practical lessons for policy-makers.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was used to increase broadband adoption and utilization across the United States as part of the economic recovery after the 2008 recession. Part of this act implemented a program called the Broadband Telecommunication Opportunities Program (BTOP), which focused on expanding effective broadband utilization in underserved communities through the development of library-based public computing centers and other educational outreach. This paper reports the results of two waves of surveys of 400 participants each, spanning 18 months, which were conducted in urban communities in Michigan served by libraries participating in a $6M BTOP grant project to upgrade their public Internet resources. The surveys tracked perceptions of broadband services and their utilization in public libraries, residences, and other community locations. One of the major questions going into this project was whether or not urban poor residents were adopting and utilizing broadband through either a private connection or a public connection. If the former, then results would indicate a similar trend among urban poor as seen in the rest of the world. That is, home adoption of fixed landline broadband connections will be lower in our sample than in more wealthy areas, but mobile adoption of broadband devices and services would be increasing. The second question, with libraries across the U.S. losing funding and reducing hours, would be whether the implementation of programs and new computing centers from the ARRA BTOP increase broadband adoption and utilization leading to economic recovery in these urban poor communities?Over three-fifths of those surveyed as the project drew to a close were aware of the public computing center initiative at their local library, although only about one tenth were active participants. Among those using library computers at the time of the final survey, about a fourth indicated that they had noticed an improvement in library computing facilities. The above findings suggest that, while library access, public computing centers, and broadband awareness increases adoption of broadband at the home and mobile level. Thus, in order to increase broadband use among urban poor, other considerations may need to be adopted in addition to increased outreach and awareness projects about library broadband use.