Background: Adolescents are among those at most risk for acquiring sexually transmitted infections. Despite numerous strategies to increase STI knowledge, teens are not being reached as well by traditional preventative efforts. Texting is the preferred method of communication for adolescents who send and receive over 3417 text messages per month. Purpose: To examine the experiences of text messaging among urban adolescents and to explore their views on the potential for text messaging within adolescent sexual health services. Methods: Four focus groups were conducted with 21 adolescents in two community agencies in an urban setting. Results: Four themes emerged from the data: 1) connection to others and to self; 2) exerting control; 3) adolescents are generally receptive to texting in sexual health; 4) need to feel safe. Conclusions: Findings suggest ways in which health care organizations can adopt text messaging services and interventions to better serve adolescents’ needs.

Background: Adolescents are among those at most risk for acquiring sexually transmitted infections. Despite numerous strategies to increase STI knowledge, teens are not being reached as well by traditional preventative efforts. Texting is the preferred method of communication for adolescents who send and receive over 3417 text messages per month. Purpose: To examine the experiences of text messaging among urban adolescents and to explore their views on the potential for text messaging within adolescent sexual health services. Methods: Four focus groups were conducted with 21 adolescents in two community agencies in an urban setting. Results: Four themes emerged from the data: 1) connection to others and to self; 2) exerting control; 3) adolescents are generally receptive to texting in sexual health; 4) need to feel safe. Conclusions: Findings suggest ways in which health care organizations can adopt text messaging services and interventions to better serve adolescents’ needs.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 50 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-40).

Zugl.: Bamberg, University, Diss., 2009. / Zsfassung in dt. und engl. Sprache.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc

Individuals rely on digital messaging to form and maintain intimate relationships, trusting that the mediums through which they communicate are protective of their privacy. The screenshot feature revokes attempts to establish such trust. This tool allows individuals to capture and store pieces of a private conversation as a separate file on their device, rendering them usable and shareable with third parties. While the screenshot feature serves utilitarian purposes, this dissertation focuses on its ability to breach privacy expectations, termed within communication privacy management theory (CPM) as privacy turbulence. This dissertation extends the scope of CPM beyond its interpersonal bounds, recognizing the power of platforms to create rules that users follow when making decisions about others' information. Experimental results suggest that blurring received messages upon use of the screenshot feature (i.e., obscurity) and creating an explicit confidentiality expectation (i.e., explicit privacy rule) significantly reduce screenshot collection and sharing, respectively. Additionally, reflections from participants reveal that many individuals are willing to compromise others’ privacy on digital messaging platforms while simultaneously expecting protection of their own. Qualitative analysis of relevant case law and complaints/opinions from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reveal inconsistencies both within law and policy and as compared to empirical evidence. Judges have provided overly broad definitions of “authorization” and lofty thresholds to sustain individual harm, making statutory regulation of screenshot collection and sharing unlikely. However, guidance from the FTC demonstrates a more nuanced regulatory approach to privacy that recognizes the influence of platform design. Results from this study suggest that design-based strategies—both ex-ante and ex-post—would be a promising first step toward adjusting the norms around screenshot collection and sharing of digital messages. Together, the results of this dissertation will inform policymakers and platform designers of the privacy harm enabled by the screenshot feature, providing tangible recommendations to create messaging platforms that are truly private. / 2026-03-08T00:00:00Z

<p>This thesis explored how hearing and deaf users are brought together into one communication space where interaction between them is a semi-synchronous form of message exchange. The focus of this thesis was the means by which message delivery between two e</p>

The modern workplace environment is filled with interruptions due to the necessity of coworkers to communicate with each other. Studies have revealed that interruptions can disrupt the ability of a knowledge worker to concentrate on a task, which can impact task performance (TP). Communication interruptions are due, in part, to the unavoidable side-effect of using technology to facilitate these interactions. Human-computer-interaction (HCI) involving instant messaging (IM) communication tools can cause interruptions to occur as coworkers use this technology to communicate on various work related activities. The main goal of this research was to empirically investigate the role of instant messaging interruptions (IMI) on knowledge workers' TP in the workplace. This research used a field experiment to investigate the role of IMI on knowledge worker TP during e-learning-based training. With the pervasive use of computers in the workplace, e-learning training has become an efficient and effective way to deliver training to knowledge workers. The experiment utilized a posttest-only control group design using two experimental groups and one control group. Each group consisted of four e-learning training tasks of varying task complexity (TC). These included simple and complex tasks involving symbolic and spatial manipulation. While working on the e-learning training tasks, the participants in the experimental groups were interrupted by randomly generated IMI. One experimental group experienced a low number of IMI (LIMI) and one experienced a high number of IMI (HIMI). The control group experienced no IMI (NIMI). The volunteer participants were selected at-random from the online administrative department of a local technical college. A total of 60 experiments were conducted and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) of the 120 usable records revealed that the time to complete a task (TPtct), for simple and complex, as well as symbolic and spatial tasks were affected by increased IMI. Results for changes to task accuracy (TPacc) were not statistically significant. Implications of this study for research were the identification of gaps in previous research concerning environment of the experiments and the type of interrupting medium that was used. Previous research has been primarily conducted in a laboratory environment with interruptions generated by means other than IM. This research used IM as the interrupting medium with participants working in their normal workplace environment. Implications for practitioners were the additional time required to complete a task when interrupted by IMI and the way in which workers seem to compensate for the distraction.

This study is designed as the building of a foundation in standardizing best practices when designing Direct-to-Consumer messaging. With this being a new and expanding field of marketing and advertising for the high visibility pharmaceutical industry, an establishment of conceptual templature, around which Direct-to-Consumer messaging campaign can be built, offers an opportunity to build a new and vibrant branch on the well-established messaging field. This is particularly important when recognizing the unique needs and requirements of both the pharmaceutical industry and its audience in learning of and about new products. This study attempted to identify current perception of Direct-to-Consumer practices by industry laypersons with in-depth interviews conducted through a phenomenological framework. Participants were interviewed on a range of relevant areas, including directly regarding their perception as well as a broader collection of their thoughts and impressions. The results of this study show clear areas of interest, identifying various tactics and strategies employed within Direct-to-Consumer messaging and pointing to areas of potential perception cultivation by those crafting the message. The study also uncovered the presence of the Third-Person Effect playing a key role in determining the response of participants on perception, and potentially opening the door for integrated methods that have been developed with Third-Person Effect in mind when building messages. This study offers a significant first-step of study into the phenomenon of Direct-to-Consumer advertising, as well as a foundation upon which future, larger scale, and more generalizable research can be done.

<p>Vi ville med denna uppsats undersöka om instant messaging matchar de kommunikationsbehov som IT-anställda har. För att ta reda på detta använde vi oss av ett kvalitativt angreppssätt i form av intervjuer. Dessa intervjuer skapade även ytterligare kunskap vilken vi benämnt barriärer. En lista på IM-funktioner hämtades från Wikipedia och reviderades senare av oss. Kommunikationsbehoven identifierades under analysen av intervjuerna. Matchningen genererade en tabell som kan användas som karta över vilka IM-funktioner som tillgodoser några vanliga kommunikationsbehov som finns på datortäta arbetsplatser. Barriärerna är till för att visa vad som försvårar tillgodoseendet av behoven. Vidare erhöll vi även kunskap om att de av oss identifierade kommunikationsbehov som i dagsläget inte tillgodoses av IM inte heller behöver göra det. Vi kom också fram till att IM skulle kunna utvecklas till att vara en brygga mellan annan kommunicerande programvara och kollegor.</p>