Engaged Journalism and News Work: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Organizational Dynamics and Professional Challenges

ABSTRACT

Building upon the sociotechnical perspective presented by Lewis and Westlund (2015, “Actors, Actants, Audiences, and Activities in Cross-media News Work: A Matrix and a Research Agenda.” Digital Journalism 3 (1): 19–37. doi:10.1080/21670811.2014.927986), this study examines organizational dynamics, technological affordances and professional challenges of engaged journalism practices by analyzing how Hearken, one of the most celebrated audience engagement companies, and its tools and services are being implemented in 15 U.S. news organizations. This framework identifies Hearken and organizations like it as important “external actors” providing technological “actants” that are shaping how newsrooms report the news by providing ways for audiences to be brought into producing the news, particularly during the earlier phases of the reporting process. Based on in-depth interviews, we find that nearly every news organization in our sample reports some measure of success by using Hearken for involving audience members throughout the production of news. At the same time, we also identify how this implementation is significantly shaped by organizational imperatives and the models particular organizations create for producing audience-centric news work. Ultimately, this study presents a partial update to the decades-long literature on participatory journalism by suggesting that engaged journalism practices actually create opportunities for meaningful audience involvement.     

How do types of interaction and phases of self-regulated learning set a stage for collaborative engagement?

This study investigates how self-regulated learning phases are related to collaborative engagement in two different collaborative task conditions. It integrates SRL theory and the concept of engagement, including interaction in collaboration, as key characteristics of engagement. Forty-four second-year teacher education students worked in groups during a 7-week math didactic course. We collected 84 h of video recordings and coded the group's cognitive and socioemotional interaction and three phases of self-regulation within interaction, including forethought, performance and reflection. After that we analyzed the relationship between the interaction types representing collaborative engagement and SRL phases within two learning tasks. The results show that collaborative engagement did not differ between teacher-led and student-led tasks in terms of the interaction types. However, the results showed that the SRL phases occurred differently within cognitive and socioemotional interaction types when the two task conditions were compared. Findings concerning teacher-led tasks showed invariance in the occurrence of SRL phases across the task and highlighted the relationship between socioemotional interaction and the forethought phase. Additionally, findings concerning the student-led tasks showed systematic changes in the distribution of phases of SRL across sessions in all interaction types. Our results' theoretical and methodological implications for collaborative engagement research are discussed.     

Enhancing student motivation and engagement: The effects of a multidimensional intervention

The present study sought to investigate the effects of a multidimensional educational intervention on high school students’ motivation and engagement. The intervention incorporated: (a) multidimensional targets of motivation and engagement, (b) empirically derived intervention methodology, (c) research-based risk and protective factors, (d) established practices that nurture optimal youth development, (e) use of interpersonally skilled staff, and (f) evidence-based programming. Using a pre-/post-treatment/control group design, it was found that the self-complete intervention brought about significant shifts in motivation and engagement. Specifically, findings showed that the treatment group made positive motivation shifts on key dimensions including task management, persistence, anxiety, failure avoidance, and uncertain control. Moreover, against a large weighted external comparison group, the treatment group made positive shifts on valuing, mastery orientation, planning, task management, persistence, failure avoidance, uncertain control, and self-handicapping. Taken together, these findings attest to the potential for multidimensional educational interventions for enhancing students’ motivation and engagement.     

Intertribal dance and cross cultural communication: Traditional powwows in Ohio

Greater fear arousal is associated with greater engagement with persuasive messages, and negative information and events are more potent than their positive counterparts. Hence loss-framed persuasive appeals, which emphasize the undesirable outcomes of noncompliance with the communicator's recommendations, should elicit greater message processing than do gain-framed appeals, which emphasize the desirable outcomes of compliance. But a meta-analytic review (based on 42 effect sizes, N = 6,378) finds that gain-framed messages engender slightly but significantly greater message engagement than do loss-framed messages. This effect is apparently not a result of whether the appeals refer to obtaining or averting negative (e.g., “skin cancer”) rather than positive (e.g., “attractive skin”) outcomes.     

Rapid Feedback Assessment Methods: Can We Improve Engagement and Preparation for Exams in Large-enrollment Courses?

Scratch-off immediate feedback assessment technique (IF-AT) forms and classroom response systems (clickers) can increase student engagement and interaction and help students prepare for exams by indicating the type and level of questions they will encounter. We used the IF-AT throughout the semester in three sections of a lower-division biology class; in two, students worked on IF-AT questions in small permanent groups, and in one, students alternated between IF-AT and clickers each week. At the end of the semester, students answered surveys about instant feedback techniques. Students appreciated prompt feedback on their understanding of course material, enjoyed the group interaction and opportunities to learn from each other, and continued to have positive perceptions of instant feedback activities and to take them seriously throughout the semester. While appreciating the versatility of clicker questions, we find that the ease of use, low cost, effectiveness, and improved classroom climate of the IF-AT method are particularly commendable.     

The influence of cultural blogs on their readers’ cultural product choices

While some conceptual studies have highlighted the impact that Web 2.0 technology and social media have on cultural industries, empirical evidence is still missing. Specifically, no study has considered the role of cultural bloggers, who mediate the information flows from cultural organizations to consumers. To fill this gap, this paper suggests and tests a model that explains blog readers’ intentions to consume cultural products suggested by the blog. The findings from a sample of 215 cultural blog readers show that the impact of the blog on reader intention to consume the products suggested by the blog is strongly influenced by reader engagement with the blog. In addition, the results highlight the effects of content quality, enjoyment, and homophily. The implications of these findings for bloggers and for organizations communicating through bloggers are discussed in detail.     

Lernen in informellen Kontexten

Zusammenfassung In der aktuellen Diskussion um Bildung und Lernen wird jetzt auch in Deutschland dem „Informellen Lernen“ verst?rkte Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet. Die Autoren halten diesen Begriff allerdings für unscharf und sprechen daher von „Lernen in informellen Kontexten“. Der Beitrag bezieht sich auf erste Ergebnisse eines empirischen Forschungsprojekts der Universit?t Dortmund und des Deutschen Jugendinstituts zu informellen Lernprozessen Jugendlicher in Settings des freiwilligen Engagements. Nach einer kurzen Darstellung des Forschungsdesigns werden, basierend auf einer ersten Analyse der in der Explorationsphase des Projektes geführten Interviews, die besonderen Strukturbedingungen der untersuchten Settings (Jugendverb?nde, Initiativen und Organisationen der politischen Interessenvertretung) sowie die Lernchancen in diesen Kontexten beschrieben. Im abschlie?enden Teil des Beitrags werden erste Ergebnisse zu den Wirkungen und Ergebnissen des Lernens durch Verantwortungsübernahme im freiwilligen Engagement vorgestellt. Bereits in der Explorationsphase konnten eine Reihe unterschiedlichster, im Engagement entwickelter Kompetenzen identifiziert werden. Neben der M?glichkeit personale, soziale, fachliche und organisatorische Kompetenzen zu erwerben oder zu erweitern, scheint eine freiwillige Verantwortungsübernahme vielf?ltige Chancen der Pers?nlichkeitsentwicklung, der biografischen Orientierung, der Sinnstiftung sowie der Teilhabe an der Erwachsenenwelt zu er?ffnen.      

Evaluating Academic Challenge Beyond the NSSE

The authors investigated student and faculty perceptions of academic challenge at their institution, based on early administrations of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). This analysis revealed that the NSSE did not fully capture many meanings of academic challenge held by these faculty and students. This study led to a proposal for the development of an internal assessment approach using a modification of the NSSE and other scale items on academic challenge and student engagement. The authors discuss several implications of this study for academic scholarship and for institutional policy concerning the assessment of academic challenge.All authors except Jim Purcell are at Georgia College and State University. Stephen L. Payne received his Ph.D. in Management from Arizona State University. He is an Associate Professor of Management and has broad research interests in areas related to ethics and education. Karynne L. M. Kleine is an Associate Professor of Middle Grades Education and has an Ed.D. from the University of Maine in science studies. Her interests are intellectual development for teacher preparation and the history and philosophy of science education. Jim Purcell received his Ed.D. from the University of Alabama, is currently the Executive Director of State System Research for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, and concentrates on issues of student retention and graduation. Ginger Rudesal Carter is an Associate Professor of Mass Communication with a Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi. Her interests include research on oral history, the media, and issues relating to the student press.     

Engaging foster parents in treatment: A randomized trial of supplementing Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with evidence-based engagement strategies

The goal of this study was to examine the impact of supplementing Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT; Cohen et al., 2006) with evidence-based engagement strategies on foster parent and foster youth engagement in treatment, given challenges engaging foster parents in treatment. A randomized controlled trial of TF-CBT standard delivery compared to TF-CBT plus evidence-based engagement strategies was conducted with 47 children and adolescents in foster care and one of their foster parents. Attendance, engagement, and clinical outcomes were assessed 1 month into treatment, end of treatment, and 3 months post-treatment. Youth and foster parents who received TF-CBT plus evidence-based engagement strategies were more likely to be retained in treatment through four sessions and were less likely to drop out of treatment prematurely. The engagement strategies did not appear to have an effect on the number of canceled or no-show sessions or on treatment satisfaction. Clinical outcomes did not differ by study condition, but exploratory analyses suggest that youth had significant improvements with treatment. Strategies that specifically target engagement may hold promise for increasing access to evidence-based treatments and for increasing likelihood of treatment completion.     

The work avoidance goal construct: Examining its structure,antecedents, and consequences

Work avoidance goals have been relatively neglected in the literature with most research focusing on mastery and performance goals. The central aim of this study was to examine the structure, antecedents, and consequences of the work avoidance goal construct. Four studies were conducted. Study 1 investigated the construct validity of work avoidance, while Study 2 focused on its antecedents. Using a longitudinal panel design, Study 3 examined the impact of work avoidance—alongside mastery and performance goals—on engagement and achievement, while Study 4 explored its relationship to broader well-being outcomes. Results showed that work avoidance was distinct from mastery and performance goals. Entity theory of intelligence positively predicted work avoidance goal pursuit, while teacher and peer support buffered against it. Pursuing work avoidance goals was found to be associated with less engagement, lower grades, and greater negative affect. The impact of work avoidance on achievement and well-being outcomes seem to be more salient compared to the oft-examined mastery and performance goals. Implications are discussed.