Selbstoffenbarung im Social Web

The social web is based on active participation of users generating their own content and disclosing private information online. From the users?? perspective, however, the availability of private information on the web is risky and considerably compromises their privacy. The discussion of this issue is affected by the assumption that social web users do in fact disclose a great deal of personal information. So far, however, there is no representative data on this for the social web at large. For the first time, this paper introduces an internet-representative survey on self-disclosure in the social web. As findings show, the social web actually does encourage the provision of personal information. A number of factors influencing self-disclosure are investigated, analyzing the so-called ??privacy paradox??, the contradiction between attitudes towards privacy and actual behavior, which is shown in this paper as also existing on a behavioral level (??privacy behavior paradox??). Other factors influencing self-disclosure behavior were investigated: education, internet experience, extent of social web use, as well as gender and age. Results indicate that notably young users, who focus on particular social web applications, tend to reveal many personal details. Besides, a slight correlation of self-disclosure with education and internet experience could be detected.     

Die heimlichen Entscheider

Facing the spread and importance of information technology, the lack of empirical studies of IT journalists must be considered a research gap. The small group of IT journalists includes important gatekeepers in the IT market, who play a major part in determining the success and failure of IT products. To examine the powerful position derived from this role is the central aim of this study: How do IT journalists in Germany perceive their influence on buyers and users of IT products? How do they perceive their influence on the IT industry? Based on an online survey of 102 IT journalists in Germany, the study measures subjective perceptions of effects on the general audience and the industry. The findings indicate that IT journalists view themselves as influencing consumer decisions of the general audience as well as corporations’ decisions in product development. However, these perceptions of effects are not related to (1) the audience size of the IT medium, or to journalists’ images of (2) the audience and (3) the IT industry. The perception of their own influence seem to be commonplace among IT journalists, independent of the power of media outlets and particular professional perceptions. The accuracy of journalists’ perceptions of effects and their normative implications are discussed.     

Themenzyklus der Kriegsberichterstattung – ein Phasenmodell

In this article, we analyse war coverage from a longitudinal perspective. In doing so, we refer to the classical issue cycle model, which has been discussed frequently in communication science. We adapt the model to war coverage and – according to the duration and the predictability of war events – we distinguish different types of news cycles. We assume that different stages of news coverage differ not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively with regard to the cited sources. The coverage on the war in Lebanon (2006) in the newspapers Süddeutsche Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung serves as a case study for the empirical exploration of the suggested model. The coverage can be divided into four different phases, and the results show that it was mainly event-driven. In the peak phase of coverage, increased citations of actors participating in the conflict and of other media actors are observed, as well as generally the most diverse range of voices to be heard in the coverage.     

MRSA im Pflegeheim

Das müssen Sie im Umgang mit dem Problemkeim beachten - Der Anteil an multi resistenten Keimen in Krankenh?usern und Pflege einrichtungen ist in den letzten Jahren stark angestiegen: Bereits jeder fünfte Staphylococcus-aureus-Stamm gilt als methicillin resistent. Was muss im Umgang mit MRSA-Tr?gern und -Infizierten beachtet werden und wie wird eine effektive Sanierung durchgeführt?