Showing papers on "Credibility published in 2007"

I'll See You On “Facebook”: The Effects of Computer-Mediated Teacher Self-Disclosure on Student Motivation, Affective Learning, and Classroom Climate

Abstract: This experimental study examined the effects of teacher self-disclosure via Facebook on anticipated college student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate. Participants who accessed the Facebook website of a teacher high in self-disclosure anticipated higher levels of motivation and affective learning and a more positive classroom climate. In their responses to open-ended items, participants emphasized possible negative associations between teacher use of Facebook and teacher credibility. Participants offered recommendations for teachers regarding the use of Facebook and other weblog services.

Assurance on Sustainability Reports: An International Comparison

Abstract: Globally, companies increasingly publish separate general purpose, non-financial (sustainability) reports. Some of these are independently assured and assurers may or may not be from the auditing profession. We seek to understand this emerging voluntary assurance market. Using a sample of 2,113 companies (from 31 countries) that produced sustainability reports between 2002-2004, we use sequential logit analysis to identify the factors associated with the decision to voluntarily purchase assurance and the choice of assurance provider. We hypothesize that a company's need to enhance credibility through assurance and choice of assurance provider will be a function of company, industry and country-related factors. Our results support the argument that companies seeking to enhance the credibility of their reports and build their corporate reputation are more likely to have their sustainability reports assured, although it does not matter whether the assurance provider comes from the auditing profession. We also find that companies operating in stakeholder orientated countries are more likely to choose the auditing profession as an assurer.

Making sense of credibility on the Web: Models for evaluating online information and recommendations for future research

Abstract: This article summarizes much of what is known from the communication and information literacy fields about the skills that Internet users need to assess the credibility of online information. The article reviews current recommendations for credibility assessment, empirical research on how users determine the credibility of Internet information, and describes several cognitive models of online information evaluation. Based on the literature review and critique of existing models of credibility assessment, recommendations for future online credibility education and practice are provided to assist users in locating reliable information online. The article concludes by offering ideas for research and theory development on this topic in an effort to advance knowledge in the area of credibility assessment of Internet-based information. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The role of site features, user attributes, and information verification behaviors on the perceived credibility of web-based information

Abstract: Data from 574 participants were used to assess perceptions of message, site, and sponsor credibility across four genres of websites; to explore the extent and effects of verifying web-based information; and to measure the relative influence of sponsor familiarity and site attributes on perceived credibility.The results show that perceptions of credibility differed, such that news organization websites were rated highest and personal websites lowest, in terms of message, sponsor, and overall site credibility, with e-commerce and special interest sites rated between these, for the most part.The results also indicated that credibility assessments appear to be primarily due to website attributes (e.g. design features, depth of content, site complexity) rather than to familiarity with website sponsors. Finally, there was a negative relationship between self-reported and observed information verification behavior and a positive relationship between self-reported verification and internet/web experience.The find...

Linking vulnerability, adaptation, and resilience science to practice: Pathways, players, and partnerships

Abstract: Vulnerability, adaptation and resilience are concepts that are finding increasing currency in several fields of research as well as in various policy and practitioner communities engaged in global environmental change science, climate change, sustainability science, disaster risk-reduction and famine interventions. As scientists and practitioners increasingly work together in this arena a number of questions are emerging: What is credible, salient and legitimate knowledge, how is this knowledge generated and how is it used in decision making? Drawing on important science in this field, and including a case study from southern Africa, we suggest an alternative mode of interaction to the usual one-way interaction between science and practice often used. In this alternative approach, different experts, risk-bearers, and local communities are involved and knowledge and practice is contested, co-produced and reflected upon. Despite some successes in the use and negotiation of such knowledge for ‘real’ world issues, a number of problems persist that require further investigation including the difficulties of developing consensus on the methodologies used by a range of stakeholders usually across a wide region (as the case study of southern Africa shows, particularly in determining and identifying vulnerable groups, sectors, and systems); slow delivery of products that could enhance resilience to change that reflects not only a lack of data, and need for scientific credibility, but also the time-consuming process of coming to a negotiated understanding in science–practice interactions and, finally, the need to clarify the role of ‘external’ agencies, stakeholders, and scientists at the outset of the dialogue process and subsequent interactions. Such factors, we argue, all hinder the use of vulnerability and resilience ‘knowledge’ that is being generated and will require much more detailed investigation by both producers and users of such knowledge. r 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Unlocking the Value of RFID

Abstract: RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) technology has shown itself to be a promising technology to track movements of goods in a supply chain. As such, it can give unprecedented visibility to the supply chain. Such visibility can save labor cost, improve supply chain coordination, reduce inventory and increase product availability. Industry reports and white papers are now filled with estimates and proclamations of the benefits and quantified values of RFID. Early adopters are now rallying more and more followers. However, most such claims are educated guesses at best and are not substantiated, that is, they are not based on detailed, model-based analysis. This paper argues that there is a huge credibility gap of the value of RFID, and that a void exists in showing how the proclaimed values are arrived at, and how those values can be realized. The paper shows that this credibility gap must be filled with solid model analysis, and therefore presents a great opportunity for the Production and Operations Management (POM) research community. The paper reviews some of the ongoing research efforts that attempt to close the credibility gap, and suggests additional directions for further strengthening the POM's contribution to help industry realize the full potentials of RFID.

Age of propaganda: The everyday use and abuse of persuasion.

Abstract: The psychology of everyday persuasion pre-persuasion - setting the stage for effective influence communicator credibility - real and manufactured the message and how it is delivered emotional appeals - touch the heart, persuade the mind when information fails - the challenge of propaganda to society counteracting the tactics of propaganda.

How the World Achieved Consensus on Monetary Policy

Abstract: This article tells how the world achieved a working consensus on the core principles of monetary policy. The story begins with the muddled state of affairs in the late 1970s. It then asks: How did Federal Reserve policy produce an understanding of the practical principles of monetary policy? How did formal institutional support abroad for targeting low inflation follow from an international acceptance of these ideas? And how did a consensus theoretical model develop in academia? The article tells how the modern theoretical consensus known as the New Neoclassical Synthesis (aka, the New Keynesian model) reinforces key advances: the priority for price stability, the targeting of core rather than headline inflation, the importance of credibility for low inflation, and preemptive interest rate policy supported by transparent objectives and procedures. The conclusion identifies important practical issues that remain to be explored in theory.

Knowledge transfer within information systems development teams: Examining the role of knowledge source attributes

Abstract: Knowledge transfer is considered to be an important topic for both researchers and practitioners. However, very little research has been pursued to understand the factors affecting knowledge transfer within teams, an important social unit within organizations. This study attempts to fill this void by examining factors that affect knowledge transfer within information systems development (ISD) teams. Taking a ''connectionistic'' epistemological perspective and drawing on the communications-based research on knowledge transfer, the theoretical model of the study proposes that the source's capability, credibility, and extent of communication will play an important role in determining the extent of knowledge transferred to recipients. Results from an empirical study involving student teams engaged in semester-long ISD projects supported the role of credibility and extent of communication. Interestingly, capability was not found to play a significant role in knowledge transfer. Possible explanations for this lack of significant effect of capability on knowledge transfer are presented.

Every Blog Has Its Day: Politically-interested Internet Users' Perceptions of Blog Credibility

Abstract: This study employs an online survey to examine U.S. politically-interested Internet users' perceptions of the credibility of blogs. The article focuses on the influence of blog reliance compared to motivations for visiting blogs in determining blog credibility. The study found that blogs were judged as moderately credible, but as more credible than any mainstream media or online source. Both reliance and motivations predicted blog credibility after controlling for demographics and political variables. Reliance proved a consistently stronger predictor than blog motivations. Also, information-seeking motives predicted credibility better than entertainment ones.

News cues: Information scent and cognitive heuristics

Abstract: Google News and other newsbots have automated the process of news selection, providing Internet users with a virtually limitless array of news and public information dynamically culled from thousands of news organizations all over the world. In order to help users cope with the resultant overload of information, news leads are typically accompanied by three cues: (a) the name of the primary source from which the headline and lead were borrowed, (b) the time elapsed since the story broke, and (c) the number of related articles written about this story by other news organizations tracked by the newsbot. This article investigates the psychological significance of these cues by positing that the information scent transmitted by each cue triggers a distinct heuristic (mental shortcut) that tends to influence online users' perceptions of a given news item, with implications for their assessment of the item's relevance to their information needs and interests. A large 2 × 3 × 6 within-subjects online experiment (N = 523) systematically varied two levels of the source credibility cue, three levels of the upload recency cue and six levels of the number-of-related-articles cue in an effort to investigate their effects upon perceived message credibility, newsworthiness, and likelihood of clicking on the news lead. Results showed evidence for source primacy effect, and some indication of a cue-cumulation effect when source credibility is low. Findings are discussed in the context of machine and bandwagon heuristics.

How the World Achieved Consensus on Monetary Policy

Abstract: The worldwide progress in monetary policy is a great achievement and, especially considering the situation 30 years ago, a remarkable success story. I describe how the world achieved a working consensus on the core principles of monetary policy by the late 1990s. I survey the muddled state of affairs in the 1970s, and then ask: What happened in Federal Reserve policy to produce an understanding of the practical principles of monetary policy? How did formal institutional support for targeting low inflation abroad follow from an international acceptance of these ideas? And how did a consensus theoretical model develop in academia? I explain how the modern theoretical consensus -- known alternatively as the New Neoclassical Synthesis or the New Keynesian model of monetary policy -- reinforces key advances: the priority for price stability; the targeting of core rather than headline inflation; the importance of credibility for low inflation; and preemptive interest rate policy supported by transparent objectives and procedures. Of course, a working consensus does not constitute complete agreement. Accordingly, the conclusion identifies important monetary policy issues that remain to be explored.

Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility

Abstract: The difficulties in determining the quality of information on the Internet-in particular, the implications of wide access and questionable credibility for youth and learning. Today we have access to an almost inconceivably vast amount of information, from sources that are increasingly portable, accessible, and interactive. The Internet and the explosion of digital media content have made more information available from more sources to more people than at any other time in human history. This brings an infinite number of opportunities for learning, social connection, and entertainment. But at the same time, the origin of information, its quality, and its veracity are often difficult to assess. This volume addresses the issue of credibility-the objective and subjective components that make information believable-in the contemporary media environment. The contributors look particularly at youth audiences and experiences, considering the implications of wide access and the questionable credibility of information for youth and learning. They discuss such topics as the credibility of health information online, how to teach credibility assessment, and public policy solutions. Much research has been done on credibility and new media, but little of it focuses on users younger than college students. Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility fills this gap in the literature. Contributors Matthew S. Eastin, Gunther Eysenbach, Brian Hilligoss, Frances Jacobson Harris, R. David Lankes, Soo Young Rieh, S. Shyam Sundar, Fred W. Weingarten

Credibility of Health Information and Digital Media: New Perspectives and Implications for Youth

Abstract: Please cite as: Gunther Eysenbach. Credibility of Health Information and Digital Media: New Perspectives and Implications for Youth. In: Miriam J. Metzger & Andrew J. Flanagin (eds.). Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. MIT Press 2007 (in press) To be published by MIT Press end of 2007. Note: These are PROOFS which still may contain typesetting errors.

How Disaggregation Enhances the Credibility of Management Earnings Forecasts

Abstract: An important problem facing managers is how to enhance the credibility, or believability, of their earnings forecasts. In this paper, we experimentally test whether a characteristic of a management earnings forecast-namely, whether it is disaggregated-can affect its credibility. We also test whether disaggregation moderates the relation between managerial incentives and forecast credibility. Disaggregated forecasts include an earnings forecast as well as forecasts of other key line items comprising that earnings forecast. Our results indicate that disaggregated forecasts are judged to be more credible than aggregated ones and that disaggregation works to counteract the effect of high incentives. We also develop and test an original model that explains how disaggregation positively impacts three factors that, in turn, influence forecast credibility: perceived precision of management's beliefs, perceived clarity of the forecast, and perceived financial reporting quality. We show that forecast disaggregation works to remedy incentive problems only via its effect on perceived financial

Actuarial Modelling of Claim Counts: Risk Classification, Credibility and Bonus-Malus Systems

Abstract: There are a wide range of variables for actuaries to consider when calculating a motorist’s insurance premium, such as age, gender and type of vehicle. Further to these factors, motorists’ rates are subject to experience rating systems, including credibility mechanisms and Bonus Malus systems (BMSs). Actuarial Modelling of Claim Counts presents a comprehensive treatment of the various experience rating systems and their relationships with risk classification. The authors summarize the most recent developments in the field, presenting ratemaking systems, whilst taking into account exogenous information.

Shifting Subject Positions Experts and Lay People in Public Dialogue

Abstract: Public dialogue about science, technology and medicine is an established part of the activities of a range of charities, private corporations, governmental departments and scientific institutions. However, the extent to which these activities challenge or bridge the lay-expert divide is questionable. Expertise is contested, by the public and the community of scholars who study and/or facilitate public engagement. In this paper, we explore the dynamics of expertise and their implications for the lay-expert divide at a series of public events about the new genetics. We examine participants' claims to expertise and consider how this relates to their claims to credibility and legitimacy and the way in which these events unfolded. Using a combination of ethnographic and discursive analysis, we found that participants supplemented technical expertise with other expert and lay perspectives. We can also link participants' claims to expertise to their generally positive appraisal of genetic research and services. The colonization of lay positions by expert speakers and the hybrid positioning of lay-experts was characteristic of the consensus and conservatism that emerged. This leads us to conclude that public engagement activities will not challenge the dominance of technical expertise in decision-making about science, technology and medicine without more explicit and reflexive problematization of the dynamics of expertise therein.

The determinants of email receivers' disseminating behaviors on the internet

Abstract: To investigate the determinants of the effects of a viral campaign, we employ the classical framework of a persuasive communication model, designated as “Who says what to whom in which channel and with what effect?” We also consider theories of consumer value, personality, word-of-mouth communication, and source credibility. On the basis of an experiment conducted in Taiwan, we find four main results. First, message recipients who receive emails from close interpersonal sources are more willing to forward them than messages from unfamiliar interpersonal or commercial sources. Second, those who receive more utilitarian or more hedonic messages are more willing to forward them. Third, those who score high on extraversion and openness and low on conscientiousness traits are more willing to forward a marketing message to others. Fourth, those who access the internet via a broadband connection are more willing to forward the message than are those who use dial-up modems.

Shifting Roles, Enduring Values: The Credible Journalist in a Digital Age

Abstract: When everyone can be a publisher, what distinguishes the journalist? This article considers contemporary challenges to institutional roles in a digital media environment and then turns to three broad journalistic normative values—authenticity, accountability, and autonomy—that affect the credibility of journalists and the content they provide. A set of questions that can help citizens determine the trustworthiness of information available to them emerges from the discussion.

Online News Credibility: An Examination of the Perceptions of Newspaper Journalists

Abstract: This study examines print and online daily newspaper journalists’ perceptions of the credibility of Internet news information, as well as the influence of several factors—most notably, professional role conceptions—on those perceptions. Credibility was measured as a multidimensional construct. The results of a survey of U.S. journalists (N = 655) show that Internet news information was viewed as moderately credible overall and that online newspaper journalists rated Internet news information as significantly more credible than did print newspaper journalists. Hierarchical regression analyses reveal that Internet reliance was a strong positive predictor of credibility. Two professional role conceptions also emerged as significant predictors. The populist mobilizer role conception was a significant positive predictor of online news credibility, while the adversarial role conception was a significant negative predictor. Demographic characteristics of print and online daily newspaper journalists did not influence their perceptions of online news credibility.

Functional food development: concept to reality

Abstract: Functional food development involves several distinct stages from concept to successful market implementation. The objective of the present review is to define processes involved at each of these stages commencing with translation of an essential concept into an acceptable, marketable prototype. Such prototypes then require assessment for efficacy and safety through animal and human proof-of-concept testing. Publication of efficacy and safety data enhance the credibility for functional food products which translates into improved consumer awareness, which also forms the basis for regulatory approval and health claim development. Consumer acceptance and provision of health claims result in improved market penetration of functional food entities, which in itself spurs initiatives for creation of new products in the same cycle.

Normative Power Europe: A Credible Utopia?*

Abstract: Studies on the international identity of the EU have stressed the normative feature of European foreign policy. At the same time, scholars have pointed out that the inconsistency between the EU’s rhetoric and behaviour and the lack of reflexivity undermines its credibility. How does reflexivity affect collective identity? To what extent does the EU’s utopian rhetoric affect its credibility as a normative power? In order to address these questions, we investigate the self-representation of the EU as an international actor, the extent to which this self-representation provides a basis for reflexivity and, finally, the impact of the EU’s identity narratives on its credibility. We focus on the normative power of the EU in the institutionalization of the International Criminal Court and in the elaboration and ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.

Replication Standards for Quantitative Social Science: Why Not Sociology?

Abstract: The credibility of quantitative social science benefits from policies that increase confidence that results reported by one researcher can be verified by others. Concerns about replicability have increased as the scale and sophistication of analyses increase the possible dependence of results on subtle analytic decisions and decrease the extent to which published articles contain full descriptions of methods. The author argues that sociology should adopt standards regarding replication that minimize its conceptualization as an ethical and individualistic matter and advocates for a policy in which authors use independent online archives to deposit the maximum possible information for replicating published results at the time of publication and are explicit about the conditions of availability for any necessary materials that are not provided. The author responds to several objections that might be raised to increasing the transparency of quantitative sociology in this way and offers a candidate replication...

The Impact of Anonymity on Perceptions of Source Credibility and Influence in Computer-Mediated Group Communication: A Test of Two Competing Hypotheses:

Abstract: As scholars and practitioners have endeavored to develop computer-based tools that foster effective communication and collaboration in groups, anonymity has played a key role. Anonymity purportedly minimizes status differences, liberates team members from a fear of retribution, and makes members feel more comfortable contributing to discussions. Yet these benefits may be outweighed by the impact of anonymity on receiver perceptions and behavior. Two competing hypotheses, drawn from adaptive structuration theory, were tested in this study to determine the impact of anonymity on receiver perceptions of sources and messages in computer-mediated group communication. The results of the multilevel models offer evidence in support of the discounting hypothesis and suggest that anonymity provided by electronic meeting systems may undermine source credibility and influence.

Enhancing Student Perceptions of Fairness: The Relationship between Instructor Credibility and Classroom Justice

Abstract: The present study investigated the relationships between college students’ perceptions of instructor credibility (competence, character, and caring) and their perceptions of classroom justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional justice). Results indicate that perceptions of instructor credibility positively predicted perceptions of classroom justice. Specifically, instructor competence predicted interactional justice; instructor caring predicted procedural and interactional justice; and instructor character predicted distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. In short, instructor credibility was most strongly related to interactional (versus distributive and procedural) justice and instructor character (versus competence or caring) was the most consistent predictor of classroom justice.

Brand Effects on Choice and Choice Set Formation Under Uncertainty

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of brand credibility, a central concept in information economics--based approaches to brand effects and brand equity, on consumer choice and choice set formation. We investigate the mechanisms through which credibility effects materialize, namely, through perceived quality, perceived risk, and information costs saved. The credibility of a brand as a signal is defined as the believability of the product position information contained in a brand, which depends on consumer perceptions of the willingness and ability of firms to deliver what they have promised. The choice set is defined as the collection of brands that have a nonzero probability of being chosen among those actually available for choice in a given context. Furthermore, we study the impact of brand credibility on the variance of the stochastic component of utility. Not only do choice model parameters capture the impact of systematic utility differences on choice probabilities, but also the magnitude of this systematic impact is moderated by the relative importance of the stochastic utility component in preference. We term this moderation phenomenon preference discrimination, which we conceptualize as the decision makers' capacity to effectively discriminate between products' utilities in choice situations. We estimate a discrete choice model of brand choice set formation and preference discrimination on experimental data in two categories---juice and personal computers---and find strong evidence for brand credibility effects and differential mechanisms through which brand credibility's impact materializes on brand choice conditional on choice set, choice set formation, and preference discrimination.