Thinking about Social Consequences of COVID-19 Influenced Preventive Intention: The Case of South Korea.

Although South Korea has been relatively successful in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, there were controversies surrounding the negative social consequences (SC) associated with the infection, such as breach of privacy in contact tracing and stigmatization of patients. We examined how individuals' thinking about the SC of COVID-19 infection influenced preventive intention through this specific case, the early phase of the pandemic in South Korea (March, 2020) when concerns regarding SC were very high but vaccines were not available. We theoretically investigated the path from information exposure about COVID-19, worry and risk perception about SC of COVID-19, attitudes/norms/self-efficacy, and preventive intention. An online survey of 805 South Koreans revealed that information exposure about COVID-19 was positively associated with worry and risk perception about the SC, which indirectly predicted preventive intention through attitudes/norms/self-efficacy. As COVID-19 is a new disease, people learned about it from various sources, and contemplated (worry and risk perception) its negative social outcomes. To avoid such negative SC, they might have changed their beliefs toward preventive behavior, which influenced preventive intention. Given that both worry (affective-cognitive state) and risk perception (cognitive evaluation) are related to thinking activities, the findings suggest that individuals' thinking about negative SC of COVID-19 infection might have partly contributed to the success of the early South Korean quarantine model. However, the results also raise critical questions as to how we can protect individuals' lives during a public health crisis.

The more engaging, the more enjoyable? Age matters in predicting perceived enjoyment with different Facebook activities.

Drawing upon uses and gratifications perspectives and socioemotional selectivity theory, this study examined the differences in the use of Facebook features among younger, middle-aged, and older adults. Furthermore, it explored the association between Facebook activities and users' perceived enjoyment for different age groups. An online survey was conducted with 647 Facebook users in the United States. An exploratory factor analysis identified four types of Facebook activities: broadcasting, directed communication, content consumption, and information regulation. The results revealed that younger users' broadcasting, content consumption, and information regulation activities substantially differed from those of older users. In addition, broadcasting and content consumption activities were more popular among younger users and more predictive of their enjoyment. Directed communication was more powerful in predicting middle-aged and older users' enjoyment. However, younger and middle-aged users' engagement with information regulation activities was negatively related to their enjoyment of Facebook. The study findings provide more nuanced knowledge regarding user experiences on social media platforms among specified age groups and practical insights into the improvement of social media by addressing their different needs.

A Unified Neural Network Framework for Extended Redundancy Analysis.

Component-based approaches have been regarded as a tool for dimension reduction to predict outcomes from observed variables in regression applications. Extended redundancy analysis (ERA) is one such component-based approach which reduces predictors to components explaining maximum variance in the outcome variables. In many instances, ERA can be extended to capture nonlinearity and interactions between observed and components, but only by specifying a priori functional form. Meanwhile, machine learning methods like neural networks are typically used in a data-driven manner to capture nonlinearity without specifying the exact functional form. In this paper, we introduce a new method that integrates neural networks algorithms into the framework of ERA, called NN-ERA, to capture any non-specified nonlinear relationships among multiple sets of observed variables for constructing components. Simulations and empirical datasets are used to demonstrate the usefulness of NN-ERA. The conclusion is that in social science datasets with unstructured data, where we expect nonlinear relationships that cannot be specified a priori, NN-ERA with its neural network algorithmic structure can serve as a useful tool to specify and test models otherwise not captured by the conventional component-based models.

Older Adults' Activities on Facebook: Can Affordances Predict Intrinsic Motivation and Well-Being?

This study investigated how older adults' use of specific features on Facebook is associated with intrinsic motivation and well-being. A content analysis and an online survey were conducted with Facebook users older than 60 years (N = 202). Results showed that profile customization and commenting are positively associated with feelings of autonomy and relatedness, respectively, both predictors of enjoyment on Facebook. Posting photos is positively associated with a feeling of competence, which is related to well-being. The findings advance knowledge about the theoretical mechanisms underlying effects of Facebook use on well-being, and provides design recommendations that address older users' needs.

How does WeChat's active engagement with health information contribute to psychological well-being through social capital?

This study aims to examine how the users' engagement with health information benefits their well-being and to demonstrate the underlying mechanism of the relationships through bonding and bridging social capital. An online survey was conducted with 522 WeChat users in China. Structural equation modeling using the maximum likelihood of estimation was employed to test the study's hypothesized model. Bootstrapping methods were used to examine mediation effects. The results revealed that users' liking, sharing, and commenting behaviors were positively related to the bonding and bridging capital accumulated on WeChat. These two forms of social capital were also positively associated with users' psychological well-being, though bridging capital exerted more power in our research model. Moreover, both bonding and bridging capital mediated the relationship between WeChat affordances and psychological well-being. The findings shed new light on directions for leveraging mobile social media as an alternative means to bring about improvements in well-being in mobile-phone-saturated China. This is likely to be the first study that examines the mediating roles of bonding and bridging social capital on the relationship between users' health information engagement and users' psychological well-being. By providing robust findings by adopting the variable-centered approach in a health context, the findings of this study are promising for the extension and theoretical development of mobile social media research in the context of health information engagement.

SNS Usage and Third-person Effects in the Risk Perception of Zika Virus among Singaporean Women.

This study examines the SNS activities of Singaporean women to assess how they perceive the risk of Zika virus infection based on the consumption of Zika-related news. Results from an online survey (N = 510) confirmed that third-person risk perception exists among study participants. Individual posting of ZIKA-related news on SNSs was negatively associated with third-person perception. Additionally, third-person perception was negatively correlated with preventive behavioral intention. A moderated mediation model analysis revealed that attention to ZIKA-related news on SNSs significantly moderates the indirect relationship between posting news of ZIKA on SNSs and preventive behavioral intention. The findings of this study are expected to increase the understanding of the third-person effect in the context of infectious diseases based on users' SNS activities.

Modeling the Pathway Linking Health Information Seeking to Psychological Well-Being on WeChat.

Guided by the three-stage model and the integration of key constructs from the Health Belief Model, this study proposed a conceptual model to delve into the underlying mechanism linking health information seeking to psychological well-being. A nationwide online survey was administered, involving 522 WeChat users in China. The results of structural equation modeling analysis showed that health consciousness and WeChat health information reliability are significant antecedents predicting users' health information-seeking actions on WeChat, while perceived susceptibility, severity, and self-efficacy did not have significant relationships with such behavior. As predicted, the positive relationship between WeChat health information seeking and psychological well-being is mediated by perceived social support. The findings of this study provide both theoretical and practical implications to guide the use of mobile social media as a milieu for health improvement.

WeChatting for Health: An Examination of the Relationship between Motivations and Active Engagement.

As one of the largest mobile social media in the world, WeChat holds great potential for promoting health. Users not only seek and exchange health information on WeChat but also fulfill their health-related needs afforded by the platform. Using the two-step procedure common in uses and gratifications research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 WeChat users to explore their motivations for health-related uses on the platform, which were further rated by 522 WeChat users in China through a national wide online survey. Exploratory factor analysis identified five motivations: information seeking, building self-agency, social interaction, technological convenience, and self-expression. A series of hierarchical regression analyses reveals that social interaction is the best predictor of healthcare information engagement on WeChat, followed by building self-agency, information needs, and self-expression. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the psychological antecedents of using mobile social media for health-related purposes and the subsequent active behavior responses.

Targeting ROR1 inhibits the self-renewal and invasive ability of glioblastoma stem cells.

Glioblastoma is the most malignant of brain tumours and is difficult to cure because of interruption of drug delivery by the blood-brain barrier system, its high metastatic capacity and the existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Although CSCs are present as a small population in malignant tumours, CSCs have been studied as they are responsible for causing recurrence, metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cancer. CSCs have self-renewal characteristics like normal stem cells. The aim of this study was to investigate whether receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) is involved in stem cell maintenance and malignant properties in human glioblastoma. Knockdown of ROR1 caused reduction of stemness and sphere formation capacity. Moreover, down-regulation of ROR1 suppressed the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related genes and the tumour migratory and invasive abilities. The results of this study indicate that targeting ROR1 can induce differentiation of CSCs and inhibit metastasis in glioblastoma. In addition, ROR1 may be used as a potential marker for glioblastoma stem cells as well as a potential target for glioblastoma stem cell therapy.

Theories and Messages in South Korean Antismoking Advertising.

This study evaluated antismoking advertisements in South Korean television by drawing upon a Health Communication article by Cohen, Shumate, and Gold (2007) and on Gold, Cohen, and Shumate's (2008) typology. This study examined the theories and messages in South Korean antismoking advertisements. First, South Korean antismoking advertisements primarily targeted adults. In addition, the advertisements for adults normally used statistical evidence, whereas those for adolescents often used testimonial evidence. In terms of the type of performance, narration was often used in advertisements for both adults and adolescents. Second, the most prevalent persuasive health message used social norms, whereas the most prevalent affective appeal used fear appeals. Third, antismoking advertisements in South Korea mentioned more benefits of not smoking than barriers to not smoking. This study also identified the message difference in the U.S. and South Korean antismoking advertisements.