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Consumer Adoption and Use of New Media

Much of my research in recent years has focused on consumer adoption of new media and other interactive electronic media technologies. One of my ongoing research projects is a grant-funded public health education kiosk that has been deployed in several area health clinics. Developed in conjunction with faculty in computer science and nursing, the kiosk is designed to make health information accessible to the public. The development process included the use of focus groups, usability testing, and an intercept survey on consumer use of interactive media. The research from the study has resulted in five conference presentations and the submission of four articles for consideration in peer-reviewed journals, including an article on Hispanic adoption of communication technology. The project has been funded by a series of grants from the Texas Tech Health Science Center and a grant from the Texas Tech College of Mass Communications and has funded faculty and both undergraduate and graduate students. The research team has also applied for, but not received, funding from the National Institutes of Health. A third NIH RO3 application is planned for 2008.

I have also been involved in industry research on consumer attitudes towards electronic media. In 2005, I conducted focus groups on telecommunications issues, including consumer attitudes towards Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) for the Peñasco Valley Telecommunications.

Usability Research

My usability research is closely tied to my work in health communication and the adoption of technology. I have presented on the importance of teaching usability at several national conferences, including BEA and AEJMC. My professional experience includes conducting formal usability-based focus groups for university clients. I also supervised a thesis examining the usability of local television Web sites and helped the student convert the thesis to a conference paper. I am currently working with her to turn the paper into a journal article. Usability is a critical issue in new media and becomes all the more important in areas where credibility is concerned, such as public relations and journalism, as the less usable a Web site is, the less credible people may consider the organization.

Communication about Mines and Unexploded Ordnance

My dissertation traced the development of landmine warfare from ancient China to the present, examined why and when the weapon was adopted, and addressed some of the ethical and legal discussions surrounding the use of landmines. Part of my research was funded by a research grant from the U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency. In 2006, I published an expanded version of my dissertation, which looked at the development of both landmines and sea mines, The Development of Mine Warfare: A Most Murderous and Barbarous Conduct, with Praeger Security International. As I was working on both the dissertation and the book, I became increasingly fascinated with how people communicate about mines and unexploded ordnance and wrote a chapter on the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in International and Intercultural Public Relations: A Campaign Case Approach (2006). My future plans include looking at educational campaigns aimed at children in mine-affected areas, analyses of mine handbooks, and press coverage of sea mines in the coastal fortification debates of the 1870s and the Second International Peace Conference at the Hague in 1907.

For a complete list of my research, download a PDF of my C.V.