Storytelling is widely believed to be an effective strategy in innovation communication. The use of high-quality narratives in particular is recommended to facilitate the understanding of an innovation, facilitate trust in it, and promote the perception of innovative strength as well as the development of positive attitudes. However, to date virtually no empirical evidence has been presented to support these assumptions. Therefore, we conducted an experiment in which participants were exposed to messages about an innovation that varied in narrative quality (low vs. medium vs. high), and the messages were told in different forms that are typical of social media (nonserial vs. serial) to take account of the ever-increasing importance of these channels in innovation communication. The results show that the understanding of an innovation increases linearly with a message's narrative quality, serial storytelling impedes understanding, and narrative quality is conducive to the attitude towards the innovator when the story is told in nonserial form and has a detrimental effect when told in serial form. Thus, the results show that the current view on storytelling's potential is overly optimistic and that using high-quality narratives can, under certain conditions, also have adverse effects. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.

User comments on news websites are frequently uncivil and are not supported by reasoned argumentation. These characteristics can have negative effects on the perceived quality of the commented-on journalistic content, yet to date, it remains unclear how such effects occur. We propose three mechanisms that assume that the effect of user comments depends on how deliberately and elaborately the quality of the commented-on news item is judged. We conducted an experiment ( N = 633) in which we varied the level of civility and reasoning in the comments accompanying a news article and the brand of the news website on which it was presented. The results showed that a lack of reasoning in the comments decreased the perceived quality of the news item irrespective of brand awareness, but only with high elaboration during judgment. Incivility in the comments decreased the perceived quality of the journalistic content, but only with low elaboration, and only with an unknown news brand. We discuss different psychological mechanisms that can explain this pattern of effects.

This volume offers insights into current research on the reception and effects of the digital revolution in public communication in the field of communication science. The contributions it contains deal with questions about the use of news on Facebook, the articulation of opinions on the public Net and the influencing of opinions on social media (e.g. by influencers). They document the current state of research and knowledge in this field, answer current open questions on an empirical basis and provide suggestions for future research.With contributions byPatrick Weber, Frank Mangold, Miriam Steiner, Melanie Magin, Birgit Stark, Pascal Jürgens, Anna Sophie Kümpel, Larissa Leonhard, Veronika Karnowski, Claudia Wilhelm, Ines Engelmann, Stefan Geiß, German Neubaum, Manuel Cargnino, Davina Berthelé, Priska Breves, Helene Schüler, Benedikt Spangardt, Kerstin Thummes

Im Rahmen der UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention (BRK) hat sich Deutschland verpflichtet, Maßnahmen zur Förderung des Bewusstseins für die Belange von Menschen mit Behinderung zu ergreifen. Dies schließt die Verpflichtung ein, auf eine mediale Darstellung dieser Menschen hinzuwirken, die dem Zweck der BRK entspricht. Der Beitrag diskutiert, was eine zweckkonforme Darstellung ausmacht, und stellt ein inhaltsanalytisches Messinstrument vor, mit dem zwei zentrale Merkmale der Darstellung von Menschen mit Behinderung erfasst werden können: (1) Die Präsenz von Menschen mit Behinderung und (2) die Problematisierung von Themen, auf die sich die Ansprüche der BRK beziehen (z. B. Barrierefreiheit). Das Messinstrument wurde in zwei Inhaltsanalysen populärer deutscher Daily Soaps erprobt. Die Befunde zeigen, dass Menschen mit Behinderung in Serien öffentlich-rechtlicher Fernsehsender präsenter sind als in Serien des Privatfernsehens, und dass ihre Vielfalt in Daily Soaps nicht adäquat repräsentiert ist. Die Themen der BRK werden umfassend und im Serienangebot der öffentlich-rechtlichen Sender auch kontinuierlich problematisiert. Der Beitrag diskutiert, welche Rolle solche empirischen Analysen in einem umfassenderen Engagement kommunikationswissenschaftlicher Forschung im Inklusionsprozess spielen können.

Although reactivation and accumulation of autoreactive CD4(+) T cells within the CNS are considered to play a key role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the mechanisms of how these cells recognize their target organ and induce sustained inflammation are incompletely understood. Here, we report that mice with conditional deletion of the essential autophagy protein ATG5 in classical dendritic cells (DCs), which are present at low frequencies in the nondiseased CNS, are completely resistant to EAE development following adoptive transfer of myelin-specific T cells and show substantially reduced in situ CD4(+) T cell accumulation during the effector phase of the disease. Endogenous myelin peptide presentation to CD4(+) T cells following phagocytosis of injured, phosphatidylserine-exposing oligodendroglial cells is abrogated in the absence of ATG5. Pharmacological inhibition of ATG-dependent phagocytosis by the cardiac glycoside neriifolin, an inhibitor of the Na+, K+-ATPase, delays the onset and reduces the clinical severity of EAE induced by myelin-specific CD4(+) T cells. These findings link phagocytosis of injured oligodendrocytes, a pathological hallmark of MS lesions and during EAE, with myelin antigen processing and T cell pathogenicity, and identify ATG-dependent phagocytosis in DCs as a key regulator in driving autoimmune CD4(+) T cell-mediated CNS damage.

Binding of the complement component C1q to the CH2 domain of antigen-bound immunoglobulin gamma (IgG) activates the classical complement pathway and depends on its close proximity to Fc fragments of neighboring antibodies. IgG subclasses contain a highly conserved asparagine 297 (N)-linked biantennary glycan within their CH2 domains, the core structure of which can be extended with terminal galactose and sialic acid residues. To investigate whether Fc-glycosylation regulates effector functions of human IgG subclasses, we cloned the antigen-binding region of the CD20-specific monoclonal antibody rituximab into IgG isotype expression vectors. We found that Fc-galactosylation enhances the efficacy of CD20-targeting complement-fixing antibodies for C1q binding and complement-mediated tumor cell lysis. Increased efficacies were restricted to IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses indicating that Fc-galactosylation alone is not sufficient for IgG2 and IgG4 to acquire complement-fixing properties. Addition of terminal galactose to the N-glycan specifically improved binding of C1q without changing antigen- and FcγRIIIa-binding affinities of IgG isotypes. These data indicate that Fc galactosylation can be harnessed to enhance the complement-activating properties of IgG1 and IgG3 antibodies.

AbstractThe study of advertising effects usually follows two traditions. The first relates the intensity of advertising input (mostly ad expenditures and exposures) to behavioral and market outcomes (mostly sales and market share) by using statistical modeling techniques designed to determine advertising effectiveness. The second seeks to uncover individuals' mental responses to advertising stimuli that are associated with memory, attitudinal, and behavioral effects of advertising. This entry describes the logic of research and central concepts and theories in these two traditions and outlines long‐term trends in academic advertising research.

Journalists are increasingly concerned that offensive and banal user comments on news websites might alienate readers and damage quality perceptions. To explore such presumed effects, we investigated the impact of civility and reasoning (and lack thereof) in user comments on perceptions of journalistic quality. An experiment revealed that unreasoned comments decrease an article's perceived informational quality, but only in unknown news brands. Incivility in comments had an unconditionally negative effect on the perceived formal quality of an article. Neither civility nor reasoning improved the assessments of journalistic quality, as compared to a comment-free version. On the contrary, we observed a trend showing that the mere presence of comments deteriorates the perceived quality of an article.

Seit einigen Jahren lässt sich in der Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung eine vermehrte Auseinandersetzung mit fiktionalen Medieninhalten feststellen. Der vorliegende Sammelband stellt aktuelle Forschung zu diesem Thema vor.

BACKGROUND:Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) proved to be an efficient anti-inflammatory treatment for a growing number of neuroinflammatory diseases and protects against the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a widely used animal model for multiple sclerosis (MS).METHODS:The clinical efficacy of IVIG and IVIG-derived F(ab')2 fragments, generated using the streptococcal cysteine proteinase Ide-S, was evaluated in EAE induced by active immunization and by adoptive transfer of myelin-specific T cells. Frequency, phenotype, and functional characteristics of T cell subsets and myeloid cells were determined by flow cytometry. Antibody binding to microbial antigen and cytokine production by innate immune cells was assessed by ELISA.RESULTS:We report that the protective effect of IVIG is lost in the adoptive transfer model of EAE and requires prophylactic administration during disease induction. IVIG-derived Fc fragments are not required for protection against EAE, since administration of F(ab')2 fragments fully recapitulated the clinical efficacy of IVIG. F(ab')2-treated mice showed a substantial decrease in splenic effector T cell expansion and cytokine production (GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-17A) 9 days after immunization. Inhibition of effector T cell responses was not associated with an increase in total numbers of Tregs but with decreased activation of innate myeloid cells such as neutrophils, monocytes, and dendritic cells. Therapeutically effective IVIG-derived F(ab')2 fragments inhibited adjuvant-induced innate immune cell activation as determined by IL-12/23 p40 production and recognized mycobacterial antigens contained in Freund's complete adjuvant which is required for induction of active EAE.CONCLUSIONS:Our data indicate that F(ab')2-mediated neutralization of adjuvant contributes to the therapeutic efficacy of anti-inflammatory IgG. These findings might partly explain the discrepancy of IVIG efficacy in EAE and MS.

Die Forschung zur Wirkung von Medien-Frames auf Einstellungen hat eine Reihe kognitiver Mediationsprozesse identifiziert. Diese kognitiven Prozesse können die Wirkung von Medien-Frames allerdings nicht vollständig erklären. Aktuelle Befunde zeigen, dass Framing-Effekte auch auf der Auslösung von Emotionen beruhen können. Bislang fehlen allerdings Studien, die kognitive und emotionale Framing-Prozesse simultan testen und belegen, dass emotionale Wirkungsprozesse auch vorliegen, wenn kognitive Prozesse kontrolliert werden. Der vorliegende Beitrag diskutiert zuerst, warum die Unterscheidung kognitiver und emotionaler Mediationsprozesse relevant ist. Danach werden mittels eines Online-Experiments kognitive und emotionale Wirkungen eines Verursacher-Frames auf die Einstellung zu Strafmaßnahmen untersucht. Die Ergebnisse des Experiments bestätigen unsere Annahmen: Kognitive Vorstellungen und Ärgerreaktionen mediierten die Wirkung des Verursacher-Frames auf die Einstellung zu Strafmaßnahmen.

A new stream of research indicates that framing effects are based on emotional as well as cognitive processes. However, it is not entirely clear whether emotions mediate framing effects and what the moderators of emotional mediation processes are. To address these questions, we conducted an experiment in which the framing of responsibility for a social problem was manipulated (ambivalent vs. high-responsibility frame). We find that the high-responsibility frame increased the preference for punitive measures by increasing responsibility beliefs and eliciting anger. Furthermore, we find that trait anger moderates the framing effect on anger and that responsibility beliefs are positively associated with anger intensity. The significance of these findings for framing research and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

Die Weitergabe von Wissen über ein Nachrichtenereignis in der interpersonalen Kommunikation ist ein wichtiger Prozess der Nachrichtendiffusion. Bis heute ist aber weitgehend unklar, welche Merkmale von Nachrichtenereignissen die interpersonale Nachrichtendiffusion beeinflussen. Die vorliegende Studie prüft deshalb den Einfluss von Nachrichtenfaktoren auf die Tendenz, eine Nachricht zum Gegenstand interpersonaler Kommunikation zu machen. Mit vier Experimenten konnte gezeigt werden, dass Kontroverse, Schaden und Reichweite positive Selektionseffekte entfalten. Ein Effekt der Nähe ließ sich nicht nachweisen. Der Beitrag stellt ein Erklärungsmodell vor, nach dem diese Selektionseffekte durch Involvement und eine elaborierende Informationsverarbeitung vermittelt werden. Mediationsanalysen zeigen für alle Nachrichtenfaktoren einen indirekten Effekt durch Involvement sowie einen zweistufigen indirekten Effekt durch Involvement und Elaboration bei den Nachrichtenfaktoren Kontroverse und Schaden. Die Befunde werden diskutiert und Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten für die Forschung zu Nachrichtenfaktoren und interpersonaler Nachrichtendiffusion aufgezeigt.

Posting comments on the news is one of the most popular forms of user participation in online newspapers, and there is great potential for public discourse that is associated with this form of user communication. However, this potential arises only when several users participate in commenting and when their communication becomes interactive. Based on an adaption of Galtung and Ruge's theory of newsworthiness, we hypothesized that a news article's news factors affect both participation levels and interactivity in a news item's comments section. The data from an online content analysis of political news are consistent with the hypotheses. This article explores the ways in which news factors affect participation levels and interactivity, and it discusses the theoretical, normative, and practical implications of those findings.

This study examined how exaggeration in a biographical film about a political candidate affects attitudes toward the candidate, as well as how this attitudinal effect is contingent on goal-oriented processing strategies and mediated by suspension of disbelief (SOD), a tolerant audience response to a perceived lack of realism. On the basis of a randomized 2 (portrayal of the candidate: mildly positive vs. exaggerated) by 2 (modal processing strategy: didactic vs. hedonic) factorial experiment, we found an indirect effect for exaggeration on attitude through SOD as a function of processing strategy. Implications of the study findings for narrative persuasion theory and research are discussed.

eBook: Nachrichtenfaktoren und Relevanzattribution. Der Einfluss von Nachrichtenfaktoren auf Relevanzurteile von Rezipienten und die moderierende Rolle von Civic Pride (ISSN1615-634X) von aus dem Jahr 2013

eBook: Nachrichtenfaktoren & User Generated Content. Die Bedeutung von Nachrichtenfaktoren für Kommentierungen der politischen Berichterstattung auf Nachrichtenwebsites (ISSN1615-634X) von aus dem Jahr 2012