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BUILDING PERSONAL WELLNESS COMMUNITIES: MEANINGFUL PLAY
IN THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF A NETWORK SOCIETY
by
Hua Wang
_____________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(COMMUNICATION)
December 2010
Copyright 2010 Hua Wang
Object Description
| Title | Building personal wellness communities: meaningful play in the everyday life of a network society |
| Author | Wang, Hua |
| Author email | lesemao@gmail.com; wanghua@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Communication |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2010-05-27 |
| Date submitted | 2010 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2010-08-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | McLaughlin, Margaret L. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Valente, Thomas W. Cody, Michael J. Williams, Dmitri |
| Abstract | This dissertation explored the possibilities and challenges of using a social game in conjunction with selected members of personal communities to promote physical activity. Digital entertainment media enjoyment and the role of close social ties as partners for health promotion were investigated through the evaluation of an intervention called Wellness Partners. Mixed methods of an experiment of pretest-posttest control group design and qualitative analysis of server log files as well as in-depth interviews were used. The study found that the average user managed to log in almost every other day, some with more enthusiasm than others. Quantitative analysis suggested that their enjoyment and participation did not differ significantly between the experimental and control conditions both at the individual and group level. On average, 3.47 partners were nominated and 1.60 were able to enroll in the study, with over two fifths from immediate family and the rest from close friends and colleagues of shared interests. Members of larger study groups participated significantly more although they didn’t necessarily enjoy it better. No statistically significant health effects were found in the quantitative analysis regarding exercise self-efficacy, perceived social support, exercise habits, and perceived wellness. However, qualitative analysis indicated that participants used the website differently and three major web activities were tracking, socializing, and gaming. Their comments about the most and least enjoyable experiences supported a three-level enjoyment hierarchy model. The results suggested that overall participants encountered a lot of technical difficulty, yet still they appreciated the social and gaming features and demanded more. The intervention made some qualitative differences in participants’ perceptions and behavior related to physical activity and holds great potential if the play activities are tied to specific health goals and content. |
| Keyword | game; health; networked play; physical activity; social network; personal community |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3397 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Wang, Hua |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-Wang-4036 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume51/etd-Wang-4036.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Full text | BUILDING PERSONAL WELLNESS COMMUNITIES: MEANINGFUL PLAY IN THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF A NETWORK SOCIETY by Hua Wang _____________________________________________________________________ A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (COMMUNICATION) December 2010 Copyright 2010 Hua Wang |
