Convergence, New Media, and Information Processing:
Testing the Effects of a Tablet PC based E-Newsbook on Processing and Evaluating News
Abstract
Despite the growing number of attempts to examine how people use E-Newsbooks
presented on portable pen-based tablet PCs, it is not yet clear how people actually process
information presented on the tablet PCs that extend the strength of the print medium (i.e.,
page-based attributes, mobility) and capitalize on the essential qualities of the interactive
features of the Web. Will this convergent tablet PC enhance the users’ memory? Or it will
disorient readers as it often does on the Web? (McDonald & Stevenson, 1996)
The purpose of the proposed study is to explore how users process a Newsbook
presented on a tablet PC, by comparing their cognitive responses to the same news content
presented in print. Theoretically, the tablet PC based E-newsbooks can provide an
opportunity to empirically test whether attribute-based media convergence (e.g., linearity,
interactivity) may enhance mediated information processing. Methodologically and
practically, by adopting actual stimuli while controlling other confounding variables, this
study will generate ecologically valid study findings, which can be applied to news product
development.