Digital Commons Network^™

Alpha, Beta, Sigma: A Critical Analysis Of Sigma Male Ideology, Mateo Valdivia

Major Papers

In the online environment, the Manosphere has been identified as an unstructured network of groups who express harmful anti-feminist, and anti-progressive views. Informally associated with the Manosphere, Sigma Male ideology has emerged as an allegedly unique classification of men who are successful and popular, but also silent and rebellious. Despite assertions that they adhere to their own principles, Sigma Male ideological expressions, as conveyed through video memes of select fictional role models, demonstrate that they are more intimately connected to the Manosphere than acknowledged. This research paper applies critical qualitative meme analysis to TikTok videos that feature the specific Sigma …

Reinventing Child Labour: A Contemporary Analysis Of Children's Participation In The Digital Labour Economy, Bayan Kojok

Major Papers

This major research paper explores the historical shifts in labour and childhood, highlighting children’s ongoing implication in the capitalist market. My focus is influencer marketing, the newest form of digital work. The onset of social media and the introduction of the “influencer” is a cultural and political-economic shift that has expanded the definition of labour, whether this form of labour is widely recognized or not. The Instamom has emerged from this redefinition of labour; these individuals have curated influencer status by advertising their life as a mom on social media, particularly Instagram. This becomes problematic as children are inherently involved …

A Critical Analysis Of The Media Representations Of Venezuelan Immigrants, Refugees, And Asylum-Seekers (Venezuelan Iras) In Peru, Emily G. Espinoza-Lewis

Major Papers

The Venezuelan migration phenomenon is currently the second-largest external displacement crisis worldwide. As the number of Venezuelans leaving their country has risen, migration policies in Latin American countries have become more restrictive. In Peru, the second-largest recipient of Venezuelans and the largest host of Venezuelan asylum-seekers worldwide, the securitization of migration policies started in August 2018 with a passport requirement for Venezuelans, and intensified in June 2019 with another, yet virtually unreachable requirement: the Humanitarian Visa. Utilizing media-framing theory and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study analyzed the media discourse built by El Comercio newspaper between April 1 and June …

Indie Developers And The Queer Content Renaissance In Video Games, 2013-2017, Shane Michael Hansaruk Mr.

Major Papers

Queer content in video games has existed since the 1970s, but as time and technology have progressed, so too have the potential for queer content in video games. During the mid-2010’s, a sudden increase in the number of games with queer content began, lasting between the years 2013 and 2017. This research project examines this period in great detail to determine the cause of this drastic increase. Through examining queer games literature, two queer games databases, and two select titles from this period, I determine that independent, or “indie” developers, have a substantial impact on the increase of queer games …

“Living Under Different Skies”: Misrepresenting Egyptian Education During The British Occupation In The North American Press, Shaymaa Zantout

Major Papers

During the British occupation from 1882 to 1922, Egypt saw the rise of colonial educational reforms, American missionary projects, and foreign-subsidized schools. Consequently, newspapers in North America reported extensively on these colonial educational excursions. In the view of correspondents, the so-called “enlightenment” of Egyptians was dependent on their adoption of Western moral ideals and instructional models. The main criticisms levelled at Egyptian education centred on what was viewed as the “incompetence” of native instructors and schools, namely Muslim ones, as well as the need for the modern education of young women. Moreover, Christian or Western schooling was posited as the …

Counter-Hegemonic Self-Representation Of Arabs And Muslims In Ramy: A Critical Pedagogical Analysis, Maya Chmaissany

Major Papers

Historically, representations of Arabs and Muslims in mainstream media have been heavily based on stereotypes, orientalist thought, and have not come from Arabs and Muslims at the source. They have resulted in an overly negative and damaging repertoire of depictions throughout various forms of media, including print, film, video games and television. These representations can have damaging consequences for Arabs and Muslims, as well as contributing to the structuring of opinions and views of general audiences.

The primary concern of this research paper is to analyze how self-representation by Arabs and Muslims in mainstream media can impact dominant hegemonic structures. …

A Critical Investigation Of Bell Let’S Talk, Jasmine Vido

Major Papers

In September 2010, Bell created the Bell Let’s Talk campaign to help lessen the stigma of mental health illnesses in Canada. The objective of this paper is to tease out the “ambivalences” (see Banet-Weiser, 2012) surrounding a massive corporation’s leadership in mental health awareness by analyzing both the importance and controversy surrounding Bell Let’s Talk.

The first component of this paper is a literature review that seeks to answer the research question: “how may components of Bell Let’s Talk Day be understood as both progressive and regressive?” Although “social media is the next step in the war against silence” (Campbell, …

'Bigger Than Football': A Capacities And Signals Approach To The Nfl Kneeling Protests, Brittany Szczyglowski

Major Papers

The ‘kneeling protests’ happening in the National Football League (NFL) have transformed football stadiums across the country into unlikely, yet impactful, spaces of resistance to racist rhetoric and racial violence. The reactions to the protests have been split, to say the least. Some have praised the kneeling as a powerful and moving display of civil resistance, culminating in the most high profile protester, Colin Kaepernick, being recognized as Amnesty International’s 2018 Ambassador of Consciousness. Others have interpreted the protests as a sign of disrespect towards the American flag, national anthem, and military. Now well into its third season, the symbolic …

Native Advertising Disclosures In Journalism: An Assessment On The Accurate Reporting Of Disclosure Wording In Conveying Advertising Intent, Darko Milenkovic

Major Papers

The struggling journalism industry adopted the practice of native advertising to raise digital revenue. This practice offered advertisers a chance to purchase the services of a publication in order to have their story published. The goal of native advertising is for advertising to become invisible to consumers, and to be presented to audiences as if were regular editorial content. The only distinguishing feature is a disclosure, often identifying the accompanying article as being “Sponsored Content,” “Promoted Content”, “Custom Content,” or a “Paid Post.” This research paper discusses the struggles of journalism and digital advertising. It examines the many definitions of …