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Social Media Effectiveness, Ya You Jan 2013

Social Media Effectiveness, Ya You

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the last decade, the advent of social media such as online product reviews (e.g., Amazon.com),blogs and other social networking sites (e.g., Facebook.com) has dramatically changed the way consumers obtain and exchange information about products. This dissertation investigates the impact of various types of social media on product performance and compares the effectiveness of social and traditional media under various conditions. Specifically, the first chapter performs a meta-analysis of consumer-generated WOM elasticity in social media to identify the factors that influence the impact of WOM on product sales and to assess the generalizability of the relationship. The second chapter examines …


Gourmet Food Trucks: An Ethnographic Examination Of Orlando's Food Truck Scene, Zachary Hawk Jan 2013

Gourmet Food Trucks: An Ethnographic Examination Of Orlando's Food Truck Scene, Zachary Hawk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gourmet food trucks have emerged as increasingly popular dining alternatives for consumers in today’s urban landscape. Existing literature, as well as my own ethnographic research within Orlando, Florida’s mobile food vending scene, reveals that food truck owner/operators utilize various strategies to establish a viable niche for themselves in this diversified and burgeoning market. Among other things, these strategies include online social networking, creating and maintaining a recognizable brand identity, collaborating with local retailers and bar owners, and incorporating organic and locally produced ingredients in their dishes whenever possible. As in other parts of the country, there appears to be a …


Message Prioritization In Computer-Mediated Communication: A Study Of Mobile Device Use In The Classroom, Paul Wills Jan 2013

Message Prioritization In Computer-Mediated Communication: A Study Of Mobile Device Use In The Classroom, Paul Wills

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College students are using their mobile devices during class and this research investigates different aspects of why college students feel so inclined to use these devices during class as well as by what means are students using to participate in computer-mediated communication while simultaneously engaging in classes. This research surveyed 146 students on their perceived use of their own mobile device use during class. The study compared how often different types of devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, and different types of social media outlets, like Facebook, Twitter, and other social media websites, were used during class. The …


Virtual Interactions With Real-Agents For Sustainable Natural Resource Management, Tyler Pierce Jan 2013

Virtual Interactions With Real-Agents For Sustainable Natural Resource Management, Tyler Pierce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Common pool resource management systems are complex to manage due to the absence of a clear understanding of the effects of users’ behavioral characteristics. Non-cooperative decision making based on individual rationality (as opposed to group rationality) and a tendency to free ride due to lack of trust and information about other users’ behavior creates externalities and can lead to tragedy of the commons without intervention by a regulator. Nevertheless, even regulatory institutions often fail to sustain natural common pool resources in the absence of clear understanding of the responses of multiple heterogeneous decision makers to different regulation schemes. While modeling …


Examining Facebook As A Digitally Immersive Language Environment For French Language Learners, Shelly Wyatt Jan 2013

Examining Facebook As A Digitally Immersive Language Environment For French Language Learners, Shelly Wyatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of interactions with native French language Facebook posts on beginning French language learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) and their attitudes towards the target language and culture in a university setting. In addition, the degree of interaction, by participants, with the French language Facebook posts was recorded and analyzed. This study was conducted during the Spring 2013 semester at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Participants in this study were recruited from two sections of FRE 1120, Elementary French Language and Civilization I. Native French language Facebook posts were “pushed” to participants’ personal …