Digital Commons Network^™

Deadly Viper Character Assassins: Cyber Discourse On Asian American Marginalization And Identity, Eileen Wang

Communication Theses

This study examines how Asian Americans articulate their marginalization and identity, as well as other issues related to race, through the use of blogs. Specifically, I look at discourse surrounding the Deadly Viper Character Assassins publication controversy on three different blogs. I draw upon critical discourse analysis (CDA) to compile patterns, themes, and anomalies from the online discussions. This paper highlights key findings, given the scarceness of Asian American voices in public culture, that prompt ongoing discussions about identity and the use of blogs as a platform to speak and conceptualize Asian American identity.

Is Your Brand Going Out Of Fashion? A Quantitative, Causal Study Designed To Harness The Web For Early Indicators Of Brand Value, Maureen S. Cole

Business Administration Dissertations

Can Internet search query data be a relevant predictor of financial measures of brand value? Can Internet search query data enrich existing financial measures of brand valuation tools and provide more timely insights to brand managers? Along with the financial based motivation to estimate the value of a brand for accounting purposes, marketers desire to show “accountability” of marketing activity and respond to the customer’s perception of the brand quickly to maintain their competitive advantage and value. The usefulness of the “consumer information processing” framework for brand, consumer and firm forecasting is examined. To develop our hypotheses, we draw from …

Race And Health Online: A Public Health Exploration Of The Digital Landscape, Tanisha Kelley

Public Health Theses

The Internet has continued to reach new audience members and is an integral part of United States society. Social Cognitive Theory addresses the impact of the environment on health behavior, providing justification for surveillance of the digital environment in health behavior research. Health information headlines from two highly trafficked news sites were analyzed using content analysis. Search terms used were health, Blacks, African American, ethnicity and 2011. The headlines were coded by independent graduate level individuals and assessed for nine indices of interest.

There were 209 headlines analyzed for the study. Headlines contained health information that …

Not Just A "Place For Friends": Teenagers, Social Networks, And Identity Vulnerability, Cenate Pruitt

Sociology Dissertations

This study is an empirical analysis of adolescents' risk management on internet social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Using a survey of 935 U.S. adolescents gathered by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, I investigate the influence of offline social networks on online socialization, as well as the impact of parental and self mediation tactics on risky online information-sharing practices. Overall, the relationship between offline social network strength and online communications methods was inconclusive, with results suggesting that most teens use online communications in similar ways, regardless of offline connectedness. Some relationships were discovered between parental and …