American Studies Commons^™

The Relationship Between American Media Exposure And Trinidadian Female Adolescents' Body Image Satisfaction, Clarabelle Ferguson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have examined the development of body image among people, especially girls and young women. Many factors have been associated with the development of body image dissatisfaction. Especially important are exposure to mass media and its relationship with three theoretical constructs: Awareness of a thin ideal, internalization of a thin ideal, and perceived pressures to be thin. Extending existing research, this study examined through experimentation the relationships among exposure to American media content and the awareness and internalization of the American norms and expectations for thinness, pressures to adopt these norms, and Trinidadian female adolescents' body image satisfaction. Based …

Framing 10/12 And 3/11 In American And European News, Andrea Lypka

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This media analysis of the incidents in Bali in 2002 (10/12) and Madrid in 2004 (3/11) reveals the black and white portrayal of these attacks in western news through the localization of international terrorism occurrences, pro-government perspective, and internalization of U.S. policies. The Old Europe and New Europe debate further fractures the European press. Such rhetoric perpetuates the "us versus them" schism by contrasting the goals of the alleged perpetrators with the western values of democracy and freedom. Governmental sources remain central news sources during these crises. In addition, 9/11, war on terrorism, and fear from further attacks dominate news …

New Media Photographic Representations Of Women`S Collegiate Volleyball: Game Faces, Action Shots, And Equipment, Alicia Pack

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers consistently find that mainstream media often represent women athletes in stereotypical ways including trivialization, sexualization, infantilization, passivity, and utilization of camera down-angles. However, research on new media's visual representation of women athletes is still in its infancy. This study adds to the growing literature on new media's representation of women athletes and concurs with previous findings suggesting that new media might be an outlet that can counter old media gender stereotypes. This thesis used mixed methods of qualitative content analysis and photovoice in order to better understand how Big East volleyball players are represented in photographs on websites: Instances …

Reel Images: Representations Of Adult Male Prisons By The Film Industry, Melissa E. Fenwick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on the criminal justice system, punishment, and media continue to generate academic interest, particularly in the realm of social constructionism. The social construction perspective provides insight into the process through which media-controlled images are translated into social definitions of crime and justice. One new area of interest is the representations of prisons and penal culture by the entertainment media, namely the film industry. In this study, the author contributes to the area of social constructionist literature by administering a content analysis of eleven feature films on male prisons produced between 1979 and 2001. The author examines the frequency and …

Realness And Hoodness: Authenticity In Hip Hop As Discussed By Adolescent Fans, Ginger L. Jacobson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Various forms of media penetrate our lives daily. Hip hop music has gained universal appeal and widespread success that permeates barriers of race, class, gender, age, and nationality. It is important for social service workers, parents, educators and other adults who interact with youth to understand the roles hip hop music and culture can play in the identities of those who are listening. In this study I conducted 12 open-ended interviews with adolescent hip hop fans about their music. The research presented in this thesis suggests that adolescent hip hop fans are making interpretations from the media and applying them …

Gender, Sport & Nationalism: The Cases Of Canada And India, Courtney Glass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research seeks to explore the gendered nature of nationalisms and the ways that they can be challenged and perhaps transformed through the participation of women in sport at the national level. Nationalism is part of the public sphere, while women have historically been relegated to the private sphere. However, many scholars argue that women do in fact taken part in nation building primarily as biological reproducers of the nation. This has led scholars to conclude that nationalism is indeed gendered. Sport has traditionally been a masculine domain where conceptions of hegemonic masculinity as well as the nation are developed …

Communication Systems And Hiv/Aids Sexual Decision Making In Older Adolescent And Young Adult Females, Rasheeta D. Chandler Ms, Arnp, Fnp-Bc

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a national priority for several reasons including its endemic/pandemic status and economic demand. Adolescents 15 to 24 years old who are sexually active acquire nearly half of all new Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Recent findings from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) have documented increased teen birth rates, escalating births to unwed mothers, and STIs ascribed to one in four adolescent females, are reasons to enhance effective prevention efforts.

The specific aim of the study, based on Bandura's social cognitive theory, was to test associations among communication system methods and …

Participatory Fandom In American Culture: A Qualitative Case Study Of Dragoncon Attendees, Katherine L. Fleming

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the rise of the mass media over the last century, fame and celebrity seem to have evolved into ever-growing phenomena. Likewise, audience members have sought increasing involvement with people or activities related to the focus of their interest. These individuals are not content to simply watch their favorite actors or films from home. Instead, they take a more active approach, engaging in activities related to their fandom as well as seeking interaction with each other in organized groups (in person and on the Internet), attending conventions, and seeking interaction with celebrities.

This study presents a discussion of fame, celebrity, …

High Stakes Testing In Florida: Media Portrayals And Parental Realities, Jennifer Gilroy Hunsecker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1998, Florida implemented a system of standardized testing known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). While initially designed as one among many tools to assess student and school progress, the FCAT has become a high-stakes test. Schools whose students fail to meet certain benchmarks are in danger of losing their students to "school choice plans" (which enable parents of children attending failing schools to choose another, more highly rated school) while parents must contend with ever broadening educational policies. The implications of this policy have been far reaching. Textbook makers now market individualized textbooks that teach FCAT content, …

Reality Cosmetic Surgery Makeovers: Potential Psychological And Behavioral Correlates, Steffanie Sperry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (2006), the number of cosmetic procedures has increased to over 10 million in 2005, showing a 38% increase from 2000. This increase in cosmetic surgery prevalence is paralleled by a surge in reality cosmetic makeover television programming, such as Extreme Makeover and Dr. 90210. No research to date has assessed the potential relationships between reality media viewership and body image, eating pathology, or cosmetic surgery attitudes. The tripartite model of core influence (Thompson et al., 1999) is presented as a theoretical framework for conceptualizing the link between media influences, internalization, body image …

Sexy Sensationalism Case Study: The Fascination With Celebrity News And Why Usa Today Caters To The Obsession, Grant Edward Boxleitner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the digital age where newspapers compete with the Internet, cable TV and other publications for an audience, USA Today strives to stay relevant in the media with a daily dose of celebrity news. Newspapers continue to lose circulation during a time when the fascination with celebrities shows no signs of dwindling. This study explores how much celebrity news coverage USA Today gives readers, how much competition from other outlets plays a factor and whether the nation's largest newspaper is making a sacrifice of traditional forms of newspaper content in favor of celebrity coverage. The methodology for this qualitative case …

Fat Commentary And Fat Humor Presented In Visual Media: A Content Analysis, Susan Himes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to examine the phenomenon of fat messages presented through visual media, a content analysis was used to quantify and categorize fat-specific commentary. Fat commentary vignettes were identified using a targeted sampling procedure, and 135 scenes were excised from movies and TV shows. The material was coded by trained raters. Reliability indices were uniformly high for the seven categories (% agreement ranged from .90-.98; kappas ranged from .66-.94). Results indicated that fat commentary and fat humor is often verbal, directed toward another person, and is often presented directly in the presence of the overweight target. Results also indicated that …

The Effects Of Militant Press On Nigeria's Democratic Evolution, Oluwaniran Malaolu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This is an in-depth study of the Nigerian press, the ubiquitous behemoth which called itself the "defender" of Nigeria's national independence and the last "hope" of the common man. It's a bold attempt to critically examine its antecedents, its evolution or development especially the historical, political, technological and socio-economic events that had impacted its growth, its world views and ideologies. It's a thorough assessment of the press' influence on Nigeria's socio-economic and political development, as well as the suitability of its tactics and posturing toward attaining its set goals of economic and political emancipation of Nigerians. Most importantly, this study …

Film In The Classroom: Toward A More Effective Pedagogy, Jonathan Godwin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The postmodern critique has effectively called on anthropologists to reevaluate ethnographic authority when representing others. However, what is often found lacking in this criticism is an exploration of the ways in which audiences interpret anthropological knowledge. One crucial area that can be easily researched is audience reception of film in introductory anthropology classes. As professors of anthropology increasingly rely on film for illustrating anthropological concepts, we must have an understanding of how this medium is interpreted by student audiences. Film's ability to convey complex information without additional contextualization has yet to be substantiated and previous research has indicated that visual …

Falun Gong In The United States: An Ethnographic Study, Noah Porter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, has been described in many ways. It has been called qigong, one of many schools of physical exercises that aim at improving health and developing "supernatural abilities". Scholars and mainstream media have referred it to as a "spiritual movement" or religion, although practitioners claim it is not a religion. It has been called a cult, in the pejorative sense rather than in a sociological context, by the Chinese government and by some Western critics. In the writings of Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, it is referred to in different ways, …