Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Because I Am Not Here, Selected Second Life-Based Art Case Studies. Subjectivity, Autoempathy And Virtual World Aesthetics, Francisco Gerardo Toledo Ramírez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Second Life is a virtual world accessible through the Internet in which users create objects and spaces, and interact socially through 3D avatars. Certain artists use the platform as a medium for art creation, using the aesthetic, spatial, temporal and technological features of SL as raw material. Code and scripts applied to animate and manipulate objects, avatars and spaces are important in this sense. These artists, their avatars and artwork in SL are at the centre of my research questions: what does virtual existence mean and what is its purpose when stemming from aesthetic exchange in SL?

Through a qualitative …

The (M)Health Connection: An Examination Of The Promise Of Mobile Phones For Hiv/Aids Intervention In Sub-Saharan Africa, Trisha M. Phippard

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis offers an examination of the complex opportunities and challenges that characterize the development of innovative, locally appropriate, sustainable, and scalable uses of mobile phones as instruments to support and advance HIV/AIDS work in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing together the fields of ICT4D and health communication, this thesis establishes a theoretical framework for mobile health (mHealth) interventions in developing countries from a critical media studies perspective. It interrogates the varied applications of mobile phones vis-à-vis health that have been identified, promoted, or piloted in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere in the Global South, focusing on the potential for mobile phones to …

How Do Parents Use Health Information With The Aid Of A Knowledge Broker When Living With And Caring For Their Young Children With Cerebral Palsy?, Stephanie E. Lagosky

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research aims to understand how parents use health information (such as those developed from the Move & PLAY study) with the aid of a knowledge broker when living with and caring for young children with cerebral palsy. This research was conducted under a qualitative case study methodology and used questionnaires and in-depth interviews to collect data. Findings include the complexity of both parental use of health information and the desire to use a knowledge broker. A provisional model has been created to help describe information use of parents with young children with cerebral palsy. This provisional model is an …

It's Complicated: Romantic Breakups And Their Aftermath On Facebook, Veronika A. Lukacs

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Little research examines the ways in which Facebook affects breakups. This exploratory study aimed to determine the prevalence of breakup practices unique to Facebook; to gain an understanding of the relationship between Facebook use and distress following a breakup; and to determine what strategies people use to cope with romantic breakups in the Facebook era. This topic was examined using a mixed methods approach that included a survey and semi-structured interviews. Findings show that content on Facebook can be a source of distress for individuals who have recently experienced a romantic breakup. People who engaged in high levels of interpersonal …

Personal Constructs Of Saudi Arabian Graduate Students Studying At A Large Canadian University: A Personal Construct Theory Approach, Eradah O. Hamad

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research regarding international education has been mainly quantitative, and of the few existing qualitative studies, no research has explored the perspective of students’ personal and cultural constructs. This study employs a mixed method design within a Personal Construct Theory perspective. The primary objective of this study is to examine the personal constructs of six Saudi Arabian graduate students studying at a large Canadian university, analyzing how they use those constructs to describe their experience of living and learning in Canada. This is achieved through in-depth repertory grid and self-characterization analyses. This study reveals that the participants tend to elicit common …

Social Net-Working: Exploring The Political Economy Of The Online Social Network Industry, Craig Butosi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explores the nascent political economy of the online social network industry. Exemplars of online social networking, Facebook and Twitter have often been understood as revolutionary New Media tools. My findings show that these social networks are taking on a logic of capitalist production and accumulation, calling into question their revolutionary character. Evidence suggests that user-generated content are now being commodified and exchanged for profit.

A critical discourse analysis of Facebook and Twitter’s privacy policy and terms-of-use reveals that these texts primarily function as work contracts rather than treatises on privacy protection. Drawing on the work of Karl Marx, …

The Process Of Informed Decision-Making About Prenatal Screening: Patient Education Materials, Policy, And Pregnant Women's Perspectives, Meredith G. Vanstone

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines the process of informed decision-making for low-risk women in their first pregnancies as they consider whether or not to participate in non-invasive, non-diagnostic prenatal screening.

Using a social constructionist approach with a theoretical lens of feminist bioethics, data from three sources were used to consider different aspects of the process of informed decision-making about prenatal screening. Data obtained from patient education materials, Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada policy documents, and interviews with pregnant women were examined using the principles of constructivist grounded theory.

Findings are presented in the form of four integrated articles, addressing the …