Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Race, Geography, And News Coverage Of The Opioid Epidemic, Nicholas B. Robert

LSU Master's Theses

The opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug epidemic in United States history. During the early stages of the epidemic, the focus was on white victims in rural and suburban areas. Using the geo-ethnic framework developed from immigration research, this study examines if geography and race impacted the framing of the opioid epidemic in newspapers. The study finds there to be a low level of geo-ethnic influenced framing in news coverage of the opioid epidemic from 2016-2018.

Social Justice Through Social Media: The Use Of Twitter As A Tool For Activism In The #Metoo #Blacklivesmatter Era, Laura L. Coleman

LSU Master's Theses

This study focuses on social justice and how people on Twitter chose to talk about it. The rise of social media has allowed Twitter users to speak more freely in more spaces than one. The study compared two different sexual assault cases between Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Professor Christine Blasey; and Virginia’s Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax and Vanessa Tyson. Applying the social responsibility theory, which allows free press without any censorship, I then can see the tone of which Black Twitter users have when talking about two separate sexual assault cases. This study compares the use of the #BlackTwitter hashtag …

Andrew T. Hatcher: Press, Public Information & Perception For A Nation In Transition Historical Content Analysis On The First African American To Serve As A White House Associate Press Secretary, Nayita Wilson

LSU Master's Theses

Andrew T. Hatcher rose to one of the highest positions in U.S. government when he became the first African American to serve as associate White House press secretary in 1960 under the administration of President John F. Kennedy and during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. This is a historical content analysis that analyzes Hatcher’s role through primary sources, presidential archives, and select national, local, and minority newspapers.

The overarching purpose of this study was to ascertain Hatcher’s role as associate White House press secretary during civil rights. This study provides further insight into: 1) to what extent did …

#Whyididntreport: Using Social Media Analysis To Inform Issues With Sexual Assault Reporting, Jordyn Warren

LSU Master's Theses

The #MeToo movement allowed victims of sexual assault to go public with their stories. When Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came forward with allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in September of 2018, she was scrutinized by President Trump for not reporting the incident to authorities “when it happened nearly 30 years ago.” Promptly, #WhyIDidntReport came to fruition on Twitter, uncovering the shame victims feel and the complexities behind why so many individuals didn’t and still don’t report their assaults. Victim-service agencies “provide victims with support and services to facilitate their physical and emotional recovery, offer protection from future victimizations, …

Toxic Culture: An Emotion And Sentiment Analysis Of College Football Fans In Relation To Controversy And Win-Loss Records, Joshua R. Jackson

LSU Master's Theses

Fans of certain college football teams will experience a wide array of emotions when their team is involved in a scandal. This study examined the fan bases of three university football teams as they learn about and react on social media to their schools and head coaches becoming implicated in controversies. Under the protection of those with similar likes and the secrecy of social media, users can voice opinions in favor of and against the football team’s firing of a coach or handling of an investigation. Fan bases analyzed in the study are Ohio State University, Maryland University, and Baylor …

Falling On Deaf Ears: Social Workers’ Attitudes About Deafness, Hearing Loss, And Deaf Cultural Competence, Esperanza J. Garibay

LSU Master's Theses

D/deaf and hard of hearing people have lower health literacy and higher rates of misdiagnosis of serious illnesses than their hearing counterparts (Sheier, 2009). This is, in part, a result of the inaccessible and culturally incompetent care provided to d/Deaf and hard of hearing individuals (Kuenburg, Fellinger & Fellinger, 2016; Hoang, LaHousse, Nakaji & Sadler, 2010 Sheier, 2009). Inaccessible and culturally incompetent care may be byproducts of human service providers’ attitudes towards d/Deaf and hard of hearing people (Ulloa, 2014; Cooper, Mason & Rose, 2005), and providers’ level of competence with properly caring for d/Deaf and hard of hearing clients …

Differences Between The Acoustic Parameters Of Prosody In Speakers With Asd And Typically Developing Speakers Ages Three To Six, Heather Delaune

LSU Master's Theses

The present study was designed to compare the acoustic parameters of prosody of children between the ages of three and six with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD to age matched typically developing (TD) speakers. The acoustic parameters of prosody examined were fundamental frequency (f0), intensity, speech rate, and speech rhythm. Analyzing the acoustic features of atypical expressive prosody in speakers with ASD would provide more detailed and defined information regarding the nature of the prosodic abnormality in these individuals to guide clinicians in providing a more concentrated focus for intervention. Speech samples were obtained from ten English-speaking, monolingual children (5 ASD, …

Source Effects Of Health Information And Digital Health Literacy Among College Students: An Elaboration Likelihood Model Perspective, Julia Morton

LSU Master's Theses

While advertising and persuasion is a widely researched area in mass communication, the impact of health marketing on consumer behavior remains a relatively new arena. The complex health information landscape online is comprised of both public health organizations seeking to improve health behaviors as well as businesses seeking to sell their products or services. It is well documented in the communication literature that the source of information can impact the recipient in a multitude of ways. Digital health literacy is undoubtedly an essential skill for anyone interacting with health information online, spurring the question, do individuals with low and high …