Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Information Battlefield: Al-Qaeda's Use Of Advanced Media Technologies For Framed Messaging, Jessica Marie Martin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Through a descriptive and qualitative content analysis of Al-Qaeda videos from 2001 to 2010, this thesis describes how the organization's video production has undergone a surge in production quality by using modern technology and skilled recruits. This thesis also provides background on the Islamic culture and the history of Al-Qaeda in order to put into perspective the goals of the organization's framed messages that are incorporated into their videos. The study also draws on parallels of propaganda use throughout history to highlight how regimes from all over the world understand the importance of communication during a time of war.

Factors Of Adoption: Initiating Relationships Using Online Dating Sites, Rachel Lee Toyer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study used the Diffusion of Innovations Model to explore the circumstances that lead graduate and professional students enrolled at the a university in southern Nevada to adopt online dating services with the intent of initiating a serious commitment with a potential partner. The diffusion model was used to frame online dating as a process that people go through in acquiring knowledge about the service, forming an opinion about it, testing the service, and finally adopting the service into their daily life. Factors such as time afforded to relationships, apprehension in social situations, safety, and opinions of online dating …

Public Interest Standard Characteristics In Hybrid Digital Multicasts Of Noncommercial Educational Radio, Michele Ann Gothard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Radio broadcasting implements digital multicasting in the United States with the adoption of HD Radio from iBiquity. Hybrid digital radio multicasts can upgrade either AM or FM facilities, and stations adopt the technology without loosing traditional analogue broadcasts. Broadcasting with digital technology creates additional channels of information, extending limitations of the electromagnetic spectrum. Scholarly research about hybrid digital technology considers motivations for adoption by stations but has not focused on content of existing multicasts. This study examines noncommercial educational radio multicasts for characteristics of service in the public interest.

Discourse characteristics find a mix of sounds that include both speech …

Facebook And The Police: Communication In The Social Networking Era, Mari Sakiyama, Deborah K. Shaffer, Joel D. Lieberman

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

An increasing number of police departments are using Facebook to communicate with the public. As with any emerging communications technology, there is considerable variation in the usage of this medium. This study reports the results of a content analysis designed to determine how police departments are using Facebook.

Second Life Virtual Universities: A Visual Analysis, Zeenath Haniff

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

General academic objectives include producing an educational experience that is engaging, interactive, collaborative, experiential and productive. The goal is to promote learner engagement through the visual power of a newly adopted medium in education – universities in the multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) of Second Life. Attributes of the virtual reality aid visual learning in the online environment: (1) computer-generated content, (2) three-dimensional graphics, and (3) interactivity. Visual renditions of campus buildings and fellow students as avatars emotionally connect students to feel a sense of presence and community within the virtual learning platform. Additionally, the ability to see and hear their …

Adaptation Of The Nevada Climate Change Data Portal Web Interface To Small-Screen Mobile Devices, Tsvetan Komarov

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Robust and convenient access to the Nevada Climate Change Data Portal is vital for the project’s success, because of the researchers’ need to gather and analyze large volumes of data with minimal effort. However, the current version of the data portal web interface is not optimized for small-screen mobile devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, iPads, NetBooks, and others. The proposed research will address this issue by exploring the current methods for creating a client-aware web interface adaptable to the variety of small-screen devices, designing and implementing the most appropriate solution, and finally, user testing of the implemented solution.

Why Not Just Google It? An Assessment Of Information Literacy Skills In A Biomedical Science Curriculum, Karl Kingsley, Gillian M. Galbraith, M. Herring, Eva Stowers, Tanis Stewart, Karla V. Kingsley

Library Faculty Publications

Background: Few issues in higher education are as fundamental as the ability to search for, evaluate, and synthesize information. The need to develop information literacy, the process of finding, retrieving, organizing, and evaluating the ever-expanding collection of online information, has precipitated the need for training in skill-based competencies in higher education, as well as medical and dental education.

Methods: The current study evaluated the information literacy skills of first-year dental students, consisting of two, consecutive dental student cohorts (n = 160). An assignment designed to evaluate information literacy skills was conducted. In addition, a survey of student online search engine …

Toward A Nevada Digital Collaborative, Jason Vaughan

Library Faculty Publications

In mid-2008, through Library Services and Technology Act funding, the Nevada State Library and Archives brought together members for a newly established Nevada Statewide Digital Advisory Committee (hereafter referred to as “NSDAC”) to engage in a comprehensive, statewide digital planning process. As stated in the charge, “Advisory committee members participate in the identification of issues regarding digitization in Nevada, collaborate in the planning and development of a statewide digital initiative . . . and contribute to effective communication among the key digital stakeholders in Nevada.” The full charge is provided in Appendix A. By design, the committee included members from …

Explore Guerrilla Marketing Potentials For Trade Show, Jie Chen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This is an exploratory research paper trying to identify effective guerrilla marketing practices in solving tradeshow marketing challenges. Major problems faced by trade show marketers are analyzed in the beginning: limited marketing budget, ineffective marketing tools and dissatisfaction from exhibitors. The study introduced guerrilla marketing methods by both exploring the theory and identifying successful cases. At the end, specific guerrilla marketing guidelines were built for tradeshow marketers.

National Writing Project: Internet Resource, Priscilla Finley

Library Faculty Publications

The National Writing Project (NWP) is a federally funded program that focuses on the teaching of writing, and coordinates and supports professional development for writing teachers (K-16) at over 200 college and university partner sites.

Subjective Evaluation Of Data Checking Techniques, Cyndy Anang

McNair Poster Presentations

The aim of this research was to analyze people's subjective opinions about the data checking techniques double entry, visual checking, and read aloud. Previous research has shown that entering data twice is more effective in reducing the data entry errors. Thus, the research aims to hypothesize that participants would perceive the double entry technique as most accurate and reliable. A total of forty-eight undergraduate students answered a set of sixteen items which were used to gather participants' opinions on the three techniques. The results showed that the double entry technique was perceived as significantly more accurate (F (2, 47): 5.734, …