Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Yak Is Back: Creating Community On The Digital Bathroom Stall Wall, Georgia Bates

Scripps Senior Theses

Offering access to an expanded world of contacts, activities, and self-expression, the internet has been changing the traditional landscape of the college experience for nearly two decades. The manner in which students interact with the world around them is augmented and transformed by the affordances of digital social networks like Yik Yak, an anonymous, hyperlocal networking app that has found its main market on college campuses. A hybrid ethnographic approach to Yik Yak based on participant observation and in-depth interviews spanned from Fall 2021 to Spring 2023, engaging with concepts of place and affect as they were intertwined with student …

Relationship Between Country Culture, Country Demographics, And Restaurant Electronic Word-Of-Mouth Valence Ratings, Cynthia Roberts Maubert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have documented that country culture and country demographics influence electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) within various industries. Although past research has shown the importance of eWOM to restaurants as a measure of consumer satisfaction, researchers have not established the effect of country culture and country demographics on eWOM within the restaurant industry. Thus, the specific management problem addressed in this quantitative correlational study was the lack of knowledge and understanding regarding the relationship between country culture, country demographics, and restaurant eWOM valence ratings. Grounded in Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, the research questions addressed six measures of country culture, 12 measures of …

Relationship Between Country Culture, Country Demographics, And Restaurant Electronic Word-Of-Mouth Valence Ratings, Cynthia Roberts Maubert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have documented that country culture and country demographics influence electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) within various industries. Although past research has shown the importance of eWOM to restaurants as a measure of consumer satisfaction, researchers have not established the effect of country culture and country demographics on eWOM within the restaurant industry. Thus, the specific management problem addressed in this quantitative correlational study was the lack of knowledge and understanding regarding the relationship between country culture, country demographics, and restaurant eWOM valence ratings. Grounded in Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, the research questions addressed six measures of country culture, 12 measures of …

Impact Of Social Media On The Mental Health Of College Student Athletes, Maria Blasco Maurici

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the influence of social media on the mental health of college student-athletes. With the adoption of social media platforms and the challenges faced by college student-athletes, understanding the implications of social media usage becomes a priority. This study examines the potential positive and negative effects of social media on the mental health of collegiate student-athletes and considers the role of social media in shaping their self-perception and identity. By comparing with existing research and conducting qualitative and quantitative analysis, this thesis aims to find answers on the relationship between social media and the mental health of college …

Normal Redefined: Exploring Decontextualization Of Lorises (Nycticebus & Xanthonycticebus Spp.) On Social Media Platforms, Luke F. Quarles, Kim Feddema, Marco Campera, K. A.I. Nekaris

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Decontextualization is a concept from psychology whereby new words are learned outside of the context of the here-and-now. Decontextualized language is used for discussing abstract concepts and is crucial to the development of academic language. When it comes to images, a dearth of context can lead to a lack of clarity, such as the use of ambiguous decontextualized images in environmental communication, leading to the promotion of greenwashing. Here we refer to decontextualization as the removal of wildlife from their wild ecological context. Images and videos of globally threatened species are increasingly popular on social media. Showing such taxa …

Mapping The Research Trends On Social Media In The Hospitality Sector From 2010 To 2020, Eunjung Kim, Alexander Rolfe Best, Kijung Choi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: This study undertakes a systematic review of the literature to gain insight into existing studies on hospitality in social media and provide an update on current trends and themes in scholarship. Design: This study employs the systematic literature review to identify, evaluate, and synthesize the existing literature. Methodology: A total of 165 papers published between 2010–2020 were examined using content analysis and Leximancer. Approach: This review uses a hybrid review structure that incorporates structured reviews and narrative elements supported by Leximancer analysis. Findings: The review highlights the theories and methods used, research fields and perspectives, and key research topics …

The Adaptive Science Communication Model In The Middle Of Vuca Era In Indonesia: Study Of Startup Kok Bisa, Syora Alya Eka Putri, Ricardi S. Adnan

Informasi

This article analyzes the adaptive science communication model in the VUCA era. Previously, the model of science communication developed by scientific institutions and journalists in Indonesia tended to be challenging to understand by the public. Finally, in the development of technology, the model of science communication developed marked by the emergence of various creators who utilize social media. Nevertheless, due to dynamic conditions, the development of science communication models has not been fully adaptive. In previous studies, these conditions due to dynamic challenges due to the lack of public confidence in science and community participation to curate science tend to …

Strangers Switching Their Identities: Cultural Identity Management And Performance On Social Media A Qualitative Analysis Of International Students’ Intercultural (Ex)Change Processes And Perceptions Regarding Their Stay In The United States And Countries Of Origin, Vivian Kretzschmar

All Theses

In this globalized world, cross-country travel for education has been a prevalent (5.6 million students identified as international students in 2020) and ever-increasing (with a predicted increase of 250% by 2030) trend through the past decades. The sojourn impacts the students’ experience of the new culture and the ensuing shocks and adaptations. The understanding of something as complicated as culture, trying to be integrated into a new culture, and its perception to individuals, of course, have their ways of distinct communication trends through social media.

The struggle of maintaining and changing one’s cultural identity and adaptation across cultures has been …

How Prolonged Social Media Use Affects Generation Z And Their New Media Literacy Skills, Ester Meyer Nunes

Global Strategic Communications Student Work

With the creation of the internet and new media platforms emerging at the beginning of the 21^st century, it has never been easier to stay connected; the world is within hand’s reach. Gen Z spends much of their day online, watching videos, chatting with friends, and creating video, text and photo content. This research explores the effects of prolonged exposure to social media, whether positive or negative.

Social Media And Contentious Action: The Use And Users Of Qq Groups In China, Zixue Tai

Journalism and Media Faculty Publications

This article presents an analysis of a netnographic study of QQ groups engaged in contentious activities in China. Informed primarily by semi‐structured in‐depth interviews of 34 participants and field observations through years of grounded research, the findings shed light on the communicative dynamics and mobilization strategies of QQ groups in nurturing contentious action and motivating mass participation in social protest. In‐group communication stays highly focused on the respective mission of the groups, and it cultivates a sense of shared awareness conducive to collective action. There is also a noticeable contagion effect that transfers the spirit of contestation in terms of …

International Migrants And Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccinations: Social Media, Motivated Information Management, And Vaccination Willingness, Hyunjin Seo, Yuchen Liu, Muhammad Ittefaq, Fatemeh Shayesteh, Ursula Kamanga, Annalise Baines

School of Communication Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Objective

This study examines how those who were born outside the United States and migrated to the country in the past decade used social media and other online sites to deal with uncertainties around the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. In particular, we examine how they used digital communication technologies to tap into online resources and social connections both in the United States and their origin country and how various aspects of online information management were associated with their willingness to get vaccinated against the virus.

Method

We conducted an online survey and in-depth interviews with international migrants aged 18–64 years …

Problematic Social Media Use, Social Comparison, And Defeat: An Intensive Longitudinal Investigation, Natalia Macrynikola

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) have steadily risen over the past two decades. The simultaneous dramatic increase in social media use has fueled concerns that using social media may be contributing to suicide risk. Although an emerging body of evidence reveals associations between certain patterns of social media use and SITBs, most research studies have not been designed to assess the temporal order of these variables and have neglected to investigate mechanisms underlying such associations. As a result, whether and how social media use may be conferring suicide risk remains unclear. To address this gap, the present study examined a …

The Impact Of #Metoo On Reasons For Sexual Assault Disclosure, Cheryl H. Tien

Doctoral Dissertations

Sexual assault is a long-standing widespread problem. Yet, despite the high prevalence of sexual assault, it is the most underreported crime of all crimes reported to the police (Bureau of Justice, 2018). The #MeToo movement has had a significant impact on the way in which sexual assault survivors disclose their experiences and the reasons they disclose. Disclosure appears to be an important factor in survivors’ healing from their assault, with increasing coping, greater attachment to others, and positive growth cited as effects of disclosure provided that the response to the disclosure is positive to the survivor (Ahrens & Aldana, 2012; …

The Pandemic Is Not Killing Us, The Police Are Killing Us: How The Change In The Subjective Reality Of Nigerian Citizens Brought About The #Endsars Protests, Olabode Adefemi Lawal

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Using the theory of the social construction of reality, I researched the multiple roles of social media in the Nigerian #EndSARS protests. I interviewed 16 Nigerian protesters from the #EndSARS movement for this study: eight participated in-person while eight protested in-person and digitally (hybrid). Participants were asked a series of scripted questions regarding the #EndSARS protests to understand the roles social media played in shaping the subjective reality of Nigerians during that time. Using thematic analysis, this thesis proposes that the change in the subjective reality of some Nigerians contributed to the October 2020 #EndSARS protests. This thesis also compares …

Governmental Persuasion Strategies On Social Media During Covid-19: A Comparative Study Of The Us And China, Fan Wang

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

This study compared persuasive strategies of the governments of the U.S. and China during a public health crisis using social media messages. Collecting data with R and Python from two national public health sectors' official accounts on Twitter (N = 1,630) and Sina Weibo (N = 3,554), the researcher investigated how the organizations' messages reflected Cialdini's seven principles of persuasion and whether other emergent messaging patterns occurred. According to the different phases that the two countries had gone through during the pandemic, the researcher also conducted a pooled times series analysis to investigate the relationship between the frequency of daily …

How Do Information Specialists Keep Up To Date?, Aaron Tay

Research Collection Library

The working environment of information specialists is undergoing profound changes. This is primarily due to rapid advances in digitalization and automation. New databases are being set up or new functions added to established databases. At the same time, data processing and analysis have reached a new level (e.g. through machine learning). In addition, many new software tools to support daily work are being developed. But how do information specialists find out about new developments and assess the practical suitability of new tools?

Nowadays, an abundance of information on new developments in information retrieval can be found on the Internet. In …

Georgia Southern University's Communication During Covid-19 Analyzed Using The Discourse Of Renewal Theory, Jessica Hickman

Honors College Theses

This research aims to analyze how Georgia Southern University handled COVID-19 through a public relations perspective using the discourse of renewal theory. In order to do this, this research looks at the communication sent from the University to the faculty, staff, and students during the time periods of March to April of 2020 and July to August of 2020. The three research questions this research will examine are: how did the University apply the discourse of renewal theory to speak to the students, faculty, and staff regarding COVID-19, how did the University use its email system to communicate with the …

Political Polarization, Misinformation, And Media Literacy, Ira Bruce Gaultney, Todd Sherron, Carrie Boden

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Today’s college students grew up with digital news media and social media readily available on their smartphones. As a result, students are likely to use their smartphones to access the news through social media where partisan misinformation is easily spread. Efforts to combat the spread of misinformation on social media are being explored on several fronts, including media literacy programs. While media literacy is not a cure-all for the problems posed by misinformation, it is helpful for instructors to understand how adept U.S. college students are at assessing the credibility of the news on their phones and the influence political …

A Content Analysis Of Queer Slang On Tik Tok, Kuri Benitez

Student Research Submissions

Social media platforms’ concentration of diversity and interactions has accelerated the rate of cultural change on the Internet. With the rise of Tik Tok, a video-sharing social media platform, language used by marginalized groups is being incorporated into the platform’s slang due to the rapid rotation of trends. This study aims to provide data to a new field related to Tik Tok culture and the effects of trends on marginalized groups.

Using qualitative content analysis, this article studies an LGBTQ+-inspired Tik Tok trend to determine if the portmanteau of “-ussy”’s meaning has changed from its original use and if trends …

A Communications Audit Of Selected Equine Assisted Activities And Therapies (Eaat) In Northwest Arkansas, Laykyn Rainbolt

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Digital media, including websites and social media platforms, are becoming a staple in the marketing and communication field to reach consumers. Although digital media can offer high dissemination rates to a broad audience, it can also be time consuming without current training or resources to allocate to it. Nonprofits struggle to maximize their reach and effectiveness through social media due to limited staff, time, resources, and training (Bernritter et al., 2016; Bjork et al., 2016; Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012; Tao et al., 2021). Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies organizations in Northwest Arkansas selected for this study showed high use of …

A Content Analysis Of The Female Tiktok Influencer: How Smis Alter Their Image And Self-Presentation Based On Their Communities., Sydney R Dotson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Influencer marketing is a growing industry on social media platforms, like TikTok. Influencers have the power and authority to control the purchases and habits of their audiences, however, the communities of these followers can be just as influential. According to TikTok For Business (2021), “part of the excitement of [TikTok] is derived from people having the power to choose the spaces they want to be part of, and the content they want to interact with.” The purpose of this study is to determine if social media influencers alter their image and self-presentation based on their community. The study examines the …

A Wellbeing@Ksu Journey: Mapw Portfolio, Meghan Cooper

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

A process narrative and samples and complete works from my time in MAPW and as a GRA within the health and well-being departments at KSU. The portfolio showcases my journey as a communicator and professional writer and how it has impacted my current career.

The Age Of Advanced Communication: Impacts Of Superpower Disinformation On U.S. Public Diplomacy, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Early

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

The age of advanced technology is among us. Beginning in the 1430s with the invention of the printing press, innovations such as the telegraph, radio, television, and the internet have changed the channels of communication, foreign and domestic, forever. Much of the previous research dominating the field of United States foreign policy focuses upon the age of disinformation. Some research pieces surrounding the impacts of communication tools on public diplomacy are outdated as technology is constantly changing. Rather, an up-to-date, comprehensive study of the shifting public diplomacy and media strategies due to these advanced communication tools would paint a thorough …

Advancing Technology & Digital Lifestyles: Facilitating A Group Independent Study, Kailey Droz

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

For my senior capstone project, I facilitated a group independent study (ISP) through Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Washington University called Advancing Technology and Digital Lifestyles. A small group of students and I critically and creatively analyzed our relationship with technology, and its impacts on the individual, interpersonal relationships, culture, and society. Prior to facilitating, I did research within the fields of cyberpsychology, social psychology, communication studies, and media studies. I am sharing my syllabus and facilitation notes, my final project (two short stories), an annotated bibliography, and a reflection on the group ISP and my process.

Here …

The Political Dynamics Of Legislative Reform: Potential Drivers Of The Next Communications Statute, Christopher S. Yoo, Tiffany Keung

All Faculty Scholarship

Although most studies of major communications reform legislation focus on the merits of their substantive provisions, analyzing the political dynamics that led to the enactment of such legislation can yield important insights. An examination of the tradeoffs that led the major industry segments to support the Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides a useful illustration of the political bargain that it embodies. Application of a similar analysis to the current context identifies seven components that could form the basis for the next communications statute: universal service, pole attachments, privacy, intermediary immunity, net neutrality, spectrum policy, and antitrust reform. Determining how these …

Correlation Between Social Media Use And Eating Disorder Symptoms: A Literature Review, Makenna Rose Burger

Kinesiology and Public Health

Importance: Social media is a pervasive influence in modern society presenting many potential public health implications.

Objective: The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize current research regarding social media and eating disorders.

Methods: Primary research was gathered from Google Scholar and OneSearch database resulting in 7 articles. Articles were examined for common themes.

Results: Common themes found in the resulting research is the prevalence of ‘thinspiration’, gamified content, and overlap of eating disorders with other mental illnesses. Several articles found a significant correlation between social media use and the severity of eating disorder symptoms. …

Rise Of Social Media Influencers As A New Marketing Channel: Focusing On The Roles Of Psychological Well-Being And Perceived Social Responsibility Among Consumers, Jihye Kim, Minseong Kim

Integrated Strategic Communication Faculty Publications

This empirical research investigated the structural relationships between social media influencer attributes, perceived friendship, psychological well-being, loyalty, and perceived social responsibility of influencers, focusing on the perspective of social media users. More specifically, this study conceptually identified social media influencer attributes such as language similarity, interest similarity, interaction frequency, and self-disclosure and examined the respective effects of each dimension on perceived friendship and psychological well-being, consequently resulting in loyalty toward social media influencers. The authors collected and analyzed data from 388 social media users in the United States via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk with multivariate analyses to test the hypothesized associations …

Sharing The News: The Role Of Social Media In News Diffusion And Audience Building In Media Houses In Kenya, Isaac Swila

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to assess how media houses in Kenya are using social media to diffuse their news content and build loyal audiences in a competitive media environment. It uses two media houses, the Nation Media Group and Royal Media Services as case studies. The study aimed at attaining four specific objectives: to examine how social media platforms, facilitate diffusion of news content in media houses in Kenya; to examine whether sharing of news on social media lead to growth of digital audiences; to examine the strategies legacy media stations in Kenya, use to disseminate news content …

A Framework Of Social Media Messages For Crisis And Risk Communication: A Study Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nic Depaula, Loni Hagen, Stiven Roytman, Deaundre Dyson, Dana Alnahass, Mihir Patel, Alex B. Hill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

Social media are important channels for crisis and risk communication by government agencies. However, existing frameworks for studying these messages use loose and inconsistent terminology, making it difficult to build on this research and understand how message features impact message diffusion. In this study, we provide a framework based on textual and media dimensions of messages for improved analysis of social media crisis and risk communication. We apply the framework to a sample of Twitter posts from United States local, state and federal public health agencies during a year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Results show reasonable reliability levels for coding …

Reddit As A Source Of Covid-19 Information: A Content Analysis Of R/Coronavirus During The Early Pandemic, Brent Hale, Mark Alberta, Seung Woo Chae

Faculty Publications

Emerging research has begun examining the utility of social media platforms for information dissemination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this developing thread, this work examines discourse within r/coronavirus, a Reddit forum (i.e., subreddit) developed to curate COVID-19 information that burgeoned during the early months of the pandemic. Through a content analysis of 226 posts and 2260 corresponding comments generated between February and May, 2020, this study investigated early-pandemic communication patterns in this platform, including what information was deemed important and how users framed causes and solutions. Overall, findings indicate that users of r/coronavirus prioritized information about COVID-19 spread, public health …