Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Nipomo Toys For Tots Drive Public Relations Campaign: To Gain Media Coverage For Holiday Toy Donations And The Third Annual Toys For Tots Benefit Golf Tournament, Jessa Squellati

Journalism

This research and documentation is an analysis and instructive guide for conducting a public relations campaign to promote the Nipomo Toys for Tots Drive. This campaign places emphasis on the importance of publicity to successfully gain toy donations and awareness for the Toys for Tots cause. With the recent downturn of the economy, the media will be instrumental in furthering the Toys for Tots mission and purpose to collect an estimated 3,000 toy donations for Nipomo children (newborns to 16 years of age). Although the 2008 Nipomo Toys for Tots Drive was successful without the presence of media coverage, the …

Political Cartoons And Graphic Novels: A Study Of Political And Social Commentary In Comics, Daniella Orihuela-Gruber

Journalism

No abstract provided.

Journalism Students, Web 2.0 And The Digital Divide, Mary Elizabeth Green

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to find out if students were utilizing Web 2.0 applications. Since the applications in question are often employed by the media industry, the study aspired to find out if students majoring in mass communication and journalism utilized the applications more often than other students. The “digital divide” is a term used to describe the difference in skill levels in using computer technology and the Internet. Some of the variables typically associated with the digital divide include gender, age, ethnicity, lack of a broadband connection and previous experience using the technology. This study looks at …

Communication Collaboration, Cohesion, And Decision Making: Perceived Differences Between Top Management Teams And Regular Work Teams, Elijah L. Murphy

Communication ETDs

Differences in communication collaboration, cohesion and decision making between top teams and regular teams was investigated. An analysis of 253 members of top teams and regular teams was used to determine where these differences exist. To identify differences between these two groups a one way ANOVA was conducted. Additionally, a decision making scale was designed and evaluated using a confirmatory factor analysis. Collaboration was evaluated using measures of knowledge sharing, workgroup support and employee attitude. Cohesion was evaluated using measures of sense of belonging and morale. Decision making was evaluated using measures of authority rule, majority rule, consensus, and satisficing. …

Online Marriage And "Buhay Ko" (My Life): Views From Filipino Prospective Brides, Wives, And Their U.S./British/Australian Husbands, Maria Jessica Crespo

Communication ETDs

Online marriage programs or mail-order-bride programs have gained tremendous popularity and international reach in the recent years. Online marriage programs are venues in which women can advertise themselves as available for marriage and where men can find potential wives. These programs have both critics and proponents. Critics say it is a form of exploitation and control while proponents argue that it leads to happiness and romance. Although critics' and proponents' views have been well presented in many of the mail-order-bride literature, there is little information or account of the experiences of the participants. This study gives attention to the discursive …

Aruba And Natalee Holloway: A Content Analysis Of Four Years Of Newspaper Coverage Surrounding The Incident., Brittany Parks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Negative media coverage can have a significant impact on the image of a country and can be detrimental to tourism-dependent areas. This study examined the newspaper coverage of Aruba 2 years before and after American tourist Natalee Holloway disappeared while vacationing with fellow classmates on a class trip. A content analysis of 400 major world newspapers was conducted. The study's purpose was to uncover the amount of publicity (both good and bad) from the incident as well as to unearth the overall tone towards Aruba.

The study revealed the Holloway incident did have a visible effect on the world news …

Through The Eyes Of The Post: American Media Coverage Of The Armenian Genocide., Jessica L. Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many historians refer to the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as the first genocide of the twentieth century. In the context of the first global war, the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire were systematically persecuted and many eliminated while the world watched. Yet today, American memory and conception of the Armenian Genocide is remarkably different from similar historical events such as the Holocaust. The Armenian Genocide and America's reaction to it is a forgotten event in American memory.

In an attempt to better understand this process of forgetting, this thesis analyzes the Washington Post's news coverage of the Armenian Genocide. By …

Remembering Pan Am 103: Lessons Learned 20 Years Later, Victoria Wells

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Twenty years ago, on December 21, 1988, a bomb exploded aboard flight Pan Am 103. The plane crashed intoLockerbie,Scotland, killing 270 people on board and on the ground. Among those lost were 35SyracuseUniversitystudents coming back from a semester abroad inLondon.

This documentary uses interviews with about 40 professors and former students to tell the story of Pan Am 103. These people were reunited on campus during Remembrance Week 2008. This project explores the mistakes that were made and lessons that have been learned. The research is supplemented by interviews with current faculty and staff members. These people have researched and …

Zipped Magazine, Shilpa Prabhakar

Honors Capstone Projects - All

For my capstone project, I chose to do something that fell within the creative category. Being a magazine journalism major, most of my coursework has to do with editing, writing, and layout so I wanted to use the skills I learned in the classroom to create and find a new publication on the S.U. campus. Zipped magazine is S.U.’s only fashion publication and it allows students with an interest in this area, the opportunity to further develop their skills through writing, photography, graphics and design. Furthermore, readers are able to learn about issues that the fashion industry faces in the …

Inkstinct Tattoo-Lifestyle Magazine, Celina Rosita Tousignant

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Inkstinct, an American tattoo-lifestyle magazine, covers a broad assortment of editorial content in six regular sections: “Inkternet,” “Fokus,” “Kulture,” “Inkternational,” “Lokal,” and “Your Ink.” Created as a regularly published magazine, Inkstinct’s sections allow for fresh content every month, while enabling consistency in theme and reader expectations.

The target demographic of Inkstinct falls between the age of 18 and 35, has interest in tattoos and body manipulations, and is both male and female. Inkstinct assumes readers have at least a very basic knowledge of tattoos and body manipulations, and avoids explaining basic information in detail. However, Inkstinct’s editorial …

The Fourth Phase: New Media And Political Campaigns, Timothy Martinez Jr.

Honors Capstone Projects - All

With the increased use of new media in political elections, I set out to answer two important questions: how does new media affect the relationship among candidates, journalists, and citizens during elections and how will traditional media adapt to the new technology? Since this topic is evolving, I read blogs and news articles during the 2008 presidential election and reflected on past elections to discover key differences.

I found that four key distinctions pertaining to new media that made the 2008 election different than previous ones. First was the creation of a virtual town hall, which was illustrated through public …

From Page To Screen: Television And The Decline Of Fiction In Magazines, Mirel Ketchiff

Honors Capstone Projects - All

My Capstone project explores how the rise of television contributed to the decline of fiction in magazines and the decline of general interest magazines in America. I argue that television appealed more to advertisers as a mass-market medium than general interest magazines. Magazines had to find a new way to appeal to advertisers, and they did so by becoming niche publications that could offer advertisers a specific type of audience, rather than just a huge amount of readers. Fiction had been used in magazines as a form of mass-market entertainment; with magazines become geared towards specialized interests, fiction fell by …

Parasocial Relationships With Celebrities: An Illusion Of Intimacy With Mediated Friends, Amanda R. Laken

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research looked at parasocial interactions among college students. The study looked at the differences in gender and parasocial interaction, ethnicity/race and parasocial interaction, and the type of entertainment the celebrity was in and parasocial interaction. The research looked at celebrities as themselves and not as the characters they play as previous studies have. The research consisted of a revised parasocial interaction scale along with basic demographic questions. Although there have been studies examining levels of worship among different celebrities, they have been no correlations or differences stated concerning parasocial interactions. In addition, there has been no previous research stating …

Analyzing Policy Issues In Presidential Speeches And The Media: An Agenda-Setting Study, Jessica L. Hughes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For decades, researchers have maintained that the president has a significant role in setting the policy-making agenda. In this study, a grounded theory approach was applied to determine President George W. Bush's success in focusing the media's attention toward policies mentioned in his State of the Union Addresses (2002-2008). Bush's issue priorities were determined by coding individual paragraphs as themes. To identify the frequency of these same themes in the media, the front pages of The L.A. Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post were analyzed one week before and after each address. Coding was limited to every …

Women's Health And Fitness Magazines: An Accurate Portrayal?, Jennifer M. Shymansky

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study is a content analysis examining the representation of health information, particularly the leading causes of death, in cover story headlines of one year of the top women's health and fitness magazines: Prevention , Shape , Fitness , Self , Health and Women's Health. The study is grounded in social responsibility theory, a normative media theory. The findings show that women's health and fitness magazines' cover story headlines predominately discuss diet and exercise for weight loss, rather than the leading causes of death facing women. This under representation of actual societal health concerns can limit the vast readerships' health …

Torturing Terrorists For National Security Imperatives: Mediated Violence On "24", Michael D. Sears

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study analyzed mediated violent content as seen on the FOX television program 24. The study covered a seven year period, or six seasons, of 24 , with a sample set of 43 episodes and 445 individual acts ofviolence. Three research questions guided this study. The first research question sought to determine if a relation exists between heroic characters inflicting torturous violence and justifying the act with a national security imperative. The second research question examined the prevailing mode of violence and the use of nonlethal and lethal weapons. The third research question examined the portrayed efficiency of violence on …

The Role Of The Press In Helping The Society In Transition In Ethiopia, Melisew Dejene Lemma

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Framing The Darfur Crisis In Videoblogs And Sudanese Newspapers, Ehab Hamdi Gomaa

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Anti-Depressant Advertising On Perception Of Depression In College Students At Marshall University, Deirdre Robertson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This exploratory study was designed to determine the effects, if any, of direct-to-consumer advertising of anti-depressants on Marshall University students’ perceptions of depression and anti-depressant medication. For the purposes of the study, two versions of an advertisement were created: one including three false statements regarding depression and antidepressants, and one without false statements. A fifteen-question survey was also created as a baseline to measure whether the advertisement condition had any direct effects on the participants’ perceptions of depression and anti-depression and to provide comparison for the participants’ reactions. All three groups took the survey. There were ninety participants in the …

A Comparative Analysis Of The New York Times [U.S.A.] And The Nation Media Group [Kenya] Presidential Opinion Polls Coverage 90 Days Prior To Election Day, David Okoth

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study seeks to find out whether there exists a relationship between the New York Times (U.S.) and the Nation Media Group (Kenya) coverage of presidential opinion poll results 90 days prior to Election Day. One research hypothesis was identified; (_H1) that there is a relationship – of difference – in how the two publications cover presidential opinion poll stories. The study identified 440 presidential opinion poll stories over a 90- day period prior to Election Day. It analyzed election coverage from October-December 2007 for the Nation and August-November 2008 for the Times. The study established that …

Niche Publications: Their Popularity And Profitability At Newspapers In Utah And West Virginia, Hilary Groutage Weible

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Newspapers have turned to niche, or specialty, publications as a way to boost revenue and readership since the popularity of the Internet and the rapidly changing ways of news delivery left many awash in a sea of red ink beginning in the mid 1990s. There is little empirical evidence that these publications benefit the host newspaper. This study is an attempt to add to that bank of knowledge. Editors, publishers and advertising managers in Utah and West Virginia were invited by e-mail to answer a Web-based survey about the popularity of niche publications among their readers and staffs. The study …

Digital Hypertexts Vs. Traditional Books: An Inquiry Into Non-Linearity, Federica Fornaciari

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The current study begins with an awareness that today’s media environment is characterized by technological development and a new way of reading caused by the introduction of the Internet. The researcher conducted a meta analysis framed within Technological Determinism to investigate the process of hypertext reading, its differences from linear reading and the effects such differences can have on people’s ways of mentally structuring their world. The relationship between literacy and the comprehension achieved by reading hypertexts is also investigated. The results show hypertexts are not always user friendly. People experience hyperlinks as interruptions that distract their attention generating comprehension …

The Media And Public Opinion In Kenya: The Impact Of Print Media Coverage Of The Grand Coalition Government, Samuel Kamau

Theses & Dissertations

This study sought to investigate the impact of media coverage of the coalition government and how it influences public opinion. The objectives of the study focused on the role played by the print media in determining how the public views the coalition government, the relationship between media coverage and public opinion was investigated and the impact of media framing on public perception. The study explored the possible impact of this coverage of grand coalition government covering the period starting from December 1512008 to August 31512009. As part of the theoretical framework, the study applied the agenda setting theory, decision making …

Still Standing, Wendy Joy Rosoff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On April 20, 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School and killed 12 students and 1 teacher. The days following the shooting were spent questioning their motive and it seems, to this day, some are still confused. If those in charge of the investigation would have stopped pointing fingers and listened to the cries of the shooters and the students, they would see that Columbine was a time bomb. Students tells stories of bullying and torment and many agree that a group of athletes dominated the school.

Most who see bullying see it as entertaining, but …

Gender, Feminism, And Blogging In Egypt, Irene M. Meshreky

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Communication Technologies: Diffusion Of Online News Use And Credibility Among Young Web Users In The Information Age, Chee Youn Kang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The increasing popularity and extensive usage of communication technologies, particularly the Internet and online news, makes it important to obtain an insightful perception of the new media. The purpose of this study is to examine the diffusion of online news use and credibility among young web users in terms of how these main users adopt, use, and trust the new media. This study attempts to find which online news sites are widely used by this group, based on the credibility of online news adopted among undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), in which demographic …