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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Content And Role Of Web Sites In Public Relations Of Religious Congregations, Jerlen Young Nelson Dec 2008

The Content And Role Of Web Sites In Public Relations Of Religious Congregations, Jerlen Young Nelson

Dissertations

This study presents an analysis of the content of Web sites belonging to local religious congregations. The study included a quantitative content analysis of the Web sites of 120 local congregations, which represented 12 different religious organizations. These religious organizations were all members of the Religious Communicators Council organization. Results of the study emphasized the basic content and functions of the Web sites. Overall, this study found that 43.3% of the Web sites were used for informational purposes only. For example, a few of the most prevalent variables on the Web sites were the general contact information, staff information, e-mail …


"George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People": Hip Hop, Public Discourse And Black Politics In The Early 21st Century, Hazel Bell James Cole Dec 2008

"George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People": Hip Hop, Public Discourse And Black Politics In The Early 21st Century, Hazel Bell James Cole

Dissertations

Recently, more scholars are examining hip hop as a powerful cultural, communicative force, yet hip hop's political orientation goes unnoticed. This study highlights the politics found in hip hop culture and in rap music since 2000 by exploring hip hop as a social movement. This study utilizes a critical, cultural approach by applying ideological case study and textual analyses methods. Song lyrics, activist efforts and black politics prove the political orientation of hip hop culture, which revealed that rap music in general is limited by capitalistic, hegemonic restraints juxtaposed to rappers serving as the legitimate voice of the marginalized and …


Adaptation In Egyptian Television: The Perception And Impact Of Egyptian Sitcoms On Egyptian Youth: A Case Study, Sara El Nagar Dec 2008

Adaptation In Egyptian Television: The Perception And Impact Of Egyptian Sitcoms On Egyptian Youth: A Case Study, Sara El Nagar

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies adaption in Egyptian television. Specifically studying how Egyptian youth perceive the idea of Arabizing sitcoms, what their preferences are in comparison to American sitcoms, and how successful do they see the experience of Arabizing American sitcoms. It also studied the impact of the Egyptian (Arabized) sitcoms on the behavior and lifestyle of Egyptian youth.

A non-probability purposive sample of 403 Egyptian youth was tested. The sample consisted of both males and females almost evenly distributed between both sexes and between all age groups. The sample was tested using a questionnaire.

Results of this study showed that Egyptian …


Web Site Content Management Systems: Selection And Usage At Land-Grant Universities, Deborah Dalhouse Sep 2008

Web Site Content Management Systems: Selection And Usage At Land-Grant Universities, Deborah Dalhouse

All Theses

American land-grant universities generate large amounts of information for their Web sites, which serve a variety of audiences in addition to students, faculty, and staff. Many of these universities are beginning to search for Web site content management systems (CMS) to help organize this information. However, there are hundreds - if not thousands - of systems in this emerging arena, with no clear market leader. This paper provides a snapshot of the experiences of communicators at several universities where content management systems are in use. The purpose is to provide criteria to help Web site managers at universities and other …


A Social Relational Model For Firm-Hosted Virtual Communities: The Role Of Firm Support, Tung Duy Cu Jul 2008

A Social Relational Model For Firm-Hosted Virtual Communities: The Role Of Firm Support, Tung Duy Cu

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Since the ease of participation and the usefulness of information provided by online groups continue to proliferate in the World Wide Web, people increasingly participate in different forms of virtual community (i.e. online forums, bulletin boards, message boards, chat rooms) for their purposes, such as solving problems, building social relationships, sharing passions, developing professionals.

Accordingly, an increasing number of companies are now attempting to exploit this phenomenon by hosting and supporting their own online community for commercial and non-commercial purposes, such as building relationships with their customers, getting their feedback, strengthening the brand, and reducing customer service costs by enabling …


Martin Luther: Perceptions Of The Reformer In Popular Culture And Historical Scholarship, Kathryn R. Cross Jul 2008

Martin Luther: Perceptions Of The Reformer In Popular Culture And Historical Scholarship, Kathryn R. Cross

History Theses & Dissertations

Martin Luther's remarkable life, his impressive body of written work, his dynamic and charismatic personality, and his impact on the world have long been a source of interest in the world of academia and of popular culture. This thesis examines the affect of the scholarly historical research of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries regarding Luther and its affect on perception of the reformer in popular culture as presented by the media.

The opening section of the thesis presents an examination and evaluation of Lutheran scholarship and how historical trends have affected the reformer's image in the academic world. Documents …


Women, Personal Blogs, And The Cultural Public Sphere: Surveying Females' Blogsphere In Egypt, Lobna Abd Almaguid Shoukry Jun 2008

Women, Personal Blogs, And The Cultural Public Sphere: Surveying Females' Blogsphere In Egypt, Lobna Abd Almaguid Shoukry

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Impact Of Fatawa El-Jihad On Users Of Islamonline.Net, Hanaa Ahmed Marie Jun 2008

Impact Of Fatawa El-Jihad On Users Of Islamonline.Net, Hanaa Ahmed Marie

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Uses And Gratifications Of Webloggers In Egypt, Mona Munir El-Hefnawi Jun 2008

Uses And Gratifications Of Webloggers In Egypt, Mona Munir El-Hefnawi

Archived Theses and Dissertations

Since its entrance in Egypt, blogs have had a powerful effect on the political, social, and economic aspects in Egypt. To be able to measure those effects, it is important to know the intentions of those Egyptian bloggers. This study applies the uses and gratifications theoretical framework to this notion of blogging. As it is based on a survey which attempts to examine and explore the different uses and gratifications of blogging in Egypt. This involves why different people with different demographic characteristics actually decide to blog and what needs they seek to gratify. Independent variables studied were age, gender, …


Portrayal Of Characters With Mental Disabilities In Egyptian Films: A Content Analysis On Egyptian Feature Films Produced 1950s-2000s, Reem Amr Abdelhamid Jun 2008

Portrayal Of Characters With Mental Disabilities In Egyptian Films: A Content Analysis On Egyptian Feature Films Produced 1950s-2000s, Reem Amr Abdelhamid

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Uses And Gratifications Of Sex Education Programs On Arab Satellite Channels Among Egyptian Youth, Mai Mohamed Mamdouh El-Nawawy Jun 2008

Uses And Gratifications Of Sex Education Programs On Arab Satellite Channels Among Egyptian Youth, Mai Mohamed Mamdouh El-Nawawy

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Agenda Setting Of Arabic Related Content On German Tv: A Content Analysis On Deutsche Welle Tv Arabia, Nadine Abdel Latif Rashwan Jun 2008

Agenda Setting Of Arabic Related Content On German Tv: A Content Analysis On Deutsche Welle Tv Arabia, Nadine Abdel Latif Rashwan

Archived Theses and Dissertations

In today's media, international broadcasting is a tool to communicate with a world wide audience. Most of the networks, especially those that are linked with their country's government, try to use their international channels to deliver national policy or want to convey certain important factors of their home culture to nations all over the world e.g. language.

The question of broadcast content is a very controversial issue. That is why in this thesis the researcher has focused on the content of the German TV network Deutsche Welle TV Arabia in order to analyze what kind topics the channel focuses on …


Employing Humor Appeal In Egyptian Tv Commercials: A Content Analysis On Ramadan And Non Ramadan Advertising Campaigns, Rana Saad Hassan Jun 2008

Employing Humor Appeal In Egyptian Tv Commercials: A Content Analysis On Ramadan And Non Ramadan Advertising Campaigns, Rana Saad Hassan

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Arabic Rhetoric Discourse: An Analysis Of Opinion Newspaper Articles, Fatma Gad Jun 2008

Arabic Rhetoric Discourse: An Analysis Of Opinion Newspaper Articles, Fatma Gad

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This study is a descriptive quantitative study which examines text superstructure patterns of opinion articles written in Arabic by native Arabic-speakers. It addresses three questions: 1) What is/are the rhetorical superstructure pattern(s) of Arabic argumentative texts represented in newspaper political/social opinion articles? And what are the frequencies of these patterns? 2) Where, in these opinion articles, do Arab writers prefer to introduce their "general thesis"? And 3) What are the argument constructions and forms used by Arab writers within opinion articles? By utilizing an adapted Problem-Solution analysis pattern to answer the study’s questions, the text superstructure of 26 opinion newspaper …


A Documentation Of The Videography Process For Maintaining The Mountains: The Preservation Of Appalachian Music, Steven O. Middleton May 2008

A Documentation Of The Videography Process For Maintaining The Mountains: The Preservation Of Appalachian Music, Steven O. Middleton

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Humanities at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Steven 0. Middleton in May of 2008.


Toward A Free Collegiate Press: An Analysis Of Influences That Can Lead To Censorship At College Newspapers, Shaniece Bell Bickham May 2008

Toward A Free Collegiate Press: An Analysis Of Influences That Can Lead To Censorship At College Newspapers, Shaniece Bell Bickham

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore the impact that influences at the individual, organizational and societal levels had on content in college and university student newspapers. Specifically, this research examined the ways that influences at the three levels could lead to censorship of the student press. A quantitative study was conducted through the use of online survey research. Student editors, faculty advisers, and academic affairs administrators of journalism and mass communication programs that are recognized as being accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) were surveyed to gather information about the structure …


A Juxtaposition Of Current Federal Campaign Finance And Lobbying Law, Elizabeth Weiner May 2008

A Juxtaposition Of Current Federal Campaign Finance And Lobbying Law, Elizabeth Weiner

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


The Pentacle Quest: Wiccan Religion In The Media, Paula Johnson Apr 2008

The Pentacle Quest: Wiccan Religion In The Media, Paula Johnson

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

No abstract provided.


Free Press V. Fair Trials: A Comparative Study Of Media Law And Ethics In The United States And Great Britain, Alison Spindler Mar 2008

Free Press V. Fair Trials: A Comparative Study Of Media Law And Ethics In The United States And Great Britain, Alison Spindler

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Exposure To Arabic Music Video Clips And Egyptian Men's Perception Of Females & Marriage, Maram Mohammed Mohie Eldin Said Feb 2008

Exposure To Arabic Music Video Clips And Egyptian Men's Perception Of Females & Marriage, Maram Mohammed Mohie Eldin Said

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Egyptians' Perception Of The Shias And The Role Of Media, Raya Shokatfard Feb 2008

Egyptians' Perception Of The Shias And The Role Of Media, Raya Shokatfard

Archived Theses and Dissertations

The research about Egyptians’ perception of the Shias and the role of media is very significant, especially at this time, due to the sensitivity of its broader impact on the Muslim world. Media, as one of the most important tools of communication, has always played a significant role in the mediation of religion through various channels. The researcher has not found pervious research about this topic and thus hopes to establish a foundation for further study of similar work. The study shows that media in Egypt may have played a great role in creating a negative image of the Shias …


Internet Use And Environmental Justice: An Exploratory Study, Jane Catherine Dailey Jan 2008

Internet Use And Environmental Justice: An Exploratory Study, Jane Catherine Dailey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My study examined how inner-city adults perceive and experience the Internet as a civic engagement tool, and if they view the Internet as a tool for environmental advocacy. Research shows a consistent divide between those with Internet access and those without. Individuals living in low-income minority communities are the least likely groups to be Internet connected. Consequently, the Internet could further separate historically marginalized communities from important government and social resources rather than bringing them closer. Qualitative research methods were used to reveal socially-constructed perceptions of the Internet as a civic engagement tool in the inner city. Grounded theory techniques …


Conversations On Citizenship: Young People's Perceptions And Performances Of Democratic Citizenship, Katherine Rhodes Knobloch Jan 2008

Conversations On Citizenship: Young People's Perceptions And Performances Of Democratic Citizenship, Katherine Rhodes Knobloch

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate how the practice of democratic citizenship compares to ideals of it. I hope to provide a clear view of what contemporary democratic citizenship means, how this conception has been formed, and how democratic citizenship can be effectively practiced to serve the ideals held by democratic citizens. To do this, this paper will be comprised in several parts. After an initial explanation of the theoretical perspective used, I will explore how democracy was understood and implemented in the formative stages of United States government. Next I review contemporary practices of citizenship before examining …


Gender Stereotypes In Spanish Language Television Programming For Children In The United States, Carlo Andre Romo Jan 2008

Gender Stereotypes In Spanish Language Television Programming For Children In The United States, Carlo Andre Romo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Children's television programming falling within the traditional Saturday morning time slot for four continuous Saturdays on five Spanish language networks in a southwest border city in the United States constituted the sample for this study. Each of the programs in the study was broken down and analyzed for character demographics, character behaviors and consequences received for those behaviors. Eight categories of behavior were scored, including four traditionally male behaviors (aggression, autonomy, construction, dominance) and four traditionally female behaviors (deference, dependence, harm avoidance, nurturing). The analysis of demographic data revealed male characters clearly outnumbered female characters and female characters were significantly …


New Media In New Democracies: Perceptions Of Good Governance Among Traditional And Internet-Based Media Users In Kyrgyzstan, Svetlana Viktorovna Kulikova Jan 2008

New Media In New Democracies: Perceptions Of Good Governance Among Traditional And Internet-Based Media Users In Kyrgyzstan, Svetlana Viktorovna Kulikova

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the potential and role of the Internet-based media in the Kyrgyz Republic’s political processes after the 2005 March Revolution. It uses a model of interaction between the government and citizens through various types of realities: the reality constructed and imposed by the state-controlled media, the reality created by alternative, independent sources of information online, and the realities experienced by citizens in their daily lives. The model pulled together various theories from political science, sociology, psychology, and mass communication and focused on the exit-voice-loyalty options available for the citizens in response to governance practices. The research project uses …


It's Not Rocket Science: Nasa's Crisis Communication Efforts As A Public Sector Organization Following The Columbia Shuttle Disaster, Emily Ann Schult Jan 2008

It's Not Rocket Science: Nasa's Crisis Communication Efforts As A Public Sector Organization Following The Columbia Shuttle Disaster, Emily Ann Schult

LSU Master's Theses

Seventeen years after the Challenger accident, the space shuttle Columbia and its crew were only forty miles from Kennedy Space Center when the shuttle exploded during re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere. The explosion killed all seven astronauts onboard. NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations immediately jumped into action, declaring a contingency and following the Agency Contingency Action Plan for Space Flight Operations. As a public sector organization, one that must report to Congress and the American public, NASA is held to different standards than private organizations when it comes to releasing information. To understand how public sector organizations handle …


Message Framing And Interactivity In Direct-To-Consumer Internet Advertisements: Visual And Textual Cues On Web Sites For Prescription Medications, Brooke Alayne Harrington Jan 2008

Message Framing And Interactivity In Direct-To-Consumer Internet Advertisements: Visual And Textual Cues On Web Sites For Prescription Medications, Brooke Alayne Harrington

LSU Master's Theses

Americans’ adoption of the Internet has spawned the increased usage of this medium for direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical manufacturers, despite the widespread controversy over the ethics of the practice, the educational value of direct-to-consumer advertising, and the ultimate cost of the practices to the public. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates the industry’s advertising within traditional media, the agency does not yet impose standards for direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medications on the Internet. This content analysis of the visual and textual cues of 100 direct-to-consumer Web sites for prescription medications identifies the unexpected strong presence of gain frames …


A Comparison Of The Moral Development Of Advertising And Journalism Students, Stephanie Marino Jan 2008

A Comparison Of The Moral Development Of Advertising And Journalism Students, Stephanie Marino

LSU Master's Theses

This study employed the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to complete the analysis and comparison of the moral development of mass communication students, specifically those who major in advertising and journalism. The DIT is an instrument based on Kohlberg’s moral development theory and is a device for assessing the extent to which a person has developed his or her moral schemas. Results indicate no statistically significant difference in levels of moral development between sampled students majoring in journalism and advertising; no difference in levels of moral development between students who have and have not completed a course in media ethics; and …


Foreign News And Public Opinion: Attribute Agenda-Setting Theory Revisited, Asya A. Besova Jan 2008

Foreign News And Public Opinion: Attribute Agenda-Setting Theory Revisited, Asya A. Besova

LSU Master's Theses

This study contributes to the body of research on public opinion and media coverage of foreign news by examining the coverage of nine foreign countries in The New York Times and The Times. Media coverage and the public opinion about foreign nations were strongly correlated. Specifically, negative coverage tends to have more agenda-setting effects than neutral and positive coverage. The findings also suggest that media portray foreign countries in a unidimensional fashion, by limiting the coverage around a few policy issues. Finally, the U.S. and the U.K. media coverage of foreign nations were very similar.


Entertainment Media And "Backstage" Event Framing: How 24 Defines Torture, Skye Chance Cooley Jan 2008

Entertainment Media And "Backstage" Event Framing: How 24 Defines Torture, Skye Chance Cooley

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of the current study is to examine how the prime time television show 24 frames torture by US government officials almost exclusively in scenarios of high-consequence, high-confidence that are not supported by public opinion polls, provide contextual rationalizations that are unrealistic, show torture methods as a viable means to gain needed information, and show enemy combatants torturing U.S. citizens. Through a quantitative content analysis of torture on the television series 24 and an analysis of focus groups’ reactions to select episodes of 24 portraying torture in such scenarios, the study seeks to investigate the role of entertainment media …