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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The New Media Frontier: How Social Media Affects Partisan Attachments, Candidate Evaluations, And Political Emotions, Justin Allen Rose May 2023

The New Media Frontier: How Social Media Affects Partisan Attachments, Candidate Evaluations, And Political Emotions, Justin Allen Rose

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to further our understanding of individual social media use on polarization, evaluation of political candidates, and political emotions. Three separate articles are utilized to illuminate the effects of individual social media use. The first article pushes forward a theory which argues that social media is uniquely positioned to affect partisan feelings due to its propensity to lead individuals into echo chambers—online places that reinforce their existing opinions and attitudes. The second argues that social media plays into the hyper-partisan nature of the American political landscape, and by way, putting forward an atmosphere which will lead individuals to …


Instagram Ideals: College Women's Body Image And Social Comparison, Paige K. Hill Dec 2022

Instagram Ideals: College Women's Body Image And Social Comparison, Paige K. Hill

Masters Theses

The present study unveils several themes that detail female college students’ experience, usage, and social comparison trends on Instagram, with a particular emphasis on body image. Compared to a study conducted by Meta Inc., which found that social comparison disproportionately affected young females (Social Comparison Exploratory Research, 2020), this study highlights insights directly expressed by young females in college concerning their past and current experiences on the platform. With over 90% of women in colleges across the United States reporting body and image dissatisfaction (Pritchard & Cramblitt, 2014), this study aims to contribute to existing literature, showcasing whether female students …


Consequences Of Information Exchanges Of Vulnerable Women On Facebook: An "Information Grounds" Study Informing Value Co-Creation And Ict4d Research, Devendra Potnis, Macy Halladay, Sara-Elizabeth Jones Sep 2022

Consequences Of Information Exchanges Of Vulnerable Women On Facebook: An "Information Grounds" Study Informing Value Co-Creation And Ict4d Research, Devendra Potnis, Macy Halladay, Sara-Elizabeth Jones

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) research sporadically leverages information science scholarship. Our qualitative study employs the “information grounds” (IG) lens to investigate the consequences of information exchanges by pregnant women on Facebook, who are vulnerable in the doctor-centric birth culture in rural America. The thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with members and administrators of the Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) group shows that positive consequences outweigh negative consequences of information exchanges and lead to the following progression of outcomes: (1) VBAC group as an information ground, (2) social capital (e.g., cognitive, structural, and relational capital) built on the …


Information Practices Of Administrators For Controlling Information In An Online Community Of New Mothers In Rural America, Devendra Potnis, Macy Halladay Aug 2022

Information Practices Of Administrators For Controlling Information In An Online Community Of New Mothers In Rural America, Devendra Potnis, Macy Halladay

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Rarely does any empirical investigation show how administrators routinely control information in online communities and alleviate misinformation, hate speech, and information overload supported by profit-driven algorithms. Thematic analysis of in-depth phone interviews with members and administrators of a “Vaginal Birth After Cesarean” (VBAC) group with over 500 new mothers on Facebook shows that the administrators make 19 choices for recurring, authoritative but evolving 19 information-related activities when (a) forming the VBAC group over Facebook for local new mothers, (b) actively recruiting women who had a VBAC or have related competencies, (c) removing doctors and solicitors from the group, (d) setting …


The Search For Mollie Tibbetts: How Social Media Functions In Missing Persons Cases, Alexandra R. House May 2019

The Search For Mollie Tibbetts: How Social Media Functions In Missing Persons Cases, Alexandra R. House

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.


How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray Dec 2014

How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation outlines three distinct, yet interrelated, projects aimed at understanding the role of technology in relation to emerging adulthood developmental tasks: individuation & identity development. The first paper provides a context for understanding the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood, and the role that technology may serve in relation to those developmental tasks. This brief review of the literature on emerging adulthood developmental tasks provides a solid theoretical background and history for the theoretical premises proposed for the respective studies included in this dissertation. The second project is an empirical investigation that seeks to understand how the task of identity …


Diffusion Of Social Media Among County 4-H Programs In Tennessee, Rebekah Bowen May 2012

Diffusion Of Social Media Among County 4-H Programs In Tennessee, Rebekah Bowen

Masters Theses

Over the past decade, Cooperative Extension and 4-H professionals have been faced with the decision of whether they should adopt new communication technologies such as social media to interact with their rapidly growing audience. Current research on social media and Extension shows that there are some identified risks and barriers (Fuess & Humphreys, 2011; Seger, 2011); however, many Extension professionals believe that social media usage could be very beneficial for Extension and\or 4-H usage (Coates, 2004; Rhoades, Thomas & Davis, 2009; Kinsey, 2010). In order to increase the body of empirical research on this subject, a quantitative study was conducted …


Social Media And Political Campaigns, Kristian Nicole Smith May 2011

Social Media And Political Campaigns, Kristian Nicole Smith

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.


Privacy And Generation Y: Applying Library Values To Social Networking Sites, Peter Fernandez Apr 2010

Privacy And Generation Y: Applying Library Values To Social Networking Sites, Peter Fernandez

Other Library Publications and Works

Librarians face many challenges when dealing with issues of privacy within the mediated space of social networking sites. Conceptually, social networking sites differ from libraries on privacy as a value. Research about Generation Y students, the primary clientele of undergraduate libraries, can inform librarians’ relationship to this important emerging technology. Five recommendations assist librarians in expanding their traditional commitment to privacy into the realm of social networking sites.


Balancing Outreach And Privacy In Facebook: Five Guiding Decisions Points, Peter Fernandez Jan 2009

Balancing Outreach And Privacy In Facebook: Five Guiding Decisions Points, Peter Fernandez

UT Libraries Faculty: Peer-Reviewed Publications

The purpose of this paper is to highlight five decision points intended to serve as guideposts for librarians attempting to conceptualize their own efforts within Facebook.