Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Media's Influence On Political Communication: A Content Analysis Of Donald Trump's Tweets In The First 100 Days Of His Presidency, Priscilla L. Flores

Theses and Dissertations

Evolving technologies allow politicians to directly reach large audiences to increase interaction. Nevertheless, the average American’s attention span fell from twelve to eight seconds in the last decade; creating a gap that traditional media could not fill. Modern social media fills the gap by allowing information to be more accessible, direct, and permanent. Now, politicians can address audiences more frequently and directly through mobile devices - a tactic which creates a perception of immediacy unseen in past political climates. Donald Trump demonstrated that Twitter can be just as effective - if not more so - than traditional means of political …

The Impact Participation In School Actvities, Events And Organizations Has On The Veterans' Ability To Assimilate To Campus Culture, Eric Scott Fagan

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between student veterans’ self-perceived level of participation in school activities/events and school organizations and the association his/her participation has with his/her level of assimilation to college life. This study serves as the basis for follow up research, aiming to discover innovative tools and resources that will assist veterans facing difficulty with assimilating to college life. Subjects in the study are one hundred student veterans from a southwestern university and college. The instruments for the study are the Veteran Involvement Questionnaire (VIQ) and the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ). The results of the study reveal …

The Smuggler Journals: Transgressing And Policing The Border In The Rio Grande Valley, Lupe Alberto Flores

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis summarizes recent human smuggling scholarship and provides ethnographic insights into migrant smuggling in a border zone that is my home. Through exploring my own experiences and observations of smuggling and militarized border policing, and those of other interlocutors in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, I advance nuanced understandings of the symbiotic processes of irregular migration and of the people who brokerage a great deal of these journeys across militarized borders. I analyze fieldnotes that highlight the quotidian realms in which gender and power play out when irregular migration takes place and argue that acts of border …

Social Scrutiny: How Viewers' Comments Affect Female Tv Journalists' Appearance, Heather Reena Arevalo-Flores

Theses and Dissertations

Television news anchors are often rated based on their appearance. News directors and consultants believe viewers want to see young and attractive women. While the media managers focus on high ratings, there are few studies that specifies how female journalist feel about being judged based on their appearance. There is no research that focuses on the comments female journalist receive on social media. The present research will investigate if viewers’ comments affect a female journalists’ appearance and how it affects her credibility. This qualitative study asks female journalist about comments they have received from viewers on their appearance through social …

An Exploratory Study Of "The Right Days Game:" A Decision-Making Communication Game For Couples, David R. Cohen

Theses and Dissertations

An exploratory study was conducted using “The Right Days Game,” a decision making communication game in which couples take turns making decisions. for the couple on alternating days for four weeks. Several scales were used as well as an interview to obtain the data. Numerous obstacles were encountered that prevented addressing the original hypotheses.

Approximately 1,000 people clicked on the introduction survey; 81% of these were women. Approximately 50% dropped out when they were asked for their email. An email was sent to the participant’s partner inviting them to join the research. The response rate was 20% with a dropout …

Comunicando Emociones: Language Preferences For Hispanics In The Rio Grande Valley, Elim Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

According to the U.S Census Bureau, more than one million Hispanic or Latino individuals live in the southernmost area of Texas called The Rio Grande Valley (RGV). However, being Hispanic in the RGV does not mean you speak Spanish. In fact, most of the population speaks English and/or Spanish or “Spanglish” (Tex-Mex). As a result, individuals face code-switching (switching back and forth in two languages) when they communicate with one another. Which language do they prefer to express their emotions in? The study posed a research question along this line. Nine college students who met the research criteria were interviewed …

Using Computer-Mediated Communication As A Tool For Mentoring To Latina/O Sophomore College Students, Carly C. Peden

Theses and Dissertations

The sophomore year of college can be challenging for many students specifically Latina/o students. New initiatives are being created to increase Latina/o enrollment, retention, and completion of higher education with research indicating Latinas/os are successful academically when they had a mentor or perceived someone on campus cared about them. Mentoring programs use various tools to communicate, but computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools have not been examined in Latina/o peer mentoring relationships.

The current research study examined secondary data to see if Latina/o sophomore college students in a peer mentoring program were academically successful when using CMC to communicate with their mentor. …