Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Internet And Civil Society: Environmental And Labour Organizations In Hong Kong, Yin-Wah Chu, James T. H. Tang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

To what extent has the Internet strengthened civil society? In which ways have civil society organizations (CSOs) used the internet to communicate their missions, enhance the discussion of public issues, extend networks and mobilize collective actions? This article seeks to answer these and related questions by reporting on an empirical study in Hong Kong. The study involves an analysis of the web pages launched by 14 environmental groups and 22 labour organizations on the one hand, and in-depth interviews with representatives of five of these organizations on the other. Due to the lack of resources and low level of e-readiness …

The Internet As An Anchor: A Comparative Analysis Model Of Internet Advocacy And Web Site Production In Japan And The Issue Of History Textbook Reform, Daniel Mark Dowdle

Theses and Dissertations

This master's thesis is a grounded theory study of the development of the Internet as a tool for political action in Japan by groups and individuals producing web pages on the issue of history textbook reform. Through the analysis of 14 in-depth interviews, a framework is developed for understanding the role the Internet has taken in political action in Japan. As activists utilize the Internet in political activism, the Internet appears to be developing into an anchor for continuing political activism. For activists, the Internet is a central point of reference for both mass communication and interpersonal communication activities. The …

The World Of Yaoi: The Internet, Censorship And The Global “Boys’ Love” Fandom, Mark J. Mclelland

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

This paper looks at the recent explosion of cultural concern over child sexual abuse and child pornography, particularly as it relates to the trading of such images via the internet. It is noted that legislation originally enacted to prohibit the sexualized representation of actual children has recently been extended to include fictional representations and in Australia includes text as well as graphics. Taking the online global fandom dedicated to ‘boys’ love’ (also known as yaoi) as an example, I argue that legislation prohibiting fictional accounts of ‘child’ sex-abuse is ill-conceived and potentially damaging to human rights and freedom of expression. …

Dramatism, Feminine Style And Women's Weblogs: Women Speaking In The E-Public, Misty York

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

During the 2004 election cycle, online communication technologies emerged as a legitimate influence on political participation and strategy. Weblogs (blogs) played a pivotal role in the Internet's unprecedented sway. This research combined Burke's (1969) dramatism with Campbell's (1989) feminine style to describe and critique three women's political blogs. The pentad highlighted an argument derived from each blogger's master narrative, while feminine style analysis revealed subtle differences among the women's persuasive tactics.

Ua1b2/1/5 Oral History, Paula Trafton, Charles Anderson

WKU Archives Records

Interview conducted by Paula Trafton with Charles Anderson, retired Vice President for Information Technology.

Preserving The American Community Newspaper In An Age Of New Media Convergence And Competition, Stephen Michael Wilson

Communication Theses

The intention of this project is to provide broad based and practical advice for American community newspapers. Print editions of papers have experienced stagnation and decline over the past several decades and today face an increasingly complex media environment, and as a result there is the potential for them to be rendered obsolete. Competition with technology based media, or technomedia, is the primary catalyst for this decline. Through a combination of background research and interviews with industry professionals, this project will attempt to develop tools for print newspapers to remain relevant and even profitable in the American media landscape of …

A Pilot Study Considering The Impact Of Husband's Internet Based Pornography Use Upon Marital Adjustment, Satisfaction, And Intimacy Within A Clinical Sample., Anthony T. Alonzo

Theses and Dissertations

With increased access and use of pornography over the internet, the association between pornography use and marital distress needed to be examined in a quantitative manner. There was a need to discover if, and or how, marital relationships are impacted by internet pornography use. Assessment instruments were used to measure internet pornography use (Internet Sex Screen Test revised for pornography), marital adjustment (Marital Adjustment Test items #1 and #14), marital satisfaction (Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale), and marital intimacy (Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships). The results of this study suggested the following; there was a significant positive relationship between the …

Does The Internet Fundamentally Change Anything?: European Research And The Cost A20 Action On The Impact Of The Internet On Mass Media (Television, Newspapers And Radio), Brian O'Neill

Conference Papers

The subject of this paper represents one attempt at a more balanced approach and consists of the research undertaken under the COST A20 action, ‘The Impact of the Internet on Mass Media’. The paper presents a brief overview of some of the principal themes under discussion in relation to radio, television and newspapers as well as offering some reflections on the emerging issues for communications research at a cross media level. The central theme is whether there the Internet (with a capital ‘I’) has had the transformative effect its proponents might once have claimed or whether there has been a …

An Economic Theory Of Infrastructure And Commons Management, Brett M. Frischmann

ExpressO

In this article, Professor Frischmann combines a number of current debates across many disciplinary lines, all of which examine from different perspectives whether certain resources should be managed through a regime of private property or through a regime of open access. Frischmann develops and applies a theory that demonstrates there are strong economic arguments for managing and sustaining openly accessible infrastructure. The approach he takes differs from conventional analyses in that he focuses extensively on demand-side considerations and fully explores how infrastructure resources generate value for consumers and society. As a result, the theory brings into focus the social value …

Irish Journalist’S Attitudes Towards, And Use Of, Internet Technology, Edward Brennan

Conference Papers

This paper explores the effects of Internet technology on the occupational culture and work practices of Irish journalists. There is a common view that the Internet, as an alternative source for news is challenging professional journalists. Increasingly amateurs may produce and disseminate stories to a potentially global readership. This paper presents results from a qualitative pilot study exploring Irish journalist’s reactions to this perceived threat. It reveals that the economic, social and legal features of the Irish journalistic field greatly mitigate any potential threat from the Internet. The research did reveal, however, that the Internet may have some unforeseen and …

Internet Retailing Quality: A Conceptual Perspective, Julie E. Francis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Cronin (2003, p.335) describes new constructs as “…a proverbial dream come true” because literature can be moulded to explain new constructs, there are limited grounds on which to compare research results and reviewers favour new information. This is pertinent to Internet retailing quality in that the construct is relatively new and while various studies offer models and measures of Internet retailing quality, many identify substantially different quality criteria and the results are rarely compared. This raises questions regarding the extent to which Internet retailing quality is understood. Accordingly, this paper will examine Internet retailing quality from a conceptual perspective by …

Preemption Of State Spam Laws By The Federal Can-Spam Act, Roger Allen Ford

Law Faculty Scholarship

Unsolicited bulk commercial email is an increasing problem, and though many states have passed laws aimed at curbing its use and abuse, for several years the federal government took no action. In 2003 that changed when Congress passed the CAN-SPAM Act. Though the law contains many different restrictions on spam messages, including some restriction of nearly every type that states had adopted, the Act was widely criticized as weak. Many of the CAN-SPAM Act's provisions are weaker than corresponding provisions of state law, and the Act preempts most state spam laws that would go farther, including two state laws that …

Women In The Web Of Secondary Copyright Liability And Internet Filtering, Ann Bartow

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Essay suggests possible explanations for why there is not very much legal scholarship devoted to gender issues on the Internet; and it asserts that there is a powerful need for Internet legal theorists and activists to pay substantially more attention to the gender-based differences in communicative style and substance that have been imported from real space to cyberspace. Information portals, such as libraries and web logs, are "gendered" in ways that may not be facially apparent. Women are creating and experiencing social solidarity online in ways that male scholars and commentators do not seem to either recognize or deem …

American Wholesalers And Distributor’S Directory [Book Review], Leticia Camacho

Faculty Publications

At the beginning of the Internet era business experts predicted that wholesale distributors would disappear. They thought that in the new electronic world the middleman would be cut and manufacturers would “source and sell” directly to customers. Many proclaimed that this was the end of traditional selling and distribution. The reality, however, is that there are still a few traditional wholesalers outperforming the market. The reason for their success is their concentration in local markets, local suppliers, distribution channels and prime licensing. The new edition of the American Wholesalers and Distributors Directory provides access information to these wholesalers and distributors.

Internet Advertising: Are We Breaking Ground Or Moving Dirt?, Jaime Marshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Seeking to validate the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of Persuasion for the online advertising context, a laboratory experiment utilizing 240 undergraduates was conducted at a southeastern university. The quality of banner advertisement contents--product endorser (spokesperson) and arguments (headlines)--were manipulated testing the variables' effect on click-through and attitude toward the advertisement for groups with high and low levels of product category involvement. Exploring a replica of a popular music website, participants were exposed to the test banners on the site's homepage. Due to the limited number of click-throughs, the relationship between the independent variables and click-through could not be established. However, …

Cyberplagiarism And The Library: Issues And Solutions, Jennifer Sharkey, Bartow Culp

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Plagiarism by students in academic institutions is an old but continuing problem facing teachers and librarians. Although studies disagree on the Internet’s effect on student plagiarism, the easy availability of electronic information creates a challenge for librarians, who must be ready not only to detect and deter plagiarism, but also to educate their patrons about it. The purpose of this contribution is to summarize briefly the nature, extent and causes of plagiarism in its academic aspect, especially as it has been influenced by electronic information sources, and to review measures of its detection and deterrence.

Internet Purchase Behaviour Of Australian Internet Shoppers, Julie E. Francis

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Just as Internet retailing is a relatively new and rapidly changing marketing activity, Internet shoppers form a relatively new consumer group that is evolving as the early adopters are increasingly joined by members of the broader market. In addition to the composition of this group changing, tracking the fundamental behaviours of Internet shoppers may be hampered by differences in research reporting methods and the costs associated with identifying genuine Internet shoppers for research purposes. Accordingly, this paper describes an Internet survey in which the behaviour of 1283 Australian Internet shoppers was examined. The frequency with which participants purchased products online …

Internet Banking: An Empirical Investigation Into The Extent Of Adoption By Banks And The Determinants Of Customer Satisfaction In The United Arab Emirates, Raed Awamleh, Cedwyn Fernandes

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study adopts the Diniz (1998) model to evaluate websites of foreign and local banks in the United Arab Emirates and through a survey of users ascertains factors that influence customer satisfaction of the internet banking service. These are convenience, independence, and security of internet banking transactions.

Results suggest that although the banking sector in the United Arab Emirates is a regional leader, internet banking in the United Arab Emirates is yet to be properly utilized as a real added value tool to improve customer relationship and to attain cost advantages. To identify factors influencing satisfaction of internet banking customers, …

Empirical Investigation Of Internet Banking In The Uae: Bank Adoption Levels In The Context Of Customer Satisfaction And Influencers Of Adoption Among Potential Users (Wp), C. Fernandes, Raed Awamleh

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study evaluates websites of foreign and local banks in the United Arab Emirates and through a survey of users ascertains factors that influence customer satisfaction of the internet banking service. In addition, determinants of potential users intentions are examined. It is shown that although the banking sector in the UAE is a regional leader, internet banking in the UAE is yet to be properly utilized as a real added value tool to improve customer relationship and to attain cost advantages. To identify factors influencing satisfaction of internet banking customers, data was collected from internet banking users and potential users …

Internet Chat As Collaborative Call: Language Learning Strategies In An Internet Chat Class, Ritsuko Saito

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

This paper describes an internet Chat class in a compulsory Japanese language subject at an Australian university. The study seeks evidence of the use of language strategies relating to social interaction in Chat classes and examines the importance of strategy use in this form of Collaborative CALL. It also presents the way the medium is used in the curriculum as a means of fostering student collaboration. A preliminary survey was conducted to investigate types of strategies used by the students in two specific situations: when they saw an unknown word in their Chat partner s message and when they did …

Processual Media Theory, Organised Networks And The Politics Of Information Societies, Ned Rossiter

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis setss out to re-evaluate and re-think theories of communications media and theories of democracy formation under translocal, global and networked conditions. In order to do this, the thesis brings a combination of social and communications theory, political philosophy and "radical empiricism" to the study of the socio-technical dimensions of Net cultures. It examines the ways in which emergent networks of creativity, labour, organisation and intervention challenge the sovereignty of the state-corporation nexus, which functions tu restrict access and control information flows in the interests of security and profit. The thesis investigates the relationship between emergent forms of organisation …

Women's Uses Of The Internet, Rachelle Powell

LSU Master's Theses

In this study I will look at the main reasons women use the Internet. Studies about women and the Internet are divided; some indicate less use of the Internet than men, but other studies show strong evidence of a narrowing gap in use. Due to this lack of clarity, a study that looks exclusively at women’s Internet activities and usage is needed. Although qualitative research does not test or apply theory the same way quantitative research does, uses and gratifications theory informed this study. This is an exploratory study of women and the Internet.