Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Taiwanese Willingness To Communicate In English: Can Watching American Television Programs Help?, Yu-Ting Chien

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explored the relationship between Taiwanese audiences' use of American television programs and their willingness to communicate in English. Taiwanese participants filled out an online survey consisted of questions from uses and gratifications constructs and willingness to communicate constructs. In addition, different subtitle settings were also examined.

Results indicated that participants with high integrative motivation consuming information from American television programs, in addition, the setting of subtitles were associated with perceived communication competence, integrative motivation, language anxiety and social interaction motivation.

Other And Self-Representation: A Pentadic Criticism Of Kosovar Muslim And Roma Identity As Represented In Photographs By James Nachtwey And Djordje Jovanovic, Melody S. Follweiler

College of Communication Master of Arts Theses

This is an interdisciplinary study that integrates the fields of visual rhetoric, media, and identity. This study seeks to gain a better understanding of photojournalism as the medium of rhetorical messages and communicative power in terms of representing the identity, experience, and perspective of Kosovar Muslims and Roma in Other and self-representations. By applying Kenneth Burke’s theory of dramatism and pentadic criticism, I seek to illustrate and analyze how an outsider, James Nachtwey, uses rhetorical appeals to represent Kosovar Muslims during the Kosovo War of 1999 and how an insider, Djordje Jovanovic, uses rhetorical appeals to represent Kosovar Roma during …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Social-Economic Status Of Successful Women In Business, Politics, And Media In The U.S., Jasmin Bramlett, Sara Whitworth

Social Sciences

This project is an attempt to analyze how women achieve success in spite of the historical disadvantages that they have faced. We will examine nine women of the most professionally accomplished women in the United States in business, politics and media. We will compare and contrast the lives of Meg Whitman, Sheryl Sandberg and Ursula Burns for our section on business; Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Nancy Pelosi for the political sector; and Oprah Winfrey, Katie Couric and Gloria Steinem for the area of media.

The Forgotten Medium: The Impact Of Reading Violent Literature On Aggressive Thoughts, Mckay Robert Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

Media violence in television, film, video games, and music has been linked to increased aggression. Only in recent years have researchers begun to investigate the impact that reading violent literature can have on individuals. The present study exposed individuals to either a violent or nonviolent story and measured aggressive cognitions. No significant effect was found for story type on aggressive cognitions but a gender effect for aggressive word completions was found. Discussion centers on possible differences between media types as well as future suggestions for investigations into violent literature.

How Much Does This Tick You Off? Online Rejection And Criticism Lead To Negative Affect And Retaliatory Aggression, Gina Masullo Chen

Mass Communications - Dissertations

A three-condition (rejection, criticism, control) single-factor experiment (N = 77) on a mock social-networking site similar to Facebook reveals that even a slight rejection - not being allowed to join groups on the site - lead to increases in self-reported negative affect and retaliation against the site and the rejecting groups compared to a control. Subjects who were accepted into the groups but then criticized experienced the same increases in negative affect and retaliatory aggression, as those who were not allowed to join. In addition, men showed heightened retaliatory aggression compared to women and responded differently to criticism than women. …

The Perception Of Athletes In Local And Neutral Media Markets, Gregory Stine

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the perception of professional athletes in local and neutral media markets. The purpose of the study was to determine how people in Philadelphia and people in Arkansas feel toward the Philadelphia Eagles' Nnamdi Asomugha. It was expected that the study's participants in Philadelphia would feel more positively toward Asomugha and would be more aware of his off-the-field contributions. Additionally, it was expected that there would be a positive relationship between team identification level and both positive feelings toward Asomugha and awareness of his efforts away from the field. Finally, it was anticipated that participants near Philadelphia would …

Gay Marriage In The Utah And California Media: A Content Analysis Of Newspaper Frames Used In The Coverage Of Proposition 8, Michael Todd Hollingshead

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a content analysis of news frames used in the coverage of Proposition 8 by newspapers in Utah and California, spanning the three months prior to its passage in November 2008, to the three months after its passage. A total of 401 news stories from five newspapers were analyzed to examine which of five news frames (attribution of responsibility, human interest, conflict, morality, and economic consequence) were used most predominantly and if the use of those frames varied by newspaper. Conflict was the most predominantly used frame, followed by attribution of responsibility, morality, economic consequence and human interest. …

Alternative Vs. Traditional News: A Content Analysis Of News Coverage Of The 10th Anniversary Of Sept. 11, Rex Edward Barber Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher sought to understand the differences in framing used by alternative media outlets and traditional or mainstream media outlets. A sampling of articles about the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was used from alternative and traditional media publications to conduct this study. These articles were analyzed by a software program to determine themes and concepts within both data sets. The analysis revealed traditional media was less varied in themes than was alternative media, with the latter clearly showing an effort to be. Traditional media was found to provide routine coverage of commemorative services and very …

A Perspective Of Aging From The Prose Of Age Specific Birthday Cards, Lori Halbur

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

With a growing number of older people in the United States, it is important for social workers to acknowledge that ageism exists in our society and continue to research, study and understand the influences that contribute to it. Media outlets are one source that has been found to have an influence on people’s perceptions about older adults. A qualitative study was carried out to determine if the messages in age specific greeting cards that are produced specifically for individuals age 60 and older portray more positive or negative perceptions about aging or older individuals. The non-probability, convenience sample for this …

New Media, New Politics: The Emergence Of The Internet In American Politics, Michael Robert Artime

Dissertations

The Internet is viewed by some as a great tool for democracy. Indeed, if we believe in the value of a marketplace of ideas, there is no greater forum through which individuals can express any and every opinion on a variety of issues than the Internet. However, it is unclear whether this free and unfettered expression of ideas has been helpful or harmful to American democracy. This dissertation demonstrates, through the use of National Election Studies (NES) data that those using the Internet tend to have more negative attitudes toward political leaders and institutions than their counterparts who either do …

Image Slavery And Mass Media Pollution: Examining The Sociopolitical Context Of Beauty And Self Image In The Lives Of Black Women, Jennifer Richardson

Dissertations

The ways in which African American women negotiate the intersections of popular media, dominant discourses of beauty, and identity are rarely explored. This work brings into focus how African American women consume, understand, and make meaning of mediated images and representations of African American women. In order to inform this particular research project, this study engages a constellation of literature and theoretical perspectives and explores historical representations of African American women and beauty messages they contain. Throughout this process I examine concepts of identity formation; discuss connections between sexuality and the politics of imagery; and investigate linkages between structural racism, …

The Effects Of The Media On The Discrepancy Between Gaap And Pro Forma Earnings, Peter Schock

CMC Senior Theses

This study seeks to find if there is a significant relationship between the amount of media coverage focused on public companies in the United States and the difference between GAAP financial performance and analyst-adjusted estimates of financial performance. I will answer this question by testing this difference among S&P 500 companies, as well as companies within that index as identified by a certain industry.

Constructing Evil: U.S. Media Discourse And The Iranian State Murder Of Neda Agha-Soltan, Justin Turner

Online Theses and Dissertations

On June 20, 2009, one image became not only a symbol of unbridled state violence, but a rallying cry for a movement contesting the disputed election of hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The particular image in question was of Neda Agha-Soltan, a 26 year old woman whose murder was recorded by cellphone camera during a political protest and subsequently posted to social media networks showing a graphic fist-hand account of the savagery of a state crime. Media discourse presented the idea that Neda's murder was committed by the Iranian government unafraid to implore repressive measures to control its population. The …

Climate Change In The Media: Collective Guilt And Behavioral Effects Of News Reports And Environmental Identity, Amanda Koehn

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Film On The Construction And Deconstruction Of Mental Illness Stigmatization In Young Adults, Michael Perciful

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the impact of film on participants' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards people with schizophrenia. Films viewed in the current study included a fear-based inaccurate, likeable-inaccurate, and an educational-accurate depiction of schizophrenia. A control group was included. A total of 106 participants were recruited. Participants completed pre and post questionnaires separated by a 45-minute excerpt of a film. A 2 x 4 mixed design ANOVA was implemented to determine the effects of the films on measures of knowledge and attitudes. A Chi-square analysis was used to determine whether or not the films would impact potential behavior. Manipulation …