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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Fishing For Animal Rights In The Cove: A Holistic Approach To Animal Advocacy Documentaries, Carrie Packwood Freeman Jan 2012

Fishing For Animal Rights In The Cove: A Holistic Approach To Animal Advocacy Documentaries, Carrie Packwood Freeman

Communication Faculty Publications

The Oscar-winning 2009 documentary The Cove serves as a thrilling and poignant advocacy tool promoting activism to save free-roaming dolphins off the coast of Japan from kidnapping, enslavement in marine parks, and slaughter for meat. This essay evaluates the ethical and social justice implications of The Cove not just for dolphins but for the animal rights movement as a whole, particularly in terms of how it could challenge the ethicality of humans killing any nonhuman animals for food. Strategic media recommendations are made for how animal protection advocates could better deconstruct the human/animal dualism that is at the root of …


No Angel: An Analysis Of Media Coverage Of Nadja Benaissa In The U.K., U.S. And Germany, Elizabeth A. Cantrell Aug 2011

No Angel: An Analysis Of Media Coverage Of Nadja Benaissa In The U.K., U.S. And Germany, Elizabeth A. Cantrell

Communication Theses

The media’s portrayal of HIV has taken a number of different forms since the disease was first discovered over three decades ago. HIV has been portrayed as an epidemic and a disease affecting homosexuals and immigrants. Its transmission has also been portrayed as a criminal offense. In August 2010, the German singer Nadja Benaissa was arrested for passing on HIV to a former partner and exposing two other men. Media constructions of this story draw upon HIV stereotypes because of her drug-using past, her immigrant status and her criminal actions. This media study points to a new discourse centered on …


Mass Media's Relationship With Adolescents' Values And Behaviors: A Theory Of Mediated Valueflection, Melanie Burleson Richards Jan 2010

Mass Media's Relationship With Adolescents' Values And Behaviors: A Theory Of Mediated Valueflection, Melanie Burleson Richards

Sociology Dissertations

Mass media has long been thought to have a detrimental effect on an adolescent’s values and behaviors. Many social ills including violence, misogyny and negative health behaviors, as well as egoistic cultural values have been attributed to mass media’s influence. Yet the media is not all powerful, nor are its powers unable to be combated. In this manuscript, I analyze the Educational Longitudinal Study data from 2002 to 2006 to determine the real effects mass media has on adolescents in comparison to other influences. I find that not all media is equal in influence. Television and video games have different …


2008 U.S. Presidential Election: Persuasive Youtube Interactions About War, Health Care, And The Economy, Lindsey Zimmerman Dec 2009

2008 U.S. Presidential Election: Persuasive Youtube Interactions About War, Health Care, And The Economy, Lindsey Zimmerman

Psychology Theses

Persuasive appeals posted to United States presidential candidates’ YouTube videos were coded using a grounded theory mixed-methods design. 37,562 comments about education, energy, Iraq, health care, the economy, and the presidential debates were randomly collected by date and time for three studies using coding analysis: pilot, presidential primaries, and the presidential election. Seven argument types were identified and theoretically refined according to dual process models of persuasion: reason-based, candidate-based, emotion-based, endorsements, enthusiasmheuristic, other-interest and self-interest. Theoretical comparisons and hypothesis testing of argument types were conducted by issue and election event. Consistent with impression involvement, reason-based appeals were more frequent during …


Exposure To Gambling-Related Media And Its Relation To Gambling Expectancies And Behaviors, Leanne Valentine Jul 2008

Exposure To Gambling-Related Media And Its Relation To Gambling Expectancies And Behaviors, Leanne Valentine

Psychology Dissertations

Today’s youth have been exposed to more gambling-related media than previous generations, and they have grown up in an era in which states not only sanction but also run and promote gambling enterprises. Social Learning Theory proposes that one can develop new attitudes or expectancies about a specific behavior by watching others engage in that behavior, and that the media is one avenue through which one can develop new expectancies (Bandura, 2001). In addition, the Theory of Reasoned Action proposes that one’s behaviors are influenced directly by both subjective norms and attitudes (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). A mixed methods explanatory …


Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus: An Analysis Of A Potential Meme, Jo Howarth Noonan Aug 2007

Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus: An Analysis Of A Potential Meme, Jo Howarth Noonan

Communication Theses

The purpose of this study was to discover whether the phrase "men are from Mars, women are from Venus,” from John Gray’s book, had become a meme and to explore what its usage implied. Analysis of 510 references was guided by grounded theory. Coding over a decade of newspaper usage of the phrase into seven emergent themes allowed examination of usage against the theories of gender research, communication research, media research and meme theory research. This analysis revealed that this phrase meets the requirements to be considered a meme, and as a meme it has successfully assisted the survival, evolution …


Gender Images And Power In Magazine Advertisements: The Consciousness Scale Revisited, Lorie N. Bonham May 2005

Gender Images And Power In Magazine Advertisements: The Consciousness Scale Revisited, Lorie N. Bonham

Communication Theses

This study re-evaluates the Consciousness Scale originally formulated by Pingree et al. in 1976. The element of assumed power was added to the Consciousness Scale, which was then used to evaluate 516 magazine advertisements from 1999 to determine if the Consciousness Scale still accurately evaluates sexism in media. A set of advertisements was culled which had contradictory Consciousness Scale and power ratings. The set was evaluated, revealing common themes, which created difficulty in coding these modern images. The study revealed that while the Consciousness Scale can still provide a valuable tool in evaluating media images, the change in the social …