Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

How Class Matters: Examining Working-Class Children’S Home Technology Environments From A Developmental Perspective, Vikki Katz, Brianna Hightower

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Social class is seldom engaged by scholars as a lens for investigating variations in children’s digital technology engagement. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 33 working-class children in a postindustrial community, we examine how social class shapes these children’s digital technology experiences. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of child development guides our examination of children’s views on digital technology integration into their interactions with proximal influences (i.e., parents, siblings, and friends) and distal influences that indirectly shape their technology environments by affecting their parents’ circumstances. We find that working-class children’s experiences share key commonalities with both their lower- and higher-income peers, consistent with …

He Used The Internet - I Used The Encyclopedia, Rebekah Mccloud

UCF Forum

I was talking recently with one of my students who will graduate in May. He told me about his first year in college and began his reminiscence with: “Back in the day…”

La Radio Comunitaria: Hacia Un Futuro Más Democrático Para Bolivia, Katharine Norris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Radio has been a companion of and crucial partner in democratic social change in Bolivia since its arrival to the country. Many of its inherent characteristics make it an ideal medium for communication of messages made for and by marginalized groups that are otherwise excluded from the production of and access to information. Historically, radio has been implemented in processes of progressive resistance to authority, in response to the oppression of the groups that community radio seeks to represent. This investigation attempts to understand the role of community radio in Bolivian society, with a view towards the democratic participation and …

Skype’S The Limit Testing The Value Of Cross-Cultural Relationship-Building In International Development, Charley Allegar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study aims to explore the value of cross-cultural relationship-building and international friendship in development. By connecting two groups of Americans each with a group of low-income Kenyans over Skype and by presenting the written expression of Kenyans’ hopes and struggles to a third American group, the research analyzes whether face-to-face interaction and personal information sharing affects one’s perception of people’s needs. Though due to small sample sizes the results are generally inconclusive, qualitatively, the data suggest that relationship-building is a useful tool for development, defined as the improvement of a population’s fundamental welfare. Moreover, the study finds that deliberate …

The Story Of Your Life On A Single Page: Assessing The Narrative Coherence Of Life Storytelling Through Facebook's Timeline Profile Design, Joseph Marcus

Masters Theses

Facebook's transition to the Timeline profile design brought with it a new focus: Life storytelling. Walther Fisher posited the narrative paradigm as a way of understanding all communication in the form of stories. The paradigmatic component of coherence assesses the structural integrity of a narrative, the characters, and the encompassing themes found within. This study applies narrative coherence to the Timeline profile design to assess the coherence of life narratives told through individuals' Facebook Timelines. The researcher observed the Timeline profiles of 15 participants on the basis of three research questions. The researcher's observation yielded data suggesting that life narratives …

Upload Complete Syncing The Thunder Dragon: An Analysis Of Bhutanese Media And Its Influences On A Changing Culture, Brian Mcqueen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Almost 14 years ago Bhutan was officially "hooked up" to the outside world. With access to Internet and television increasing rapidly in the Bhutan new thoughts are entering the country, replacing previous views. The effect of media on the lifestyle and culture of the people of Bhutan is significant due to the speed at which the change occurred.

For my research I split my time between the capital city, Thimphu and Sherubtse College, which is located in the rural village of Kanglung. By conducting interviews with people involved in the media scene of Bhutan and consumers of media, I have …

Technology Can Be Blessing, Curse To Students, Alexandra Pittman

UCF Forum

Many college students seem to have forgotten what a university is for because they have become lost within their own technology.

Skype Mothers: Technology, Multi-Directional Care In The Transnational Filipino Family, Valerie Francisco

Faculty Publications, Sociology

This paper explores the redefinition of the roles and operation of the Filipino family for migrant and non-migrant members. Scholars have posited that “transnational motherhood” has reorganized they way that migrant mothers make meaning and participate family life in both of their host and home contexts. This paper posits that through strategies of “multi-directional care,” care work for transnational families go both ways: non-migrant family members actively partake in caring for their migrant family members. The main findings in the paper highlight the use of video computer technology to make meaning of familial roles that usually necessitate physical presence such …

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Cate Weeks, Shane Bevell, Mamie Peers, Lori Bachand

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Elderly American And The Internet: E-Mail, Tv News, And Entertainment Websites, Michael L. Hilt, Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Communication Faculty Publications

Older Americans, like other groups, vary in their use of the Internet. The participants for this study—elderly computer users from a Midwestern mid-size sample—used e-mail and considered it the most important Internet function. It was common for them to use e-mail with family and friends on a regular, if not daily, basis. When this group of older people did surf the Web, they were more likely to seek information about their special interests rather than visiting mass media sites. They were most likely to use Google.com or Yahoo.com to find sites dealing with weather, health, games, jokes, and entertainment. Additionally, …

Minor Distractions: Children, Privacy And E-Commerce, Anita L. Allen

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ua35/11 Wku Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku University Honors Program

WKU Archives Records

The Western Kentucky University Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers represent work done by students from throughout the university.

• Kesselring, Marcia. Attitudes Toward the Need for Computer Literacy
• Tuck, Janna & Karen Wiggins. Methylation and Confirmation of PGE
• Lewis, Gloria. John Donne's Attitude Toward Love
• Johnson, Linda. International Telecommunications Trade with Japan
• Sharpe, Greg. Precipitation Patterns in Bowling Green, Kentucky, 1980-1985
• Smith, Sandy. Religion and the Media: Alliance or War?
• Bell, Suzanne. Early Secret Involvement of the United States Military in Cambodia
• Scariot, Linda. Parental Divorce and Childhood Emotional Disturbances
• Daniel, Janice. …