Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Examining Messaging Strategies Of Virtual Reality Companies On Instagram, Brian Galloway

Masters Theses

This study examines the messaging strategy and executional strategy utilized in the virtual reality industry on Instagram through the lens of Taylor’s Six-Segment Message Strategy Wheel. Content analysis examined a total of n=942 posts which were coded for high level message strategy, specific message strategy, and executional strategy. Engagement data was also recorded. Ritual-view messaging strategies were found to be utilized most often, with Social and Sensory-segment strategies used most frequently in terms of segments in Taylor’s model. In terms of executional strategies, User Image, Brand Image, and Use Occasion strategies were seen most frequently. Ego and Social segment message …

Strangers In A Strange Land: Foreign-Born Mangaka And The Future Of The ‘Japanese’ Comic Industry, Michele Fujii

Masters Theses

This thesis addresses the phenomenon of the recent success of foreign-born mangaka in the Japanese comic industry. One in a long line of foreigners who have written about Japan, Swedish mangaka Åsa Ekström is a representative example whose success has been facilitated by a set of circumstances brought on by the influence of the international manga market, socio-economic policies stemming from the unique challenges presented by Japan’s declining birthrate and rapidly aging population, and changes in the landscape of the Japanese publishing industry. Drawing upon themes and excerpts from Ekström’s popular comic essay series, Nordic Girl Åsa discovers the Mysteries …

Tools Of Change: Equipping Nonprofits With The Tools To Inspire Change, Nicole Irons

Masters Theses

Whether I am working for a small nonprofit in Indiana or at an elephant sanctuary in Cambodia I have seen consistent areas of struggle and shortcomings in nonprofit organizations. After years of working in different organizations the struggles nonprofits consistently face are a lack of resources in three main areas. These main areas of struggle are: visibility, funding, and people. The idea then occurred to me of why? And while these resources seem to appear unconnected, what if they all stem from one problem? Could we create a tool (or set of tools) to help alleviate these main struggles? Is …

Interpersonal Impressions Of Emoji Use In Computer-Mediated Decision Making, Austin Jonathan Beattie

Masters Theses

Text-messaging is among the most popular forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC). However, the lack of most nonverbal cues in text-messaging interaction limits communication in certain contexts. Some recent innovations, such as emoji, attempt to enhance nonverbal limitations in text messaging. However, despite ample scholarship in text messaging, nonverbal communication, and CMC, a smaller body of research explores their intersections. This study reviews literature in these areas and, through the lens of Media Richness Theory, offers several hypotheses regarding the effects of emoji on interpersonal impressions in a decision-making scenario. It then experimentally tests and quantitatively measures how emoji usage in …

The Agenda Setting Effects Of Cnn’S Twitter In The 2016 Super Tuesday Primaries, Joy Huertas

Masters Theses

Governmental fall downs, electoral outcomes, terrorism propaganda, and climate change awareness are just some of the commonly known results of the effects of news media coverage on the public opinion and society as a whole. For years, researchers have utilized the agenda setting theory as a basis for their studies on the effects of the news media coverage on the public opinion in countless of contexts. The purpose of this study was to analyze the agenda setting effects of a major broadcast news organization but from one of their most influential social media channels, Twitter. CNN’s daily Twitter mentions of …

Medium As King: Social Media & The Political Campaign, Isaac Shea

Masters Theses

There is a growing need for a greater understanding of the intersection between great content, effective targeting and proper media usage in mediated communication and especially in American politics. As more campaigns move their efforts online in an attempt to reach a rapidly growing digital constituency, more content will continue to be less visible. The major quest for this study will be to challenge the long-standing idea that “content is king” which Bill Gates termed at the inception of the internet. A theoretical background of Marshall McLuhan and Kathleen Hall Jamieson will not only allow us to answer this question, …

Officer On Duty: How An Image Can Change In An Instant, Derrick Battle

Masters Theses

The deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice sparked an uproar in many communities across the United States. These incidents brought to light that there is an issue that remains prevalent between citizen and police officers. The New York Police Department, Ferguson Police Department, and the Cleveland Department of Police have all dealt with tension involving the communities they serve. Since these incidents changes have been made within each department. Some had the help of the Department of Justice to reform old polices. While law enforcement does what they believe it is necessary to protect the public, sometimes …

Cell Phone Ethnography: Mixed Methods And The Brand Consumer Relationship, Robert Nathaniel Dove

Masters Theses

Overall, the goal of this study is to identify and differentiate the various motivations and cultural influences that can be used to explain consumer behavior. In doing so, this study hopes to facilitate the development of new and innovative marketing strategies, providing a new research design for the ethnographer’s toolkit. More importantly, this model can give shape to new constructs and new variables for further empirical testing in the field through quantitative and qualitative methods. By blending the two approaches, using qualitative interpretive anthropological analysis by field study with quantitative sentiment analysis adapted from market researcher Jeffery Breen’s (2012) methodology, …

Adapting Nonverbal Coding Theory To Mobile Mediated Communication: An Analysis Of Emoji And Other Digital Nonverbals, Carley Durante

Masters Theses

Nonverbal communication has been an area of communication theory studied for decades. Despite more daily communication occurring over mediated communication, there is a lack of research surrounding digital communication, specifically mobile-mediated communication (MMC). While there has been research conducted regarding computer-mediated communication (CMC), specifically studies examining email communication and instant messaging (IM), the mobile conversation is relatively untouched by current scholarship. This paper will streamline nonverbal coding research to set the groundwork for application and translation of nonverbal coding elements to mobile-mediated communication and the text message conversation. Even more specifically, the elements of kinesics, vocalics, and chronemics will be …

Fragmentary Girls: Selective Expression On The Tumblr Platform, Samantha Shorey

Masters Theses

Empirically based on a series of focus groups with college-age women, this thesis examines how the affordances of anonymity and audience specificity facilitate both intimate personal expression and political participation on the Tumblr platform. In dialogue with literature on self disclosure and privacy, I seek to broaden our understanding of the mediated contexts that provide space for women’s voices online.

The privacy afforded by Tumblr’s registration policies allows users more flexibility in terms of self-presentation than sites such as Facebook, which are necessarily linked to one’s offline identity through “real name only” policies. The use of pseudonyms contributes to a …

Framing Urban Change: Gentrification Discourses In The Media Coverage Of The Gülbol Eviction In Berlin, Eric Daniel Gedenk

Masters Theses

This thesis examines gentrification discourses in Berlin by highlighting an extraordinarily large protest sparked by the eviction of the Gülbol family—long-time residents of Berlin who immigrated to Germany from Turkey. Media outlets chose to frame the event in very different ways. I analyze articles from various media sources in an attempt to discover how these sources chose to frame this event, then analyze how these frames are applied to the general gentrification discourse in Berlin. Non-traditional, or “advocacy” media outlets used technology to break away from mass media frames on the subject and frame the event as governmental oppression and …

Get Schooled: A Visual Social Semiotic Analysis Of Target's Branding Using Instagram, Chelsea Bevins

Masters Theses

With new technology arising, brands must be able to adapt to them. This thesis will break down brand management, using David Aaker's framework, of the Target Corporation to see if they are using modern resource, Instagram effectively. This thesis will also look at how the theory of visual social semiotics, applied to communications, is used to decipher intended meaning. Brand management embodies a company and people are driven by what a brand portrays. People are driven by values, emotions and quality within a brand. People associate products with memories, celebrities, attributes and symbols. Brands are more than just a name. …

Facing The Idea That Facebook Faces Us Towards Narcissism, Adam Forsberg

Masters Theses

Since its creation in 2004, Facebook has experienced tremendous growth and success, allowing users to communicate and share their life with people all over the world. Facebook is used to share information with others and allows users to show their friends what is happening in their lives. Erving Goffman developed face management theory as a way to explain how and why people preserve and maintain their public self image. This study applies Goffmans theory of face management to develop an understanding of how Facebook is used and specifically whether Facebook use influences narcissistic tendencies in its users. The researcher surveyed …

Social Media In Sports: A Phenomenological Study Of Athletes And Online Communication, Garrett Bireline

Masters Theses

This study investigates the intersection where the shared experience of sports meets the shared experience of social media. Empirically quantitative literature and data regarding social media has been well-documented from the perspective of understanding macro-level trends (Duggan & Brenner, 2012; Lenhart, et al., 2010). However, few to no studies have sought to learn the views, feelings, and experiences of unique populations from the micro, individual level. This method of research threatens to silence the voice of the individuals of select populations, and offers no hope of their ever being heard. Specifically, this study seeks to understand how collegiate athletes at …