Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Teaching Kids About Media And Digital Literacy, Lauren Schuster

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Confidential Publics: Digital Reconciliation And Queer Muslim Identities, Mariam Mustafa

Masters Theses

In this paper, I trouble constructions of community through exploring temporal spatial configurations of support for queer-identified Muslims living in America. I assert that when community is not something one can physically access, use of the internet to create temporary spaces of community is critical in assessing identity reconciliation between intersectional conflicting identity. As it relates to queer Muslims, where there is a distinct lack of public community, the level of crisis some individuals face is explored through their use of online vehicles to establish social support systems that would otherwise not be available. My paper provides a framework in …

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 …

News In Virtual Reality, Samantha Macy

Honors Theses

Virtual reality (VR) is the next frontier of news media, but we know little about the impact is has on viewers. The goal of this experiment is to gain a better understanding of the social presence and information retained by watching news in VR. Participants will either consumer news in a VR setting, a highly interactive online format, or print. Then, using a survey, social presence and information retention were assessed. Research participants were undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university. It is expected that VR news will result in higher social presence and information retention than news in highly …

The Comparison Of Effectiveness Between Print Media & Electronic Media In Terms Of Promotion And Recruitment, Katherine Dayton

Honors Theses

This research project’s objective was to determine whether print media such as brochures and booklets are more or less effective than electronic media such as e-mails and webpage advertisements in attracting consumers. A special interest was taken in higher education recruitment and the research was completed by advertising to high school students who are in the process of choosing a school for their higher education experience. The research featured an advertising campaign launched through both print and electronic platforms, directing the consumers to an online survey they were able to take to provide feedback about the experience. This project led …

How Schools Are Meeting State Legal Mandates To Provide Online Education, Mark Edward Deschaine

Dissertations

This study explores how public schools in Michigan are meeting the mandate to provide online learning opportunities as a condition of graduation. Michigan became the first state in the nation to mandate online learning opportunities as a condition for graduation with the passage of the Michigan Merit Curriculum. Although the mandate for compliance has been in effect since the 2010-2011 school year, there has been no systemic exploration as to how the mandate is affecting students, teachers, schools and systems.

This quantitative study surveyed administrators from all public traditional and charter high school programs across the state of Michigan. Using …

Sweetness And Strength: Codes Of Femininity And Body Image In Branded Social-Networking Messages And Consumer Responses, Anne M. Holcomb

Masters Theses

This study critically analyzes visual and text updates posted by two clothing brands to the social-networking site Facebook.com, including consumers' interaction with these marketing messages. A semiological textual analysis was conducted using Facebook updates by the Victoria's Secret PINK and Nike Women apparel brands, and the responses of fans who subscribed to these updates. Advertising aimed at women in print media has previously been analyzed in this way, revealing patterns of sexualization and objectification that can be harmful to women and men alike. My analysis builds on this tradition. Social-networking sites such as Facebook allow individual users unprecedented access to …

Mobile Phone Communication Competence (Mpcc): Development And Validation Of A New Measure, Emil Bakke

Masters Theses

More than two billion people around the world have adopted mobile phones for communication. Interpersonal communication research has found that communication competence is an essential human need required to fulfill interpersonal objectives to achieve physical and psychological satisfaction (Spitzberg and Cupach, 1984), however, mobile phone communication competence has yet to be studied. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a new scale designed to measure Mobile Phone Communication Competence (MPCC); a principal component factor analysis uncovered the structure and dimensionality of the MPCC measure. The results from the factor analysis in this study identified six constructs: asynchronous …

Is It Digitall? Who's Invited To The Digital Revolution?, Sarah E. Dempsey

Masters Theses

A significant issue surrounding the increasing dependence of U.S. society on technological products surrounds questions of equity. Research suggests that our increased dependence on technology has acted to further stratify our society in regards to gender. A growing body of literature which takes a critical stance of technology acknowledges that there are gaps between technology 'haves' and 'have-nots' (Aronowitz, 1988; Brosnan, 1998; Harvey, 2000; Loader, 1998; Millar, 1998), suggesting that utopian perspectives of technology need to be re-examined. Research has addressed issues regarding gender politics and technology (Caputi, 1988; Jansen, 1989; Millar, 1998; Zimmerman, 1983), yet little research has examined …

An Examination And Explanation Of Paranormal Phenomena As A Legitimate And Significant Area Of Communication Studies, Leonard O. Sowers

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.