Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

“Every Beat You Make Has A Time Of Day Or Color”: How Producers And Rappers Changed The Course Of Sampling Music, Elvin M. Castellanos

Theses

This thesis demonstrates the importance of the producer and artist relationship in hip hop songwriting and sampling, focusing on producers The Alchemist, Madlib, Sounwave, and Terrace Martin, and artists Freddie Gibbs, MF DOOM, Prodigy, and Kendrick Lamar. Topics covered range from sampling lawsuits and their impact on producers and artists in songwriting; what a producer and artist relationship looks like and how they benefit from their relationship; and the quality of music that comes from a close relationship between a producer and artist. I build upon research about the effects of sampling on hip hop by musicologist Amanda Sewell; sampling …

Who Do They Think We Are? Analyzing Misrepresentation Of Races In Netflix Original Films Using Critical Race Theory And Social Identity Theory, Jacob Osseck

Theses

In a society like today’s, racial misrepresentation can be found across a vast number of different forms of media. Racial misrepresentation has been found in television portrayals of characters within series and programs during primetime television. This sort of misrepresentation creates obstacles for certain minorities to overcome prejudice, racism, and bigotry that oppresses their ingroup. A content analysis of 20 Netflix Original films which were chosen through random purposive sampling, to include comedy and drama genres, was conducted for the research. The analysis produced results that helped explain that Netflix’s representation of minorities through inclusion has improved for Blacks, yet …

Type Of Facebook User And Correlational Relationship With Social Comparison And Self-Esteem Along With The Moderating Variable Of The Big Five Model, Amanda Lilly

Theses

This thesis examines different types of Facebook users and how different types of participation on Facebook are associated with social comparison orientation scale and self-esteem level of the users, and how personality variables moderate the relationship between social comparison scale and types of Facebook use. Previous research has investigated the relationship between Facebook use, self-esteem, and social comparison; however, the results have been mixed, and research on how personality traits are related to different types of active use of Facebook is needed. Study 1 of this thesis examines how social comparison orientation and self-esteem relate to how individuals actively use …

Social Media: On Tech-Caves, Virtual Panopticism, And The Science Fiction-Like State In Which We Unwittingly Find Ourselves, Michael Major

Theses

Making use of three historic philosophical thought experiments, this paper blends psychological perspectives with philosophical reasoning to show how social media is corrupting our perception of reality, the result of which is ultimately detrimental to society as a whole. This is accomplished by first using Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to analyze and discuss the ways in which social media is limiting humanity’s access to real knowledge. Next, Michel Foucault’s analysis of punishment in its social context, Discipline and Punish, is used to discuss the ways in which social media is adversely affecting our behavior. Finally, Robert Nozick’s “Experience …

News Source Preferences And News Source Credibility Among College Staff, Faculty, And Students, Larissa A. Bolalek

Theses

News consumption practices in the United States have been studied for decades. Recent technology has influenced traditional news consumption by allowing people to access news through the Internet and social media. Today, people have more options than ever as to where to obtain news. People remain interested in getting news that is credible and trustworthy. A survey was distributed to in order to learn where people say they turn for their primary sources of news and the credibility people assigned to various news sources. Respondents were split up into two groups, heavy and light social media users. Results suggest that …

User Preferences For Accessing Online Content Through Desktop, Laptop, And Handheld Devices, Abel B. Rondon Lopez

Theses

This study determined which devices, hand held or desktop and laptop computers, users preferred to access specific types of Internet content and why they chose mobile apps or mobile websites. Significant differences were found in favor of using handheld devices for social networking, looking up directions, programing reminders, global positioning systems, playing games, and listening to music. Activities showed a significant difference in favor of using desktop and laptop computers to investigate topics of interest, watch videos, and manage finances. Users preferred the way mobile apps are presented over mobile websites, but no significant differences between devices were found for …

Facebook And Relationships: A Study Of How Social Media Use Is Affecting Long-Term Relationships, Rianne C. Farrugia

Theses

An online survey was conducted where 255 respondents provided information about their significant other. Respondents answered questions dealing with elements of relationship satisfaction, Facebook usage, surveillance, and jealousy. Results indicate a correlation between Facebook usage and relationship satisfaction. Individuals with varying levels of Facebook usage were shown to have a positive correlation with jealousy levels in their relationship, meaning as Facebook use increased, jealousy also increased. Altman and Taylor's theory of social penetration (1973) was used to describe the stages in a relationship from orientation into a relationship of stable exchange. This developmental theory illustrated the growth in relationship phases. …

A Study On How New Media Is Impacting On The Irish Public Relations Industry, Ciara Murphy

Theses

This thesis looks at how new media is impacting on the public relations industry in Ireland. It attempts to identify if Irish practitioners believe that the Internet is an important tool for two-way communication purposes, to identify the implications of new media on the practice of public relations, to determine how new media is impacting on the mass media in Ireland and to determine how social media is currently being implemented by PR practitioners in Ireland.

The study attempts to fill a gap in public relations research and professional literature because there is no organising framework that merges new technologies …

The Changing Face Of Print Media : How New Attitudes To Communication By Both Industries Could Affect Public Relations., Paul Kennedy

Theses

Digital media is a phenomenon that has affected many industries, particularly both print media and public relations. Communication is something is at the heart of both of these industries. In this thesis, communication theory is explored in a digital media and print newspaper context, in relation to these industries. It is explored how both industries are using similar techniques, and the merit of these approaches are investigated and discussed. Included in this are the value of new news outlets and new and old business models. Opinions on modem media relations are investigated and the weight of third- party endorsement is …

Enhancing Science Education Through Engaging Visual Content, David Kavanagh

Theses

In recent years a decline in the number of Irish students choosing to study science, at second level and on into third level, has become potentially harmful to the desired creation of a science-based knowledge economy. A primary contributing factor towards this decline is a lack of interest in the subject within the classroom, as was established by The Task Force on the Physical Sciences in 2002.

The primary aim of this Masters research is to investigate the role of visualisation in making the study of science more accessible and engaging to students to counter this decline. To this end …

Development Of An Interactive Multimedia Research Information System For The Archival Of The Music And Culture Of The Sliabh Luachra Area, Martina O'Neill

Theses

We are living in a world where communication is introducing much multiculturalism into society. Irish music is being mixed with music from all different cultures creating a worldwide acceptable type of "Irish Music\ As a result we are losing our true culture which is rooted in the Irish music and dance. This primary focus of this project was to set up an archival system to store the music of the Sliabh Luachra area. The music of the Sliabh Luachra area is a rich and rare heritage and was influenced greatly by the music of Padraig O’Keeffe, a renowned fiddle master …