Social Media Commons^™

Analysis Of Bloggers’ Usage Of The Web Space In Kyrgyzstan To Engage Civically And Politically, Bahtiyar Kurambayev

Dissertations

This dissertation work seeks to assess the implications of the internet (blogging) in non-democratic Kyrgyz Republic for engaging civically and politically. Existing literature offers contradictory findings about the role of internet in non-democratic countries and Kyrgyz Republic is one of those non-western countries that have been overlooked. To understand how the internet may relate to engagement civically and politically, the author applies survey approach and in-depth interviews to examine the relationship between the internet and engagement by specifically looking at how Kyrgyz bloggers use the web space.

The sample is drawn from student population. The author collected online 132 responses …

The Formation Of Youth-Led Participatory Networks In Urban Bangladesh: A Case Study Of The Bgreen Project, Fadia Hasan

Doctoral Dissertations

Through the lens of a participatory action research platform that I founded called The BGreen Project (BGreen), my research explores networked political economic connections that were developed as a result of this academic-community initiative. BGreen was a participatory action research platform that connected urban high school, college, university youth in an assortment of participatory/deliberative activities in the fields of education and environment. With their ongoing engagement in the participatory network called BGreen, Bangladeshi youth are negotiating their affiliation to diverse political economic structures (for example, their educational institutions) in creative ways and forging innovative methods of transformative participation as …

Life Beyond The Like: Uses & Gratifications Of Sharing Business Facebook Page Content, Sara M. Nash

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

One of the main reasons businesses create a Facebook Page is to solidify relationships with existing customers who are Facebook users and to leverage those relationships to gain new customers. Many studies have asked Facebook users to articulate the gratifications they receive when “liking” a business Facebook Page. These studies help explain what gratifications users gain by connecting to businesses via Facebook. To expand on these findings, the current pilot study applied the uses and gratifications theory to identify Facebook users’ motivations to “share” business Facebook content within their own personal network. Understanding users’ reasons for “sharing” will help businesses …

Using Student Case Study Research To Verify Twitter Usage In Disasters, John R. Fisher, Jared Pitcher, Gary Noll

Dr. John R. Fisher

In disaster situations, Twitter has become the preferred means of transmitting information to the news media and the public. This study examines the inter-relationship among the various parties who share and produce information in a disaster situation. Student case studies of disaster situations serve as the primary database for analysis. A preliminary examination of the case studies and the Twitter trails of information seem to support the view that Twitter can be a source of gathering and relaying information in a disaster situation and that first-responder agencies, the media, and the informed public can use Twitter for information they can …

Occupy Judaism: Religion, Digital Media, And The Public Sphere, Ayala Fader, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

This article provides an analysis of Occupy Judaism, an explicitly religious expression of Jewish protest, which occurred simultaneously with Occupy Wall Street, the direct-democracy movement of 2011. Occupy Judaism, like Occupy Wall Street, took place both in physical spaces of protest in New York City and digitally, through mobilizing and circulating debate. The article focuses on the words and actions of Daniel Sieradski, the public face and one of the key founders of Occupy Judaism, supplemented by the experiences of others in Occupy Judaism, Occupy Wall Street, and Occupy Faith (a Protestant clergy-led initiative). We investigate what qualified as religion …

Approaching Ideals Through Innovation: Twentieth And Twenty-First Century Mass Media Technology And American Democracy, Elizabeth Brand Cermak

Senior Theses

From the moment our First Amendment was adopted, America’s ideal of democracy has been firmly intertwined with media communications between the President and the citizenry. Over time, technological advancements have altered the way this communication is facilitated, increasing the public’s access to the Office of the Presidency, and visa versa, via new forms of media. Through an examination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s use of the radio, the first televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, and Barack Obama’s use of Social Media and the Internet, this thesis will seek to answer the question of whether the …

Media Literacy For The 21st Century. A Response To "The Need For Media Education In Democratic Education", Peter Levine

Democracy and Education

We cannot pretend to educate young people for citizenship and political participation without teaching them to understand and use the new media, which are essential means of expressing ideas, forming public opinions, and building institutions and movements. But the challenge of media literacy education is serious. Students need advanced and constantly changing skills to be effective online. They must understand the relationship between the new media and social and political institutions, a topic that is little understood by even the most advanced social theorists. And they must develop motivations to use digital media for civic purposes, when no major institutions …

Become A Future-Focused Leader: Use Three Megatrends To Grow Your Rural Business, Connie Reimers-Hild, Alyssa Dye

Community Vitality Initiative Collections

No one can predict the future; however, rural entrepreneurs and business owners can use a future-focused leadership approach, which includes examining megatrends, to shape the future of their businesses. Megatrends are global shifts that influence society, the economy and the environment. This article discusses three megatrends shaping the future of rural businesses:

1) The Rise of the #GigEconomy

2) Living with Purpose and Meaning

3) The Decentralized Marketplace

The article also provides coaching tips for rural entrepreneurs on how to use megatrends to grow their businesses.

While many companies are struggling to keep up with the rapid rate of change, …

Hack Or Be Hacked: The Quasi-Totalitarianism Of Global Trusted Networks, Athina Karatzogianni, Martin Gak

Athina Karatzogianni

Contentious Information: Accounts Of Knowledge Production, Circulation And Consumption In Transitional Egypt, Ahmad Kamal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

While the 2011 Egyptian Uprising renewed attention to revolutionary news platforms such as Al-Jazeera and Facebook, citizens continued to be understudied as active consumers of information. Yet citizens’ perceptions of their informational milieu and how they responded in consuming, processing, and interpreting facts offer crucial insight into the turbulent transition that followed the initial uprising. This study analyzes Egyptian citizens’ accounts of their information environment and practices amid socio-political change. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 politically-engaged citizens from various political and professional backgrounds. Participants were asked to discuss the state of public discourse, the institutions responsible for the circulation …

The World News Prism: Challenges Of Digital Communication, William A. Hachten, James Scotton

James Scotton

The World News Prism enjoys a well-earned reputation for excellence in its in-depth analysis of the changing role of transnational news media in the twenty-first-century. In the eight edition of this classic text, the authors expand their discussion of news systems in developing nations and the impact of digital media on traditional societies. A new chapter dedicated to evolving media in Egypt, Tunisia, and elsewhere in Africa and the Middle East explores the role of the Internet, cell phones, and Al Jazeera in facilitating momentous political change in the region. The book also provides important updates on the decline of …

Facebook: The Power Of Leverage, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Entrepreneurs like Suria Mohd have gained a large following of Facebook users that enables her to enjoy a thriving business and celebrity status in Singapore’s television scene. Here’s how.

Facebook Frets: The Role Of Social Media Use In Predicting Social And Facebook-Specific Anxiety, Lee Farquhar, Theresa Davidson

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Theory suggests that Facebook users may experience anxiety due to accessibility of their self-presentations to their entire networks. This project examines the impact of Facebook use on general social anxiety and Facebook-specific anxiety. Predictors we consider include the intensity of Facebook use, role conflict experienced during Facebook use, self-monitoring activities of the user, and religiosity of the user. Findings indicate that Facebook may, indeed, be increasing anxiety. Role conflict and religiosity can also increase Facebook-specific anxiety. Self-monitoring decreases Facebook-specific anxiety but increases general social anxiety. These findings suggest that, under certain circumstances, Facebook use may lead to heightened anxiety.

The Fuzzin' Facts, Rebel Alliance, Mitch Ohnstad, Rebekka Erks, Erin Prohaska, Ryan Mueksch, Rachel Foehlinger, Laura Bergen, Sean Davis

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Student Advertising Projects

The challenge for this campaign is to expose the facts about sexual health and safe sex practices in a light-hearted manner in order to make it a more comfortable topic to talk about so that more people understand the need to get the facts, get tested and get involved to help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in Nebraska.

Bloggers And Their Impact On Contemporary Social Movements: A Phenomenological Examination Of The Role Of Blogs And Their Creators In The Lgbt Social Movements In Modern United States, Bobby K. Huen

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The Internet is a ubiquitous feature in everyday life, but its application to social movements has yet to be completely understood. This phenomenological study examines the lived experiences of bloggers who focused on the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement in the United States to understand the impact bloggers and their work as online activists have on existing LGBT social movement organization and operation. Data collection is gathered from semi-structured and open-ended interviews with four social movement bloggers using web-conference software over the course of three months. The results of this study indicated that internet has empowered individual activists, …

Brand Obama: How Barack Obama Revolutionized Political Campaign Marketing In The 2008 Presidential Election, Abigail Michaelsen

CMC Senior Theses

In 2008, President Barack Obama was named Advertising Age’s marketer of the year, the first time a politician won such an award. While presidential candidates have always employed marketing tactics in order to communicate their platform and persuade voters to support them, candidate Obama’s marketing campaign completely revolutionized the field. Through an innovative marketing strategy, candidate Barack Obama transformed himself from a mere political unknown in 2004 to a worldwide sensation by the time the general election started in 2008. His calls for “hope and change” and “post-partisanship” captured the hearts of Americans frustrated with failed Bush policy and constant …

College Students’ Use Of Social Media To Communicate About Alcohol And Drinking Behaviors, Jenna E. Reno

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Social networking sites (SNSs) are an increasingly popular channel for communication among college students. Often students disclose more freely via social networking sites than they would in other situations. These disclosures commonly include information about engaging in risky health behaviors (e.g., binge drinking). Study 1 examined students’ impression management goals and self-presentation tactics specifically related to self-disclosures of drinking behavior on SNSs. Findings suggest that students use differing self-presentation tactics across various SNSs in order to achieve their impression management goals and to avoid consequences associated with disclosing about risky health behaviors to certain audiences. Study 2 sought to develop …

The Power Of Creativity: How Web-Based Parody Encourages Chinese Civil Participation, Amber Boczar

International ResearchScape Journal

This article investigates that relationship between e’gao (parody using web-based media) and Chinese civil participation. E’gao (恶搞 EUH-gow) uses videos, images, and text based campaigns that use humor to remove fear of political commentary and action. By detailing the development of China’s internet use, and the creation of the e’gao movement, I argue that e’gao removes the fear of participating in campaigns and movements, which criticize government policy and actions on both local and state levels, by using humor and anonymity of large online numbers. E’gao can provide a way for the common citizens to mold policy, and hold authority …

Facebook Frets: The Role Of Social Media Use In Predicting Social And Facebook-Specific Anxiety, Lee Farquhar, Theresa Davidson

Lee Farquhar