Social Influence and Political Communication Commons^™

Black Lives Matter, Randal Mckoy

Capstone Collection

The notion of systematic racism continues to exist even today among African-Americans. The systematic racism that they face prevails in every area of their life, whether it is social or economical. This paper examines the experiences of systematic racism that African Americans go through in their daily lives and to what extent they believe that reparations can be used to address those inequalities and be a means to overcome racism in the United States. The literature reviewed focused on various aspects on the history of racism and inequality in the United States, systematic barriers in education, as well as the ...

Priming In Leadership: Applying Communication Theory To The Speeches Of Ronald Reagan, Katherine Sakai

Senior Honors Theses

The study of priming gained traction in the 1990s when researchers such as John Bargh demonstrated the nonconscious activation of ideas, often through repeated related words or activated schema. Since then, researchers have studied the effects of priming on self-view, achievement, and teamwork. While the concept of priming has just recently begun to be applied to leadership in the workplace, no research has yet been done in finding examples of priming theory in the speeches of well-known leaders. In this study, Ronald Reagan’s persuasive tactics were analyzed and found to use similar methods of repetition and schema used in ...

The Role Of Peer Irrigators On The Choice And Intensity Of Efficient Irrigation Techniques, Noah Hayward

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

We evaluate the use and the proportion of farmland that uses prominent irrigation practices in Arkansas, USA. A bi-variate sample selection model evaluates the determinants of the share of irrigated land in a farm that uses each practice. We evaluate the relationship between the irrigation practices peers use and the intensity that another farmer utilizes that same irrigation practice(s). So, if a peer of an Arkansas Delta farmer uses center pivot irrigation, for example, it increases the probability that the farmer him or herself will use acreage using center pivot by 66%. Conversely, a peer using surge irrigation only ...

Implications Of Pop Cultural Diplomacy: An Analysis Of Idol-State Interactions, Elizabeth Erwin

Honors College Theses

This paper uses media coverage of idol-state interactions to understand the ways in which states utilize pop culture as a component of their public diplomacy strategy. Idol-state interactions are defined as an event where a pop cultural figure accompanies or is accompanied by a state official to a formal meeting with a representative of a foreign government. Looking specifically at South Korean diplomatic events where K-Pop idols are present, I find that idol-state interactions have the potential to increase media coverage, further cultural understanding and serve as a relationship-building tool.

Perilous Place: Personal Stories Point To Possible Solutions To Widespread Flooding In The Mississippi Delta, Jared Poland

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and create journalistic stories highlighting the Yazoo Backwater Pumps Projects relationship to climate change while utilizing narrative storytelling techniques. Before explaining the methodology used for conducting research and interviews, the researcher describes the influence that innovations of mass communication channels have had on the way humans form groups and persuasively advocate for their positions. The researcher describes their historical perspective of mass media innovations that were vital considerations during their discovery and investigation of this politically divisive issue. The researcher more specifically focuses on the innovations that have occurred since the digital ...

When The Victim Becomes The Accused: A Critical Analysis Of Silence And Power In The Sexual Harassment Case Of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford And Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Erendira Torres

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether silence was performed as an act of submission or power in the sexual harassment case of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh in 2018. Additionally, this study was concerned with how gender role expectations were communicatively represented throughout the hearing. This qualitative case study took a Critical approach through a Feminist Poststructural lens, navigating through concepts such as: discourse, silence, and gender as a cultural construct.

The Ceibalitas In Uruguay: How Digital Educational Technology Affects Social Cohesion, William Bradford

Honors Theses

Digital Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have become a focal point in improving worldwide education. There have been many studies on the effects of ICT in schools on grades and careers after graduation, but not many have studied the social impact. This study focuses on the Plan Ceibal in Uruguay to see the impact of ICT in schools on social cohesion. The Plan Ceibal was the first Nation-wide one-laptop-per-child (OLPC) program in the world. For this reason, Uruguay can provide a look into the future for other nations as they implement OLPC programs of their own. This study uses data ...

Increasing Bullying Awareness In Middle Schools, Crystal Rocha

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Bullying is a repetitive behavior of mistreatment towards someone less powerful than you. This includes to be verbal, physical, and social. This issue is very common in schools, but students don't get enough knowledge from this behavior to be able to change or help others.

Controversy, Coverage And Cancel Culture: The Daily Mississippian's Reporting Of The 2018 Ed Meek Controversy, And Related Findings, Mason Thomas Scioneaux

Honors Theses

As this thesis reflects a body of work completed by a journalism student near the conclusion of a journalism education at the University of Mississippi, I approached research and writing in that way. I interviewed three people, for an hour each, and the things I learned in those interviews greatly affected the conclusions I reached with this thesis. My full transcripts from those interviews are located in Appendices A-C. I also did a lot of scouring through articles of The Daily Mississippian from fall 2018 and otherwise; I looked at every single edition of the paper from that semester, both ...

Automation Anxieties: Perceptions About Technological Automation And The Future Of Pharmacy Work, Cameron W. Piercy, Angela N. Gist-Mackey

Human-Machine Communication

This study uses a sample of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians (N = 240) who differ in skill, education, and income to replicate and extend past findings about socioeconomic disparities in the perceptions of automation. Specifically, this study applies the skills-biased technical change hypothesis, an economic theory that low-skill jobs are the most likely to be affected by increased automation (Acemoglu & Restrepo, 2019), to the mental models of pharmacy workers. We formalize the hypothesis that anxiety about automation leads to perceptions that jobs will change in the future and automation will increase. We also posit anxiety about overpayment related to these outcomes ...

P6: Predictors Of Compliance With Covid-19 Related Non- Pharmaceutical Interventions Amongst University Students, Spencer G. Shumway, Ethan R. Tolman, Jonas D. Hopper, David Patterson, Gabriella Hubble, Jamie L. Jensen Dr.

Annual Research Symposium

College campuses have been an area where the novel coronavirus has spread rapidly, thus this study is focused on compliance with COVID-19 related non-pharmaceutical interventions among college students.
We surveyed over 600 college students from across the United States and modeled predictors of compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions. To determine how applicable nationwide modeling might be to individual local campuses we also administered this same survey to nearly 600 students at two large universities in Utah County (Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University). We then ran structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine what factors are related to student compliance with ...

Mapping Meaning At The Crossroads Of Crisis: Narratives Of Renewal In The Midst Of The Opioid Epidemic, Preston Carmack

Graduate Student Research Symposium

This study explores the role of meaning in a crisis situation by using Viktor Frankl’s tripod of meaning and Matthew Seeger and Timothy Sellnow’s narratives of renewal. Drawing from focus groups conducted in a large mid-Atlantic city where community members are embedded in the middle of the opioid crisis, the findings suggest that resiliency in the face of crisis can be encouraged to take root through a mapping of meaning that highlights gratitude and responsibility.

Mamfakinch, Annabel Degroat

Montserrat Annual Writing Prize

This paper examines Mamfakinch, a citizen media group which covered a wide array of issues in Morocco. The group excelled at compiling information and disseminating key news stories which resulted in the diversification of a media environment dominated by the state. While influential, Mamfakinch was short-lived and the government was able to reassert its dominance over citizen media. However, the group’s legacy demonstrates the influence of youth digital cultures and their power to mobilize, demand accountability, and command change.

Nation Brand, National Prestige, And The Social Imaginaries Of The Advanced Nation In South Korea, Jung-Yup Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

The dissertation focused on how the discourses and institutions of nation branding and public diplomacy reshaped the social imaginary of the nation. Following the trajectory of the nation branding discourse in South Korea in the first fifteen years of the 21st century, I examined different moments of the re-imagining of the nation by multiple agents with regard to nation branding and public diplomacy.

Firstly, I examined how the news media played a crucial mediating role in importing and disseminating the globally emerging discourse of nation branding in collaboration with private and public think tanks in the early and mid 2000s ...

A Critical Examination Of Media Images Of The Civil Rights Movement And Their Role In Shaping Collective Memories Among Northern White Audiences, Martha Ramirez

LSU Master's Theses

Collective memory theory has been used to study a wide array of phenomena, including the media’s role in shaping collective memories of pivotal and influential events throughout society. Often when lacking direct contact and engagement, the media may shape the collective memories of audiences. As such, the current study examines prominent images presented in the media and the potential role each could have contributed to the collective memory of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. More specifically, this study analyzes how collective memories, which are arguably influenced by the mass media, create memories for audiences that lack direct engagement ...

How "Lyingnewspapers" Made Huey Long The Ruler Of His State: A Model Of Press-Populist Dynamics, Christina A. Georgacopoulos

LSU Master's Theses

Huey Long’s use of the phrase “lyingnewspapers” to discredit negative publicity is commonly cited as evidence of his negative relationship with the mainstream press, but he did not always hold a hostile view toward newspapers. Before the press turned against him during his enemies' attempt to impeach him as governor in 1929, newspapers were one of his central tools for political advancement. He devised strategies to attract press attention and relied on newspapers to publicize himself and propagate his ideas more frequently and consistently than he used circulars or radio broadcasts, which are commonly attributed to his political success ...

Defining And Addressing The Intersection Of Sports, Media, And Social Activism, Kaylee Layne Crafton

Honors Theses

Athletes have used their sports platforms and the elevated statuses of fame to share their political views and seek change for centuries. However, our society is now at a time in which athlete activism seems to be at its peak due to constant societal shifts and the quick, widespread dissemination of news through various forms of media. This study sought to answer one primary question: When can athletes share their views about racial equality and social justice? For Americans, the “when” in which athletes can speak up is often a divisive issue. This study analyzed how major sports leagues and ...

Us Media’S Coverage Of China’S Handling Of Covid-19: Playing The Role Of The Fourth Branch Of Government Or The Fourth Estate?, Wenshan Jia, Fangzhu Lu

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The present study is an analysis of a sample of reports on China’s handling of COVID-19 by several major US media with a focus on a controversial op-ed by the Wall Street Journal. It is found that instead of covering it objectively as a public health crisis, these media reports tend to adopt the strategy of naming, shaming, blaming, and taming against China. In other words, they seize the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan as an opportunity to serve Trump’s “America First” doctrine by a coordinated attempt to destroy the Chinese dream and arresting China’s ascendency. First ...

Political Communication Channels Of The Aceh Woman Legislative Member In Conveying Information To The Community, Ainol Mardhiah, Cindenia Puspasari, Maisura Maisura, Nanda Ameliany

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This research investigates the political communication channel of the Aceh’s woman legislators to the community. After the period of political conflict in Aceh, women participation in the public sphere as a legislator is shown to be increasing in quantity. However, their coverage on the media regarding their performance and activity as Aceh’s women’s legislators is still lacking. These women representatives have not been received enough recognition within the community. This study aims to reveal the political communication channel of these women’s legislator to the constituents. This study was conducted in the Aceh Legislative Body using a ...

Perceptions Of Black Lives Matter: An Analysis Of The Movement And Its Impact On The Relationship Between The Lincoln Police Department, The Media And The Public, Paige Heinemann

Honors Theses, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

This study examines the relationships between the Lincoln Police Department (LPD), the Lincoln Journal Star (LJS), and the public as they interacted during the Black Lives Matter protests in Lincoln, Nebraska, during June 2020. In order to analyze the relationships between the three actors, I utilized previous research that examined the role of the media on perceptions of police, how media framing of police brutality influences perceptions, and how the four models of public relations function in communities. This led me to pose the following research question: How do the relationships between the Lincoln Police Department, the media and the ...