Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Excessive Smartphone Use On Interpersonal Relationships, Lisa M. Whitesell

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Smartphones are integral to daily life, generating a propensity for overuse that raises concerns about the potentially adverse effects on social connections and communication. Previous research is primarily quantitative, focused on male subjects outside the United States, and has not explored the impact of smartphone use on relationships from the perspective of close friends and family. This study addresses the gap by applying qualitative methodologies using a more balanced gender sample in the United States. Semi-structured interviews will capture participants’ experiences and perceptions of how excessive smartphone use affects their interpersonal relationships. Open-ended questions will explore smartphone use patterns, the …

Gen Z Perspectives On Mental Health Service Interaction: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Reddit Discourse, Victor A. Aguiar

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Compared to prior generations, Generation Z engages with mental health and mental health service interaction in distinct ways, frequently using social media platforms to share experiences, concerns, and opinions. Previous research has examined mental health discourse on Reddit; however, much of this work relies on inductive thematic approaches and offers limited focus on mental health service interaction and the factors influencing utilization. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study examines how Generation Z discusses mental health service use through online discourse. Public Reddit posts authored by users identifiable as Generation Z, based on self-reported age, school enrollment, …

Artificial Intelligence Adoption Among Future Journalism And Mass Communications Professionals: A Tam-Based Approach To Students’ Generative Ai Adoption Intent, Chinwendu P. Akalonu

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries, journalism and mass communications professions are slowly adapting to these technologies. This study employs the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and AI-TAM frameworks to examine predictors of AI adoption intent among college students preparing for careers in the field. Survey results reveal that perceived usefulness, trust in AI output quality, organizational requirement, ethical awareness, and certain sociodemographic factors such as race predict AI adoption intent. Additionally, the study highlights differences in adoption intent among students in different subfields of mass communication, including journalism, advertising, and public relations. It underscores the importance of expanding traditional TAM-based …

Content Moderation On Social Media: Social And Computational Standards And Implications, Mohit Singhal

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Social media has become a powerful tool that reflects human communication's best and worst aspects. They allow individuals to freely express opinions, communicate with others, and learn about new stories. On the other hand, they have become fertile grounds for several forms of abuse, harassment, and the dissemination of misinformation. Social media platforms have established and employed content moderation to counteract the spread of abuse and misinformation.

Some critical challenges hinder the understanding of the social media content moderation ecosystem. This dissertation investigates various aspects of content moderation, including their coverage, fairness, and effectiveness. Firstly, it investigates how, in practice, …

Social Distortion: Disinformation, Polarization, And The Politics Of Identity In An Online World, Jennifer Duck Brown

All Dissertations

This dissertation addresses three issues that intertwine: Disinformation, polarization, and the politics of identity. Social media currently dominates how we receive our news and information. This coincides with a disinformation pandemic full of false news and propaganda running rampant online. What often ensues is a social distortion that poses as reality. Seventy-two percent of all Americans use some type of social media according to Pew Research. Not all social media is nefarious, but the design of the social platforms further aggravate how people learn and communicate. Through original and peer-reviewed mixed methods research on topics including the conspiracy theories of …

Sexual Self-Concept, Communication Privacy Management, & Relational Dialetcics Among Post-Partum Women, Mary Pitts

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Sexual communication research has long focused on adolescents, though a growing area in need of focus revolves around sexual confidence and view of self, or sexual self-concept. Similarly, research on motherhood often lacks a deep view into postpartum women’s feelings and experiences and how they communicate about them with other people. Relational Dialectics Theory and Communication Privacy Management were used to evaluate how postpartum women experiences changes in their sexual self-concept and how they subsequently communicate about those changes with other people. Through interviewing 10 women through semi-structured interviews surrounding their experiences with sexual self-concept and motherhood, themes connecting open …

Creating An Action Plan To Increase Diversity And Inclusion At Northwest Church Of Christ, Kenton Reeves Brown

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project was designed to meet a need at the Northwest Church of Christ in Oklahoma City to help the church transition from a church that values diversity to one that realizes its vision of being diverse and inclusive. The scope of this project was to create an action plan to increase diversity and inclusion to present to the church leaders for their consideration. The theological foundation for the project comes from Paul’s convictions, expressed in Gal 1–2, that any who are in Christ should not be excluded or treated as a lower-class member of the community based on their …

Fandom In The Digital Age: Examining Parasocial Relationships Between Fans And Music Artists On Instagram, Brittani Wert

University Honors Theses

With the rise of social media as a cultural staple in entertainment industries such as music, Instagram changes the landscape of the artist-fan connection and muddles the boundaries of parasocial relationships in a digital space. While a wealth of research exists on how fans perceive mediated relationships, the perspective of the artist and how they navigate this connectivity is missing from the discourse. This study builds on the current literature surrounding mediated artist-fan interactions and examines how music artists use Instagram to build strong, loyal relationships with fans through the lens of parasocial relationships. Through interviews with up-and-coming artists and …

Rest Homes: Their Value On Massachusetts Healthcare Continuum, Ronald Pawelski

School of Professional Studies

In Massachusetts, rest homes provide cost effective care for elderly residents in a community setting. Rest homes, however, are not well-understood and the rest home industry itself suffers greatly, not only from a lack of understanding of the services they provide, but also from the strain on their financial resources due to both competition from other healthcare options and insufficient reimbursement rates for residents’ care.

The paper explores the financial challenges facing the industry and outlines the data that speaks to the value of the rest home care option for both the residents themselves and Massachusetts state healthcare budget. It …

The Role Of Social Media And Social Networking As Marketing Delivery Systems For Preventive Health Care Information, Joe Cangelosi, David Kim, Ken Griffin, Ed Ranelli

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The use of social media and social networking (SM&N) is prevalent in health care. Through social media, individuals can access information to enhance their overall health and well-being. Given that prevention is crucial to a long healthy life, as well as restraining escalating health care costs, this study offers insights into the types of social media and networking platforms that health care consumers consider most important, especially with regard to obtaining Preventive Health Care Information (PHCI). Further, it goes on to identify the demographics of persons who consider social media and social networking platforms as most important. This research used …

Rhetoric Of The Far Right: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Donald Trump And Viktor Orbán, Hannah Batten

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

This research consists of a rhetorical analysis of two world leaders: Donald Trump, president of the United States, and Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary. The particular lens of this rhetoric is that of the political far-right. This research works to compare the rhetorical devise and strategies used by two different world leaders that possess some overlapping elements in terms of their political agendas. While this work involves political elements by nature, it does not intend to promote or refute any form of political ideology, rather it is a purely rhetorical analysis.

How Do Communication Modalities Influence Intergenerational Communication?, April Pierce, Candace Payne

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

This cross-sectional study analyzes the rapidly developing landscape of online communications. In particular, it studies the modalities used by three generations, which include baby boomers, Gen X, and Gen Y/millennials. In addition to analyzing their preferred methods, researchers also studied the conflicting views on other generations. This was done through data collected from an online survey administered via email and social media posts. It was hypothesized that the gaps in communication styles between different generations would be significantly different than the other generations mentioned. Researchers found that while generational differences are still present among the three demographics studied, a significant …

Factors Of Student Success, Vanessa Beck

Celebration of Learning

The purpose of my study is to understand student success in college. I focused a large amount of my research around extracurricular activities out of the classroom, which include clubs, sports, faculty interaction, employment, and time spent on preparation for classes. In order to understand student success, I sent out a survey to 200 students enrolled in Augustana to evaluate their responses to see what they spent their time doing. I paid close attention to the number of hours students spend on various activities each day. The results allowed me to understand student habits, and how their involvement in extracurriculars, …

Filling The House: Engaging A Millennial Performing Arts Audience, Sarah Schreck

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this research is to identify best practices for public relations professionals when engaging with a Millennial performing arts audience, focusing on Hon and Grunig's relationship management theory (1999) and Kent and Taylor’s theory of dialogic communication (2014) to build interactivity in a digital space. Performing arts organizations have successfully engaged with previous generations, but are facing new challenges when communicating with millennial audiences. Changing demographics have led to a stagnation and decline of performing arts attendance as the millennial generation has come of age. This massive population has new priorities for spending and consumption of entertainment, and …

The Effects Of Communication, Gender, And Sexism On Dating Initiations, Alexandra Marie Buscaglia

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the initial screening process that occurs during dating interactions, and to measure the perceptions of different communication styles that individuals use during such interactions. A review of current literature focused on attractiveness of potential mates, ambivalent sexism theory, gender stereotypes, and communication theory. The present study examined how individuals view others’ approaches in initial dating interactions, and which of these approaches are most effective for increasing the target’s interest in spending time with the pursuer. A pilot study involving 45 undergraduate psychology students from Western Kentucky University was conducted to …

Archaeology, Women & The Early Church, Konner Dent

Andrews Agenda: Campus News

No abstract provided.

Prep Advocacy Project: Increasing The Adoption Of Pre-­Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) In San Luis Obispo County, Leona Rajaee

Journalism

The following study investigates the need for Pre­exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County in order to develop an effective health outreach and advocacy program that could increase the adoption of PrEP treatment and in turn decrease new HIV transmissions in the community studied. The sponsor of this study is the Access Support Network (ASN), a non­profit organization that provides supportive services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. ASN launched this study after observing the effectiveness of PrEP in metropolitan cities. At the same time, ASN also noticed a rise in new HIV transmissions, particularly among injecting drug users …

Mass Media: From The Pulpit To The Pew Of Christian Churches, Lisa Colleen Bonds-Brown

Student Theses and Dissertations

As technology becomes more integrated with our daily lives, Christian churches and religious organizations are using media as part of their ministries. In addition to 21st-century technologies such as Twitter and Facebook, ministries also use traditional forms of media to expand their reach and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This research will explore how churches are using multiple media technologies to spread the Gospel of Christ and communicate with both believers and non-believers in a world consumed by media. The Diffusion of Innovation Theory will guide this research.

Names Are Words: A Study Of Age, Gender, Class And Race, Alexandria Michelle Baker

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Just over 4 million babies are born in the United States each year, and as many people know each baby eventually gets a name. In an extension of research demonstrating both Symbolic Interaction Theory and the Coordinated Management of Meaning, through the use of semantics and pragmatics, the present study examined what names communicate about age, race, gender and class. Using data obtained from the first group of participants in Survey 1(i.e. names of each individual and their demographics), Survey 2 participants, a random sampling of Americans, were asked to look at 14 names and determine what those names communicated. …

Lgbt Parents On American Television, Heather Kahn

Honors Theses

Television is an ever changing medium used in mass communication, and people often rely on this medium for knowledge about different subjects. This study demonstrates how television depictions of marginalized groups can change over time. Focusing specifically on a subset of the LGBT community – parents – this study documents the evolution of LGBT parents on American television. A total of 14 television shows were selected for a qualitative analysis. The parents depicted in these shows were analyzed according to gender, race, class and sexuality. The results were then summarized and put into historical context. This study contributes to the …

Active Development Of Tacit Knowledge: Adtk In A World Without Farmers, Roger E. Garrett Jr.

Capstone Collection

Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and extensions such as Transformative Learning Theory offer significant potential for skill development later in life – reskilling. Despite wide acceptance and deployment, practitioners are still obliged to design their own methods and activities in order to implement these theories. This paper introduces a novel curricular model, Active Development of Tacit Knowledge (ADTK). Educators can use ADTK to effectively implement and scale ELT. Agricultural Education, specifically the training of new farmers, is used as a sample context to demonstrate ADTK. In new-farmer education, it is necessary to compress the educational cycles of dozens of years of …

Online Support Communication Among Military Spouses, Larissa Krenzer

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Communal Coping is characterized by the use of a shared support system to collectively manage stressors faced by individuals within a group sharing a common bond. I will argue that Communal Coping is present in the written communication between military spouses through the use of groups on Facebook during times of separation from service members. I will determine how these communities are formed within Facebook and how identities are formed within these support groups online through the use of language. I will examine unofficial military spouse support groups and FRG (Family Readiness Group) pages on Facebook and how group members …

Improving Student Learning In Third World Communities Through The Applications Of Transformational Leadership And Technology, Jan Michael Co Uy

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Students in third world communities often face many economic and educational challenges. The main setback that many kids face today is continued education. Overall, the purpose of this research is how transformational leadership and technology contribute to student learning in third world communities. A few key theories were used in this research, which include Transformational Leadership, Early Childhood, Social Penetration, and Media Richness Theories. From a research method standpoint, meta-analysis was used to determine how these theories relate to themes from various case studies done on improving student learning. The overall finding is that technology in tandem with transformational leadership …

Dennis B. Mcgilvray And Michelle R. Gamburd, (Eds.). Tsunami Recovery In Sri Lanka: Ethnic And Regional Dimensions. London: Routledge. 2010., Aaron Mulvaney Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Gender Roles And Their Influence On Life Prospects For Women In Urban Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study, Tazeen S. Ali, Gunilla Krantz, Raisa Gul, Nargis Asad, Eva Johansson, Ingrid Mogren

School of Nursing & Midwifery

BACKGROUND: Pakistan is a patriarchal society where men are the primary authority figures and women are subordinate. This has serious implications on women's and men's life prospects.
OBJECTIVE: The aim was to explore current gender roles in urban Pakistan, how these are reproduced and maintained and influence men's and women's life circumstances.
DESIGN: Five focus group discussions were conducted, including 28 women representing employed, unemployed, educated and uneducated women from different socio-economic strata. Manifest and latent content analyses were applied.
FINDINGS: TWO MAJOR THEMES EMERGED DURING ANALYSIS: 'Reiteration of gender roles' and 'Agents of change'. The first theme included perceptions …

Social Networking In Collegiate Public Relations, Leon Bracey

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

A guide describing the importance of institutions of higher education implement social networking policies and procedures. The project includes a manual and marketing plan that will be implemented by the author of the project at his employer, Georgia Perimeter College.

Increasing Retention Rates In Minority Librarians Through Mentoring, Antonia Olivas, Richard Ma

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Thesis

Maintaining healthy mentoring relationships throughout librarians’ careers helps to increase retention rates among minority librarians and promotes diversity in upper-management.

Abstract

Recruitment of minority librarians has been at the forefront of library literature for decades. However, what happens to those librarians after they graduate from library school and get their first library jobs? Do they stay in the profession for long? Is there a support system to help them maintain the excitement and novelty of their career choice after they’ve been wooed by scholarships and residency programs? This article will discuss the results of a study conducted by librarians …

University Reporter - Vol. 09, No. 02 - October 2004, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

Internet Media In Technological Risk Amplification: Plutonium On Board The Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft, Christine M. Rodrigue

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The author discusses how the Cassini controversy demonstrates the power of the Internet, particularly listservs and Usenet groups, and how this resource offers political activists an opportunity to affect the agendas of risk management policy decision-makers.

Columbia Chronicle (05/30/2000), Columbia College Chicago

Columbia Chronicle

Student newspaper from May 30, 2000 entitled Columbia Chronicle. This issue is 24 pages and is listed as Volume 33, Number 28. Managing Editor: Valerie Danner