Digital Commons Network^™

Images In Service Marketing: Does Presentation Style Matter?, Can Trinh

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This research presents a pioneering attempt to examine whether the use of abstract images would be more effective than the use of concrete images in the case of service marketing. Based on construal level theory, we hypothesize that relative to the use of concrete images, the use of abstract images in service marketing will better match the intangible nature of services and will thus increase communication effectiveness. Two studies in this research provide evidence to support these propositions by showing that relative to the use of concrete images, the use of abstract images can enhance ad visuals, which in turn …

Happy Campers Or Unhappy Prisoners: How Materialism Punishes Us In Lockdown Times, Banwari Mittal

Atlantic Marketing Journal

COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns created an unprecedented upheaval in consumers’ daily lives and lifestyles. The purpose of this research was to understand the psychological experience of life under lockdowns and the role of individual difference variables in that experience. Using survey data from U.S. consumers, the research identified two opposite feelings, coexisting: happy camper feeling or unhappy prisoner feeling. Younger, lower income, and less educated consumers felt more like prisoners than campers. Ability to maintain life as usual, and positive pre-pandemic life conditions (health, social network, and job satisfaction) led to happy camper feelings. In contrast, pre-pandemic materialism led …

An Exploration Of The Social And Economic Factors That Influence The Mental Health Of Lgbtq College Students, Alexandria Mh Fossum

Senior Theses

LGBTQ individuals face a much higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders and mental health issues than their heterosexual, cisgender counterparts. The added academic pressures of college introduce a unique set of challenges that LGBTQ students face. This thesis includes a review of academic literature and data examining the intersections between social isolation, institutional discrimination, and financial insecurity and the effects they have on the mental health outcomes of LGBTQ college students. The paper is accompanied by a documentary consisting of a set of interviews of LGBTQ college students, giving a more personal insight into the multitude of factors that affect their …

Toxic Positivity And Perceptions Of Mental Health, Madeline E. Feltner

Senior Theses

My thesis concerns how toxic positivity, especially the type we commonly see on social media, can affect perceptions and stigma around mental health issues on college campuses. Toxic positivity is the belief that a person should always maintain a positive mindset, no matter what situation they are in, and invalidates negative emotions. Previous research shows that toxic positivity can have a negative effect on mental health, but in this thesis, I study how toxic positivity affects perceptions about others with mental health issues, willingness to interact with those with mental health issues, and self-perception. It is important to research this …

The Impact Of Follower-Influencer Relationship Stages On Consumers’ Perceptions And Behavioral Intentions In The Context Of Influencer Marketing, Khalid Obaid Alharbi

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the impacts of the relationship between social media influencers and followers on consumers trusting influencers, being inspired by them, and perceiving mutual benefits in this relationship, which could increase how consumers value and respond to influencers' endorsement. Using an online panel (N = 559), the survey results indicate a stronger relationship between an influencer and a follower increases the likelihood that the follower will view the influencer as trustworthy, draw inspiration from the influencer, and perceive that they share reciprocal benefits in this relationship. The trustworthiness and inspirational value of an influencer, as well as their …

Risk Propensity In Journalists: An Analysis Of Journalists’ Personality Traits And How They Direct Behavior In The Field, Ellen Katherine Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

Much like first responders, journalists run toward dangerous scenes instead of away from them, often putting themselves at risk. Unlike first responders, there is no research on a how a person’s risk propensity ties to their career. For this project, reporters of various ages and tenures were surveyed on their sensation-seeking levels and propensity to engage in risky behaviors while working as journalists. Journalism risk propensity correlated positively with sensation seeking. Risk motivations increase with age and tenure, meaning that older and more experienced journalists are more likely to engage in risky behavior. Males are more risk-prone than females. The …

Chimes: April 1, 2023 (April Fools' Edition), Calvin University

Chimes

Inspired by success of tuition freeze, president freezes everyone's lunch by Crabby Green Eggs

English profs must become football coaches or go by Catty Roozendahl

Entire finance office fired; no cause for alarm, admin say by Flabby Chicken

New cohorts added to help recruit students who aren't particularly special by Crabby Turkey

Admissions Strategy embraces record-breaking year of rings-by-spring by Havana Guerrero

Dining Services to switch breakfast back to Knollcrest... sometimes by A Yam

Football program brings diversity of "size and shape" to campus by Lawrence Old

'Merica act announces debut Rangeela performance by Paul Revere

Manna-only dining halls for …

Good Communications: Why It’S Essential To Winning Elections, Matthew J. Levin Mpa, Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

The article emphasizes the pivotal role of strategic communications in winning elections and guiding prospective political candidates in developing effective communication plans. The modern electoral landscape demands that candidates master the art of communication to connect with voters and convey their mission effectively.

The article highlights two key components of communication: crafting compelling messages and delivering them adeptly. The former involves developing a series of messages, starting with an elevator pitch and talking points, while the latter requires diligent practice.

The role of media in campaigns is explored, differentiating between earned and paid media. Earned media, generated organically through viral …

The Current - Volume 33 Issue 8, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Framing Addiction: How Variations Of News Stories Affect Attitudes Toward Addicts, James A. Smith

LSU Master's Theses

Stigma toward drug addicts and alcoholics can act as a barrier to treatment and, ultimately, result in more lives lost. Over previous decades, journalists have largely framed addicts as problematic to society which contributes to public stigma. Prior research in social medicine has found that non-news portrayals of treated addicts can improve public attitudes. Similarly, studies in mass communication have found that different ways of framing news stories can elicit different attitudes from news consumers. The purpose of this study is to test the effects of thematic framing, episodic framing, problem framing, and solution framing on readers’ attitudes when journalists …

The Cowl - V. 87 N. 15 - March 30, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 87 No. 15 - March 30, 2023. 28 pages.

Dear Pandemic: A Topic Modeling Analysis Of Covid-19 Information Needs Among Readers Of An Online Science Communication Campaign., Aleksandra M Golos, Sharath Chandra Guntuku, Rachael Piltch-Loeb, Lindsey J Leininger, Amanda M Simanek, Aparna Kumar, Sandra S Albrecht, Jennifer Beam Dowd, Malia Jones, Alison M Buttenheim

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by an "infodemic"-an overwhelming excess of accurate, inaccurate, and uncertain information. The social media-based science communication campaign Dear Pandemic was established to address the COVID-19 infodemic, in part by soliciting submissions from readers to an online question box. Our study characterized the information needs of Dear Pandemic's readers by identifying themes and longitudinal trends among question box submissions.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of questions submitted from August 24, 2020, to August 24, 2021. We used Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling to identify 25 topics among the submissions, then used thematic analysis to …

Losing Control To The Controller: Mmorpg Video Game Addiction And Mediating Roles Of Player Motivations, Abbie Speed

Theses and Dissertations

Using a quantitative survey distributed to regular players of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) (N = 777), the current study employed a correlation matrix and a parallel mediation model to assess the relationship between play frequency, motivating factors, and video game addiction. The results demonstrated that each of these elements were related to one another to varying degrees (p < .001). The motivating factors identified by Yee (2006) included achievement, immersion, and social interaction, which were tested as mediators and indicated that achievement (a1 = 0.2817, p < 0.001; b1 = 0.4073, p < 0.001) and immersion (a2 = 0.3217, p < 0.001; b2 = 0.2574, p < 0.001) are mediators in the relationship of play frequency and addiction. Social interaction was not significant as a mediator (a3 = 0.3217, p < 0.001; b3 = -0.0235, p = 0.6753). Higher levels of addiction were present for those who were motivated by achievement (rewards) and immersion (storyline/diversion) to play more frequently per week. However, those who were motivated by social interaction to play frequently did not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship with higher levels of addiction. Findings suggest that motivating factors of gameplay may have a mediating effect on the relationship between play frequency and addiction.

Media Convergence For Us–China Competition? Comparative Case Studies Of China Media Group And The Us Agency For Global Media, Wenshan Jia, Fangzhu Lu

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The present study provides a comparative analysis of the media convergence of China Media Group and US Agency for Global Media to illustrate the increasing US–China rivalry in international communication. It yields the following tentative findings: Both have been undergoing rigorous development at the technological and operational levels of convergence to enhance international communication; both are made to show more explicit loyalty to its official ideology, and both have become more monolithic via convergence; both have integrated their broadcasting services for an increasingly integrated market of information and news; both seem to be weaponizing itself against each other to fuel …

Chimes: March 27, 2023, Calvin University

Chimes

Students, advisors navigate credit transition by Abigail Ham

Club sports shift to Athletics division to access resources as part of Strategic Plan by Lauren Nyong

Details of plan murky as excitement for football builds by Abigail Ham

Students learn and work with Clean Water Institute in New Mexico and Honduras by Ashley Hamons & David Ogboro

Arts Collective and Student Senate collaborate on Johnny's Cave update by Grave Buller

What draws non-CRC students- an ever growing proportion- to Calvin? by Gabriel Choi

"Lots of screaming, lots of excitement": Calvin students attend, anticipate Taylor Swift's Eras Tour by Katie Rosendale

The Black Performer's Toolbox: A Critical Authoethnography, Laura D. Oliver

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Blackness shines bright like the moon and beams outside of identity parameters that are limiting in Western society to determine its communicative function inside and outside systems of power. When Blackness intersects with performance, various ways to construct identity are highlighted to expand our understanding of theory and methods that emphasize difference and culture. This research project aims to reimagine Blackness as a performance methodology to explore the performer’s livelihood onstage and constructions of race that impact identity offstage. Additionally, this project is built from a specific method created from the continuous use of expressive work that reflects societal challenges …

A Content Analysis On Health News About Uterine Fibroids In The U.S., Diana Mwikisa

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Abstract

Uterine fibroids have become a rising global health concern, especially among Black women in America and worldwide. This is a quantitative study that explores the health news reporting on uterine fibroids in the United States of America. A content analysis of the top 10 selected U.S. newspapers (between 2017 and 2021) was conducted. This study used the purposive sampling technique. 104 newspaper articles were selected and coded into a code sheet using a coding scheme and then statistically analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive analysis using descriptive statistics and chi-square were used to test and answer research questions. The key findings …

Still Lending You The World: The Toledo Lucas County Public Library In The 21st Century, Cade Clem

Honors Projects

This research paper focuses on how the Toledo Lucas County Public Library (TLCPL) has adapted to the 21st century, with an emphasis on the impact of digital materials and the Internet. This paper looks at these changes primarily through three lenses: official policies, services and programs, and internal culture. This paper uses quantitative data to determine if TLCPL has maintained overall growth in areas such as number of cardholders, customer counts, circulation, computer usage, and program attendance. These numbers show that, while not always maintaining growth, TLCPL has adapted quite well to the 21st century, bringing in record high numbers …

Spartan Daily, March 23, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 25

Spartan Daily, March 22, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 24

Lindenwood Digest, March 22, 2023, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been a digital employee newsletter since 2009.

“Community Members Have More Impact On Their Neighbors Than Celebrities”: Leveraging Community Partnerships To Build Covid-19 Vaccine Confidence, Maria Tjilos Mph, Autumn L. Tamlyn, Elizabeth J. Ragan Mph, Sabrina A. Assoumou Md, Mph, Katherine Gergen Barnett Md, Petrina Martin Mba, Rebecca Perkins Md, Msc, Benjamin P. Linas Md, Mph, Mari-Lynn Drainoni Phd, Med

Medical Student Research Symposium

Vaccines are a strong public health tool to protect against severe disease, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. Still, inequities in COVID-19 vaccination rates and health outcomes continue to exist among Black and Latino populations. Boston Medical Center (BMC) has played a significant role in vaccinating medically underserved populations, and organized a series of community-engaged conversations to better understand community concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. We accessed and analyzed nine publicly available recordings of the community-engaged conversations which were held between Mar 2021-Sep 2021 (n=8-122 attendees). We employed a Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research-driven codebook to code our data and utilized …

Rigor And Reliability Of Qualitative Research Conducted In Various Languages: Fundamentals And Their Application, Shweta Jain Verma Dr., Puja Gulati, Vishav Kumar Dhiman, Jeyaraj Durai Pandian

The Qualitative Report

Lack of a common language between researcher and participants, especially when participants speak different languages, complicates and makes the qualitative research process more difficult. Since language is the vehicle through which meaning is eventually communicated to the reader, interpretation and translation are essential to qualitative research. The researcher must adopt the principal tenets of cross language research to extrapolate the knowledge to all the spheres for a methodologically reliable and valid framework that is culturally sensitive in this situation. The purpose of the article is to acquaint qualitative researchers, including physician-researchers, with the fundamentals of qualitative study being carried out …

The Prospector, March 21, 2023, Utep Student Publications

The Prospector

Headline: "No Más Bebés": Forced Sterilization in 1970's America

Spartan Daily, March 21, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 23

Chimes: March 20, 2023, Calvin University

Chimes

Recent grad hired to study and promote disability inclusion on campus by Maya Oeverman

Calvin grads create platform to support III athletics by Lauren Nyong

Could an Asbury-like revival happen at Calvin? by Savannah Shustack & Adelaide Mei

Decided: How undecided students choose their majors by Lainey Moore

Student workers balance work and play by Ashley Hamons

Celebrating women of STEM by David Ogboro

"Sibling Institutions": Understanding the relationship between Calvin University and Calvin by Grace Buller

CPI offers affirmation of humanity in the midst of serious obstacles by Robert Hines

The Level Of Hearing-Impaired Interaction With The Sign Language Translation Service In The Media And Their Satisfactions, Hanan Kamel Ahmed Ismail

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية للبحوث في التعليم العالي

The article aims to explore the interaction of hearing-impaired with the sign language translation service in the media and know the gratifications which achieved from the media programs. The study adopted the descriptive approach, using the questionnaire to find out the opinion of a sample of hearing disabilities, which amounted to (30) participants from the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Charitable Society of the Deaf and Dumb in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The article concluded that hearing-impaired prefer "videos with subtitles in sign language" in the first place with 63.3%, followed by "sign …

Spartan Daily, March 16, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 22

The Current - Volume 33 Issue 7, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

The Cowl - V. 87 N. 14 - March 16, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 87 No. 14 - March 16, 2023. 20 pages.