Digital Commons Network^™

Conversations That Matter: How A Thriving Public Sphere Makes Better Citizens And Better Neighbors, Kylie Schreiber

Bridge/Work

While it is true that the most recent presidential election cycle highlighted deeply rooted divisions lying in our American democracy, there is more to this separation than politics. Globalization and polarization have acted as catalysts, in part, to the decline of neighborliness and citizenship in America. I argue that a return to the “public” sphere in local communities can remedy this. This paper tests this theory by strategically selecting public policies and civic engagement activities that attempt to accomplish this goal of returning to the public and evaluating them on their ability to do so.

There are important questions about …

Prospectus, January 24, 2018, Parkland College, Evyjo M. Compton, Greg Gancarz, Emma Gray

Prospectus 2018

Upcoming fairs encourage students to get involved; Cobras Spring Home Games; Adult ed serves essential role in community learning; Champaign parks host 5k run through the snow.

Lindenwood Digest, January 19, 2018, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.

Discourses Of Deception: (Re)Examining America's War On Drugs, Benjamin Steven Boyce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

America's war on drugs is a failed experiment that has caused more damage than it will ever prevent. From its original design to its contemporary manifestations, the war on drugs is a conflict that remains firmly rooted in white supremacy. In contemporary Western societies, the rhetoric of both political leaders and mass-mediated narratives becomes the raw material of subjective reality. Since the war on drugs began nearly a century ago, the spectacle of mass media has been consistently utilized by white political elites as a vehicle of misinformation - as a well-oiled machine for spreading the false social narrative that …

Las Hijas De Violencia: Performance, The Street, And Online Discourse, Madison M. Snider

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores street harassment as a contentious practice in the rhetorical spaces of the street and social media posting through a case study of the performance group Las Hijas de Violencia. Through anarchistic direct action resistance tactics, the group confronted harassers in the streets of Mexico City and their recordings launched global media interest which led to viral online sharing. Widespread sharing of their performance led to the creation of public discursive space, through comments sections, which was utilized to measure attitudes toward street harassment and feminist direct action protest. Contextualized in a growing call for an end to …

The Digital Self: A Qualitative Approach To Studying Female College Students' Use Of Social-Networking Platforms, Megan Christine Gore

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to understand how female college students make use of social networks, specifically how they use the medium to connect with others. Researching socialnetworking use pertaining to the phenomenon of connection will give a richer understanding of female students’ lived experience of social networking. Many quantitative studies have been conducted about social networking, but more qualitative measures are needed to explore social networking. With the continuously changing social-networking platforms, there is little research that sheds light on social-networking use among female college students. My goal was to conduct a qualitative research study that examined female …

Ua12/8 Annual Campus Safety & Security Report, Wku Police

WKU Administration Documents

This report is designed to provide students, potential students, parents, facility and staff with crime statistics and information on university services and crime prevention programs.

Assessment Of The Impacts Of Marijuana Legalization In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Michael Lynch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As marijuana legalization expands in the United States, communities that are shifting rapidly from prohibition to legalization are impacted greatly. As South Dakota remains one of the only states in the nation that has not engaged the marijuana reform movement in any manner, it is vital to assess potential impacts marijuana legalization might have on the state. Although there are several marijuana impact reports that analyze potential health and economic impacts of legalization, few address political and criminological implications that impacted areas undergo as a result of this policy change. Subsequently, there is a need to analyze the impacts of …

Complete Issue, Volume 37, Issue 1

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 37, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Building Bridges On Local Soil: Locality And Community-Engaged Research And Pedagogy, Craig T. Maier

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Over a decade ago, Oster-Aaland, Sellnow, Nelson, and Pearson (2004), following up an earlier survey published in JACA (Sellnow and Oster, 1999), found that communityengaged research and pedagogy had become an established part of the communication curriculum. As a special issue of Peer Review has suggested (Carey, 2017), interest in service learning has only grown, and the increasing emphasis on civic engagement and community development has clear implications for the communication discipline. Courses and projects that address pressing or emerging social problems not only raise students’ ethical awareness but also allow students to build research and professional skills that build …

Finding Home After Fallout: The Future Of Fukushima's Forests, Katy N. Spence

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This long-form journalistic piece is about radioactive forests in Yamakiya, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, and how locals are dealing with it. Residents of Yamakiya were forced to evacuate their village in April 2011 following an explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

One Yamakiyan, Hidekatsu Ouchi, stepped into the role of community leader and is the focus of this story. He hopes Yamakiya can use the radiation, rather than condemning it. Ouchi’s devotion to his community is connected to the Japanese concept of furusato, which refers to an individual’s obligation and nostalgia for family, community and place. The story asserts …

Appreciative Inquiry In An Urban Context: Service Learning Amidst The Opioid Crisis, Craig T. Maier

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Britt’s (2012) service-learning framework situates community engaged learning activities in three broad categories: the practice of doing, which emphasizes skill building in relation to real-world problems; the practice of becoming, which sensitizes students to a broader range of social and civic responsibilities; and the practice of engaging in social change, which translates skill development and awareness into concrete action. This essay describes a successful service learning project focusing on opioid addiction in a mid-Atlantic city that combines all three. After describing the project’s background and implementation, it suggests practices and lessons that could inform similar efforts.

Media Exposure And Social Response As Predictors Of Citizen's Attitudes Toward Police, Tara A. Garrison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police-involved deaths of African Americans have increased over the past two decades, with continued high-profile media exposure. The problem is that extant research provided only a partial understanding and disparate focus about how media exposure, social responses, social media use, and attitudes towards police were possibly related to citizens witnessing acts of police-initiated actions against African Americans in the United States. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the predictive nature of media exposure, social response, and social media use concerning citizens' attitudes towards police. The two theories supporting this study and shaped this hypothetical system are media …

Exemplification Effects Throughout Disaster Stages In Social Media, Robert George Rice

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Two studies were performed to research potential exemplification effects throughout various stages of natural disasters. Exemplification theory (Zillmann, 1999, 2002) promotes the use of exemplars, media examples, because of their potential ability to motivate risk related information seeking and their possible influence in optimizing protective action (Zillmann, 2006). Study one examined potential exemplification effect differences between various stages of natural disasters. Study two was designed to test for differences in trust, perceptions of severity, and intentions to volunteer depending on the organization type supplying related exemplars in social media. Results indicate that exemplification effects do not differ depending on disaster …

Audible Killings: Capitalist Motivation, Character Construction, And The Effects Of Representation In True Crime Podcasts, Maia Hibbett

English Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

Jour 4124: Data Writing/Reporting (Syllabus), Robert Byrd

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

No abstract provided.

Social Media Usage By Municipal Elected Officials For Open Government Community Engagement, Sarah Stoeckel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As public administration has evolved with the technological advances in today's society, it can be challenging to ensure the demands of the public are being met in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, and engagement. Nonetheless, a focus on community remains at the forefront of public administration. When looking at technology and the community, the tool known as social media emerges. Social media has allowed people to interact in new ways and therefore, has allowed the government to interact with citizens in ways they have not been able to in the past. In addition to attempting to modernize public administration, there has …

A Secret Police: The Lasting Impact Of The 1986 Foia Amendments, A.Jay Wagner

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The 1986 Freedom of Information Act amendments were passed as a last-minute rider to Reagan-era War on Drugs legislation. The three pieces – a broad restructuring of Exemption 7, the law enforcement exemption; the addition of exclusions for law enforcement and intelligence requests; and introduction of a new fee structure – have had a lasting impact on FOIA implementation and contribute to the contemporary inability to affect police transparency. Review of the 1986 FOIA amendments’ legislative history documents the White House’s determination to loosen law enforcement oversight and congressional appeals to exaggerated fears of illicit drug users. The study considers …

Creating An Online Social Movement In Socially Conservative Societies: A Case Study Of Manshoor Blog Using Frame Alignment Process, Noura Abdullah Al-Duaijani

Theses and Dissertations

In the last decade, the Arab region has witnessed many political and social changes. Parts of these changes were initiated by millennials seeking social change to elevate the quality of life in their country and themselves. In one particular country, Kuwait, youth have pursued social change by advocating a freer lifestyle and regime change in government and institutions. Manshoor, an Arab language blog launched in November 2016 by two Kuwaiti liberals, Jassim Qamis and Ali Al-Nessif, stimulates an open conversation on a wide range of issues, including controversial ideas in the region such as scrutinizing some practices and beliefs of …

Interoperability Performance Among Campus Law Enforcement Agencies, Tammie Ann Massirer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks exposed considerable breakdowns in communications interoperability and information sharing among first responders. Multijurisdictional responses to the active-shooter incidents at the University of Texas in 2010; Sandy Hook Elementary of Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, and the Reynolds High School shooting of Multnomah County, Oregon in 2014 were replete with interoperability failures as well. Recent multijurisdictional response events continue to illuminate difficulties with first-responder interoperability and minimal research exists to promote understanding of the interoperability challenges of university police departments. The purpose of this study was to explore the barriers that impede communications of campus based …

Data Protection In Nigeria: Addressing The Multifarious Challenges Of A Deficient Legal System, Roland Akindele

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper provides an overview of the current state of privacy and data protection policies and regulations in Nigeria. The paper contends that the extant legal regime in Nigeria is patently inadequate to effectively protect individuals against abuse resulting from the processing of their personal data. The view is based on the critical analysis of the current legal regime in Nigeria vis-à-vis the review of some vital data privacy issues. The paper makes some recommendations for the reform of the law.

Lindenwood Digest, November 28, 2017, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.

The Cowl - V.82 - N.10 - Nov 16, 2017

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 82, Number 10 - November 16, 2017. 24 pages.

Spartan Daily, November 16, 2017, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2017

Volume 149, Issue 37

Lindenwood Digest, November 10, 2017, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.

Spartan Daily, November 7, 2017, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2017

Volume 149, Issue 32

The Cowl - V.82 - N.8 - Nov 2, 2017

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 82, Number 8 - November 2, 2017. 20 pages.

Weather Communication On Twitter: Identifying Popular Content And Optimal Warning Format Via Case Studies And A Survey Analysis, Joshua D. Eachus

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The use of Twitter as a channel for weather information inspires a deeper analysis of key information nodes during episodes of high impact weather, especially local meteorologists. To optimize communication on the channel, it is important to understand what kinds of messages produce exposure and attention among users—which translates to knowledge that could improve the reach of a warning. Literature identifies two key models that well describe the cognitive processing of tweets and warnings. The Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) describes risk perception and the factors that enable or disable one from acting on a warning. Particularly through environmental and …

A Content Analysis Of The Portrayal Of Refugees In U.S. News Media, Tambi Farouk Issac

Theses and Dissertations

This content analysis examined the portrayal of refugees in the United States by comparing four online news outlets—two conservative outlets: Fox News and Breitbart; and two liberal outlets: CNN and The New Yorker. Fox News and CNN are the most popular outlets among conservatives and liberals, respectively, while Breitbart and The New Yorker are the most polar. The study explored whether the frames used by online U.S. news outlets differ based on the ideological leaning of the outlet, specifically in regards to stories about refugees. Media outlets can influence the public opinion by controlling what they publish and …

Lindenwood Digest, October 24, 2017, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.