Digital Commons Network^™

How Perceived Real-World Risk Affects Vr Experience, Shengjie Yao

Theses - ALL

Dwelling on presence theory and breaks in presence theory, the purpose of this study is to investigate how real-world risks may affect people’s use of VR devices. A two-group comparison experimental design (N=51) was adopted to test how a less ideal play environment with potential risks can affect people’s experience in using virtual reality compared to an ideal VR playing set up. The results suggest that people in a less ideal play environment with potential risks tend to pay less attention to the VR content as well as enjoy the experience less compared to an ideal VR playing set up. …

Toward A Public Relations Theory Of Integration, Kelly Coolican Gaggin

Dissertations - ALL

Health and human service nonprofit organizations provide a multitude of support services to marginalized and underserved populations in the United States and abroad. Public relations and communications professionals are often focused on supporting goals that are directly tied to the organization which are also strongly tied to revenue seeking through increasing awareness of mission and need for financial contribution. This qualitative constructivist grounded theory study explores the extent to which public relations and communications roles can impact the integration of service populations into their communities.Through interviews with 13 refugee aid organization staff and 11 refugees, primary barriers to integration, including …

How A Hands-On Workshop Offered By Communication Undergraduates In Israel Enhanced Fifth Graders’ News Literacy Skills, Yuval Gozansky

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This article describes a project-based academic course, called “Children's News: Theory and Social Involvement”, in which communications undergraduate students worked with fifth graders in Israel to create their own newspapers. This hands-on workshop, developed at Sapir College in the south of Israel, helped children become literate in journalism and Newsmaking. They gained knowledge, writing skills, and self-esteem, as well as a sense of the social impact of journalism. The college students increased their own media literacy, gained pedagogy skills and news editing abilities, and got a glimpse of the point of view of children in a conflict area.

Making Moves: Lateral Reading And Strategic Thinking During Digital Source Evaluation, Elizabeth Walsh-Moorman, Kristine Pytash

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Using screencasting videos as think-alouds, this case study explores the process three high school seniors used when tasked with evaluating digital sources. Drawing from dual level theory of literacy, the study explores the complexities involved when students are asked to conduct informal research of their source (a strategy called lateral reading) in order to improve their ability to uncover potential bias in digital sources. Results indicate that lateral reading encouraged healthy reader skepticism and slowed readers down in the review, but students lacked sophisticated online reading and research strategies.

Critical Media Literacy And Black Female Identity Construction: A Conceptual Framework For Empowerment, Equity, And Social Justice In Education, Petra A. Robinson, Ayana Allen-Handy, Kala Burrell-Craft

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This paper addresses the issues of knowledge production, which interrogate and disrupt dominant narratives that subjugate Black females related to their identity. We contextualize our discussion through the lens of critical consciousness and critical media literacy by exploring the role of popular media in identity development/imposition for Black females. We outline issues of Black female identity politics by framing them through the description of critical media literacy as a 21st century literacy, with Black Feminist Theory as our theoretical lens. Similar discussions have remained centered in the field of Media Studies and there has been inadequate attention to these issues …

Effectiveness Of Protection Motivation Theory Based: Password Hygiene Training Programme For Youth Media Literacy Education, Hee Jhee Jiow, Florence Mwagwabi, Anita Low-Lim

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study adopts an experimental design to investigate the effectiveness of a password hygiene training programme. The password hygiene training programme adopted the Protection Motivation Theory’s framework in its development, and was delivered online to 84 students aged 13 to 16. Strength of password measures, such as time taken, and number of tries required, to crack the password, were administered pre and post intervention. The findings revealed that the password hygiene training programme was effective in changing actual password setting behaviour. This study also provided hints on which perceptual changes, based on the theory’s framework, was most influential in the …

A Lot Like The Other: Parents’ Consumer Responses To Brand-Modified Product Placements In Children’S Programming, Zijian Gong, Steven Holiday

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This research examined whether parents can recognize modified brands in children’s programming, and whether program educational value and active mediation intention would moderate perceptions of modified brand references. An experiment was conducted with 109 parents of child(ren) between 3-6 years old. Participants watched clips that systematically varied in brand reference type (i.e., actual v. modified brands) in product placements and program educational value. Results indicated modified brands were as recognizable as actual brands. Product placements in high educational value programs were less recognizable but generated more positive attitudes toward the brand than product placements in low educational value programs. The …

News Media Literacy Challenges And Opportunities For Australian School Students And Teachers In The Age Of Platforms, Jocelyn Nettlefold, Kathleen Williams

Journal of Media Literacy Education

News media literacy competencies and motivation in teachers are critical to media education initiatives. This article draws on a survey of 97 primary and secondary school teachers conducted as part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and University of Tasmania’s national Media Literacy Project in 2018. The data reveals challenges in the implementation of media literacy in classrooms, highlighting a generational divide linked to Australians’ rising consumption of news from digital sources and social media platforms. While teachers overwhelmingly say critical thinking about media is very important for students, nearly a quarter of these teachers are not engaging with news stories …

Child Participation In The Design Of Media And Information Literacy Interventions: A Scoping Review And Thematic Analysis, Linus Andersson, Martin Danielsson

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The article presents findings from a review of scientific articles about media and information literacy interventions targeted at children and adolescents. More specifically, the review centers on the quantity and quality of child participation in the design of such interventions. The findings indicate that designs with high levels of child participation constitute a minority in the sample. Most of them aim at “behavior-relevant” outcomes, e.g., reduce smoking or obesity. Interventions aimed at “media-relevant” outcomes, e.g., helping children to become competent media users, seem less widespread. Based on these findings, we argue that top-down initiatives to the promotion of media and …

Media Framing In The Centennial Olympic Park Bombing: How Media Coverage Of Terrorism Shifts When A Suspect Is Revealed, Easton Bush, Kareem El Damanhoury

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Terrorist attacks often dominate news cycles as reporters seek to interpret the attack through their own desired framing tools. Since “humans are predisposed to attend to negative and threatening information” (Sui et al., 2017), news coverage of terrorist attacks receive a lot of attention thus, how the attack is framed can manipulate the narrative portrayed to the public. This study utilized the Nexus database to examine framing techniques used by a local and an international newspaper in reporting on the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Park bombings both before and after a subject was identified by the FBI. This paper explores how …

The Guardian, Week Of May 17, 2021, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the week of May 17, 2021. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

Spartan Daily, May 13, 2021, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2021

Volume 156, Issue 43

Spartan Daily, May 12, 2021, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2021

Volume 156, Issue 42

Spartan Daily, May 11, 2021, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2021

Volume 156, Issue 41

Civil Religion And The Second Amendment, Shivaun Corry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American approach to legal hermeneutics emerged from the covenant theology of the Puritans. American civil religion understands the Constitution to be based in natural laws: a secularized conception of God-given rights. To change the text would collapse the epistemological framework of the nation. When a nation sees its constitution as a sacred text, then the answer to contemporary problems cannot be to change that text; rather, it must be to return to the text with an even more fundamentalist hermeneutic. Both gun rights advocate Charlton Heston, and gun control advocate Barak Obama, argued their cases using a fundamentalist hermeneutic, …

Spartan Daily, May 6, 2021, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2021

Volume 156, Issue 40

Spartan Daily, May 5, 2021, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2021

Volume 156, Issue 39

Spartan Daily, May 4, 2021, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2021

Volume 156, Issue 38

The Guardian, Weeks Of May 3 And May 10, 2021, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the week of May 3, 2021. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

Why Do Some Americans Resist Covid-19 Prevention Behavior? An Analysis Of Issue Importance, Message Fatigue, And Reactance Regarding Covid-19 Messaging, Hannah Ball, Tayah Renea Wozniak

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Despite the rapid transmission of and death toll claimed by COVID-19, there is evidence of resistance toward behaviors shown to effectively prevent and slow the spread of the disease, such as mask wearing and social distancing. This study applies psychological reactance theory to examine COVID-19 message factors (i.e., message fatigue, issue importance) that may be linked to nonadherence to CDC recommendations via the experience of reactance. Participants (N = 268) were current U.S. residents over the age of 18 who completed an online survey about their perceptions of COVID-19 messaging in general as well as toward a specific COVID-19 …

Ua12/2/1 Graduation Guide, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Special edition of the College Heights Herald, includes articles:

• Harden, Olivia. New Chapter, New Home
• Department of Communication Graduates
• Crisp, Hannah. Level Up Your LinkedIn
• Mahurin Honors College Graduates
• Worden, Kayla. Costs of Your New City
• School of Media Graduates
• Jones, Tea. Most Valuable Courses
• College of Health & Human Services Graduates
• Norvell, Abbey. Financial First Steps

Social Media As A Tool For Evangelism Among Youth And Young Adults, Trisney Bocala

Student Research

This research aims to answer the question of which social media platforms youth prefer and what types of content they prefer. Using data collected from a quantitative survey, this research seeks to identify the most-used social media platforms and most appealing formats of content so that Seventh-day Adventist churches, media organizations, and digital missionaries can more effectively utilize social media as a tool for evangelism among youth, defined as 15 to 24 years of age.

The Prospector, May 4, 2021, Utep Student Publications

The Prospector

Headline: The Graduation Issue: Congratulations, Graduates!

Laugh Until It’S No Longer A Scandal: The Use Of Humorous Apologia To Reframe Crisis Narratives On Saturday Night Live, Vanessa S. Hills

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the role of humor-based apologia as a crisis communication strategy for celebrities. Using a rhetorical method, it explicates the role that humor plays in shaping crisis narratives in response to kategoria within the context of Saturday Night Live. Four case study analyses determine whether the generic parameters of apologia include the use of a humor-based apologia or whether humorous apologiae should be classified as a unique subgenre. These findings further the body of research on apologia and highlight the need for additional research on the effectiveness of humor as a crisis communication strategy.

Media’S Portrayal Of Women And Its Impact On Body Image And Self-Esteem, Hannah Bareis

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project addresses the portrayal of women in media and its damaging effects on body image and self-esteem. It raises two critical questions: What negative impact is media creating on women? What can be done to combat these destructive effects?

According to a study done by Common Sense Media, "American teens use an average of 9 hours of media daily, not including for school and homework" (Common Sense Media, 2015). This data, along with many others, shows the severity of media exposure to teens. This has brought a valuable discussion to the table. How has this impacted female body image, …

Racialized Reality: Crime News And Racial Stereotype Framing, Warrington Sebree

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that crime news is a primary mechanism for shaping public consciousness surrounding legal order, social morality, and threats present in their citizens communities. This research explores how news media influences negative attitudes towards criminal justice reform and Black identity. Utilizing Framing Theory, this study focuses on whether negative stereotypes in crime news triggers racial prejudice and bias towards African Americans. Participants of this study will consist of current students at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The findings suggest that knowing the race of a potential criminal assailant influences respondents’ attitudes towards presumptions of guilt, future criminality, and criminal …

Developing A Food Assistance Informational Graphic And Implementation Plan Based On Consumer Evaluation, Mckenna Cunningham

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Food insecurity refers to the uncertainty of having or acquiring enough food to sustain all members of a household. In 2019, 10.5% of households in the United States reported being food insecure. Of that number, 4.1% of households reported ‘very low food security,” meaning that there were additional periods of time in which one or more household members restricted or forfeited their food intake due to lack of money or other resources (USDA, 2020). Without access to proper nutrition, the health of both adults and children are put at risk for illness including anxiety, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other …

Investigating The Role Of Social Capital And Everyday Communication In Campus Community Resilience During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kaleb A. Turner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated the role of social capital and everyday communication in campus community resilience capacities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study conceptualized the university community as a micro-community that experienced sharp disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the same way that traditionally conceptualized communities harness communication to build resilience, this study provides evidence that micro-communities, such as the university campus, have the same potential. Focus groups with students, faculty, and staff, as well as one-on-one semi-structured interviews with students, resulted in 557 pages of single-spaced transcripts that provided rich data to understand this community resilience context. …

The Art And Importance Of Deliberative Rhetoric In Political Communications, Cameron Sadler

Honors Theses

This project explores the use of deliberative rhetorical appeals in political communications. Seven professionals spanning all levels of politics were interviewed about their work as communications specialists and strategists. Their insights further proved the necessity for attention to rhetoric in messaging.

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 …