Digital Commons Network^™

Culturally-Grounded Analysis Of Everyday Creativity In Social Media: A Case Study In Qatari Context, D. Fox Harrell, Sarah Vieweg, Haewoon Kwak, Chong-U Lim, Sercan Sengun, Ali Jahanian, Pablo. Ortiz

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In deploying social media and other information technologies often not designed with MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) cultures in mind, users generate creative approaches to self-representation using virtual identities while preserving their cultural values. To understand and further empower such approaches, we present a mixed-method of computational and qualitative study, focusing on Qatar as a case of such communities in the MENA region. We analyzed a dataset of over 42,000 publicly available social media profiles using computational approaches (archetypal analysis) and qualitatively analyzed a separate set of 255 profiles. We augmented our descriptions with semi-structured interviews. As a …

A Fuzzy Logic-Based Text Classification Method For Social Media, Keyuan Wu

Theses

Social media offer abundant information for studying people’s behaviors, emotions and opinions during the evolution of various rare events such as natural disasters. It is useful to analyze the correlation between social media and human-affected events. This study uses Hurricane Sandy 2012 related Twitter text data to conduct information extraction and text classification. Considering that the original data contains different topics, we need to find the data related to Hurricane Sandy. A fuzzy logic-based approach is introduced to solve the problem of text classification. Inputs used in the proposed fuzzy logic-based model are multiple useful features extracted from each Twitter’s …

Increasing Engagement On Nonprofit Facebook Pages Through Photos, Christina T. Guiang

University Honors Theses

Social media has become an immensely valuable tool for nonprofit marketing strategies. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide free tools for nonprofit organizations to spread awareness, build their organizational identity, communicate with their stakeholders, and inspire action and involvement. These outlets have therefore, for many organizations, become an essential component of their marketing communications. Developing effective strategies that maximize social media post engagement is beneficial in aiding organizations to achieve their marketing goals. This study focuses specifically on Facebook photo posts due to the platform’s widespread use and the high potential of visual media to provoke audience …

Effectiveness Of Youtube Advertising: A Study Of Audience Analysis, Paula R. Rodriguez

Theses

Social media have become an important platform for companies to connect with their target

audience and make an impression. With the rise of digital platforms, effectiveness of advertisements has become an important area of study for marketers to determine the most efficient and appropriate medium of communication to place their advertisements. Drawing on the media richness theory framework, this study investigates YouTube advertising effectiveness based on the multiplicity of cues in the videos and the possible feedback channels offered by the platform. Using a cross-sectional survey method, participants from the Dominican Republic (n = 109) and the United States (n …

Library Marketing On A Small Liberal Arts Campus: Assessing Communication Preferences, Julia Chance Gustafson, Zachary Sharrow, Gwen Short

All Faculty Articles

As part of a newly created library marketing plan, librarians at the College of Wooster undertook a study of the communication preferences of students, faculty, and staff in early 2015. The results of the survey helped to develop a comprehensive picture of what library resources and services these constituencies are interested in learning about, as well as when, where, and how they prefer to learn about them. This article describes the development, distribution, results, and analysis of the survey, and highlights the importance of campus-specific library marketing practices.

Crowd-Sourcing The Smart City: Using Big Geosocial Media Metrics In Urban Governance, Matthew Zook

Geography Faculty Publications

Using Big Data to better understand urban questions is an exciting field with challenging methodological and theoretical problems. It is also, however, potentially troubling when Big Data (particularly derived from social media) is applied uncritically to urban governance via the ideas and practices of “smart cities”. This essay reviews both the historical depth of central ideas within smart city governance —particular the idea that enough data/information/knowledge can solve society problems—but also the ways that the most recent version differs. Namely, that the motivations and ideological underpinning behind the goal of urban betterment is largely driven by technology advocates and neoliberalism …

Segregaytion: The Exclusion Of Black Bodies In Gay (Cyber) Spaces, Kelvin James Stallings

Cultural Studies Capstone Papers

Gay spaces such as bars, clubs, and cruising locations are intended for the socialization of gay men, providing a historical role in shaping LGBTQ communities. These spaces are thought to be protective against various kinds of discrimination from the outside world, however the maintaining racial segregation revealed. My project first contextualizes these historically gay spaces through historical accounts, and some personal narratives, by addressing issues of both racial segregation and sexuality of black homosexuals. The project moves from the historical gay space to contemporary spaces focusing on the social networking app, Grindr, which similarly maintains the white normative presence in …

What Does Silence = Now? An Analysis Of Past And Present Discourse Surrounding Hiv/Aids, Emily A. Moner

Theses and Dissertations

This essay examines how the HIV/AIDS epidemic was first addressed in the context of politics, media and the general public and subsequently how that compares to the ways in which it’s currently being discussed using popular forms of communication such as Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media.

Social Media Use At Work, Kriti Chauhan

Information Systems & Operations Management Dissertations - Archive

Social media use permeates everyday life, including work lives of employees. Banning social media use at work may is not entirely possible, therefore it is pertinent to question whether all social media use is detrimental for employees and their employing organization. Social media research to date has found conflicting results. This research provides unique insight into within-person social media use and its outcomes, and opens an avenue for investigating social media using a new technology-independent measure. The study is anchored in the concepts of role theory from social psychology. The theory of role accumulation suggests that social media can be …

Factors Contributing To Consumers Decisions To Attend A Sporting Event, Sarah Gensler

Sport Management Undergraduate

Previous research on consumer attendance patterns has explored the impact of single factors on desired outcomes. This is problematic because people rarely have a single motive behind their decision making to attend a sporting event. This study aimed to determine which factors were the most important to college students when deciding to attend sporting events. Using a cross-sectional survey, the research found that desire for excitement, geography, and social media all had statistical significance in influencing decision making. Contradictory to existing research, on field promotions, level of fandom, and consumer emotion were not found to be tied to their decision …

My Black Is Radical And Sensual: White Privilege And The Policing Of Black Women’S Body On Instagram, Alexis M. Franklin

Cultural Studies Capstone Papers

This project argues that the overarching idea of white supremacy as well as Black pleasure politics disportionately alienates Black women from having the same freedom online as white women. In particular, this project analyzes the public commentary on two parallel sets of Instagram images, one of Beyonce and another of Kim Kardashian, as well as those of white women using the slutwalk hashtag and images of Black women who do not use the hashtag.

An Assessment Of Communication Strategies In Edinburgh, Scotland: A Focus On News Outlets Used By Select Audiences, Alexandria N. Mcleod

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to discover which media outlets selected Edinburgh, Scotland consumers were using and why they chose those outlets to gain information. This study was conducted using a survey instrument with convenience sampling (N = 39) in Scotland during the summer 2016. It was found that social media is the primary source for news and timeliness is the most important factor when choosing a news source. Another objective for the study was to determine peak viewing times and primary topics of interest. Peak viewing times were observed to be mornings and evenings primarily. Primary topics …

Social Media Use At Work, Kriti Chauhan

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

Social media use permeates everyday life, including work lives of employees. Banning social media use at work may is not entirely possible, therefore it is pertinent to question whether all social media use is detrimental for employees and their employing organization. Social media research to date has found conflicting results. This research provides unique insight into within-person social media use and its outcomes, and opens an avenue for investigating social media using a new technology-independent measure. The study is anchored in the concepts of role theory from social psychology. The theory of role accumulation suggests that social media can be …

Student Attitudes On Social Media And Perception Of Instructor Social Media Use., Abi Mathew John

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand what student attitudes are toward using social media in the classroom and if those attitudes influenced how they perceive instructors using social media in the classroom. Implementing a mixed method approach, this study conducted focus groups to gain an in-depth understanding of what student attitudes were and why they held those ideas. A survey was then distributed to the students’ in a Midwestern University to see if there was a relationship between students attitudes and their perceptions of instructors who use social media. Results showed that students do hold a positive attitude …

Fitspiration: Social Media's Fitness Culture And Its Effect On Body Image, Makenzie Norton

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Social media’s largest platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram, has revolutionized the average American’s accessibility to new subcultures, usurping the societal influence of traditional media forms while retaining many of their marketing methods. The following capstone research discusses how the fitness subculture and fitness-related content on social media affects male and female body image and body ideals. Through a content analysis of current literature, I provide connections between the marketing of fitness in American media and its influence on men and women’s body image. Using social comparison theory, I analyze prior research that explains the causes of body dissatisfaction and explain …

Presidential Campaigns And Social Networks: How Clinton And Trump Used Facebook And Twitter During The 2016 Election, Jack Davis

Senior Theses

The advancement in social media technology has greatly improved how people from around the world can communicate with each other. This has been quite apparent during the 2016 presidential election year, as many people have taken to social media to find their news sources and share opinions. This paper examines the use of Facebook and Twitter by the Clinton and Trump campaigns to connect with voters. These two modes of communication have been used by the campaigns to advertise their campaign and take stances on a variety of issues. By using content analysis, data from the two campaigns’ social media …

"Tell Me You Own Me, Gimme Them Coins": Postfeminist Fascination With Lolita, Lana Del Rey, And Sugar Culture On Tumblr, Rachel E. Davis

Honors Theses

This research sought to describe the size and analyze the content of communities on Tumblr that share posts regarding Lolita, Lana Del Rey, and sugar culture. Research questions included: Why might young women on Tumblr choose to share posts relating to these things? How are they interpreting the images and texts they share? Is this a means of expressing desire, or are these individuals subverting these images and ideas as a means of critiquing gender expectations? A qualitative textual analysis was conducted on data collected by social media analytics software. Tumblr communities sharing content regarding Lolita, Lana Del Rey, and …

Retrieval-Induced Forgetting Via Social Media: The Mnemonic Consequences Of Posting Pictures On Instagram, Chi Lap Wong

Student Theses

Social media has become a common tool for individuals to selectively offload personal memories to the internet. Such selectivity may reinforce the posted “memory” but induce forgetting for related “memories” (Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994). To explore this possibility, the present study adopted the retrieval-induced forgetting paradigm to the context of social media, Instagram. Participants were required to write a diary attached with pictures relevant to the events and then post pictures to the Instagram, followed by the final recall test. The results indicated that posting personal pictures online induced forgetting in related memories but not pictures, and posting …

Social Scrutiny: How Viewers' Comments Affect Female Tv Journalists' Appearance, Heather Reena Arevalo-Flores

Theses and Dissertations

Television news anchors are often rated based on their appearance. News directors and consultants believe viewers want to see young and attractive women. While the media managers focus on high ratings, there are few studies that specifies how female journalist feel about being judged based on their appearance. There is no research that focuses on the comments female journalist receive on social media. The present research will investigate if viewers’ comments affect a female journalists’ appearance and how it affects her credibility. This qualitative study asks female journalist about comments they have received from viewers on their appearance through social …

Hate Speech On Social Media, Amos N. Guiora, Elizabeth Park

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This essay expounds on Raphael Cohen-Almagor’s recent book, Confronting the Internet’s Dark Side, Moral and Social Responsibility on the Free Highway, and advocates placing narrow limitations on hate speech posted to social media websites. The Internet is a limitless platform for information and data sharing. It is, in addition, however, a low-cost, high-speed dissemination mechanism that facilitates the spreading of hate speech including violent and virtual threats. Indictment and prosecution for social media posts that transgress from opinion to inciteful hate speech are appropriate in limited circumstances. This article uses various real-world examples to explore when limitations on Internet-based hate …

Millennial Communication In The Workplace: A Cautionary Tale About Social Media, Samantha Rangel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This research paper focuses on the influence that social media has on millennials’ interpersonal communication in the workplace. After further research, it became apparent that social media has had more negative than positive effects on millennials’ interpersonal communication in the workplace. Using Dacher Keltner’s power paradox theory/Principle #6 we start to understand why these negative effects that employers have been observing and inaccurately evaluating have affected millennials’ ability to endure power and the capacity to influence in the workplace. Millennials’ will occupy majority of the workforce by 2020, so employers must start to find a successful way to communicate with …

Sensors Everywhere: Using Satellites And Mobile Phones To Reduce Information Uncertainty In Human Rights Crisis Research, Christoph Koettl

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article critically reviews the use of ICTs for human rights crisis research. While focusing on two specific technologies—satellite imagery and mobile phone technology—it proposes a general framework for analyzing the added value of ICTs. The author suggests that their added value in mass atrocities research arises from their ability to reduce information uncertainty, a challenge that is exacerbated in the digital age. This is different from delivering “truth”, an inaccurate description that only leads to unfulfilled expectations and hopes. The article is written from a practitioner’s perspective, drawing from the work of a global human rights watchdog, thus avoiding …

@Ctress To @Ctivist: Sophia Bush's Activism & Self-Branding Through Twitter, Katie Persechino

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

This study analyzes actress Sophia Bush s Twitter account in terms of activism and self-branding, as she tweets out daily to millions of followers. While scholars have studied social media use for other celebrities in terms of self-branding, none have looked at the celebrity use of social media for activism. One hundred tweets from Bush s Twitter page are randomly selected and categorized in order to determine what kind of social media presence Bush creates. It is concluded that Bush s brand goes beyond her profession of an actress and includes her activist Twitter presence to where her title becomes …

Messaging Without A Message: Executive Value And Social Media Activity, Ru Gao, Gilles Hilary, Rencheng Wang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We show that executives who start tweeting benefit from better career options. We motivate this finding using the well-established theory of limited attention. Consistent with this explanation, we find that content is irrelevant. Comparative statics are also consistent with our framework. In particular, the effect of Twitter is greater for executives who were largely unrecognized and who were underpaid before they started tweeting, who garner greater public attention from their social media activity, who enjoy higher professional mobility, and who operate in environments where compensation setting is less structured.

What’S Your Brand? Teaching Students To Leverage Social Media To Launch Their Careers, Alexandra Gomes, Gisela Butera, Anne Linton

Himmelfarb Library Faculty Posters and Presentations

No abstract provided.

True-Self And The Uses And Gratifications Of Instagram Among College-Aged Females, Jocelyn Apodaca

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With more than 300 million daily users, Instagram has rapidly become one of the most widely used social networking apps worldwide. This study investigates relationships between motivations for using Instagram, whether users are portraying their true-selves and how their usage affects life satisfaction and well-being. A quantitative survey was used to collect data from 200 students at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas students. Participants were asked to provide answers regarding their habits for using Instagram, whether their online portrayal of self reflected their true self and determine overall life satisfaction. The motives studied in this research include: interpersonal …

The Role Of Selected Social Media Platforms In Travel To Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Ugand, Ingrid Nyonza Nyakabwa

All Theses

In recent years, numerous sources of social media have increasingly played an important role in tourism marketing, and have had a profound effect on Destination Management Organisations' ability to effectively promote their destinations. With the emergence of more social media platforms, there are more tourism stakeholders recognising the increased importance to access information for tourists related to their destinations of interest. For example, tourist destination managers use Social media to provide information about their travel and tour packages, specific tourist attractions, accommodation costs, guiding services, and all other travel related information. Tourists use social media in their planning process to …

Footfall And Social Media V. Concentrated Solar Power: When The Power Of A Choice In A Behavior-Based Economy Can Be More Powerful Than The Power Of The Sun, Kimberly E. Diamond

Fordham Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Association Between Ego Identity Status And Social Media Use, Michael E. Alejandro

Theses and Dissertations

With the current rise in the use of social media across different societies and groups, the question arises as to how social media use relates to psychosocial development, or more specifically, ego identity status. Social media platforms may serve as tools for self-expression and it is through its use that would allow for an individual’s identity exploration characteristic of various ego identity statuses. The purpose of the current study was to examine how current ego identity status may predict integration of social media in individuals’ daily lives, providing a better understanding of how each of the four statuses differ based …

Effect Of Social Media Characteristics On Perceptions Of Alcohol-Branded Social Media Content, Jonathan K. Noel

Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Alcohol advertising has recently expanded onto social networking sites (SNSs), which allows users to interact with alcohol ads through user engagement features (e.g. Likes or Shares) and user-generated comments. Few studies have evaluated alcohol advertising on SNSs or investigated how ad interactivity may influence ad perceptions. Two inter-related studies were conducted to answer these questions. Methods: In Study 1, alcohol advertising posted on Facebook by Budweiser and Bud Light were evaluated for compliance with a self-regulated alcohol advertising code and for thematic content. User-generated comments written in response to these ads were also evaluated. The results of this study …