Digital Commons Network^™

Virtual Interactions With Real-Agents For Sustainable Natural Resource Management, Tyler Pierce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Common pool resource management systems are complex to manage due to the absence of a clear understanding of the effects of users’ behavioral characteristics. Non-cooperative decision making based on individual rationality (as opposed to group rationality) and a tendency to free ride due to lack of trust and information about other users’ behavior creates externalities and can lead to tragedy of the commons without intervention by a regulator. Nevertheless, even regulatory institutions often fail to sustain natural common pool resources in the absence of clear understanding of the responses of multiple heterogeneous decision makers to different regulation schemes. While modeling …

Why Don't I Look Like Her? The Impact Of Social Media On Female Body Image, Kendyl M. Klein

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to understand and criticize the role of social media in the development and/or encouragement of eating disorders, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction in college-aged women. College women are exceptionally vulnerable to the impact that social media can have on their body image as they develop an outlook on their bodies and accept the developmental changes that occurred during puberty. This paper provides evidence that there is a relationship between the recent surge in disordered eating and high consumption of social media. I examine the ways in which traditional advertising has portrayed women throughout history, …

Generational Differences In Use Of Social Media In Today’S Workplace, Michael Diercksen, Matthew Diplacido, Diane M. Harvey, Susan M. Bosco

Business Faculty Publications

This study examined the use of social media at work. Undergraduate students and professors were surveyed to try to find a generational relationship between the younger generation’s view of using sites such as Facebook while working and how some participants from an older generation perceived it. We also examined the effects of Facebook outside of work and whether or not postings made there could jeopardize a position at work. The results from our survey and research conclude that social media is an increasing problem because it serves as a distraction and predict that with increasing individual use of social media …

How Information Communication Technology Can Reshape Missional Ecclesiology: The Making Of A Technomissional Church, Michael D. Hearn Jr.

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Interactivity And Involvement On Users' Attitude Toward And Perception Of Brands And Purchase Intent On Facebook, Christina Persaud

LSU Master's Theses

Communications practitioners have long studied factors related to consumers’ impressions of brands as well as their intent to purchase from brands. While early research has focused on traditional advertising methods, newer research is geared towards understanding how interactive features are changing this relationship. The rise of newer computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies, specifically social media, has lead to many changes in the way organizations market their brands as they allow for unique, interactive communication between an organization and its publics. While the notion of interactivity, a core feature of CMC, has no one definition, researchers continue to examine its effects within …

The “Friend”Ly Lawyer: Professionalism And Ethical Considerations Of The Use Of Social Networking During Litigation, Nicola A. Boothe-Perry

Journal Publications

Social media use has exploded around the world. The top social networking site (SNS), Facebook, reports that it has more than a billion members with approximately two million friend requests every twenty minutes. Coupled with the other top 15 social networking sites, including Linkedln, Google+, Twitter, and MySpace, the number of social networking users is estimated to exceed 2 billion. With billions of people producing and consuming media content through SNS, there has been a growing trend of law firms' use of SNS as a marketing tool and litigators' inclusion of discovery from SNS as a part of their discovery …

How The Use Of Social Media As A Public Relations Tactic Has Aided Animal Rescue Organisations In Raising Awareness Of Their Cause, Carole Hennessy

Theses

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the non-profit sector, in particular animal welfare organisations and how social media can be used as a Public Relations tactic which in turn enables them to raise awareness of their cause.

A qualitative research design was deemed the most suitable by the researcher. Semi-structured interviews and a content analysis in the form of a netnographic analysis of the chosen non-profit organisations Facebook pages were used to collect the primary data. Interviewees were chosen on the basis they had knowledge, experience and exposure in their area.

Research findings indicate that social media …

How Has Social Media Impacted The Relationship Between Public Relations And Marketing Functions In Small Businesses., Lorraine Sheehan

Theses

This study is concerned with investigating the impact of social media on the relationship between public relations and marketing functions in small businesses in Ireland. The relationship between public relations and marketing has been debated in the literature and in organisations for many decades. Social media has an influence on the channels of communication which in turn influences public relations and marketing functions.

Both primary and secondary research methods on gathering findings of social media, public relations and marketing functions were carried out. Areas of conflict and tension between public relations and marketing were highlighted. The impact of social media …

Short And Tweet, Sue Burzynski Bullard

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

The goal is to help students learn to write clearly and concisely. It reinforces William Zinsser’s advice in “On Writing Well.” He said, “Examine every word you put on paper. You’ll find a surprising number that don’t serve any purpose.” The exercise helps students learn to find the focus of stories. It helps editing students write concise, clear headlines that pull readers into stories. It also helps reporting students learn to summarize stories accurately and briefly — a skill they need as they craft their own ledes.

Social Media In The Business Curriculum Panel, Pauline Ash Ray, Jenny Swearingen, Paul Wilkens

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Social Media has grown from an auxiliary chapter in a marketing text to an entire course in the curriculum, an undergraduate major, or a MBA specialty. The controversy now appears to be the extent of the coverage of the Social Media area. The challenge in examining social media’s role in the business curriculum is that there is a lack of empirical research on this subject. The purpose of this panel is to undertake an exploratory review of how social media has been utilized in the business curriculum of participants’ schools in response to the demands of the changing business landscape. …

Extended Consumer-Brand Relationship Theory, May Aung, Kapil Gurbani, Samuel Hip Seng Lei

AMTP Proceedings 2013

This study examines online communities for two top brands: Apple iPhone and Blackberry smartphones. A number of online brand communities (online forums) such as the iPhone business affiliated website www.apple.com, iPhone consumers’ website www.everythingicafe.com, and the Blackberry consumers’ websites www.blackberry.com and www.crackberry.com were explored. This research extends the conceptual underpinnings of the existing consumer-brand relationship theory by incorporating the concept of sharing. This study offers insights for academia in the marketing and consumer behavior field as well as professionals in the high-technology industry.

Understanding Online Brand Communities: Netnographic Study Of Apple Iphone Consumers, May Aung, Keija Wu, Laila Rohani, Khalil Rohani

AMTP Proceedings 2013

This study extends the concept of brand communities. The netnography approach has been applied to two online brand communities, both central to Apple iPhone consumers. This study reveals two cultural manifestations with their own passions and communal norms not detected by previous research. This study, thus, enriches the conceptual understanding of brand communities. It also offers contribution toward understanding consumers of high technology brands, an area where few studies have been conducted to date.

The Role Of Media Richness Of Channels On Consumer Decision- Making And Channel Choice, Moutusy Maity, Mayukh Dass

AMTP Proceedings 2013

With the increasing popularity of multichannel strategies, many retailers actively encourage their customers to undertake purchasing activities across various retail channels. Extant literature on multichannel strategies advances our understanding of why and how consumers select channels, but our knowledge is limited on how different channel characteristics affect consumer behavior, decision-making across channels and channel choice. In this paper, we focus on one such channel characteristic, called media richness of the retail channels, and investigate the effects of media richness of channels on consumer decision-making and channel choice. Media richness, as originally described by Media Richness Theory, is a set of …

Social Media And Prosumerism: Implications For Sport Marketing Research, James Santomier, Patricia Hogan

WCBT Faculty Publications

Social media arid the techniques and processes related to marketing using social media are changing at an incredible rate and will require continual monitoring for those involved in-social media research. As such, we identified the need for sport marketing researchers who are abductive thinkers who can design, combine and use innovative research methodologies as stimulated by the continually evolving technology. Ultimately, however, research prospects related to social media and sport marketing are vast for scholars and marketing professionals alike, and are replete with opportunities for designing new research methodologies.

Integrating Evidence-Based Practices Into Public Relations Education, Karen Freberg, David L. Remund, Kathy Keltner-Previs

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Public relations continue to play an essential and changing role in society, requiring the regular reassessment of the education of future public relations practitioners. Academics and practitioners often differ in how they view the public relations field, how they define the discipline, and how they view the major pedagogical approaches. This paper explores the impact of integrating three different perspectives in public relations education, including practitioner perspective, client perspective, and the evidence-based perspective. Results from students’ reaction papers and an online questionnaire suggest that integrating an evidence-based approach improves the competence and clarity of communications counsel provided by aspiring practitioners.

Female Pop Singers On Twitter: Use For Branding And Implications For Publicists, Jessica Sincavage

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

A celebrity’s success depends upon building and maintaining their ‘well-knownness.’ The increase in usage of and access to social media platforms like the micro-blogging platform Twitter have led celebrities and their publicity teams to incorporate social media into their branding and communication strategies. The purpose of this thesis is to examine celebrity presence on and usage of Twitter and its implications for the role of celebrity publicists. The study is based in the narrative paradigm, which recognizes and honors each individual’s story telling abilities. A case study including three influential female pop singers was conducted, and the results were analyzed …

What Changes Await Local Tv News?, Stephanie Ann Vigil

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Over the years, local television news stations across the nation have seen a dramatic decrease in viewership. Much like newspapers, fewer people are relying on television news for several reasons. Two of the biggest culprits are the age of new technology and social media. These two factors alone have reprogrammed people’s daily habits, changing the landscape of television news viewership and resulting in uncertain times at local television news stations. Few studies have been done on the future of local television news. Of the studies that have been conducted, it is clear to see that local news is still relevant …

Effects Of Social Media On Individual Voting, Noel Albert Bermudez

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

In the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama established social media as an essential part of the campaign toolbox. Twitter, a widely-used social media site, provides a means of creating virtual communities that can instantly send messages and move "followers" to action. This thesis seeks to ascertain if Twitter messages - sent to known supporters by a presidential campaign asking a person to vote - can positively affect that person's likelihood to cast a ballot and, if so, would that vote be for the candidate whose campaign tweeted the message. Media ecology, as proposed by Marshall McLuhan and developed by Neil …

Introduction To Altmetrics For Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Librarians, Linda M. Galloway, Janet Pease, Anne E. Rauh

Librarian Publications

Quantifying scholarly output via citation metrics is the time-honored method to gauge academic success. Altmetrics, or alternative citation metrics, provide researchers and scholars with new ways to track influence across evolving modes of scholarly communication. This article will give librarians an overview of new trends in measuring scholarly influence, introduce them to altmetrics tools, and encourage them to engage with researchers in discussion of these new metrics.

Examining Facebook As A Digitally Immersive Language Environment For French Language Learners, Shelly Wyatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of interactions with native French language Facebook posts on beginning French language learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) and their attitudes towards the target language and culture in a university setting. In addition, the degree of interaction, by participants, with the French language Facebook posts was recorded and analyzed. This study was conducted during the Spring 2013 semester at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Participants in this study were recruited from two sections of FRE 1120, Elementary French Language and Civilization I. Native French language Facebook posts were “pushed” to participants’ personal …

Issues And Methods In Researching Social Networks: Tools, Trends, And Applications To Language Learning Research, Dan Dewey, Jennifer Brown, Shayla Johnson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

More Questions Than Answers: Assessing The Impact Of Online Social Networking On A Service-Learning Project, Mary R. Moeller, Dianne Nagy

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This article details the evolution and results of a service-learning project designed to extend cross-cultural relationships via online social networking between students at a U.S. Bureau of Indian Education boarding school and teacher candidates in a required diversity course. The goals for the partnership included helping Native American students identify personal strengths through mentoring relationships, and encouraging teacher education candidates to develop their intercultural communication skills. We assessed the project using qualitative and quantitative measures: identification of significant themes emerging from teacher candidates’ reflections; comparison of recurring reflection themes to stages of Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity; and statistical …

Parents' Perceptions And Awareness Of Cyberbullying Of Children And Adolescents, Bryan David Clarke

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

New communication technology, including Facebook, Twitter, cell phones, and instant messaging, has connected people in ways that were unknown. The benefits for people contacting each other at a moment's notice are profound; however, these benefits bring new risks, such as, "cyberbullying," which is a development from traditional bullying. Cyberbullying is the use of the internet to perpetrate deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm another person or others. Cyberbullying affects large numbers of children and adolescents, but its psychological impact is not clearly understood, apart from people hearing anecdotes on the suicides …

Front Matter

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

Front Matter includes Masthead, advisors, and Table of Contents for the Intercultural Human Rights Law Review Volume 8 (2013).

Use Of Social Media As A Support Network In Families With A Child Diagnosed With Trisomy 13, 18, Or 21, Ginger Elizabeth Edwardsen

Theses and Dissertations

Social media is a web based technology that allows individuals to communicate with other individuals, organizations, and communities about common interests and experiences. Recently, social media use has expanded into the healthcare field and many individuals are using social media to connect with others in similar situations and find support. Family members of children or pregnancies with trisomy 13, 18, or 21 were invited to participate in an online survey that explored the use of social media as a support network including their purposes for using social media as a support network, how often the use social media, and what …

Using Electronic Writing To Promote Students' Writing, Munirab Abdullah Alanazi

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"The purpose of this study was to promote students' writing by using electronic writing (e-writing) tools. Formal writing can lack the use of imagination and fun; thus, it is important to combine formal writing strategies and digital tools to offer a more enjoyable experience for students via the world of technology. This study examines the following research questions: 1) How might using e-writing increase students' motivation to write? and 2) How might informal e-writing promote formal writing? A review of the literature showed the following important categories of investigation: the importance of the writing process, writing to learn, writing for …

Social Media In The Business Curriculum, Pauline Ash Ray, Jenny Swearingen

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Due to the prolific development of Web 2.0 tools and the growing demand for their use in business this study explores the status of their inclusion in the business curriculum. Social media use is valuable, not only to marketing students, but also to all business students as well as the ability to build a personal brand to further their careers. There is a growing consensus to include social media in the curriculum but to what extent: A course, a major or a MBA specialization? A literature review for research of social media inclusion in curriculum is conducted for the current …

Content And Design Characteristics Of Chinese Corporate Homepages, Lixuan Zhang, Sufen Tian, Patti Miles

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Many Chinese companies have built their online presences; however few studies examine if the Chinese corporate websites follow recommended design guidelines. Through a content analysis of 487 websites of the largest Chinese companies, the study analyzes 55 content and design elements of the corporate homepages. A new coding scheme for Chinese web design is developed by utilizing existing schemes and identifying design elements unique to Chinese web including content, information architecture and usability, multimedia, and interactivity. In addition, the study also finds two unique design elements on Chinese corporate homepage. The differences in web design practices between American and Chinese …

From Push To Pull — How Smartphones Are Changing Mobile Marketing, Julie M. Pharr

AMTP Proceedings 2013

As “smartphones” have displaced traditional cell phones, mobile marketing—marketing via wireless handheld devices—has become increasingly more sophisticated. This paper highlights the dramatic shifts underway in the field of mobile marketing with the advent of mobile technology that simultaneously delivers web access, location information, and social networking capabilities. The paper makes a case for why smartphones may foreshadow the end of traditional push marketing, giving way to a new style of marketing that is location-based, context-specific and superior at initiating consumer pull.

A Calculated Model Of Linkedin Feature Usage Across Organizational Types: Large, Small, And Non-Profits, Joe Spencer, Lisa Witzig, Marcella Gallegos

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Intensity of LinkedIn usage is examined by business type: Fortune 200, INC 200, and Fortune 200 Non-profit. The study of approximately 600 organizations finds, contrary to expectations, that non-profits and small businesses utilize the features of LinkedIn significantly less in intensity than large businesses. An eleven factor intensity model is presented and tested to evaluate intensity of usage among the three study groups. This study concludes that SMBs and non-profits need to better utilize the features of LinkedIn to better enable their organizational goals.