Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Parent Preferences And Evaluations Of Various Parenting Resources, June E. Stephens

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A wide array of parenting information is readily available to parents. But, not all of this information is correct or credible. A survey of 57 parents was conducted in order to determine the types of parenting information sources most preferred, how often sources were used, and what criteria, if any, were used to evaluate those sources. Results showed that parents were most likely to consult friends and relatives for parenting information, and least likely to consult social media. Overall, it was found that most parents know how to appropriately evaluate the information they receive, but that others rely only on …

Unfriend?: An Analysis Of Friendship Comparing Subjects’ Perceptions Of Face-To-Face Versus Internet-Mediated Relationships, Matthew S. Harp

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to find out how similar or different peoples’ perceptions are of friendships which are primarily face-to-face and those which are primarily internet mediated. It was hypothesized that, based on qualities which are shared by each respective medium, individuals would not find perceptions of face-to-face and Internet-mediated friendships to be significantly different. One hundred fifty-one undergraduate students at The University of Akron were given a survey developed from a literature review to test how important certain general friendship qualities were to their concept of each type of friendship. It was found that, while all of …

Social Media & Audience Participation In Regard To Television, Jean Marie Mcbride

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Jean McBride

Major: Communications: Radio/TV Broadcasting & Mass Media Production

Project Sponsor: Dr. Sylvia White

Number of Project Credits: 3

Social Media & Audience Participation in Regard to Television

The purpose of my honors project was seeing if social media had an influence on television show ratings and popularity by incorporating audience participation. Especially in regards to television shows that have been around for years, I was interested to see if television ratings went up when using Twitter compared to when they did not use Twitter to increase viewers and audience participation. I surveyed forty-nine collegiate women between the ages …

Looking Ahead: A Public Relations Plan For Servicemaster Of Hudson, Brianne Angell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project examines the effectiveness of ServiceMaster of Hudson’s communication and proposes a public relations plan to generate business revenue by boosting awareness and engagement in the local community. Research revealed that the community is largely unaware of ServiceMaster of Hudson and that the company has a low reach on social media compared to competitors. Therefore, a public relations plan was created with focus on four areas: social media engagement, development of marketing materials, hiring of new employees, and employee engagement. The project also contains an appendix of materials created for ServiceMaster of Hudson, including advertisements and a schedule of …

Acculturation Of International Student-Athletes, Alexandra L. Frawley

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research project was conducted in order to investigate the current recruitment and assimilation processes experienced by international-student athletes at an NCAA Division I university, and to identify ways to improve those processes. The investigation was conducted through in-depth interviews with seven international student-athletes. The ages of these participants ranged from between 18 and 22 years old, 1 and 3 years of attendance at the University, and consisted of 5 females and 2 males. The participants play a variety of different sports, and each had a unique country of origin. The analysis revealed language, dietary changes, and social support are …

Mandarin Chinese As A Second Language: A Review Of Literature, Wesley A. Spencer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Mandarin Chinese has become increasing prevalent in the modern world. Accordingly, research of Chinese as a second language has developed greatly over the past few decades. This paper reviews research on the difficulties of acquiring a second language in general and research that specifically details the difficulty of acquiring Chinese as a second language. Based on this research, the author also reveals some areas that should be researched further in order to advance the field.