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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Controlling The Narrative: The Effects Of Media Coverage On Fear Of Crime And Socio-Political Ideology, Andrew Koppelman
Controlling The Narrative: The Effects Of Media Coverage On Fear Of Crime And Socio-Political Ideology, Andrew Koppelman
Theses
Several decades of study have established an understanding that media have a unique power to influence the perspectives and worldviews of audiences. This phenomenon has been explored through the lenses of Social Learning and Cultivation theory, wherein media appeal to base human tendencies of self-preservation and teaches audiences how to maximize rewards for their actions by acting as a sort of instructor or friendly warning from members of the community. While prior studies have suggested the presence of this effect, little research has been devoted to understanding the ways that this may influence behaviors in viewers. My research seeks to …
Myths, Misconceptions, And Misrepresentations: An Examination Of Erroneous Human Trafficking Beliefs, Sarah M. Vanorder
Myths, Misconceptions, And Misrepresentations: An Examination Of Erroneous Human Trafficking Beliefs, Sarah M. Vanorder
Honors College Theses
Human trafficking is a crime that effects people all over the globe and an estimated 24.9 million people are currently being exploited through some form of human trafficking. Despite its prevalence, there are a variety of myths regarding human trafficking that are commonly believed by the public. The proliferation of these myths can have damaging effects and ultimately prevent survivors from receiving the help they need. The aim of this study is to discover factors that lead to the belief of these myths about human trafficking. To uncover these factors, a survey was administered in October 2020 and completed by …
Hierarchy And Responsibility In Media: Cults, Culpability, And Culture, Max Hargett
Hierarchy And Responsibility In Media: Cults, Culpability, And Culture, Max Hargett
Online Theses and Dissertations
This is a descriptive research project that investigates how popular entertainment media portrays cults. My intention is to see how the selected films and television shows portray issues of hierarchy and culpability within the cult and to explore how the genre and theme of the content was utilized in order to evoke certain reactions and sentiments in the audience. The selected films were The Sacrament, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Midsommar. The selected television shows were Waco and American Horror Story: Cult. Each film and series is given its own analysis. Findings indicate that a common theme of the rigid …
“Acts Of Pure Evil”: The Portrayal Of Mass Shooting Events On Online Media Platforms, Elizabeth Twitty
“Acts Of Pure Evil”: The Portrayal Of Mass Shooting Events On Online Media Platforms, Elizabeth Twitty
Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations
As media continues to integrate into everyday life, it is essential to critically examine the media and the messages that are forwarded to the public, who often lack personal knowledge of crime and justice issues, and thus rely on news media to glean information. This effort, also called media criminology, seeks to understand the media and the effect it has on understanding societal issues. This project forwards media criminology by examining online news articles, as media criminology has historically focused on traditional media formats, such as newspaper and television. Online news has surpassed these traditional formats and has become a …
Cultivation Theory: Media Effects Toward Consumer Evaluations Of The Criminal Courts, Lindsey Dale Elliott
Cultivation Theory: Media Effects Toward Consumer Evaluations Of The Criminal Courts, Lindsey Dale Elliott
Murray State Theses and Dissertations
A substantial body of literature connects media effects to consumer perceptions of the criminal justice system. Research on the topic of cultivation theory has highlighted that an increased fear of crime within the general populace, due to an exaggeration of violence and criminal activity in the mass media, has spurred increased support for punitive policing, harsher sentencing, and positive feelings toward capital punishment. However, no research exists to explicate the cultivation of consumer perceptions toward the criminal courts. This study examines the impact of media consumption through television, the internet, and social media on consumer evaluations of the criminal courts. …
The Social Construction Of Protest: Print Media Coverage Of The 2004 Republican National Convention And The 2011 Occupy Wall Street Protests In New York City, Kirsten Christiansen
The Social Construction Of Protest: Print Media Coverage Of The 2004 Republican National Convention And The 2011 Occupy Wall Street Protests In New York City, Kirsten Christiansen
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Majoritarian democracies are founded on the idea that the governance of society will reflect the needs and desires of the majority of the people and that all citizens are given a voice. Public protest activity is one of the ways in which social movement organizations as claims-makers can reach an audience to attempt to convince a majority to effect social change. The mainstream news media can disseminate information about protest messages and activity beyond the local. However, the mainstream news media filters information in its own way, influenced in part because of traditional news routines but also potentially by the …
Criminal Heroes In Television: Exploring Moral Ambiguity In Law And Justice, Amy Henry
Criminal Heroes In Television: Exploring Moral Ambiguity In Law And Justice, Amy Henry
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Criminal justice is a popular theme in both news and entertainment media. How crime and justice issues are framed can actually legitimize corruption in a society. As research reveals the public’s dissatisfaction with the current failing retributive justice system, popular television series’ are confronting its flaws (Jerre, 2013). Utilizing a cultural criminological and social constructionist orientation, the following research examines anti-hero narratives in two highly rated crime-drama series, Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy. The main research questions examine: How the criminal protagonist or anti-hero is constructed in television crime procedurals? What claims about crime, criminality, law and justice …
Fear Of Terrorism In Armenia: Anxiety, Moral Panic And The Role Of The Media, Gurgen Balasanyan
Fear Of Terrorism In Armenia: Anxiety, Moral Panic And The Role Of The Media, Gurgen Balasanyan
Student Theses
In the aftermath of 9/11, terrorism has become a prominent area of research across multiple disciplines. Recent polls and surveys in the USA, Europe, and other countries directly affected by terror attacks show a substantial increase in the level of fear of terrorism. However, there is lack of research on the phenomenon in countries that do not have a recent history of terror attacks, nor are militarily involved in the global war on terror. The findings of this cross-sectional exploratory study are based on an online survey with 419 (N=419) respondents in one such terrorism-neutral country, Armenia. By applying the …
The Devil Is In The Details: Representations Of The Rural Appalachian Deviant, Stephen T. Young
The Devil Is In The Details: Representations Of The Rural Appalachian Deviant, Stephen T. Young
Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations
Every year, it seems, a new film makes its way through theaters across America demonstrating a new variant of the rural Appalachian deviant. These films play a major role in continuing to shape societal perceptions of rural white populations in Appalachia. Drawing on theoretical insights of Cohen, Hunt, Simon, and Lupton this dissertation examines how film depictions of the rural white Appalachians supports the continued construction of the rural Appalachian deviant. This study finds that films support said construction by demonstrating this population through themes about tainted blood, intimate partner violence, and drug addiction. Moreover, these films camouflage the facts …
Where We Get Our News: A Multilevel Analysis Of The Media Framing Of Immigration And Crime, Cody Robert Tuttle
Where We Get Our News: A Multilevel Analysis Of The Media Framing Of Immigration And Crime, Cody Robert Tuttle
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Despite an abundance of literature demonstrating that immigration and crime are unassociated, public opinion often reflects the contrary. I examine a source that could contribute to this disconnect between research and public opinion – media framing – particularly, how the specific way that news outlets talk about immigration and crime, along with where they are located geographically, influence how prominently these stories are covered. I employ content analysis of newspaper articles from 2008-2012, which I geo-locate and pair with structural covariates gathered from several other data sources. I use multilevel models to analyze the effect of article-level framing and county-level …
Media Coverage Of Domestic Extremists And The Influence On Police Emotions, Jamie Porter
Media Coverage Of Domestic Extremists And The Influence On Police Emotions, Jamie Porter
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The media have influenced domestic extremists who are targeting the police, and this is related to negative emotions among the police. These extremists are targeting police officers based on how events are framed by the media. In this way, the media have influenced domestic extremists' target selection and caused negative emotions among police officers because they are now the targets. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to understand the perceptions of police officers about how the media have influenced domestic extremists to target them. The narrative of this qualitative inquiry was guided by a semistructured interview sample consisting …
Care, Control, Or Criminalization? Discourses On Homelessness And Social Responses, Lindsey L. Upton
Care, Control, Or Criminalization? Discourses On Homelessness And Social Responses, Lindsey L. Upton
Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations
There has been a resurgence of political and media interest in homelessness, particularly in major urban areas throughout the United States. This interest is credited to a number of cities that declared a State of Emergency (SOE) due to their homelessness crisis in 2015. The motivation to declare homelessness as an urgent priority of local politics assists cities in temporarily overcoming longstanding budget and bureaucratic barriers. Undoubtedly, the criminal justice system is part of social response following a declared SOE, and homelessness is not an exception. Little attention has explored the historical, social, and political processes of problematizing homelessness from …
You Will Be Punished: Media Depictions Of Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women, Caitlin Elliott
You Will Be Punished: Media Depictions Of Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women, Caitlin Elliott
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
The following thesis focuses on media depictions of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women, a list that carries upwards of 1,200 names. The news coverage of these stories is reminiscent of television crime dramas in their depictions of minority victims of crime, specifically in regard to victim blaming. In order to examine this relationship, the present study compares coverage of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canadian news articles to depictions of victims, particularly minority female victims, within crime procedural television shows. An ethnographic content analysis (ECA) was conducted in order to parse out common themes between news articles featuring …
Cracking Down On Exotic Dancers: How The Act, The Media And Interest Groups Frame Human Trafficking Policy In Canada, Leanne E. Kuchynski
Cracking Down On Exotic Dancers: How The Act, The Media And Interest Groups Frame Human Trafficking Policy In Canada, Leanne E. Kuchynski
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This thesis examines the Preventing the Trafficking, Abuse, and Exploitation of Vulnerable Immigrants Act. The history of human trafficking and migrant policy in Canada generally and in relation to this amendment passed in 2012 are examined. The framing perspective, political process model, and the policy process literature are used to understand this law. I am interested in three main questions: does the Act differentiate between victims and criminals?; how did socio-political groups shape this law?; and how do the media portray the differences in victims and criminals in relation to this law? Content analysis is used to analyze the …
Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, And Sex Trafficking In The Media: A Content Analysis, Katie Ann Martin
Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, And Sex Trafficking In The Media: A Content Analysis, Katie Ann Martin
Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations
The following analysis focuses on the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, and sex trafficking in media portrayals. A content analysis was done on six film releases, two for each of the topics. Prevalence of myths, stereotypes, victim portrayal, perpetrator portrayal, and final outcomes/consequences were reviewed within each of the films, along with overall themes present. The content analysis results found that some myths are present and vary by category. The most common theme in the movies was the ineptitude of the criminal justice system to successfully intervene and aid victims. Another commonly occurring theme was that victims must escape …