Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Political Discussion And Disagreement: Seeking Validation Through News Media, Michael Carmona

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explores how often individuals discuss politics with family/friends and acquaintances, how often individuals are exposed to disagreement during those discussions, the strategies they use to respond to political disagreement, and the use of news media following those disagreements. Through the lens of Uses and Gratifications theory, this study examined these elements through an online survey of U.S. adults. The results of this study did not support Hopmann’s, Bjarnøe’s, and Wonneberger’s findings about the relationship between the frequency of political disagreement and the strategies for responding to that disagreement. This study highlights how the discussions and disagreements we have …

Queens Of Discourse: An Observation Of Black Insta-Comediennes, Naoka Foreman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study observed the ways Black females on Instagram perform sociopolitical humor online to push back against the dominant culture in this digital age – maintaining the Black comedy tradition. It explores and illuminates the strategies of resistance exhibited by Instagram comediennes through a textual analysis informed by minor discourse, intersectionality, and critical feminist theories. Each comic’s personae were investigated and their content on Instagram was randomly selected and coded then grouped into themes. Black insta-comediennes shared Black feminist thought, modified beliefs about Black females or conventionality, and negotiated with the industrial demands of show business to earn subjectivity on …

What Connects Us: A User Experience Frame Analysis Comparison Of Secular And Religious Online Dating Sites, Alexa L. Miller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study uses a frame analysis comparison of the website design of secular and religious online dating websites and how these design choices may shape users’ self- presentation. Literature is reviewed regarding the history of dating in secular, religious, and online contexts, self-presentation within Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, and user-experience design patterns. Methodology explored a user-experience frame analysis of the initial boarding experiences navigating the presentation (homepage) and interaction features (profile-building page) on three dating sites (two secular, Tinder and Bumble, and one religious, Christian Mingle). Frames analyzed were Options, Fun, Safety, and Control based on …

Social Media Activism: Did We Say What We Meant To Say? A Thematic Analysis Of Slutwalk Los Angeles Hosted By Amber Rose, Yahindra Maxey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined the convergence of activism and social media to analyze how messages are conveyed using an online platform. Using the official Instagram page of SlutWalk Los Angeles as the object of study, this paper examined what messages were being communicated online and how it reflected the movement. As social activism continues today, this study is relevant because it will provide insight on using visual imagery as a form of protest. Through thematic analysis, several themes emerged which include, inclusion, sexual liberation, re-appropriation, and rape awareness. These themes are explored and detailed, ultimately confirming the complex, polysemic nature of …

American Samoa Politics: Performing Sāmoa, Dayonara S. Gaoteote

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

American Samoa as a self-governing U.S. territory located in the South Pacific is fortunate to be able to maintain their cultural traditions, language, and lands in all aspects- including their government. However, when the community suffers from a number of growing issues that affect the health and safety of its citizens, an analysis of the culture and leadership is fitting. I interviewed Jacqueline Tuiasosopo-Mata'u, Dr. Tapa'au Daniel Aga, and Chief Tauaisafune Niualama Taifane to gain insight into American Samoa government history, American Samoa government and community in the present, and to describe cultural practices and traditions that are in place. …

Magneto Was Right: How The Holocaust Shaped An X-Men Antihero, Benjamin J. Morse

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the X-Men property has extended beyond comic books over the last 30 years into television and film among other mediums. The initial premise of the canon, that mutants gifted with inherent superpowers were feared and hated by normal humans, has served as an allegory for discrimination against minorities on the basis of race, religion, and sexual orientation. Chris Claremont, the primary author of the X-Men from 1975-1991, did significant work introducing Judaism into the metaphor, in large part by making the series’ primary antagonist, Magneto, a Holocaust survivor working to prevent …

The Karen Genre: Digital Memes As An Influencer Of Political And Social Discourse, Marc Wardle

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Social Media platforms are a source of transformation within the democratic process. Digital memes, seemingly facile and frivolous, contain a collection of dense and broad meanings that have become creative forms of political and social expression. Many complex messages can be communicated to mass audiences through mediated interpersonal communication platforms on social media through the usage of memes. This phenomenon creates what Limor Shifman refers to as a memeplexe. The focus of this study is to explore the transformative nature of the democratic process within digital and internet culture and the formation of an emergent genre of memes called ‘Karen.’ …

How Did The Nra Employ Presidential Election Year Propaganda Against Barack Obama Within The Shifting Paradigm Of The Digital Age?, Rodney James Edgar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The National Rifle Association is one of the most successful lobbying groups in the United States of America. There are a few key elements that contribute to this perfect storm of passion, constitutional rights, misinformation and social division. Perception is often credited with being synonymous with reality. As an influential organization, the NRA has used its platform to spread communication, a practice which is enabled and enhanced by the technology, speed of delivery and vast reach that comes with the information age. The focus of this study will be on two artifacts from the digital archives of the NRA. For …

The Art Of 'Stick To Sports,' Politics, And Sports Media Industry Studies, Shi-Quan Nettingham

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis aims at unpacking the discourse of “stick to sports,” which audiences wield to police social and cultural boundaries and battles involving race, gender, and politics. The melding of sports and politics, primarily through social media platforms, riles up audiences resulting in arguments where larger social issues are deliberated and processed. The stick to sports discourse is used to dictate who can and can’t speak and what kinds of discussions are appropriate in relation to sports. The sports network ESPN is a site for understanding how corporations leverage this discourse and use it to claim political neutrality, while disciplining …

Virtually Invincible: The Impact Of Social Media Presentation On Rock Climbing, Lilly Posner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Rock climbing, a distinguished and culturally relevant ‘extreme’ sport, has experienced a remarkable increase in popularity and media attention. Sparse research has been conducted on the impact of social media presentation and how it may inspire athletes to intensify risks. This element introduces a paradox in the evolving nature of extreme sports that warrants a deeper examination; Can the authenticity of a private, individualized sport be retained in a social space dedicated to public spectacle? By method of documentary and inspired by a descriptive phenomenological approach, this research explores the meanings, motivations and risk perceptions of rock climbers to discover …

Uncovering The Women In Ocean’S Eight: Understanding The Trends Of The Women’S Movement With The Portrayals Of Women In Film, Elyssa Michelle Day

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study seeks for a better understanding of the correlations between major milestones in the women’s movement and how that is reflected onto the silver screen. With the rise of sexual assault allegations against prominent figures in Hollywood, and the growth of the #MeToo movement, we in turn are beginning to see an influx of films being released, and older films being rebooted, with an all-female led cast. One of those all-female film reboots is Ocean’s Eight, a film coming from a male-dominated trilogy and genre. Because of this correlation, the question of whether the narratives within Ocean’s Eight reinforce …

Laughter, Discomfort, And The Mechanics Of Subversion: How Amy Schumer Uses Comedy And Performance To Change The Way We Think About Women A Thematic Analysis Of Amy Schumer, Stephanie Rosauri

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Amy Schumer earned a spot as the first woman ever on Forbes Top Ten Highest Paid Comedians List. This was a huge accomplishment but it begs the question why Schumer is the first. Past research on female comedians like Lucille Ball and Lily Tomlin illuminates how comedy can be used as a rhetorical device and highlights the importance of women in comedy. Through an in-depth thematic analysis of Schumer's movies Trainwreck (2015), Snatched (2017), and I Feel Pretty (2018), this thesis examines how Schumer uses different comedic techniques and how that compares to the way other women used comedy in …

The Effects Of Emotional Versus Rational Message Framing On Brand Attachment And Brand Loyalty, Elisa Woinowsky

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship among message framing in social media, brand attachment, and brand loyalty for higher education institutions. In particular, this study compares the effectiveness of rational versus emotional message framing in different message contexts, such as sports or academic-related stories. Furthermore, this study examines the congruent effect between message framing and contents in higher education. Specifically, this study predicts that the more message framing and contents are congruent, the greater brand attachment and brand loyalty consumers will have. To analyze the effects of message framing and type of contents, this study adopts …

"The Destruction Of A Legacy": Agenda Setting And The Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Allegations, Larissa Teran

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Media scandal has been a contributing factor to the American culture for centuries. However, ambiguity and pre-conceived notions arise when the media scandal is framed differently by various mediated outlets. This study investigates media scandal by examining the Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations and how the scandal is framed by the media. This study utilized agenda setting theory to explore the argument that the public will think of the Cosby scandal as highly important due to frequent exposure and how the media presents and frames the stories on this subject could ultimately impact public opinion on issues such as power, …

Broadcast News Directors' Perceptions Of Race: A Survey Of Psychological And Sociological Measures, Amaya Nichele Worthem

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding the role of media in the lives of consumers has been a longstanding concern of various scholars. Although the news media do not tell consumers what to think explicitly, they do imply what consumers should think, via the contexts in which news is presented. The central thrust of this thesis is a psychological and sociological perception study of news directors’ implicit and explicit perceptions of race when creating news content. The aim is to discover whether an implicit or explicit racial bias can be found amongst some news directors when covering racial minority groups. A better understanding of bias …

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 …

Reader Engagement With Data Journalism: Comparing The Guardian And Washington Post's Coverage Of People Killed By Police, Dan Michalski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The issue of people killed by police has become a focus of current political and social discourse related to criminal justice reform in the United States. Two data journalism projects attempting to track previously missing data have been central to a changing discussion. The Guardian’s The Counted and The Washington Post’s Investigation: Police Shootings have each attempted to create a running log of fatalities resulting from law enforcement activities. Such endeavors have added to a collective consciousness about the scope and commonality of deadly police encounters, and has provided empirical reference points for various legislative pushes related to police accountability. …

"Nobody Can #Dragmedown": An Analysis Of The One Direction Fandom's Ability To Influence And Dominate Worldwide Twitter Trends, Nicole Kelsey Santero

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With more than 25 million followers and counting, One Direction is currently the biggest boy band in the world, and its fans—known as “Directioners”—have become one of the most visible and recognizable fandoms to utilize social media, especially Twitter. Drawing upon an updated version of a fan theory highlighting the interpretive community and social hierarchy that exist within a fandom, this study examines the participatory culture among One Direction fans online that helps them create and dominate worldwide Twitter trends, as well as overshadow what is regarded as more serious news topics. Although previous research studies have examined Directioners and …

A Content Analysis Of Gender-Specific Media Coverage Of Sport: Ncaa Athletic Department Home Webpages, Margo R. Malik

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Studies have found that media coverage of women’s sports is inadequate when compared with coverage of men’s sports. The results of these studies have revealed inadequacies in terms of amount of coverage as well as type of coverage. Findings demonstrate that there is a certain way media frame female athletes when they are covered. Female athletes are often portrayed in overly sexualized images, as feminine role models, as passive rather than active, and in sports that are considered gender-appropriate. These types of portrayals can perpetuate gender bias and stereotypes, undermine the true athletic ability of female athletes, and give the …

Gendered Self-Presentation On Social Media: A Content Analysis Of Tweets From Unlv Men's And Women's Athletic Teams, Alexandra Nicole White

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

ABSTRACT

This thesis examines how sports teams vary by means of self-presentation on a social media

platform in relation to gender and sport. Building on Erving Goffman’s (1959) constructs of selfpresentation

and operationalizing impression management strategies, this study content analyzed

seven UNLV teams’ Tweets. The analysis spanned from August 2015 to October 2015. Every

Tweet posted, during these three months, from the seven different sporting teams was coded to

compare and contrast the men's teams accounts with the women’s teams accounts, as well as one

account that combines the men’s and women’s team on one Twitter page. The study found …

Analyzing Television News: Pro-Social & Anti-Social Effects Of Criminal Depictions & Information Processing On Race Perceptions, Eunette Gentry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This quantitative research is a content analysis of network affiliate crime reporting statistics in Las Vegas. As part of this study, six months of news content in Las Vegas was recorded in order to gather pertinent sociological information about crime reporting techniques and its potential effects on public perceptions of crime and race. Pertinent issues such as media-image affect on viewers, biases within reporting information, and gatekeeping within the media are analyzed. This study adds substantive knowledge through empirical research to existing literature that asserts media depictions do shape and/or affect perceptions and attitudes about crime and race. Data sources …

Framing Reality: Portrayals Of Climate Change In The "Las Vegas Review-Journal", 1997-2014, Jason Ryan Holley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Discussions of human-caused climate change have become an increasingly salient artifact of various media in recent years. With regard to print media in particular, scholars have uncovered general increases in the frequencies with which climate change articles are published, tantamount to the annual reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) advocating the detriments of human activities (particularly carbon dioxide emissions) on the natural environment. Among such reports—be they scientific or anecdotal—writers and journalists have had to interpret the ongoing discussions and evidence surrounding climate change, and develop schemas (or frames) in which to situate arguments. These arguments have …

Depictions Of Beauty On Cosmopolitan Magazine: Content Analysis Of Covers (1959-2014), Azalee Maslow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The media, especially advertisers, have long used beautiful women as an ideal image for attracting viewers and selling products. American women have been portrayed as, ideally, thin Caucasians with blonde hair and blue eyes. Research has found that women compare themselves to the beautiful women in advertising and in turn have negative feelings towards their own appearance. This thesis’ goal is to find whether the ideal American woman has changed through a content analysis of the women on the covers of Cosmopolitan magazine over the past 55 years, 1959 through 2014. This content analysis will focus on how the covers …

The Economic Impact Of The Mpaa Rating System On Types Of Films Made From 2004-2014, Kaitlin Peck

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis will examine the economic impact of the MPAA film rating system on the types of films made from 2004 to 2014. The research in this study will examine the violent and sexual content of films. For this research the Motion Picture Association of America rating system is the independent variable, and its financial or economic impact on films made in the last ten years is the dependent variable. An extensive review of previous literature will also help inform the direction of the current study. However, this topic is still relevant because the previous research has appeared to be …

Gilded Age Visual Media As The Impetus For Social Change: Jacob Riis's Reform Photography And The Antecedents Of Documentary Film, Denitsa Yotova

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines the birth and evolution of the social documentary genre in visual media. It proposes that a mixture of ideology, technology, and social awareness are necessary for a successful social reform. Its review and study of related primary and secondary sources determines that despite the limitations of technology during the nineteenth century, social documentaries were produced long before they were part of the genres of photography and film. By focusing on the work of Danish photographer Jacob Riis and tracing the emergence of the film medium through time, this thesis demonstrates a strong connection between documentary film and …

The Untold History Of Nevada's Shield Statute, Matthew Travis Ward

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The history of American journalism is replete with anecdotes about news reporters enduring jail and other penalties to protect the identities of confidential sources of information. Since as early as the American Revolution journalists have often found themselves at odds with established authority. In the political cauldron of the late 1960s and early 1970s, U.S. government intrusion into the news gathering process was widespread. The notion the First Amendment protected journalists from revealing sources was invalidated by the Supreme Court's 1972 decision in Branzburg v. Hayes. Many states throughout the nation reacted by codifying a reporter's privilege. Nevada did so …

Jiahd In The Global Village: Al-Qaeda's Digital Radicalization And Recruitment Campaign, Katie Cannata

Honors College Theses

Following America’s “War on Terror,” al-Qaeda and its affiliates became highly decentralized in terms of organizational and media operations. Though mass media outlets continue to play a significant role in drawing attention to al-Qaeda’s transnational campaign, Salafi Jihadists have recently begun to rely on new media for purposes of legitimization and promotion. The Internet serves as a suitable platform for these groups’ media objectives since it is inherently anonymous and absent of censorship. Most importantly, the Internet facilitates al-Qaeda in reaching a global audience, which is made evident by the growing amount of Salafi Jihadist media that is translated or …

Virtual Rebel Website: A Strategy To Increase User Engagement Through Bounce Rate Analysis, Michael Vendivel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In a media environment that increasingly demands captivating content on a website, user engagement becomes a critical factor in the strategy of maintaining user interest. Research based on website analytics has shown that decreasing the Bounce Rate increased the time a web user spends on a website, entailing higher user engagement. Bounce Rate is the ratio of single-page visits on a website divided by the total number of visits, and it is used primarily used to quantify user interest. By examining the analytics and design of the student-run news siteVirtual Rebel, produced by the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and …

"I Got Shot Five Times And I Got Crucified To The Media": Tupac Amaru Shakur -- Moral Panic, Media Crucifixion And Resurrection, Lucas Jerome Combs

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis looks at why the media had and continues to have a fascination with the late rap artist Tupac Amaru Shakur. A content analysis of coverage from twelve newspaper publications was used to better understand the nature of the coverage on Shakur. Analysis of coverage after Shakur's death determines the tone of coverage varied from the coverage when the rapper was alive. The concept of moral panic explains media attitude.

Walt Disney And The Propaganda Complex: Government Funded Animation And Hollywood Complicity During Wwii, Amanda Michelle Cunningham

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The focus of this proposed thesis will be on the animated propaganda films the studios of Walt Disney produced for the government during World War II, analyzing three of the most widely viewed animated features: The New Spirit (1942), Der Fuehrer's Face (1943), and Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi (1943). These government-financed films were used to encourage Americans to pay their taxes; they generally depicted Germany as a threatening enemy and encouraged support for America's effort and involvement in the war. Using a semiotics theoretical approach, the thesis will analyze these films as propaganda to demonstrate how …