Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Child Labor Advocacy Through The Years, Emma Naggar

Comm-entary

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The Existence Of Empathy In Photographs

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Ai In Newsrooms: Assessing Perception, Challenges And Possibilities In Bangladesh’S Media Landscape, Nadia Rahman

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

With the relentless progression of technological advancements, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force across various sectors, and newsrooms are no exception. Developed nations have already integrated AI into journalistic practices, showcasing its versatility in different news functions. However, the developing nations, including Bangladesh, a south Asian nation faces challenges in catching up, marked by technological and economic disparities. As an emerging economic force Bangladesh encounters different obstacles in the adoption of AI in its media landscape. Despite the expansiveness of its media industry, the country grapples with limited technological support and inadequate training opportunities. These challenges bring up …

Exploring Television Portrayal Of Gender-Based Violence In Uganda: A Case Of Ntv And Bukedde Tv, Nakagolo Racheal

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

The study used NTV and Bukedde TV as a case of how television in Uganda portray gender-based violence to address the critical issue of how television framing impacts societal understanding and response to gender-based violence. The research adopted the framing theory as its conceptual lens and employed a mixed-methods approach combining content analysis of television news programs with in-depth interviews with newsroom staff. The findings reveal that Ugandan television predominantly employs victim-centered narratives, focusing on physical and sexual violence while often neglecting psychological violence and systemic contributors such as entrenched patriarchal norms. The human-interest frame emerged as the most utilized, …

Social Media Usage And The Future Of Museum Outreach: A Case Of The Uganda Museum, Patrick Massa Birabi

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism

Despite its cultural significance, the Uganda Museum, the oldest museum in East Africa, faced challenges of declining visitor numbers and limited social media engagement. the Uganda Museum's digital presence on platforms such as X.com and Instagram remains underutilized due to a lack of strategic alignment with its mission. This study evaluated the extent of social media use for outreach, identified associated challenges and opportunities and developed actionable recommendations for enhancing the Uganda Museum’s digital engagement. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, which combined 381 visitor surveys with in-depth interviews with 15 museum staff members, and evaluated the Uganda Museum's social …

The Work Of An Hour: A Case Study Of Propaganda, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

This research paper discusses the messaging of United States President George W. Bush and his administration regarding the U.S. led invasion of Iraq. Transcripts of presidential communications, national news programs, and public opinion polls from 2001-03 were analyzed to identify patterns in these communications. This review demonstrated techniques similar to those used in historical propaganda campaigns to sway public opinion. The introduction and repetition of key terminology from the government was followed by magnification by television news programs. These messages were broadcast despite lack of evidence of Iraq’s involvement with the 9/11 attacks or their possession of weapons of mass …

Water Justice, Emily Ann Senkosky

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

My portfolio will be centered around the theme of “Water justice,” which aims to unpack people’s manipulation of riverways and the environmental costs of this practice. Rivers, and their watersheds, have served as lifeblood for human and ecological populations the world over since the dawn of man. Derived from these watersheds is a multitude of ecosystem services and freshwater necessary for the sustainability of life. But freshwater makes up only 3% of the globe’s total water supply, making it a limited and dwindling resource. As the world’s population accelerates, climate change quickens, and societal needs for freshwater advance, the manipulation …

Framing The Moment, Shaping The Movement: News Narratives And Public Response To George Floyd’S Death, Madison B. Hall

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study investigates how national and local U.S. news outlets framed George Floyd, Black Lives Matter protesters, and the surrounding protests in the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s death. Through a qualitative content analysis of YouTube news broadcasts posted between May and June 2020, coupled with thematic analysis of popular comments that viewers posted in response, this research explores media narratives and public understanding of a pivotal moment of an ongoing racial justice movement. Drawing on framing theory and construal level theory, the study identifies a range of frames (i.e., pro-accountability, anti-accountability, raw perspective, neutral, episodic, riot) used by both local …

As Above, So Below: Environmental Justice Stories Of Seeds, Mining And Migration, Cassidy M. Motahari

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Environmental justice issues directly impact the health, cultural heritage and livelihoods of communities. This multimedia master’s project examines how federal policies, legal frameworks and the prioritization of corporate interests perpetuate environmental justice issues in the western United States. Three distinct stories provide a more nuanced understanding of the impact of systemic inequities on seed saving, mineral extraction and humanitarian aid on public lands.

With four companies controlling over 60 percent of the global seed market, declining genetic diversity in seeds limits the potential to cultivate and develop crops that meet the regional and cultural needs of diverse growers. In a …

Zippymania: A Multimedia Record Of The 2024-25 Akron Zips Men's Basketball Team, Drew Bailey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will involve the production, promotion, and distribution of a weekly 30-minute live radio show focusing on the Akron Zips men's basketball team. After the airing of each show, the recorded episode will be published as a podcast. Additionally, a weekly column or sports blog (written by myself) will be published and serve as a companion work or supplement to the radio program.

Sexual And Gender-Based Violence Against Women In Sports: Prevalence, Impact, And Interventions In East Africa, Hesbon Hansen Owilla, Nancy Achieng' Booker, George Nyabuga, Tulinagwe Mwampanga, Samantha Agasha, Liz Awino, Ella Smith

Graduate School of Media and Communications

This study investigated the prevalence, causes, and impact of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women in sports across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study combined quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews to explore the scale of SGBV, its root causes, and the lived experiences of female athletes. A cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted, with data collected from athletes, coaches, administrators, and sports officials from federations and associations in the three countries. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques at the federations, clubs and within the clubs was used and this ensured representation at multiple levels of the sports …

Policy Brief. Media Framing Of Sexual And Gender-Based Violence And Femicide: An Analysis Of News Stories In Select Kenyan, Ugandan And Tanzanian Media, Nancy Achieng' Booker, Hesbon Owilla, George Nyabuga, Olivia Sayani, Liz Awino, Rose Kimani, David Aduda

Graduate School of Media and Communications

This policy brief presents the findings of a regional study on media coverage of femicide and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The study analysed coverage of femicide and SGBV between January 2024 and April 2025, from major digital platforms, supported by interviews with editors. It sought to understand how media frames femicide and SGBV, which actors are most visible, and what implications these patterns have for accountability, justice, and deterrence. The findings show that while victims of femicide are given extensive sympathetic coverage, with very high salience, perpetrators are almost entirely absent from media narratives. …

Climate Change In The Local News: The Role Of Community Characteristics In Shaping Themes And Diversity, Hyerim Jo

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Despite widespread recognition of climate change and its localized impacts, research on how local media cover this topic remains limited. The first study of this dissertation analyzes 15,788 opinion articles published from 2013 to 2020 by 391 local newspapers in the United States to examine their volume, topics, and thematic emphases. Using automated text analysis methods, including Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and Analysis of Topic Model Networks (ANTMN), the study identifies 11 topics and three overarching themes. Findings indicate that the volume, topics, and themes evolved over time, likely influenced by the severity of climate-induced hazards and political and socioeconomic …

Media Framing Of The Local And National News Coverage Of The East Palestine Train Derailment, Lauren Delo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research examined digital news coverage of the East Palestine train derailment to determine the frames and dominant frames used in both local and national coverage of the disaster, and whether these frames differed over time. Specifically, this research used a content analysis of digital newspaper articles from five media outlets—three national level and two local level—and applied the frames identified from Colistra’s (2010) study of print news coverage of the 1972 Buffalo Creek mine disaster. Results revealed significant differences between the most frequently used frames between local and national coverage, shifts in frame usage over time within each media …

Hit Me, Baby, One More Time: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Celebrity Gossip Magazine Shaming Of Britney Spears, Anna Drabik

Comm-entary

Britney Spears is an American pop star who rose to fame in the late 1990s at the age of 17 with her music, performances, and fashion. Spears was a prominent figure.

in celebrity gossip magazines, a genre which grew to prominence alongside and, in many ways, because of Spears. The distinct aesthetic and style of celebrity gossip magazines involved stories, blurbs, and images which wielded praise and shame—directly and indirectly—as tools to enforce norms and expectations for both female celebrities and female readers. Through a critical discourse analysis of 378 People and Us articles throughout the first ten years of …

Critical Analysis Of The “Mother, Daughter, And Doll” From Boushra Almutawakel’S, Samantha Dempsey

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Brewdog Case Study, Kate Daugherty-Miller

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Mythic Criticism Of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, Grace Cushing

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Clandestine Captains Of Culture: How Making Music For Your Community Can Influence Global Culture Explored Through The History And Legacy Of Dj Screw, Aristides Estevao

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Nine Dragons, Bailey Fraser

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A Feminist Critique Of Promising Young Woman, Farrell Hoffman

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Roll The Film, Play The Music, Lauren Sutton

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Public Health: The Ethical Potential For Applied Neuromarketing, Olivia Buzzell

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The Pussyhat And Performative Activism: What Happens When Protest Becomes Fashionable?, Layla Hanissian

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Grizzly Bears Moving Onto The Great Plains, John A. Stember

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

High up a coulee on the Montana prairie, Seth and Jennie Becker look over the windswept landscape with binoculars and point out three grizzly bear dens along the rim of a canyon. The couple, who own Stick Leg Ranch, estimate there are eight grizzly bear dens on their property. After their nine-year-old son nearly came face to face with a grizzly, they decided they needed to find a solution.

Over the last five years, grizzly bears have been expanding further and further east onto the Montana prairie. For example, in October 2023, a grizzly bear was caught on game camera …

From Guns To Mental Health And Accountability: Decoding Media Narratives And Audience Reactions In Public Mass Shootings, Maurice Emelu, Brent Brossmann

2025 Faculty Bibliography

Public mass shootings pose a critical safety challenge in the U.S. This study investigates how media framing relates to public online engagement, focusing on gun regulation, mental health, and individual and political accountability across five major TV networks: ABC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and NBC. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research analyzes 678 news reports and 7605 audience comments. Findings reveal significant differences in audience engagement based on framing, and in key variables show audiences taking opposite positions to their news network’s narratives. ABC, CNN, and NBC’s thematic framing, highlighting systemic failures, elicits more balanced responses, whereas Fox News and …

To Encounter The Other? How Journalists Make Catholic Faith-Based Organizations In Mexico And Russia (In)Visible, Xochiquetzal Luna Morales

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Catholic Faith-Based Organizations (CFBOs) in Mexico and Russia are unique entities of study and comparison to understand the power dynamics between majority/minority institutional religions and their media representation. Although both countries recognize their religious diversity, Catholicism is still the major religion in Mexico, not only because of its large number of adherents but also its significant cultural and political capital. In contrast, in Russia, Catholicism is considered a minority religion and is often viewed as foreign to Russian values and traditions. These conditions influence how CFBOs have been featured in the news media in both countries. However, no single factors …

Is It Real Enough? A Mixed-Methods Study Of Realism, Engagement And Counterargument In Transmedia Edutainment For Sustainable Behaviors, Aya Shata, Michelle Selig

Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies Faculty Research

Advancements in technology have driven media convergence, paving the way for innovative storytelling formats like Transmedia Edutainment (TE-E), a new promising strategy for advocating prosocial behaviors. However, there is limited research on narrative processing and the persuasive outcomes of TE-E, particularly in environmental contexts. Therefore, this paper examines TE-E as a new communication strategy that leverages storytelling across multiple platforms to promote pro-environmental messaging. Drawing on entertainment-education literature and narrative persuasion theories, specifically the narrative engagement model and perceived realism as theoretical frameworks in this study, to help understand the role and influence of TE-E. Using a mixed-method design, five …

Examining The Media’S Roles And Responsibilities, An Evaluation Of Nigeria’S Development Toward The Sdgs, Kelvin Inobemhe, Tsegyu Santas, Aminat Trust Ogbesoh

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

This paper examines the roles and responsibilities in the country’s development toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The media in any society is fundamentally a development partner. Whether combating diseases or disseminating critical messages about development plans and actions to the public, the media is a key stakeholder. In Nigeria, the government, in collaboration with development agencies and other relevant stakeholders, has actively sought pathways to actualize the SDGs. The media are among these important stakeholders. The Nigerian press and media to serve the people and development across the nation present a good opportunity. However, this study observes that after …

Framing Palestine Celebgrams On Instagram Social Media Post The Events Of October 7 2023, Labiq Yafuz, Subaidi Subaidi

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

This research examines the framing conducted by Palestinian influencers on the social media platform Instagram following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The study analyzes how these influencers use the platform to convey information about the conditions in Gaza after the attack. The methodology used is content analysis of several Palestinian influencers' accounts to observe differences in their content presentation. The findings indicate that the content uploaded by these influencers focuses on daily life, social impacts, and geographical conditions post-attack. This content aims to provide information and education to viewers about the current situation in Gaza. The …