Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Democratic Engagement In The Digital Age: Youth, Social Media And Participatory Politics In Kenya, Samuel Kamau

Graduate School of Media and Communications

As the communication world becomes more complex and participatory, social networking sites (SNSs) have emerged as a platform with the potential to invigorate democracy and political engagement. However, the value of SNSs in politics remains contested among researchers. The study reported on in this article was based on a survey of 600 university students, aged between18 and 35, to examine the relationship between social media use and political engagement among the youth in Kenya. The study focused on the extent to which SNSs facilitate consumption of political information and the role of SNSs in influencing political interest, knowledge and behaviour …

Resources Review: Adaptive (Podcast), Montreal*In/Accessible (Mobile App), Accessible Arcade Tables (Diy Project), Giuliana Cucinelli

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Thisresourcesreview spotlights a variety of DIY (do-it yourself) innovative media projects. Examples of these projects include: a podcast series on adaptive technologies, building mobile applications that allow participants to publish images, text and sound recordings, an interactive map that documents disability discrimination in the certain cities and the DIY creation of accessible arcade tables.

The social production of disability is seen in barriers created by society to restrict access to certain places or even certain cultural forms. The internet offers a space to share media productions and social media initiatives that use digital media to intervene, creatively, in theableistassumptions embedded …

Weather Communication On Twitter: Identifying Popular Content And Optimal Warning Format Via Case Studies And A Survey Analysis, Joshua D. Eachus

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The use of Twitter as a channel for weather information inspires a deeper analysis of key information nodes during episodes of high impact weather, especially local meteorologists. To optimize communication on the channel, it is important to understand what kinds of messages produce exposure and attention among users—which translates to knowledge that could improve the reach of a warning. Literature identifies two key models that well describe the cognitive processing of tweets and warnings. The Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) describes risk perception and the factors that enable or disable one from acting on a warning. Particularly through environmental and …

A Political Ecology Of Information: Media And The Dilemma Of State Power In China, Michael L. Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this dissertation, I employ a Weberian concept of social power in order to theorize the challenges posed by, and the varieties of state response to, the dilemma of state power: the need of all states to empower societies with social capacities that may, in turn, threaten state interests. Through a comparison of traditional and new forms of media in China, I show that rather than posing qualitatively new types of challenges to authoritarian states, new media exacerbate the dilemma of state power. They do so because along each of three dimensions of social control, new media shift the relationship …

An Assessment Of Communication Strategies In Edinburgh, Scotland: A Focus On News Outlets Used By Select Audiences, Alexandria N. Mcleod

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to discover which media outlets selected Edinburgh, Scotland consumers were using and why they chose those outlets to gain information. This study was conducted using a survey instrument with convenience sampling (N = 39) in Scotland during the summer 2016. It was found that social media is the primary source for news and timeliness is the most important factor when choosing a news source. Another objective for the study was to determine peak viewing times and primary topics of interest. Peak viewing times were observed to be mornings and evenings primarily. Primary topics …

Student Attitudes On Social Media And Perception Of Instructor Social Media Use., Abi Mathew John

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand what student attitudes are toward using social media in the classroom and if those attitudes influenced how they perceive instructors using social media in the classroom. Implementing a mixed method approach, this study conducted focus groups to gain an in-depth understanding of what student attitudes were and why they held those ideas. A survey was then distributed to the students’ in a Midwestern University to see if there was a relationship between students attitudes and their perceptions of instructors who use social media. Results showed that students do hold a positive attitude …

Leveraging Technology For The Recruitment Of Students And Faculty, William Hoon, Christopher Hirschler

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This presentation will discuss some best practices in using the latest technology to assist in student and faculty recruitment in two distinct departments at two universities.

The Responsible Project, Shannon N. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this thesis is to create a public relations campaign consisting of a series of promotional videos filmed specifically for Patagonia, the outdoors sportswear company, emphasizing their corporate social responsibility for viewing on their social media and web-based platforms. The commercials will feature three Colorado non-profit organizations tied to Patagonia through Patagonia's Growing Grassroots Grant program.

How Instagram Content Affects Brand Attitudes And Behavior, Ming (Bryan) Wang, Valerie K. Jones

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

This paper examines the effectiveness of communication on Instagram, a type of visual social networking site, by the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Results show that the TSA’s Instagram account elicited stronger emotional reactions than a private consumer product business Instagram account. More importantly, perceived usefulness of content, perceived persuasive intent of content, and negative emotions all affected attitudes toward the TSA. Additionally, perceived usefulness of content and negative emotions also influenced communicative action regarding the TSA account. Findings demonstrate the emotional impact of visual communication and the role of both cognitive and affective evaluations in changing attitudes and behavior …

A Retrospective On State Of The Art Social Media Research Methods: Ethical Decisions, Big-Small Data Rivalries And The Spectre Of The 6vs, Anabel Quan-Haase, Luke Sloan

FIMS Publications

This concluding chapter offers critical reflections on some of the key themes covered in the Handbook. Ethics emerged as a concern for many scholars, both for those engaging in quantitative and qualitative approaches. Scholars agree in that there is no overarching set of rules that can be applied to all projects blindly, rather they see ethical decisions as being grounded in the specifics of the data being collected, the social group under study, and the potential repercussions for subjects. A second central theme was the value of qualitative approaches for understanding ‘anomalies’ within larger data sets. Qualitative approaches are seen …

Disclosing The Truth About Instagram Endorsers: A Study Of The Effects Of The Use Of Material-Connection Disclosures On Instagram And Types Of Endorsers On Advertising Identification And Consumer Response, Lauren Francis Myers

LSU Master's Theses

This experiment studies the effects of the Federal Trade Commission’s material-connection disclosure requirement as it applies to Instagram, as well as consumer responses to the types of endorsers that advertise a product on their Instagram profiles. In this experiment, participants viewed the Instagram profiles of a social-media endorser or celebrity, followed by an Instagram posting of a product with or without a material-connection disclosure. Participants then answered a survey with questions referring to advertising identification, source credibility, message credibility, brand attitude, and purchase intentions. Results suggest that there are no significant effects of material-connection disclosures on the identification of a …