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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Mass Communication

Theses and Dissertations

2020

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Are They Really Just Cosmetic? The Impact Of Cosmetic Items On Fortnite's Gameplay And Game Design, John Joseph Fennimore Dec 2020

Are They Really Just Cosmetic? The Impact Of Cosmetic Items On Fortnite's Gameplay And Game Design, John Joseph Fennimore

Theses and Dissertations

Cosmetic microtransactions, the act of paying for virtual items that customize certain parts of video games and virtual worlds such as skins that change the appearance of the avatar, are looked upon more favorably in the gaming community than performance-enhancing microtransactions, where one pays for virtual items that enhance the abilities of avatars or speed up the progression of the game. Video game industry spokespeople have adapted this rhetoric and emphasized that the microtransactions in their games are for cosmetic items only with no bearing on gameplay. However, the way players use cosmetic items in games and the way cosmetic …

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Social Media Rumination: The Impact Of Materialistic Value Orientation, Keeley Hynes Oct 2020

Social Media Rumination: The Impact Of Materialistic Value Orientation, Keeley Hynes

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research demonstrates that ruminating on social media content is associated with greater mental distress (Yang, Holden, Carter, & Webb, 2018). However, it is unclear what factors are associated with rumination. Using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a theoretical framework, this study examined how materialistic value orientation (MVO) predicted social media rumination in a sample of racially and socioeconomically diverse high school students at two waves of time. Those who are more materialistic value the means by which to gain possessions, and extrinsic life-goals associated with MVO are aimed at garnering external reinforcers such as money and social status (Richins & …

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Conservative Media’S Coverage Of Coronavirus On Youtube: A Qualitative Analysis Of Media Effects On Consumers, Michael J. Layer Oct 2020

Conservative Media’S Coverage Of Coronavirus On Youtube: A Qualitative Analysis Of Media Effects On Consumers, Michael J. Layer

Theses and Dissertations

As of late November 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic killed more than 250,000 people in America despite having early warning of the virus’ lethality and some of the world’s best public health institutions. In today’s media landscape, conservative commentators have an enormous influence on President Donald Trump as well as American political discourse broadly. This study focused how the top conservative commentators on YouTube influenced their audience by their coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. By examining over 1,600 YouTube comments from videos from February to July 2020, this paper investigates who conservative media consumers principally blamed, the socio-political influences behind those …

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Digital Mediation Of Dissent: The Stories Of Unveiled Women From Turkey, Atinc Gurcay Aug 2020

Digital Mediation Of Dissent: The Stories Of Unveiled Women From Turkey, Atinc Gurcay

Theses and Dissertations

This research project studies the digital mediation of the politics of communication and everyday life by examining the tweets of Turkish women who voiced their dissent regarding veiling practices during the #10YearChallenge trend in 2019. Like so many places, the question of veiling is central to the politicization of women's bodies in Turkey. The politicization of women’s bodies, in turn, is central to competing secular and conservative visions of the modern Turkish nation-state. By examining the digital dissent in relation to these competing national projects, I map the historical context of modernization and its impact on the contemporary discussion of …

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Gun Violence And Advocacy Communication, Minhee Choi Jul 2020

Gun Violence And Advocacy Communication, Minhee Choi

Theses and Dissertations

Gun violence has been a major threat to the United States in recent decades. Through the concept of media advocacy from health communication and mass communication literature, this dissertation used an experiment with 331 respondents to test the strategic value of public health framing and certain types of mobilizing information on social media as part of the media advocacy process, including how those elements may lead to attitudinal and behavioral responses related to gun-related policies. Political orientation and gun ownership were examined as potential moderating factors that affect individuals’ perceptions of public health framing. Finding provide public health framing is …

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The Role Of Third-Person Perceptions In Predicting The Public’S Support For Electronic Cigarette Advertising Regulations, Joon Kyoung Kim Jul 2020

The Role Of Third-Person Perceptions In Predicting The Public’S Support For Electronic Cigarette Advertising Regulations, Joon Kyoung Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has become the most widely used nicotine porduct among adolescents and young adults in the United States. Although some research has shown that e-cigarettes are relatively less harmful than combustible tobacco cigarettes, the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes remain unclear. Some evidence suggests that exposure to e-cigarette marketing leads young people to try e-cigarettes. Given the increased popularity of e-cigarette use, the U.S Food and Drug Administration has implemented regulations on e-cigarette marketing since 2016. To understand the public’s support for media censorship, media scholars have examined gaps in individuals’ perceptions of media effects on themselves …

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“Being Cute And Hella Gay:" Pokémon Reborn, Fan Labor, And Queering The Pokémon World, David Peter Kocik May 2020

“Being Cute And Hella Gay:" Pokémon Reborn, Fan Labor, And Queering The Pokémon World, David Peter Kocik

Theses and Dissertations

Created in 2012, Pokémon Reborn is a fan game made by and for queer fans of the Pokémon franchise. Featuring an LGBTQ+ development team and multiple queer characters, from pansexual Rival Cain to gender non-binary Gym Leader Adrienn, Pokémon Reborn articulates queer desires in a franchise and gaming industry notorious for ignoring and dehumanizing queer individuals. While most research on independent queer game development focuses on how creators subvert heteronormative gameplay elements, Pokémon Reborn challenges dominant industry practices through its queer characters and stories. The fan game incorporates LGBTQ+ lived experiences and queer temporalities in its narrative, queering the traditional …

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Lifestyle Tv For Men: The Nostalgic Fantasy Of History Channel's Blue-Collar Infotainment, Stephanie Ann Menders May 2020

Lifestyle Tv For Men: The Nostalgic Fantasy Of History Channel's Blue-Collar Infotainment, Stephanie Ann Menders

Theses and Dissertations

This work considers the commercial and ideological implications of History's branding shift as exemplified by the debut of its reality programming slate in 2007. History's blue-collar infotainment, which focuses on men in rugged and traditional forms of work, represents a masculinized and conservative response to the feminized and often socially liberal-minded lifestyle-programming trend. The social, industrial, and cultural context within which these texts exist, particularly the 2008 recession and the growing emphasis on workplace and TV diversity, are foundational to History's rejuvenated brand. Themes from Ice Road Truckers, Ax Men, Swamp People, Pawn Stars, American Restoration, American Pickers, and Forged …

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Fundamentally Different Stories That Matter: True Crime Podcasts And The Domestic Violence Survivors In Their Audiences, Kelli S. Boling Apr 2020

Fundamentally Different Stories That Matter: True Crime Podcasts And The Domestic Violence Survivors In Their Audiences, Kelli S. Boling

Theses and Dissertations

This audience reception study qualitatively examines women who identify as both domestic violence survivors and fans of true crime podcasts. Using a feminist, critical cultural lens, this study explores why these women are drawn to these podcasts and how the content presented intersects with their lived experiences as domestic violence survivors. Employing a multi-method approach, I interviewed 16 women who listen to true crime podcasts and identify as domestic violence survivors as well as six hosts/producers of true crime podcast media and conducted an in-depth narrative analysis on one of the most popular podcasts mentioned by my participants. Sixteen in-depth …

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Increasing Engagement With Student Government Associations: An Examination Of Student Publics, Viraj Patel Mar 2020

Increasing Engagement With Student Government Associations: An Examination Of Student Publics, Viraj Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Student Government Associations (SGAs) are campus organizations comprised of student leaders which advocate on behalf of the student population. Participation in SGAs have proven academic, professional, and social benefits, yet the engagement in the organization has declined. This study employs Daft and Lengel’s (1986) Media Richness Theory to examine if different media affect the composition of student publics. These publics are defined using Grunig’s (1979) Situational Theory of Publics (STP). Additionally, the impact of self-efficacy, response efficacy, and perceptions of social norms on the variables in STP is also examined.

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