Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Write Moves: An Autoethnographic Examination Of The Media Industry, Danielle Gomes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines the current media environment through the use of adaptation theory, political economy theory, and media ecology theory. More specifically, this thesis is an autoethnography of this author‟s attempts to release content into the mass-media.

This thesis expects to find that in the current conglomerate controlled media environment content that has multi-media potential is preferred. Vertical integration is the standard in these massive media corporations. Consequently, the adaptation of content into multiple media is no longer an afterthought to creation, it is forethought.

War Of Words: Framing Of The United States In Selected Belarusian Newspapers In 2009, Natalie Manayeva

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the peculiarities of framing of the United States in selected Belarusian newspapers during first six months of the Obama administration. The concepts of anti-Americanism, authoritarian model of mass media and framing were chosen as a theoretical framework. This study was focused on the two main questions: first, what is the difference in how Belarusian state-run and independent newspapers frame the U.S., and second, what is the mechanism of creating negative image of the U.S. in Belarusian newspapers. In order to provide comprehensive answers to both questions the multi-method approach (involving methods of …

“You Can’T Change What You Don’T Acknowledge”: A Content Analysis Of The Dr. Phil Show And Implications For Marriage And Family Therapists, Barbara Ann Spanjers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Marriage and family therapists work from an ecological perspective, which includes the influence of mass media. The current study, a quantitative content analysis of The Dr. Phil Show, draws from communication studies, specifically cultivation theory. A content analysis is a first step to understanding how television messages affect client expectations of psychotherapy. Coding categories adapted from the common factors of psychotherapy literature are employed to determine how well the messages of The Dr. Phil Show correspond with practices related to positive psychotherapeutic outcomes. Common factors specific to the field of marriage and family therapy are utilized. The Dr. Phil …

Selling Knowledge: A Sociological Analysis Of Attorney Advertisement In Las Vegas, Giselle Velasquez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

I analyze how Las Vegas attorneys represent themselves, their associates and clients in televised law firm commercials. I use attorney commercials as a case to explore cultural beliefs in media representations. Using an inductive method, I analyze the textual, visual, and aural symbols that appear most frequently in television commercials to interpret how law firm advertisements convey themes of attorney expertise, knowledge, ethnic and gender stereotyping. I introduce this study with a historical evaluation of the rise of advertisement in the United States. I continue discussing how the media is an important realm of discourse that affects people's identity. Using …

The Experiences Of Mississippi Weekly Newspaper Editors As They Explore And Consider Producing Internet Editions, Cassandra Denise Johnson

Dissertations

This dissertation focused on the challenges Mississippi weekly newspaper editors faced when deciding to have an online edition and the issues these editors encountered when they adopted a Web newspaper. The study expounded on four areas—the operational changes weekly newspapers have had to make to produce Web editions, the different type of newsroom staff that are needed to create both editions, the content that is going in the online edition, and the financial pressures that editors work through to keep the newspapers profitable. The study was modeled after similar studies from three organizations—the Pew Research Center, the Bivings Group, and …

Our Health Matters: Promoting The Health Of Sexual Minority Women In The New Media Landscape, Brenda Kane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The shifts occurring in the mediascape and the field of public health offer new opportunities for promoting the health and wellness of sexual minority women. As a population that has historically been underserved by the healthcare system, sexual minority women face multiple barriers to achieving positive health outcomes. They are often less likely to access preventive healthcare services and more likely to engage in risky behaviors that are detrimental to health than heterosexual women. Despite the significant health disparities among sexual minority women, studying this population has not been a priority in health research and there is little research-based evidence …

An Ethnography Of The Bay Area Renaissance Festival: Performing Community And Reconfiguring Gender, Matthew Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This performance ethnography analyzes the means by which performers at Tampa, Florida‘s Bay Area Renaissance Festival constitute community and gender through performance. Renaissance Festivals are themed weekend events that ostensibly seek to allow visitors to experience life in an English Renaissance village. Beginning with the theoretical assumption that performance is constitutive of culture, community, and identity, and undergirded by David Boje‘s festivalism, Richard Schechner‘s restored behavior, Victor Turner‘s liminoid communitas and Judith Butler‘s performative agency, The Festival is explored as a celebratory community that engages in social change through personal transformation.

Employing reflexive ethnography and narrative as inquiry, Chapter Two …

An Examination Of Parental Attitudes Toward Children's Advergaming: A Parental Socialization Perspective., Nathan Joseph Evans

Masters Theses

Every passing year is witness to increases in Internet use among younger populations. The amount of time spent online among children ages two to 11 is increasing at a faster rate than that of the entire online population. The rise in Internet use among children has resulted in marketing and advertising efforts aimed at increasing brand awareness, involvement and immersion. The use of branded entertainment and advergames is a popular practice when attempting to increase brand awareness and loyalty among children. Advergames offer a combination of entertainment and advertising that are designed to appeal to younger populations that have difficulty …

Radio-Television Of Serbia (1989-2009): The Changing Role Of State Tv In A Post-Communist Country, Ivanka Radovic

Masters Theses

This study examined the differences in reporting in Radio-Television of Serbia's (RTS) main newscast, Dnevnik 2, between the period of Slobodan Milosevic’s rule (1989-2000) and the period after the establishment of democracy in Serbia (2001-2009). The data were gathered by the content analysis of 63 RTS newscasts in the period 1989-2009. The research included quantitative analysis as well as additional observations of RTS newscasts noted at the time of coding. The major findings suggest that in the democratic period (2001-2009) RTS newscasts become shorter, more consistent in duration, less dedicated to coverage of state and ruling party officials’ activities, and …

The “New Media” Campaign The Role Of Social Networking And Online Tools In Political Campaigning, Clayton Allen

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Ecology Of Performance: Gregory Bateson's Cybernetic Performance, Daniel Matthew Blaeuer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of the public performances of Gregory Bateson at The Esalen Institute. The case study is a reconsideration of the work of Gregory Bateson from the perspective of performance studies. The author brings together performativity, cybernetics, and the sacred to argue that Gregory Bateson, in his public performances, was striving for grace in encounters with others. The author has conducted archival research into Bateson’s presentations and has spoken with several close to Bateson to get a sense of how his process of public presentation paralleled his ideas—a process of continually working through ideas in conversation …

Bastards, Brains, Boobs And Performance: A Retrospective Account, Joanna Bartell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The two essays that comprise this thesis use personal narrative to discuss various aspects of illness, resistance and the body. The first essay uses performance theory to explore the social structures, mandates and restrictions concerning illness. I use the cancer experience to explore the co-creation of self, identity, and modes of being between "performer" and "audience." "Performer," in this case, is the "breast cancer patient," and the "audience" is comprised of the "social others.” The second essay explores cyborgization of the body, its painful effects, and associated social and moral values. It also discusses how we create theory and understanding …

Effects Of The Emo Music Genre, Vincent Piccone Mazzaferro

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

The Rhetorical Subversion Of Populism: Palinism In The 2008 Election, Allison Margaret Kearney

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

"The Only Band That Matters": An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Punk Rock And Culture, Dillon Ferdinandi

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Mercy Mercy Me (The Media Ecology): Technology, Agency, And "Cleavage" Of The Musical Text, Arthur J. Bamford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores changes that occurred in popular music during the 1960s and early 1970s through case studies involving three significant albums released in 1971 and 1972: Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, Sly and the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On, and Stevie Wonder's Talking Book. These albums deserve attention particularly because, as this thesis argues, existing research on the cultural significance of popular music has focused largely on the periods before or after the 1970s and research on music-making technologies has focused largely on white artists or groups from the late 1960s. Addressing this blind …

The Need For Effective Visual Communication: How Website Design Can Further The Success Of The Cal Poly Women’S Lacrosse Team, Bonnie J. Burtis

Journalism

This paper argues that an efficient and successfully built website is crucial to the future success of college sports websites. By focusing on the Cal Poly Women’s Lacrosse team and its website, visual communication research gives insight into what works and what does not. The fundamental and design elements examined include: text elements, site navigation, accessible links, presence of news, communication and graphics (visual design). These are the elements that promote success and efficiency. Compared to other websites built and maintained by teams in the women’s lacrosse league, Cal Poly’s lacks foundational website material. General website research proves this and …

Cubesat Developers' Workshop 2010, Tracy Owens, Ryan Race

Communication Studies

This project is the narrative component of the 7th Annual CubeSat Developers' Workshop 2010 planning process. It reviews the steps and team dynamics over the seven months spent coordinating the conference for the Aerospace Department. It was the first time that students from the Communcation Studies Department were brought in to help with the event, and the gap between the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Engineering was bridged.

Consumer Responses To Stereotypical Vs. Non-Stereotypical Depictions Of Women In Travel Advertising, Jessica Eran Mcdonald

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women are active travel consumers, yet travel advertising notoriously depicts women stereotypically. If consumers react negatively to these stereotypical portrayals in advertising, they may disregard the ad or brand and purchase a different travel product. The purpose of this study is to determine if consumers react differently to stereotypical versus non-stereotypical depictions of women in travel advertising. The study will examine these reactions, by measuring attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, purchase intention, and cognitive responses to carefully prepared advertisements that are characterized as ―stereotypical‖ or ―non-stereotypical.‖ Ads are defined as stereotypical by utilizing Goffman‘s (1979) framework for …

Social Networking: A Tool Or Aggregator Of The News?, Madeline Peters

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Media On Collegiate Worldview And Engagement, Micaela Degruy

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Stepping Away From The Ring: An Autoethnographic Study Of Hero Worship Created Through Media Consumption, James Ross Gatfield

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnographic study examines the relationship between media consumption and hero worship in the lived experience of an individual over the course of a lifetime spent dedicated to achieving a career in professional wrestling. The focus of this study is on identity creation through repeated exposure to media sources relating to that lifelong dream. Previous communication research regarding media exposure provides significant knowledge on the potential effects of the media consumption on the lived experience of the audience, but virtually no prior research has examined explicit effects on a deeply individual level. Narratives encompassing the years devoted to a professional …

The Moroccan Struggle For Media Development, Margaret Looney

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Portrayal Of Schizophrenia In Television: An Experiment Assessing How Viewer Attitudes Are Affected, Lindsey Jo Hand

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The media have been found to be the public’s main source of information on mental illness. Schizophrenia is one of the most widely misunderstood, stereotyped and stigmatized mental disorders, and it is no surprise that portrayals of schizophrenia in the media have been found to be very negative in nature. Participants were given a pretest, shown stimulus material, then given a posttest. The pretest and posttest consisted of questions from the Community Attitudes on Mental Illness (CAMI) scale and questions assessing views of dangerousness. Participants viewed an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in which a man with …

A History Of The American Film Institute, Deborah Jae Alexander

Dissertations

The American Film Institute (AFI) is a highly politicized, powerful organization. To date, most historical documentation and recording of AFI events and activities has been disseminated to the mass media from within the organization through its own publications or in other historical documentation as incidental history in relation to another topic. This dissertation, written as an overview, is the first comprehensive, independent historical examination of the AFI. The examination begins with an exploration of the development, activities and decline of the American Council on Education‟s original AFI and other film organizations that existed prior to the present day AFI. It …

A Narrative Analysis Of Climate Change Coverage In The New York Times, 1988-2008: Social Responsibility And Weight-Of-Evidence Reporting, Valerie Marie Valentine

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Drawing on narrative analysis, this study uncovers the metanarrative that served to structure the coverage of global warming as it appeared in The New York Times over a 20-year period. This analysis indicates that The New York Times used weight-of-evidence reporting over time to underpin the architecture of the metastory, in contrast to traditional objective reporting. Weight-of-evidence reporting is recommended as a method of incorporating the majority voice of science by de-emphasizing what is considered untrue, rather than giving it the same merit, while also documenting growing evidence. This finding is situated within the context of journalism ethics. The study …

New England Patriots Vs The Carolina Panthers At The Super Boob?: A Deeper Look At The Media Surrounding Janet Jackson And Justin Timberlake's Wardrobe Malfunction At The 2004 Super Bowl, Philip Michael Ortez

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Wall-E'S Rhetoric: An Ecological Sermon From A Strange Preacher, Jennifer A. English

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Image Restoration In Major League Baseball: An Analysis Of Apologia Strategies During The Steroid Era, Shareef C. Stratton

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

The New Newspaper : Examining The Role Of Design In The Modern Print Edition, Matthew Joseph Haught

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

As the newspaper industry works to modernize because of a rapid move to Web technologies, editors and publishers are seeking ways to reach younger readers with the traditional print edition. This research examines the impact of design through methods of alternative story forms on readership in the target age bracket of 18-25 year olds. The study uses three models of storytelling to examine the impact of design and writing on the interest in the print edition in that age demographic. The study found that the theories of functionalism, when applied to newspaper design and writing, create a product that appeals …