Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Requirements Specification For Dsic: Distribution System For Information And Collaboration, Alex Abrahamian

Computer Science and Software Engineering

There seems to exist an invisible barrier between people that should be connected but for whatever reasons (don't hang out in the same circles, don't go to the same meetings, or are geographically separated) haven't met each other yet.

Normally these people will only meet when others bring them together or they are thrown together on a project. DSIC aims to preempt the person discovery process by allowing a way for people to post ideas, events, and other collaborations in a single place that can then be searched by other users.

The system utilizes postings, user profiles, and a tagging …

The Umbrella Effect: The Importance Of Converging Student Media At A University, Karlee Prazak

Journalism

Journalism today is much more than a single reporter, news anchor, photographer or videographer specializing in a single skill. Journalists today need to be multimedia journalists who have skills that encompass anything from writing a story to editing video. Currently, at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), journalism students are learning these skills, but they are learning them separately. Within the three concentrations offered by the journalism department — broadcast, news/editorial and public relations — there are the three student media outlets: Central Coast PRspectives, Cal Poly TV, KCPR radio and the Mustang Daily newspaper. Few students, however, …

Stepping Out Of The Disney Princess Castle Into The New Girl World With The Disney Divas: A Content Analysis Of Hannah Montana And Wizards Of Waverly Place, Hanna Munoz

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Feminizing Presidents: Joseph Keppler And Gender In Gilded Age Political Cartoons, Jerome Gonzalez

American Studies Senior Theses

Amid the crowded newsstands of American cities in the late nineteenth century, the average reader flipping through a copy of Puck, a weekly humor magazine devoted to political and social issues, may have been surprised to see an unusual print: that of the President of the United States depicted in women’s clothing, with feminine features, performing a womanly task! These few drawings, alluding to both literary and social ideas, done by the Austrian immigrant artist Joseph Keppler, appeared in his Puck magazine in the years 1877, 1880, and 1884, coinciding around an election year. While Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes, James …

Kanye West Is Heading South, Clifton A. Sammet

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

More Than Memories? Schema Transference From Media Characters To Real People, Hilary Ray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on whether personality traits and evaluations of television personalities are used to make inferences about new Social interaction partners. It tested the hypothesis that priming schemas of television personalities will bias inferences made about a stranger. The results were mixed. Participants in the experimental condition made more biased inferences about a stranger than did participants in the control condition. This transference was not influenced by participants' parasociability, and methodological limitations prevented conclusive study of the influence of affective evaluations in this effect. Future studies should attempt to increase methodological control and introduce a diverse set of measures …

Digital Storytelling And Study Abroad: The Impact Of A Narrative-Based, Reflective Practice Upon Identity Construction, Nicole Hubbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Digital storytelling is a multimedia genre that has been steadily gaining recognition since its inception in the early 1990s. Study abroad is also on the rise among U.S. undergraduates. Study abroad returnees often lack opportunities for structured reflection upon their experiences abroad. Digital storytelling is one reflective tool that may be useful for stimulating reflection as part of a narrative process, which connects past events with current life choices and solidifies identity. Five undergraduates and three graduate students attended digital storytelling workshops, created digital stories, and were interviewed. Analysis of these case studies found that while graduate students were more …

Assessing A Combined Theories Approach To Climate Change Communication, Ted Greenhalgh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research examines the complexities of communicating climate change risk information and the underlying individual attitudes and message content that affect message reception. Using climate change messages incorporating fear appeals and normative information subject's reactions to the messages were evaluated using the Theory of Planned Behavior model. The study found that fear appeals did increase behavioral intention to adopt a lower carbon lifestyle among test group subjects. The Theory of Planned Behavior model showed that attitudes and self-efficacy were significant predictors of the behavioral intent to adopt a lower carbon lifestyle, while community norms were only marginally predictive. However, not …

Nevadagives.Org: Building Website Capacity For Data Collection, Snezhanka V. Christy, Lisa E. Stamanis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Since the adoption of the Government Performance and Result Act of 1993, the same demand for accountability placed upon government agencies is also expected in the nonprofit sector (Poister, 2003). Also fueling the need for dependable nonprofit performance data, is the current economic environment where funding is scarce or non-existent. Along with providing routine information and services, developing a competent website to collect and make available performance data for stakeholders and patrons is a necessary practice in both the public and private sector. Nonprofit organizations fortunate enough to have functioning websites can maximize their potential by managing them as a …

The Viral Fingerprint: A Content Analysis Of Popular Viral Advertisements, Thomas Grant Broadus Ii

Master's Theses

This paper presents an analysis of 280 online videos that appeared on the Advertising Age weekly chart of the top ten viral videos of the week; the videos appeared on the chart from March 23rd 2009 to March 9th 2011. The videos were analyzed along four areas of observation including the advertiser characteristics, the formatting characteristics of the video, the messaging strategies of each video, and the level of involvement the product would require for a consumer to make a purchase. Through examining the components of each video, a thread of commonality was revealed. Cumulatively, the dominant themes and characteristics …

Social Media: The Use Of Facebook And Twitter To Impact Political Unrest In The Middle East Through The Power Of Collaboration, Sarah Danielle Goodman

Journalism

The power of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are often overlooked and unaccounted for. The revolutionary and unprecedented political changes in the Middle East have changed the way the world uses and now views these platforms. This study addresses the transformation of both the Middle East and social media, alongside each other. In addition, it discusses how young activists utilized these tools in order to unite and therefore produce radical alteration of Middle Eastern governments, what these governments did in an attempt to preserve control and how the United States got involved.

Student Lunch Nutrition, Kathryn Leigh Scholte

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Is It Hot(Ter) Out There Or Is It Just (The) Me(Dia)? A Comparative Framing Analysis Of Climate Change In The New York Times And The Guardian, Kylah Jae Hedding

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is a framing analysis that compares the coverage of climate change in the New York Times and the Guardian from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009. This research supports the theory that the coverage in media outlets is affected by the media systems in which they exists, with both similarities and differences in the coverage of the two media outlets. It also supports the argument that climate change coverage in the United States is cyclical and event-driven, while the British media reflects both the cyclical, event-driven liberal media model and the more issues-focused European model. This thesis departs …

Media, Politics And The Portrayal Of "Climate-Gate" By Cnn And Fox News, Jennifer Renee Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mere days before the Copenhagen Climate Summit, the main server of the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia was illegally hacked and over 3,000 documents were downloaded and released onto climate change blogs with excerpts of emails exchanged between climate change scientists that discussed manipulation of data, faulty observation techniques, and their frustration over their inability to provide solid proof that global warming was occurring. The release of these emails set off a firestorm of debate and the incident was quickly coined ―Climate-gate.

This study examines the ensuing media coverage by CNN and Fox News and seeks …

Developing And Managing Personal Brands: Strategies In Marketing, Public Relations, And Entertainment, Julianna Barker

Journalism

No abstract provided.

What's More Persuasive? How The Internet And Newspaper Change Opinions, Sloane E. Sheldon

Honors Theses

The Internet has become an integral part of society. While people have been turning to the Internet for their news, newspapers are still a powerful source of information. This study investigates whether the newspaper or Internet is more effective at altering people’s opinions. Participants included people ranging from 18-78 years old. After reading a political endorsement that appeared to come from either a printed newspaper or a news website, participants rated their opinions on this candidate. When the message included strong arguments, the source of the article did not have an effect on how well the articles were able to …

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: A Dedication, A Consecration And A Challenge, Caitlin Mary Cappa

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Representaciones Del Otro En El Cine Espanol Y El Resurgimiento De La Ideologia Franquista, Anthony J. Erlandson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Abstract not available.

The Lived Meanings Of Product Placement In Social Network Sites (Snss) Among Urban Chinese White-Collar Professional Users: A Story Of Happy Network, Huan Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

A phenomenology study reveals the lived meanings of product placement in social network sites (SNSs) among Chinese urban, white-collar professional users through an investigation of a newly launched SNS, Happy Network. In total, 25 face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data. Findings indicated that participants’ interpretations of product placement were interrelated with the socially constructed meanings of the SNS, participants’ social role of white-collar professionals, and the consumer culture of contemporary Chinese society. In particular, the emerged themes with regard to the shared meanings of the SNS include five dialectic relations: in control/controlled by, dependent/independent, public/private, intimate/distant, and personal/social. …

Privacy Law And The Internet Using Facebook.Com As A Case Study, Amelia D. Grubbs

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

What Readers Want: Motivation, Interaction, And Value As Key Factors Influencing The Future Of Book Publishing, Stephanie A. Stevens

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Public Utilities Commission Of Nevada: A Research Design For Data Collection, Mario Heresi, Jamie Stout, Brandy Davis, Cheyenne Pasquale

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) needs tools to develop a system by which reliable data can be collected in order to assist in the regulation of public utilities in Nevada. Their particular emphasis is on low-income and elderly populations. The PUCN needs to have reliable data they can utilize to make decisions that are fact based. Part of their needs is to have a thorough understanding of the factors that affect both low-income and elderly populations. Like so many other organizations, the PUCN does not have a set system to investigate all issues and makes decisions on a …

Public Confidence In Social Institutions And Media Coverage: A Case Of Belarus, Dzmitry Yuran

Masters Theses

Social scientists agree that public confidence in social institutions is a crucial element in building democratic society. This is especially true for transitional societies including post-communist countries, because the lack of public confidence in newly emerged democratic institutions can interfere with democratic development. Although different theories explaining public confidence in social institutions were developed, these theories ignored the role that mass media play in building public confidence. The goal of this study is to examine the connection between mass media coverage of social institutions and public confidence in these institutions by conducting content analysis of Belarusian newspapers, reviewing the results …

News That Isn’T “Fit To Print”, Emily H. Holden

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Political Communication In A Digital Age: 2011 Tea Party Senators And Social Media, Kaitlyn M. Barrett

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Factors Of Adoption: Initiating Relationships Using Online Dating Sites, Rachel Lee Toyer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study used the Diffusion of Innovations Model to explore the circumstances that lead graduate and professional students enrolled at the a university in southern Nevada to adopt online dating services with the intent of initiating a serious commitment with a potential partner. The diffusion model was used to frame online dating as a process that people go through in acquiring knowledge about the service, forming an opinion about it, testing the service, and finally adopting the service into their daily life. Factors such as time afforded to relationships, apprehension in social situations, safety, and opinions of online dating …

Full Court Press: How Mississippi Newspapers Helped Keep State College Basketball Segregated, 1955-1973, Jason Ashley Peterson

Dissertations

During the civil rights era, Mississippi was cloaked in the hateful embrace of the Closed Society, historian James Silver’s description of the white caste systems that used State’s Rights to enforce segregation and promote the subservient treatment of blacks. Surprisingly, challenges from Mississippi’s college basketball courts brought into question the validity of the Closed Society and its unwritten law, a gentleman’s agreement that prevented college teams in the Magnolia State from playing against integrated foes. Led by Mississippi State University’s (MSU) basketball team, which won four Southeastern Conference championships in a five-year span, the newspapers in Mississippi often debated the …

The Oddity As Commodity: Television And The Modern Day Freak Show, Robin Marie Cecala

Dissertations

A new genre of documentary and reality program has appeared on cable television in recent years. Suddenly, little people, conjoined twins, the morbidly obese, Treeman and Mermaid Girl are the new stars of cable. This latest genre features people with medical conditions once exhibited in the turn of the century freak shows.

The goal of this dissertation is to argue that documentary programming on cable is becoming a modern version of the P.T. Barnum-style freak shows. The analysis uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine representations of race, culture and disability. The dissertation also discusses the history of the …

"Reading" The Apprentice: Commerce, Culture, And The Manufacturing Of Reality, Sharon Simpson Terrell

Dissertations

This study examines the six original seasons of the reality television series The Apprentice as a postmodern, cultural artifact. Grounded in Burke’s (1967) “literature as equipment for living,” and Brummett’s (1984) consideration that televised content constitutes literature, the theory of “televised discourse as equipment for living” provided the guide to examine the series. Hall’s (1980) “reading against the grain” oppositional reading technique was utilized to interrogate both the manifest and latent content. The content of the series may indeed provide the audience with a guide to ideological beliefs of both commerce and culture, thereby creating a manufactured reality for its …

The Impact Of Image And Gender Politics In Hillary Clinton‘S And Angela Merkel‘S Pursuit Of Chief Executive Offices, Lindsay C. Rabalais

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.