Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Resignation Or Resistance? Examining The Digital Privacy Attitudes And Behaviours Of East Yorkers, Kaitlyn Cavacas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Digital technologies have become enmeshed in everyday life causing the public to become exposed to potential privacy risks through data collection and aggregation practices. Further, the upsurge in use of social networking platforms has also created opportunities for privacy violations through institutional and social surveillance. Employing a qualitative thematic analysis, this study explores how adults (N=101) living in East York, Toronto, navigate privacy through their use of the internet and digital services. Participants expressed feelings of mistrust, loss of control, resignation, and perceived self-unimportance with regards to their digital data. Importantly, others noted their desire and attempts to …

I Love Fashion Influencing And I Hate It At The Same Time, Nicolette Muro

Capstones

When I started my blog and my social media accounts at the end of 2016, I never thought I would have any success with them or any intentions of turning them into a business. Flash forward to present day October 2019, and I have over 11,000 followers on Instagram, I receive over 46,000 views on Pinterest and 3,000 monthly views on my blog. I’ve worked on sponsored posts with well-known brands such as KIND and Who What Wear and I make enough monthly revenue that I no longer have to work a retail job as an additional source of income. …

Social Justice Through Social Media: The Use Of Twitter As A Tool For Activism In The #Metoo #Blacklivesmatter Era, Laura L. Coleman

LSU Master's Theses

This study focuses on social justice and how people on Twitter chose to talk about it. The rise of social media has allowed Twitter users to speak more freely in more spaces than one. The study compared two different sexual assault cases between Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Professor Christine Blasey; and Virginia’s Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax and Vanessa Tyson. Applying the social responsibility theory, which allows free press without any censorship, I then can see the tone of which Black Twitter users have when talking about two separate sexual assault cases. This study compares the use of the #BlackTwitter hashtag …

The Role Of Digital Diplomacy In Uae Foreign Policy: Strategies, Challenges And Opportunities, Khadija Ali Mohammed Al Mazrouei

Theses

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is emerging as a world leader in digital diplomacy due to its excellent communication infrastructure and willingness to connect with the outside world as part of it is foreign policy goals. In spite of the UAE’s central role in this digital diplomacy phenomenon, not much by way of research has been conducted into the UAE’s efforts. Thus, this thesis seeks to fill the research gap by addressing three key research questions vis-à-vis UAE’s digital diplomacy. First, what are the UAE’s digital diplomacy strategies? Second, what are the benefits of digital diplomacy to the UAE? Third, …

An Examination Of The Use Of Social Media To Improve The Psychological Well-Being Of Saudi Arabia Women, Shoaa Ahmed Dardoum

Theses & Dissertations

Social media is used increasingly for different purposes, playing an important role in peoples’ lives. It has been reported that social media is involved with the mental health profession as it offers a way to communicate with mental health providers and peers who share similar concerns. People with mental illnesses who have utilized social media to share and find mental health information have reported positive outcomes related to their mental health status. However, additional research is needed in regard to the mental health status of general populations. As such, this quantitative study was intended to examine the use of shared …

Countering Anti-Vaccination Rumors On Twitter, Ji Won Kim

Dissertations - ALL

This study examined the effects of the counter-rumor on changes in the belief about the anti-vaccination claim, anxiety associated with the rumor, intentions to vaccinate a child and share the rumor. Particularly, we tested whether argument strength, source expertise, as well as the recipient’s previously held attitude toward vaccination, could affect these outcomes. First, the pilot tests were conducted to check source expertise (N = 161) and argument strength (N = 74; N = 73) and select sources and messages used in the experiment. A 2 (argument strength: strong vs. weak) x 2 (expertise source: high vs. low) between-subjects factor …

A Multimodal Approach To Sarcasm Detection On Social Media, Dipto Das

MSU Graduate Theses

In recent times, a major share of human communication takes place online. The main reason being the ease of communication on social networking sites (SNSs). Due to the variety and large number of users, SNSs have drawn the attention of the computer science (CS) community, particularly the affective computing (also known as emotional AI), information retrieval, natural language processing, and data mining groups. Researchers are trying to make computers understand the nuances of human communication including sentiment and sarcasm. Emotion or sentiment detection requires more insights about the communication than it does for factual information retrieval. Sarcasm detection is particularly …

Public And Private In The Blogosphere, Sarah Ford

Doctoral Dissertations

The public/private distinction is one of the most influential concepts of the modern era, both in terms of social theory and everyday life. For many, public and private have been treated as completely separate. The assumption that public and private are a dichotomous pair has influenced numerous aspects of social life, ranging from the gendered division of labor to the development of the suburb. However, the division between the public and private realms has proven to be permeable; the public and private realms have bled over into one another, and can no longer be treated as dichotomous. Information and communication …

A Study Of The Diffusion Of Innovations And Hurricane Response Communication In The U.S. Coast Guard, Melissa L. Leake

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

Hurricane Harvey (HH) is considered to be the first natural disaster where social-network applications to request help surpassed already overloaded 911 systems (Seetharaman & Wells, 2017). Increasing interpersonal connectivity via Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites correspond to an increasing need for researchers and responders to recognize how people use social media platforms to connect, share, and receive information especially during times of crisis such as natural disasters. Heightened public perceptions and expectations of response efforts in the digital era make it especially important for first responders to evaluate, monitor, and adapt to these shifts in communication. Disaster-relief groups …

Cyberspace Is Becoming Unsafe For Women In Pakistan, Sara Tanveer

MSJ Capstone Projects

This study explores the challenges faced by students in Pakistan who become victim of cyber harassment. Due to the lack of awareness, people do not know about cyber-crime and do not know that it is the violation of human rights. The Human Rights Ministry has no sense of urgency to work on the issue. According to the Human Rights report 2018, since 2004, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has recorded more than 6,000 cases of sexual violence and 2,200 cases of domestic violence against the women. The violence is mostly connected with the online harassment in the form of …

Afro-Latinx Online Communities: Creating Connections Through Social Action., Rita Damiron Tallaj

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Considering the power of online media to create communities, this thesis examines how the power of social media is harnessed by the Afro-Latinx individuals to mobilize and call to actions those who identify under the same social category and create a powerful online community to come together in support and advocacy virtually. Through a digital ethnography, this research observes three Instagram pages and performs a textual analysis on 3 posts to further understand the Afro-Latinx community and their adoption of Instagram to create online communities. Find-ings emphasize the importance of creating and maintaining a niche, user engagement and mem-ber satisfaction

Correcting Fear-Arousing Disinformation On Social Media In The Spread Of A Health Virus: A Focus On Situational Fear, Situational Threat Appraisal, Belief In Disinformation, And Intention To Spread Disinformation On Social Media, Jiyoung Lee

Dissertations - ALL

Disinformation is prevalent in the current social media environment and circulated just as quickly as truthful information. Research has investigated what motivates the spread of disinformation and how to combat it. However, limited research focuses on how fear-arousing disinformation during crises affects individuals’ belief in disinformation and to what extent corrective information can subdue the persuasive effects of fear-arousing disinformation. To address this gap, this research tests the effects of fear-arousing disinformation and different types of corrective information (i.e., no corrective information, simple corrective information, or narrative corrective information) on belief in disinformation and intentions to spread disinformation on social …

Queering Virtual Groups: Exploring Facebook Groups As A Space For Identity Construction And Social Justice Among The Lgbtq Community In India, Sreyoshi Dey

Dissertations - ALL

India has emerged as one of the top users of the Internet. However, the question is how the rise of the Internet influences a society like India, which is still struggling with issues like poverty, literacy, employment, religion, and gender. This research endeavors to explore one aspect of that question by studying the role of the social media platform – Facebook Groups, for the LGBTQ community in India against the backdrop of the societal taboos and lack of legal support for the queer community, coupled with the existing infrastructural loopholes like education and technology. Over the past couple of decades, …

Womenpreneurs In A Digital Environment: Utilizing Instagram To Build A Personal Brand, Michelle N. Nuñez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Personal branding on social media is a growing and expanding field. The present research works to uncover the processes and practices of womenpreneurs and the ways in which they utilize social media, specifically Instagram, to build and maintain their personal brands. Grounded theory is used to underpin the research and provide a basis of which the study is conducted. The review of literature provides the context necessary to support the methods of a content analysis and semi-structured interviews. There is a gap in research as it pertains to the conceptualization of personal branding practices on Instagram and the present study …

Making Health Social: Effects Of Health Psa Videos On Social Media, Adriana Mucedola

Theses - ALL

In the digital age, social networking sites are an essential tool for health educators to promote and spread awareness about health issues that may be plaguing society. Internet communications, such as social media, offer tremendous opportunities for modifying health because it allows people of all demographics to access health information. The present study examined the effectiveness of health public service announcement (PSAs) videos on social media and examined how the heuristics of social media “likes” may play a role in how social media users perceive these health messages. To assess how health messages on social media are perceived, this thesis …

Can Cooler Heads Prevail? New Media Technology And Affective Polarization, Brian Kendall Watson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Are new media technologies stirring up negative partisan feelings in the American public? Can researchers find ways of using new media tools to reduce affective polarization? Relying on a series of experiments featuring online newsfeeds and social media discussions, this dissertation seeks to answer these questions by testing the influence of partisan news and political discussions in realistic Internet environments. Two custom news “portals” (2016, 2018) expose participants to actual partisan news content. Two Facebook discussion experiments (2017, 2019) randomly assign participants to start real political discussions on their personal social media accounts, using discussion-initiation strategies designed to reduce partisan …

Relationship Management Communications By Nhl Teams On Twitter, Kelsey M. Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The sports industry is massive, bolstered by its relationship with media. A recent development in the sport industry is the advent of social media, which offers the potential for two-way communication between sports organizations and their relevant stakeholders. Relationship management theory helps cultivate an understanding of social media as a vehicle for value creation for an organization and its stakeholders. This thesis is a content analysis of relationship communications strategies on Twitter using the accounts of five National Hockey League teams.

This study builds upon existing literature by identifying stakeholder groups targeted on Twitter by NHL teams, defining subcategories in …

Radicalization Through The Internet: How Isis Became So Successful And Why The United States Needs To Catch Up, Ana Sofia Florez

Senior Theses

It is no secret the Islamic State of Syria, otherwise known as ISIS, has become one of the most dangerous and brutal terrorist organizations in recent history. In recent years the Islamic State has been gaining strength and followers from around the world. Individuals from other countries will leave their homes and families after contact through social media to travel to Syria and fight alongside the organization. This thesis provides insight on the dangerous implications ISIS’s perfection on online recruitment and their successful radicalization tactics has. It will also provide an explanation as to why nations, specifically the United States …

Posting Straight From The Art: An Analysis Of How Nonprofit Performing Arts Centers Use Social Media To Engage Audiences, Sean Quinn

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

With the NEA in jeopardy under President Donald Trump, nonprofit performing arts centers need to connect with potential donors now more than ever. Yet little research has been done into how venues should accomplish this. This project attempted to remedy that by analyzing what types of messages six nonprofit performing arts centers in the New York metropolitan area posted on Facebook and Twitter over a one-week period and which kinds of messages online audiences engaged with the most. Using the results, the study proposed seven recommendations public relations staff members can use to enhance their social media efforts and build …

Users' Knowkedge And Social Media Sharing Behaviors, Jianan Hu

Theses - ALL

The success of social media marketing tactics is highly dependent on the understanding of social media users' information sharing behaviors. Social media user’s likelihood to share is related to various factors, such as knowledge, belief and personality traits. Survey data from 504 American social media users reveals that users' perceived knowledge about social media marketing tactics positively related to their perceived benefits, which further associated with their likelihood of sharing information on social media. Findings also indicate that users' desire for control partially mediates relationship between users’ knowledge of social media tactics and their likelihood to share information. However, the …

A Social Media Analysis Of Coastal Carolina Football, Sean Ference, Andrea M. Bergstrom

Honors Theses

This is an undergraduate senior capstone project that analyzes how social media can be used to enhance CCU Athletics, specifically football.

Identity And Sense-Making Through Narrative Processes On Social Media Platforms, Brenda Mandel

Anthropology

This paper provides an overview of existing research into narrative processes, sense-and identity-making, and digital social medias for the purpose of analyzing how social media platforms facilitate individual production of self under the framework of narrative. General aspects of narrative and how individual producers consciously and unconsciously adhere to those frameworks when representing themselves on virtual spaces are a central focus. This discussion further examines specifically how virtual and non-virtual spaces relate in terms of how social media platforms enforce and reinforce existing social structures in positive and negative ways. I also aim to stimulate further discussion on the implications …

Worcester Chamber Of Commerce: Recruiting Minority Business Owners, Ryan Dimaria, Alexander Hull, Xikun Lu, Haopeng Wang, Jiacheng Hou, Danning Zhao

School of Professional Studies

Our capstone project was to help the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce identify how to re-frame their marketing so it would be appealing to immigrant and minority owned businesses. Based on interviews and external research, our group was able to create a tangible and resourceful data set that provided justified recommendations and ideas on how the Chamber could make adjustments to their marketing plan to attract more businesses of this particular demographic in the city of Worcester. By implementing these recommendations, we believe the Chamber has the opportunity to create a more diverse group of Chamber members, add value to …

Harnessing Social Media For Good: How Human Service Nonprofit Organizations Use Social Media To Connect To Stakeholders And Clients, Angela C. Volpe

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

This banded dissertation examines how human service nonprofit organizations use social media to connect to stakeholders and clients and makes suggestions for how nonprofits can best utilize this powerful medium in their practice.

The first scholarly product was a qualitative systematic review that examined the existing literature regarding how human service nonprofit organizations use social media to enhance their provision of services for clients. Themes discovered included types of social media being used, levels of human service nonprofit organizations (HSO) social media engagement and reasons for use, and barriers to social media use.

The second scholarly product was a case …

Social Media Usage And Its Effect On Quality Of Adolescent Social Relationships, Sadie Saltzman

Sociology Senior Seminar Papers

Does the number of social media platforms that an adolescent uses have an effect on the quality of their social relationships? As social media continues to grow and evolve, sociologists have begun to explore its effect on an individual’s everyday life. I propose that the more social media platforms that an adolescent uses, the more they will experience negative effects on their social relationships. Using survey data from 786 respondents living in the United States, ages 13 to 17 and collected by the Pew Research Center in 2014 and 2015, regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between social …

When Social Media Takes Your Money: In-App Shopping And Buyer’S Remorse Study, Catie Jaffe

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Search For Mollie Tibbetts: How Social Media Functions In Missing Persons Cases, Alexandra R. House

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Character Count Or Vote Count: How Social Media Has Shaped Modern Politics And Challenged The Meaning Of Civic Engagement, Hannah Scott

Honors Theses

Social media has taken the world and compressed it into a single button for all to access. As tactics and protocol has already changed, social media has reached its invisible hand into modern U.S. politics and has altered the landscape of political action. Through surveys, article analysis, and social media observation, this study examined how social media has changed modern civic engagement, if social media can even be considered civic ‘engagement’, and how it has separated itself from ‘traditional’ civic engagement. Through previous literature and a conducted survey, the finding of this study suggest that social media not only positively …

User's Ability To Detect Fake News In Online Environments., Aleeza N. Gardner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technology has drastically changed the way people consume news. Due to the rise of online spaces built for users to share content, there has been a rise in the spread of false information. Social media platforms, Facebook specifically, provide their users with personalized content based on their interests. The ease of spreading information online coupled with the anonymity of the Internet, creates a breeding ground for potential misuse of information. This study sought to examine how users view themselves and others were influenced by fake news on social media if the post is denoted as fake, or if the post …

Right-Wing, Nationalist Discourses And Counter-Discourses On Twitter During The European Migrant Crisis, Ramona Kreis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines right-wing, nationalist-conservative discourses on Twitter. Specifically, this study explores the features of right-wing discourses and counter-discourses in the context of the European migrant crisis in 2015 and the terrorist attack in Berlin, Germany, in 2016. Informed by critical discourse analysis and multimodal discourse analysis, the analysis focuses on discursive strategies and semiotic and multimodal resources found in tweets that either endorse or challenge anti-refugee stances during the aforementioned time frames. Additionally, this study explores to what extent the platform-specific technological affordances facilitate dialogic interaction between users who express right-wing opinions and users who challenge right-wing discourses.

The …