Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Nonprofit Social Media Internships: A Handbook, Allison Laroy

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This thesis examines how nonprofits can best prepare their interns and how interns can best prepare themselves for a role in engaging audiences through social media. Through a literature review on nonprofit social media and internships, a series of qualitative interviews with interns and supervisors, and my own lived experiences as a social media intern, I develop a handbook for nonprofit social media internships. This guide is relevant to the specific experiences of nonprofit social media internships, includes advice on training, mentorship, and best practices, and finally, it incorporates further resources on nonprofit social media that interns and supervisors can …

Fake News, Epistemic Coverage And Trust, Shane Ryan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article makes the case that a deficit or absence of trust in media sources to report on newsworthy items facilitates acceptance of fake news. The article begins by identifying the sort of fake news that is of interest for the purposes of this article. Epistemic coverage is then explained-in particular, how an individual's expectations about their epistemic environment can lead them to accepting or rejecting claims. The article explains that when an individual believes that mainstream media report on what is deemed newsworthy, it follows that an individual will have grounds to dismiss a newsworthy claim that has not …

Climate Change Frames And Emotional Responses On Reddit, Isabel Iruani Villanueva

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change remains a highly polarized topic in the United States. Research suggests that the divide in climate change beliefs is partly a result of news media’s representation of select aspects of the problem, or framing. Frames influence individuals’ attitudes, emotions, and behaviors towards climate change. Overwhelming representation of certain climate change frames has led to a lack of emotional connection to the issue, resulting in inaction or dismissal. Climate change researchers have investigated the presence and effects of frames on both news media and select social media sites, particularly Twitter. However, little research has investigated the climate change conversation …

Perilous Place: Personal Stories Point To Possible Solutions To Widespread Flooding In The Mississippi Delta, Jared Poland

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and create journalistic stories highlighting the Yazoo Backwater Pumps Projects relationship to climate change while utilizing narrative storytelling techniques. Before explaining the methodology used for conducting research and interviews, the researcher describes the influence that innovations of mass communication channels have had on the way humans form groups and persuasively advocate for their positions. The researcher describes their historical perspective of mass media innovations that were vital considerations during their discovery and investigation of this politically divisive issue. The researcher more specifically focuses on the innovations that have occurred since the digital …

The Impact Of Media Algorithms On The Habermassian Public Sphere And Discourse, Kendal Heavner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Media algorithms are increasing in use among popular social networking sites (Geiger, 2009).Algorithms are used to sort a users’ social media feed based on relevance and interest rather than content publish time (Geiger, 2009). Widely accepted and recognized as influential in the media sector, algorithms create a highly personalized experience for the individual viewer. However, some scholars argue the specified curation of media based on a user’s personal preferences leads to a “filter bubble,” an online-based self-fulfilling prophecy in which users’ pre-existing opinions are continually reaffirmed. Because of this, this thesis will examine the intersection of algorithms and media theory. …

Lethal, Viral, Global: The Role Of Mobile Media And The Growing International Scourge Of Fake News, Gordon Kuo Siong Tan, Sun Sun Lim, Roy Kheng

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The rising ubiquity of mobile-enabled devices has greatly accelerated the spread of online disinformation. Media production and dissemination capabilities are within easy reach of consumers, who may become key nodes in sharing fabricated information. Social media platforms’ advertisement-driven revenue models have encouraged the proliferation of viral and inflammatory content, where journalistic best practices are de-emphasized. Furthermore, opaque algorithms favor fake stories that elicit greater emotional responses from users. Increased deregulation has given mobile media companies considerable freedom over content moderation policies. Finally, emerging mobile technologies have enabled more sophisticated and richer forms of fabricated content to be circulated among a …

Regulatory Goldilocks: Finding The Just And Right Fit For Content Moderation On Social Platforms, Nina Brown

Texas A&M Law Review

Social media is a valuable tool that has allowed its users to connect and share ideas in unprecedented ways. But this ease of communication has also opened the door for rampant abuse. Indeed, social networks have become breeding grounds for hate speech, misinformation, terrorist activities, and other harmful content. The COVID-19 pandemic, growing civil unrest, and the polarization of American politics have exacerbated the toxicity in recent months and years.

Although social platforms engage in content moderation, the criteria for determining what constitutes harmful content is unclear to both their users and employees tasked with removing it. This lack of …

A Tale Of Two Companies: The Importance Of Public Relations Amidst The Shift Towards Corporate Activism, Olivia Schwab

Honors Theses

By comparing the controversies that stemmed from Papa John’s John Schnatter and CrossFit’s Greg Glassman, some obvious public relations strategies stand out, including but not limited to understanding an audience, adapting to a changing environment, establishing a crisis communications plan, and taking controversial stands on issues close to the audience’s hearts. Most importantly though, if companies preach messages of social change, they must follow up on their stances with corrective action to do their best to help facilitate it in society.

While examining the history of corporate activism, it is clear why and how some corporations become the victims of …

Controversy, Coverage And Cancel Culture: The Daily Mississippian's Reporting Of The 2018 Ed Meek Controversy, And Related Findings, Mason Thomas Scioneaux

Honors Theses

As this thesis reflects a body of work completed by a journalism student near the conclusion of a journalism education at the University of Mississippi, I approached research and writing in that way. I interviewed three people, for an hour each, and the things I learned in those interviews greatly affected the conclusions I reached with this thesis. My full transcripts from those interviews are located in Appendices A-C. I also did a lot of scouring through articles of The Daily Mississippian from fall 2018 and otherwise; I looked at every single edition of the paper from that semester, both …

How Risk-Related Statistics, As Reported In News And Social Media, Are Linked To The Use Of The Public Transit System, Prashiddhi Pokhrel

Thinking Matters Symposium

Due to the pandemic, people have started relying more on televisions, news, social media, and other news outlets for guidance. Moreover, with the increasing amount of news, data, and information there is also an increase in the amount of misleading statistics. People’s opinions and decisions significantly depend on the data, statistics, and information that they are exposed to, as well as their sources. For this project, we want to look at how information and its sources are affecting the decision made by the general public for the usage of the Portland Transit System. It is very important to know why …

Navigating Conversations Of Environmentalism On Social Media: From The Apocalyptic To The Aesthetic, Megan Provenzale

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

This project examines environmental discourse and rhetorical appeals used on Instagram by environmental influencers and addresses the lack of scholarship about social mobile commerce, Instagram, and the popularity of “eco-influencers.” My research applies post-composition studies, circulation, and visual rhetoric to two eco-influencers, Greta Thunberg (@gretathunbeerg) and Jessica Clifton (@impactforgood). I argue that Thunberg and Clifton employ aesthetic and apocalyptic rhetoric to educate and communicate with their following about reducing their carbon footprint and reversing climate change. By collecting three months of Instagram posts employed by each influencer, I identify patterns related to environmentalism, stylistic choices in captions, and presentation of …

#Clickbait: Social Media, Attraction, And Relational Development, Albani I. Berryhill

Honors College Theses

In the age of social media networking and online dating, interpersonal communication has evolved. Today’s young adults have grown up during the evolution of social media. Social Penetration Theory (SPT) proposes that interpersonal relationships develop through self-disclosure (Punyanunt-Carter, 2019). As we move from public to more private information in the process of self-disclosure, we develop deeper and closer interpersonal relationships. The purpose of this study is to analyze attraction, perceived authenticity, and relational development on social media through the SPT lens. I argue that Twitter is a popular social media platform that encourages user authenticity and that social media users …

Looking Into The Effects Of The Age Of The Internet, Sarah Schaefer

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The internet has grown to play a large part in our society in the past couple decades, but with the rapid change in technology we have been ill prepared for the effects of our reliance on digital content. Looking into how different demographics and age groups are affected, we come to a conclusion that the general population needs to work to better educate themselves on the impact caused from an overuse of the internet.

What Makes A Successful Social Media Influencer?, Catherine Jokela

Honors Projects in Communication

Social media have changed the way people communicate and live their lives. And as might be imagined, with new platforms come new opportunities. One of those opportunities is becoming a social media influencer. Social media influencers can earn fame and fortune, but how is that success measured? In depth interviews with Katy Bellotte and Mikayla Nogueira, two successful social media influencers, will be analyzed to answer the question, “What makes a social media influencer successful?”

Partisan Trust In Social Media: Who Trusts The News On Social Media And Who Does Not?, Kenneth Morris

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Social Media has changed the way Americans and people around the world receive their news. This advancement in media has political scientists questioning who trusts the information they read on social media sites. The PEW Research Center provides excellent data from a public opinion survey they conducted in 2019. My analysis of the data found that found that the older generations (50 years and older) are more warry of the news they receive on social media. More specifically, the older Republicans have less trust than the other demographics. With President Trump’s Twitter account being permanently banned from the site in …

The Evolution Of Women's Opportunities In The Workplace: A Look At The Past To Interpret The Present, Emily Milich

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

You And I: Parasocial Relationships, Social Media, And Fan Labor In The One Direction Fandom, Kathryn Meese

Honors College Theses

This study aims to analyze the ways in which fans of the band One Direction developed parasocial relationships, or one-sided, non-reciprocal relationships with media personae, through social media marketing, and to explore the economic implications of these relationships in terms of fans’ free promotional labor. At the heart of social media marketing is relationship marketing, or attracting and maintaining customer relationships, a strategy we explore here within the context of the music industry. Previous studies have explored the dynamics of online fan communities, or fandoms, and the free labor they carry out on the part of an artist, such as …

Virtual Community For Fat People In Outdoor Recreation, Amber C. Stephens

University Honors Theses

This paper examines online virtual communities for fat people within outdoor recreation, and how they provide connection, complex agency, and representation for fat bodies in spaces where their bodies are seen as taboo. Furthermore, it will explore the way fat bodies have been historically viewed, the lack of representation of fat bodies in the outdoors and related communities, and the gate-keeping that occurs to those who do not conform to traditional stereotypes of an outdoorsy person. Close examination of two different Instagram accounts that highlight the fat body in the outdoors will reveal three main representational elements that are an …

A Big Data Exploration Of The Informational And Normative Influences On The Helpfulness Of Online Restaurant Reviews, Stephanie Meek, Violetta Wilk, Claire Lambert

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 Edith Cowan University With the proliferation of user generated online reviews, uncovering helpful restaurant reviews is increasingly challenging for potential consumers. Heuristics (such as “Likes”) not only facilitate this process but also enhance the social impact of a review on an Online Opinion Platform. Based on Dual Process Theory and Social Impact Theory, this study explores which contextual and descriptive attributes of restaurant reviews influence the reviewee to accept a review as helpful and thus, “Like” the review. Utilising both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, a big data sample of 58,468 restaurant reviews on Zomato were analysed. Results revealed …

Metaphors, Mental Models, And Multiplicity: Understanding Student Perception Of Digital Literacy, Jason Tham, Kenyan Degles Burnham, Daniel L. Hocutt, Nupoor Ranade, John Misak, Ann Hill Dunn, Isabel Pedersen, Jessica Lynn Campbell

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

This study examines student perception of digital literacy from their engagement with the Fabric of Digital Life, a digital archive of emerging technologies. Through grounded theory analysis we identified the ways students make sense of an unfamiliar technology. Our results show students assign metaphors to understand a new digital platform, apply mental models transferred from previous conceptual domains onto new technologies, and express multiply-layered approaches that facilitated their digital literacy development––an indication for instructors to orient toward an expansive description of digital literacy that caters to student learning needs as well as their professional futures.

Online Behaviors Of Teenagers On The Autism Spectrum, Amelia Anderson, Abigail Phillips

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The Internet can be a source of connection and support for teenagers on the autism spectrum. This study explores how teenagers on the autism spectrum who identify as library users spend time online by addressing the following research questions: How do teens on the autism spectrum participate in the online environment? And, how do teens on the autism spectrum make sense of social media? Quantitative and qualitative data was analyzed from nine participants, recruited through online discussion forums. Implications suggest a potential role for educators and librarians to offer opportunities and support in creating and building online connections.

Internet Regulation In Egypt: Outcomes And Policy Recommendations, Sara Eldemerdash

Theses and Dissertations

With the rapid developments the Internet is witnessing, the topic of internet regulation sees itself taking center stage in a rising global debate among many stakeholders. This debate centers around hot topics and fundamentals such as the rights of free speech and access to information, intellectual property, as well as user and data privacy, and security issues. Egypt is no exception; especially after the uprising and mass demonstrations in 2011 and the growing concerns around internet regulation and freedom of expression.

This thesis aims at examining the development process of the current Internet regulation policy in Egypt to study its …

Instagram Use And Young Women's Body Image And Self-Objectification In Egypt, Sara Hussein

Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigates the effect of Instagram use on young Egyptian women’s body image and how it is related to self-objectification. The aim of this research is to understand how Instagram usage affects women’s body image and makes them dissatisfied with their bodies; besides, it also tests how the comments women receive on their Instagram accounts affect them positively or negatively, and how the more hours they spend on Instagram, the more pressure they face to acquire a better body shape. Additionally, it examines the direct relationship between feministic beliefs and body surveillance and self-objectification. Moreover, self-objectification and Cultivation …

What Does A Pandemic Sound Like? The Emergence Of Covid Verbal Art, Karen E. Pennesi

Anthropology Publications

In times of social upheaval, people create and engage with verbal art for entertainment and a feeling of connection. While millions of people were forced to stay home to reduce the spread of COVID‑19 from March to July 2020, verbal artists posted recorded performances online and viewers had more time than usual to watch and share them. COVID verbal art refers to songs, poems, and comedy skits that mention social and physical distancing, quarantine and isolation, hygiene and cleaning practices, everyday experiences during the pandemic, as well as social and political critiques of policies and practices that explicitly mention COVID‑19 …

An Exploration Of How University Development Officers Can Cultivate Year 0 Alums, Lily Mcknight

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As higher education in West Virginia continues to lose state funding, students’ tuition is increasing to fill the gap. These tuition increases have led to an increased reliance on private funding and a need to creatively approach engaging new potential donors. Year 0 Alumni are an ignored group of stakeholders when it comes to university fundraising, likely due to their limited potential to make large gifts. However, cultivating these relationships demonstrates the long view necessary for future planning, while providing a novel approach for smaller gifts that can accumulate to meaningful support to address the current emerging need.

To this …

Effects Of Clickbait Headlines On User Responses: An Empirical Investigation, Supavich Fone Pengnate, Jeffrey Chen, Alex Young

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study investigates the influence of a conventional method of delivering news headlines, clickbait, on online users’ perceptions and responses. An experiment was conducted on two groups of news headlines—traditional news and clickbait—to provide empirical evidence of the effects of clickbait on online users. The findings suggest that clickbait headlines can evoke users’ arousal and curiosity. In addition, the results from structural equation modeling fill the gap in the literature by providing evidence of the factors influencing users’ intention to read and share online news. The results reveal that while the major determinant of users’ intention to read news stories …

The Uncanny Swipe Drive: The Return Of A Racist Mode Of Algorithmic Thought On Dating Apps, Gregory Narr

Publications and Research

As algorithmic media amplify longstanding social oppression, they also seek to colonize every last bit of sociality where that oppression could be resisted. Swipe apps constitute prototypical examples of this dynamic. By employing protocols that foster absent-minded engagement, they allow unconscious racial preferences to be expressed without troubling users’ perceptions of themselves as non-racist. These preferences are then measured by recommender systems that treat “attractiveness” as a zero-sum game, allocate affective flows according to the winners and losers of those games, and ultimately amplify the salience of race as a factor of success for finding intimacy. In thus priming users …

The Consent Of Man: An Examination Of Privacy Awareness, Surveillance, And Privacy Policy (Mis)Use, Will Reilley Silberman

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

The problem of privacy is nuanced, pervasive, and requires an elevated approach. Given the lack of consistency with regard to privacy’s conceptualization and operationalization, research is needed that examines variables related to privacy to better understand how privacy operates in the present day. This dissertation aims to better understand nuances of privacy by gauging knowledge of online privacy, technological affordances related to privacy, and knowledge of surveillance. In this study, human subjects from a large southern University were presented with an opportunity to use a privacy-invasive smartphone application. After doing so, they viewed one of three privacy policies. Finally, they …

2021 International Crisis And Risk Communication Conference Program, Conference Organizers

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

Program to the to the 11th Annual International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference sponsored by the Nicholson School of Communication and Media.

Teaching College Athletes Social Media Appropriateness, Christina Murray

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It may come as no surprise that Twitter is the most popular social media platform where student athletes, particularly men, post inappropriate content. Male student athletes’ inappropriate tweets have become such a problem for universities, athletic departments, and the NCAA that coaches are forced to place a ban on their players’ social media usage or hire third party monitoring systems. Unfortunately, these reactive responses have not alleviated the problem of athletes differentiating what content is appropriate or inappropriate to tweet on their Twitter accounts. Analysis of the data collected from scholarly journal articles, textbooks, and popular press articles revealed that …