Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Gotta Be Fresh: Comedy Central’S Workaholics, Masculinity, And Paratextual Decay, Adamandrew Lenox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines social media marketing materials for Workaholics, a sitcom aired on Comedy Central from 2011 to 2017, to study paratextual temporality/ephemerality, the “brand as friend” social media strategy, and how masculinity is articulated through paratexts. The project incorporates theories from the fields of social media and internet marketing studies, television content and industry studies, and promotional paratext studies. Research centered on 100 Workaholics X (formerly Twitter) posts, published from January 2012 to March 2017. Posts were collected using Google Chrome extension TwExportly. Qualitative textual and content analysis of these paratexts results in three categories of findings. First, I …

Transmedia Edutainment For Sustainable Advocacy: How Narrative Engagement And Counterarguments Influence Generation Z’S Response To Sustainable Development Messages, Aya Shata, Michelle Seelig, Nick Carcioppolo

Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies Faculty Research

Media convergence has created new forms of storytelling, such as transmedia edutainment (TE-E), which can serve as an innovative communication strategy for promoting pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. Because of the limited evidence about the persuasive outcomes of narrative TE-E, this research investigates the role of TE-E as a novel communication approach that advocates for sustainable development among Generation Z. Drawing on narrative persuasion theories, we conducted an experiment (N = 441) that examined the narrative mechanisms of TE-E, focusing on narrative engagement and counterargument, and assessed the narrative outcomes of different single formats—including video, game, and comic—compared with TE-E. Findings …

Is It Real Enough? A Mixed-Methods Study Of Realism, Engagement And Counterargument In Transmedia Edutainment For Sustainable Behaviors, Aya Shata, Michelle Selig

Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies Faculty Research

Advancements in technology have driven media convergence, paving the way for innovative storytelling formats like Transmedia Edutainment (TE-E), a new promising strategy for advocating prosocial behaviors. However, there is limited research on narrative processing and the persuasive outcomes of TE-E, particularly in environmental contexts. Therefore, this paper examines TE-E as a new communication strategy that leverages storytelling across multiple platforms to promote pro-environmental messaging. Drawing on entertainment-education literature and narrative persuasion theories, specifically the narrative engagement model and perceived realism as theoretical frameworks in this study, to help understand the role and influence of TE-E. Using a mixed-method design, five …

Kairotic Entanglement: Kairos, Artificial Intelligence, Persuasion, And The Search For Meaning – A Literature Review, Jonathan Moore

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper advances to understand kairos in the contemporary context and its relation to emerging persuasive technologies. The ubiquitous and omnipresent nature of digital technologies prompts a deeper understanding of the possible implications of these technologies and the meaning which emerges from human- computer interactions. A substantial literature review was conducted on kairos, captology, and related subterms to understand and interpret the proximal relationships of these concepts. Additionally, a discussion is offered, and a direction for future works is presented. This paper moves to suggest that kairos plays a substantive role in persuasive technologies and human computer interactions by presenting …

Monetary Consumption In Gambling, Digital Gaming And Their Converged Forms: Findings From The Finnish Player Barometer 2022 Study, Jani Kinnunen

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

In the Finnish Player Barometer study gambling games and other types of games, including non-digital and digital game genres, are studied together. This nationally representative study differs from many other studies, which usually concentrate either on gambling or on other types of gaming. The study also includes many of converged forms between gambling and gaming.

Almost all Finns play games at least occasionally. In the year 2022, active digital gamers consumed on average 10,6 € per month on digital gaming, including online gambling. High monetary consumption in digital gaming seems to be connected in active gambling, but also those players, …

Emotional Engagement To Music Is Correlated With Enhanced Frisson Experience But Not Misophonia, Sarah Al-Shimary, Nicole Datastanyan, Shelbie Silvers, Sivan Barashy, Solena Mednicoff

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

There is evidence that individuals who are particularly sensitive or intolerant to sounds are also more engaged or fascinated with positive sounds such as music.

Pm Me The Truth? The Conditional Effectiveness Of Fact-Checks Across Social Media Sites, Austin Horng-En Wang

Political Science Faculty Research

People use multiple social media daily. Some platforms feature public interactions like Facebook, others emphasize private communications such as Line. Although misinformation is rampant on all platforms, literature on fact-checks (FC) focuses primarily on public ones. This article provides an integrated psychological model and argues that FC is less effective on private platforms. People expect to encounter “unwelcome” FCs (incongruent with their beliefs) on public platforms, but selectively approach the “welcome” FC on private platforms. An experiment (n = 601) and a national survey (n = 1060) were implemented to test these hypotheses in the 2020 Taiwan Presidential …

A Social Networks Approach To Interaction Patterns Of Bts Compared To Justin Bieber On Twitter, Soohyun Park, Taisik Hwang

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

A Korean-pop boy band, BTS, has broken the cultural barrier to make changes in the nature of the global pop industry. This study examined the unique approach BTS has taken through social media to building its fan base and interacting with its fans. Twitter datasets were analyzed to explore the nature of BTS’s interaction with its fans on social media, as compared to another pop star, Justin Bieber. Findings and implications are discussed.

Streaming's Effect On American Media Exports, Aviel Geronimo, Jonathan Swanberg

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

The Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is largest in the United States with a total value of $660 Billion in 2020. The global M&E industry is valued at approximately $2 Trillion. New technologies have allowed for the advent of streaming services for music, television, film, books, video games, and more. Streaming services allow media exports to be easily accessed by consumers domestically and abroad.

Ukraine-Russia War: Nevada Twitter And Disinformation Trends, Mary Blankenship, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Elections & Governance

This fact sheet analyzes responses to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia War posted on Twitter by users located in Nevada and identifies the most circulated narratives and disinformation topics.

A Stillness In The Desert? Engaging The Public Through An Immersive Exploration Of Southwest Soundscapes, Julian Kilker, Thomas Bjelic

Creative Collaborations

The pandemic highlighted the anthropocentric nature of soundscapes, while the recent popularity of electric cars, quadcopters, and “noise cancellation” earbuds demonstrated how consumer products can rapidly change our awareness of sound. While light pollution is already extensively addressed in scholarly research, popular works such as The End of Night, and public engagement such as The International Dark Sky Association, the complex interplay of sound, natural resources, and public engagement is still emerging, particularly in creative fields.

Two UNLV scholars and artists are collaborating on this project: Julian Kilker, who specializes in visual and emerging technology research, and Tom Bjelic, who …

Shaping Success For Mobile Applications Of Integrated Resorts, Krista Larsen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As smartphones have become indispensable in society, it has become critical for integrated resorts to develop mobile applications ("apps") that serve as a marketing tool and an enhancement in the customer's travel journey. This research reviews the features of existing mobile travel apps, in addition to areas of opportunity for future innovations regarding this platform. Based on this research, this study recommends best practices for an integrated resort's mobile app. The findings of this study can be leveraged as a resource when developing and maintaining mobile apps within the hospitality industry to provide an optimal guest experience throughout the entire …

Communication Outside Of The Home Through Social Media During Covid-19, Natalie Pennington

Communication Studies Faculty Research

This study explored, through quantitative and qualitative survey analysis (N = 307), the role of communication through social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in April 2020 to understand how individuals engaged with their network through social media and the subsequent relationship with subjective well-being, conceptualized as loneliness, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affect. Results identified that passive social media use contributed to greater loneliness and a decrease in life satisfaction. Some active use of social media contributed to an increase in positive affect. However, other active uses increased feelings of loneliness. Results also spoke to …

Engaging Remote Students Through Planning And Play Using Shared Google Docs, Julian Kilker

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Like many faculty teaching remotely, I faced challenges with student engagement, participation, and feedback, as well as balancing planned and impromptu course activities. In response, I explored using Google Docs to create productive and playful collaborative spaces inspired by Marie Foulston’s informal “Party in a Shared Google Doc” social experiment.

Development Of The Smartphone And Learning Inventory: Measuring Self-Regulated Use, Kendall Hartley, Lisa D. Bendixen, Lori Olafson, Dan Gianoutsos, Emily Shreve

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

Smartphone use in learning environments can be productive or distracting depending upon the type of use. The use is also impacted by the learner’s view and understanding of the smartphone and self-regulated learning skills. Measures are needed to specify uses and learner understandings to address the implications for teaching and learning. This study reports on the development of a multi-factor inventory designed to measure multitasking while studying, avoiding distractions while studying, mindful phone use, and phone knowledge. The inventory was completed by 514 undergraduate students enrolled in a first-year seminar. The results indicate good reliability and a three-factor structure with …

Chatting Online: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Educator Discourse On Social Media, Lindsay J. Russell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study sought to examine the online discussions of teachers located in the Southwestern area of the United States regarding social justice issues on social media. Specifically, it looked to discover how educators in this region are attempting to assert agency when faced with socially inequitable situations. Teachers in this region are hired as public employees in a state that penalizes public workers for exhibiting opinions (SRS § 288.260, 1969).

The study utilized Cultural Historical Activity Theory along with Critical Multiculturalism to demonstrate that our present actions are culturally and historically situated while illuminating hegemonic forces. The study found that …

What Predicts Social Casino Game Playing? Interrelations Of Social Casino Gaming, Gambling, And Demographic Factors, Jani Kinnunen, Joe Macey

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Social casino games (SCG), for example those played on Facebook and on mobile devices, are one of the most profitable genres of free-to-play games. They are also an example of a convergence trend, where the line between gambling and digital gaming is blurring. Digital games integrate gambling elements, such as loot boxes, while new forms of digital, online and hybrid gambling games use similar immersive elements as those which are employed in video games.

The Finnish Player Barometer 2018, a nationally representative dataset (n = 946), included questions about digital gaming, gambling and SCG. It reveals that 5.9% of Finns …

Are Social Media Comparisons Thieves Of Joy?, Jessica F. Saunders, Asia A. Eaton

Research Briefs

Women's eating behavior is impacted by socio-cultural factors, regardless of the main social networking site they use.

Broadcast News Directors' Perceptions Of Race: A Survey Of Psychological And Sociological Measures, Amaya Nichele Worthem

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding the role of media in the lives of consumers has been a longstanding concern of various scholars. Although the news media do not tell consumers what to think explicitly, they do imply what consumers should think, via the contexts in which news is presented. The central thrust of this thesis is a psychological and sociological perception study of news directors’ implicit and explicit perceptions of race when creating news content. The aim is to discover whether an implicit or explicit racial bias can be found amongst some news directors when covering racial minority groups. A better understanding of bias …

"Nobody Can #Dragmedown": An Analysis Of The One Direction Fandom's Ability To Influence And Dominate Worldwide Twitter Trends, Nicole Kelsey Santero

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With more than 25 million followers and counting, One Direction is currently the biggest boy band in the world, and its fans—known as “Directioners”—have become one of the most visible and recognizable fandoms to utilize social media, especially Twitter. Drawing upon an updated version of a fan theory highlighting the interpretive community and social hierarchy that exist within a fandom, this study examines the participatory culture among One Direction fans online that helps them create and dominate worldwide Twitter trends, as well as overshadow what is regarded as more serious news topics. Although previous research studies have examined Directioners and …

Investigating How Restaurant Week's Price Promotion Affects Diners' Online Perceptions, Jian Zhao

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Price promotion is being widely employed in the global restaurant industry. This exploratory study uses online user-generated content (UGC) to investigate how price promotion affects diners’ perceptions. The study uses secondary data extracted from a Chinese third-party review website, Dianping.com. The data was separated into Restaurant Week’s price promotion group and non-price promotion group for comparison. Structured content analysis and further chi-square tests were used to analyze qualitative data, and a two-way MANOVA was applied to analyze quantitative data. Empirical evidence shows that food, service, and environment are the top three determinant attributes for full-service restaurants, and they are not …

Jihad In The Global Village: Al-Qaeda's Digital Radicalization And Recruitment Campaign, Katie Cannata

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Following America’s “War on Terror,” al-Qaeda and its affiliates became highly decentralized in terms of organizational and media operations. Though mass media outlets continue to play a significant role in drawing attention to al-Qaeda’s transnational campaign, Salafi Jihadists have recently begun to rely on new media for purposes of legitimization and promotion. The Internet serves as a suitable platform for these groups’ media objectives since it is inherently anonymous and absent of censorship. Most importantly, the Internet facilitates al-Qaeda in reaching a global audience, which is made evident by the growing amount of Salafi Jihadist media that is translated or …

Jiahd In The Global Village: Al-Qaeda's Digital Radicalization And Recruitment Campaign, Katie Cannata

Honors College Theses

Following America’s “War on Terror,” al-Qaeda and its affiliates became highly decentralized in terms of organizational and media operations. Though mass media outlets continue to play a significant role in drawing attention to al-Qaeda’s transnational campaign, Salafi Jihadists have recently begun to rely on new media for purposes of legitimization and promotion. The Internet serves as a suitable platform for these groups’ media objectives since it is inherently anonymous and absent of censorship. Most importantly, the Internet facilitates al-Qaeda in reaching a global audience, which is made evident by the growing amount of Salafi Jihadist media that is translated or …

Virtual Rebel Website: A Strategy To Increase User Engagement Through Bounce Rate Analysis, Michael Vendivel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In a media environment that increasingly demands captivating content on a website, user engagement becomes a critical factor in the strategy of maintaining user interest. Research based on website analytics has shown that decreasing the Bounce Rate increased the time a web user spends on a website, entailing higher user engagement. Bounce Rate is the ratio of single-page visits on a website divided by the total number of visits, and it is used primarily used to quantify user interest. By examining the analytics and design of the student-run news siteVirtual Rebel, produced by the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and …

Attributions And Coping Behaviors Communicated Among Bullied Students: An Analysis Of Bullying Blogs, Carly Marie Danielson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Student bullying is a growing and damaging problem in society today. This study investigates the role of bullied students' attributions and coping strategies through Heider's (1958) attribution theory (AT) and Crick and Dodge's (1994) social information processing model (SIP). Rich data are obtained from bullying blogs that showcase how bullied individuals make sense of their experiences online. The important findings that emerge from this investigation relate to similarities in men's and women's attributions and differences in their coping strategies and resources to manage victimization. Additionally, both men and women experienced similar negative outcomes with particular coping strategies and resources, suggesting …

Does Access To Information Technology Make People Happier? Insights From Well-Being Surveys From Around The World, Carol Graham, Milena Nikolova

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

This lecture summarizes new research on the relationship between access to cell phones, TV, and the internet and subjective well-being worldwide. Technology access is positive for well-being in general, but with diminishing marginal returns for those who already have much access. It is also associated with increased stress and anger among cohorts for whom access to the technologies is new. The increased financial inclusion in very poor countries that comes with cell phones and mobile banking also has effects on well-being. Well-being levels are higher in the countries with higher levels of access to mobile banking, but so are stress …

A Christian Mega Church Strives For Relevance: Examining Social Media And Religiosity, Kenthea Albert-Leigh Joan Fogenay

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between Facebook and Twitter uses and gratifications and religiosity. Non-denominational Christian mega churches focus their outreach programs on a "come-as-you-are" attitude with the hopes of making people feel comfortable. The interactive technology in our daily lives also infiltrates our experience at church. The congregation now has the ability to worship through technologies endorsed by leadership (Watson & Scalen, 2008; Bogomilova, 2004; Thomas, 2009). In order for churches to engage in effective communication, they must understand how people use social networking. Through survey methodology, the researcher takes an account of how …

Streaming Media Hosting Provided By Libraries, Cyrus Ford Zarganj

Scholarship Colloquium

Describes the different kinds of streaming media and things libraries should keep in mind about them.

Digitizing And Hosting Streaming Media Directly From Libraries, Cyrus Ford Zarganj

Library Faculty Presentations

The main objective of this poster is to show how libraries can provide an “online video library” to library users. Library users with a computer and an Internet connection can view videos through the library website. This poster also includes the technical aspects of making streaming videos available to library users.

Audience Image Preferences Of 1080i And 720p High Definition Video Formats: An Experiment, Michael Thomas Stubben

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The two main kinds of high definition television video formats broadcast in the United States are 1080i and 720p. Both formats are claimed to have advantages and disadvantages relative to the other format. However, there has been little academic research to determine viewer preferences of these formats, and whether the stated claims about each format's strengths and weaknesses are valid. This thesis addresses this lack of research by employing an experiment to determine viewer perceptions and preferences of these two high definition formats.

The two major findings from this study pertain to viewer preferences of 1080i/720p with regard to motion, …