Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Texting Versus Talking: Age Sex And Extroversion As Predictors Of Frequency And Preference Among An Undergraduate Cohort., Chris J. Labowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines text messaging behavior of ETSU undergraduates. Data come from a survey of 485 students enrolled during the 2010 fall semester. The current study explores the effects of sex, age, and extroversion on (1) the volume of texts a person sends and (2) preferences for texting or calling. The study also explores the use of cell phones as a means of avoiding others during co-present interaction. Findings reveal that age is the strongest predictor of text messaging, with younger respondents being more likely to text. The study also finds that women prefer texting, while men prefer voice calls. …

Towards The Practice Of Volunteering 2.0: Volunteers’ Digital Choices With Social Affordances In The Web 2.0 Era, Ayse Kok

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

There is little evidence that helps to inform education, practice, policy, and research about issues surrounding the use of online collaboration tools for organisational initiatives (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Cook & Brown, 1999); let alone a single study conducted with regard to the volunteering practice of knowledge workers. The underlying objectives of the research study are to explore and describe how corporate volunteers experience and participate in learning in technology-rich environments; investigate the strategies, beliefs and intentions of corporate volunteers who are effective in learning in technology-rich environments and identity factors that enable or inhibit effective e-learning and make recommendations …

Social Media For Social Good: A Guide To New Media For College Activists, Charles Harris

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In a world of Tweets and status updates, how do we take all those hours perusing social networks and put them to good use? In my thesis project, Social Media for Social Good: A Guide to New Media For College Activists, I explore the uses of these networks to activate people towards building positive social change. It is my opinion that college is the best time to be an activist. How do college students communicate? Social Media. From the campus to the global scale, social media can be effectively used to mobilize people to take action on a wide array …

Discourse And Conflict: The President Barack H. Obama Birth Certificate Controversy And The New Media, Timothy Lee Adams

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A creative exploration of the consequences of public speech in the era of freely accessible, social media, as the author, a former elections official, records and explores the consequences of public dissent in the case of President Barack Obama’s eligibility controversy. This non-fiction narrative culminates with the author’s analysis and observations on both his personal experiences and the state of public speech and political power in contemporary America.

(Don't) Stop Playing That Game: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Video Game Addiction Stereotype, Chet Daniel Breaux

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The growing popularity of game addiction discourse has necessitated study of how video game critics rhetorically construct addiction. In the following thesis, I analyze contemporary examples of texts that link game addiction to drug abuse. I use Robert Cover’s analysis of how game addiction stereotypes form in conjunction with Aristotle’s rhetorical principles to isolate the persuasive appeals used by authors to rhetorically construct game play as addictive. These addiction arguments, however, are rooted in a larger historical context, and I present examples of game guidebooks and comic books published in the late 1970s and early 1980s to illustrate their rhetorical …

One-To-One Laptop Project: Perceptions Of Teachers, Parents, And Students, Matthew D. Constant

Dissertations

One-to-one laptop programs are becoming more prevalent across the world in K-12 institutions. School districts are searching for more engaging tools that seek to have impact on school success, such as grade achievement, college/career preparation, and/or 21st-century skill preparation and attainment. Additionally, boards of education continuously want some positive indication of the return on their substantial financial investment.

This study utilized surveys of three important stakeholder groups (parents, students, and teachers) related to a one-to-one laptop project in a moderately-sized rural Midwestern school district. Perceptions about how often laptops were used in the classroom setting and across content areas (Language …

Hypertext, Narrative, And The Future Of News Writing, Holly Cowart

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis considers how the narrative context in which hypertext has developed offers a solution for transforming print media into an online form. It defines the qualities of the hypertext narrative and looks specifically at how hyperfiction has utilized these qualities. It outlines the aspects of hypertext relevant to shaping an online narrative and then considers how those aspects of hypertext could be applied to one of the forms of narrative, the online news story, that up to this point has not effectively utilized screen-based text. The online news story is an example of words on a screen functioning in …

Electronic Readers Versus Printed Material: An Ecological Comparison, Daniel Lloyd

Graphic Communication

Abstract

With accelerating adaptation rates of technological devices, the benefit of electronics in our society has been under scrutiny for some time. People want to know how much are these advancements truly going to benefit the environment instead of harming it as previous practices have done? This study set out to research the current trend of Electronic Readers, also known as E-readers, by comparing them to already established concerns with printed material.

This report was written in order to expose truthfulness in regards to the E-readers' footprint on the environment and the current inadequacies found in observation of practices offered …

An Iphone In A Haystack: The Uses And Gratifications Behind Farmers Using Twitter, Sarah Van Dalsem

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

The fast-growing social media site, Twitter, is growing in popularity among Americans from all walks of life, including farmers who are using it to share information with other farmers and consumers. This thesis expands on Uses and Gratifications Theory by looking at how farmers are using the social media site to promote agriculture and reach out to others. Based on a qualitative analysis completed on 22 interviews with farmers, four major purposes for using Twitter came to light: (1) Farmers are using Twitter to seek information; (2) they are using it as a tool to lead others within the agricultural …

What's Happening In Semantic Web ... And What Fca Could Have To Do With It, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

The Semantic Web is gaining momentum. Driven by over 10 years of focused project funding in the US and the EU, Semantic Web Technologies are now entering application areas in industry, academia, government, and the open Web.

The Semantic Web is based on the idea of describing the meaning - or semantics - of data on the Web using metadata - data that describes other data - in the form of ontologies, which are represented using logic-based knowledge representation languages. Central to the transfer of Semantic Web into practice is the Linked Open Data effort, which has already resulted in …

Trust Networks: Interpersonal, Social, And Sensor, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Pramod Anantharam

Kno.e.sis Publications

Trust relationships occur naturally in many diverse contexts such as ecommerce, interpersonal interactions, social networks, sensor web, etc. As agents providing content and services become increasingly removed from the agents that consume them, the issue of robust trust inference and update become critical. Unfortunately, there is neither a universal notion of trust that is applicable to all domains nor a clear explication of its semantics or computation in many situations. In this beginner's level tutorial, we motivate the trust problem, explain the relevant concepts, summarize research in modeling trust and gleaning trustworthiness, and discuss challenges confronting us in this process.

The Impact Of New Social Media On Intercultural Adaptation, Rebecca Sawyer

Senior Honors Projects

New social media have become increasingly popular components of our everyday lives in today’s globalizing society.  They provide a context where people across the world can communicate, exchange messages, share knowledge, and interact with each other regardless of the distance that separates them.  Intercultural adaptation involves the process of promoting understanding through interaction to increase the level of fitness so that the demands of a new cultural environment can be met.  Social media and intercultural adaptation are two concepts that have become prominent in our current society.

Research shows that people tend to use new social media to become more …

Old Media Vs. New Media: Characterizations Of Free Speech During Times Of War, Jamie A. Mercurio

Senior Honors Projects

Old Media vs. New Media: Characterizations of Free Speech During Times of War

Jamie Mercurio

Faculty Sponsor:  Dr. Ian Reyes, Communication Studies

If citizens want their voices to be heard, they must know how to make them be heard. This project will outline and discuss several situations throughout recent history in which citizens with significant statements to make managed to catch the eye of the mass media and practically become household names. Each of the cases plays upon American First Amendment rights against a backdrop of two noteworthy time periods in American history: the Vietnam War era (specifically the late …

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 …

Public Interest Standard Characteristics In Hybrid Digital Multicasts Of Noncommercial Educational Radio, Michele Ann Gothard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Radio broadcasting implements digital multicasting in the United States with the adoption of HD Radio from iBiquity. Hybrid digital radio multicasts can upgrade either AM or FM facilities, and stations adopt the technology without loosing traditional analogue broadcasts. Broadcasting with digital technology creates additional channels of information, extending limitations of the electromagnetic spectrum. Scholarly research about hybrid digital technology considers motivations for adoption by stations but has not focused on content of existing multicasts. This study examines noncommercial educational radio multicasts for characteristics of service in the public interest.

Discourse characteristics find a mix of sounds that include both speech …

Understanding Inter-And Intra-Generational Communication Methods Utilizing A Framework Of Message Sensitivity, Thomas Edwin Craft Jr.

Dissertations

This study was designed to determine if differences existed between generations surrounding their preferred communication methods. In examining the social identity perspective of groups, scholars have found that many groups are categorized based on the social structure in which they exist. Generational groups have created their own social structure and set of cultural norms that define each generation. In a recent report released by the Pew Research Center (2010), when the younger generation was asked an open-ended question, "What makes your generation unique?", 24% of those asked responded "Technology Use." One of the unique differences among these generations is the …

The Death Of Music Videos?: An Analysis On The Effectiveness Of Music Videos As A Promotional Tool, Carmen Cheng

Business and Economics Honors Papers

This research explored whether or not music videos remained an effective marketing tool for the music industry after the diffusion of the Internet in American culture. As a result of the transitions in media through which music videos were distributed, this project asked the following research questions: 1. What impact has the airing of music videos on MTV had on music sales? 2. What was the impact of music videos on sales when music videos moved from airing on television to being distributed over the Internet?

Second Life Virtual Universities: A Visual Analysis, Zeenath Haniff

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

General academic objectives include producing an educational experience that is engaging, interactive, collaborative, experiential and productive. The goal is to promote learner engagement through the visual power of a newly adopted medium in education – universities in the multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) of Second Life. Attributes of the virtual reality aid visual learning in the online environment: (1) computer-generated content, (2) three-dimensional graphics, and (3) interactivity. Visual renditions of campus buildings and fellow students as avatars emotionally connect students to feel a sense of presence and community within the virtual learning platform. Additionally, the ability to see and hear their …

Facebook And The Police: Communication In The Social Networking Era, Mari Sakiyama, Deborah K. Shaffer, Joel D. Lieberman

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

An increasing number of police departments are using Facebook to communicate with the public. As with any emerging communications technology, there is considerable variation in the usage of this medium. This study reports the results of a content analysis designed to determine how police departments are using Facebook.

Adaptation Of The Nevada Climate Change Data Portal Web Interface To Small-Screen Mobile Devices, Tsvetan Komarov

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Robust and convenient access to the Nevada Climate Change Data Portal is vital for the project’s success, because of the researchers’ need to gather and analyze large volumes of data with minimal effort. However, the current version of the data portal web interface is not optimized for small-screen mobile devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, iPads, NetBooks, and others. The proposed research will address this issue by exploring the current methods for creating a client-aware web interface adaptable to the variety of small-screen devices, designing and implementing the most appropriate solution, and finally, user testing of the implemented solution.

Media Education And The Development Of Media Competence, Brian O'Neill

Other

The development of media competence is now widely recognized in educational and policy circles as essential to the formation of well-balanced citizens, capable of making their own judgements and participating fully in society. This presentation will focus on efforts in Irish education to support media competence and how it can contribute to sustainable policies for children, youth and families.

Hd Radio Shouldn't Be This Hard: The High Definition Experiences Of Low Tech Community Radio, Michael Huntsberger

Faculty Presentations

Though American consumers have been hesitant to invest in HD Radio receivers, America’s radio broadcasters have spent millions of dollars to construct HD transmission facilities. Most of the investment has taken place in the commercial radio sector, but noncommercial community broadcasters with fewer capital resources have followed the trend as well, including some low power stations serving small markets. A survey of community radio stations reveals mixed levels of satisfaction and frustration with this investment in HD transmission.

Volume 22 Number 2, Newhouse Network, Spring 2010, Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse School Of Public Communications

Newsletters from School of Public Communications - Newhouse Network

In this issue: Dean's column -- 2011 Mirror awards -- Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship -- First Toner Prize awarded -- International experience -- Photographic Excellence -- Daniel Ellsberg -- CR-Z; You & Me -- The best of newspapers -- On Assignment: revolution -- SU goes to Shouth Africa -- Democracy in Action -- Professor Frank Blocca - Tron Legacy -- Let's talk -- Focus on refugees -- The "Fox Kid" -- Covering the Capitol -- Newhouse Guests -- Class notes -- report of donors

Media In Sāmoa: Journalists‟ Realities, Regional Initiatives, And Visions For The Future, Leslie Pyne

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research investigates media freedom in Sāmoa by identifying the country‟s obstacles to freedom of expression and proposing strategies for generating change in the media industry. The paper assesses the local media initiatives of the Journalists Association of (Western) Sāmoa (JAWS), Sāmoa Observer newspaper, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Media and Journalism Programme at the National University of Sāmoa (NUS), and evaluates their strengths and shortcomings in providing services for the community. It also examines how journalists balance cultural sensitivity in reporting and what ideas news organizations, journalists, journalism students, and media educators have for …

Lindenword, Spring 2011, Lindenwood University

LindenWord (2006-2011)

LindenWord was a publication for Lindenwood students from 2006 to 2011.

Toward A Nevada Digital Collaborative, Jason Vaughan

Library Faculty Research

In mid-2008, through Library Services and Technology Act funding, the Nevada State Library and Archives brought together members for a newly established Nevada Statewide Digital Advisory Committee (hereafter referred to as “NSDAC”) to engage in a comprehensive, statewide digital planning process. As stated in the charge, “Advisory committee members participate in the identification of issues regarding digitization in Nevada, collaborate in the planning and development of a statewide digital initiative . . . and contribute to effective communication among the key digital stakeholders in Nevada.” The full charge is provided in Appendix A. By design, the committee included members from …

Why Not Just Google It? An Assessment Of Information Literacy Skills In A Biomedical Science Curriculum, Karl Kingsley, Gillian M. Galbraith, M. Herring, Eva Stowers, Tanis Stewart, Karla V. Kingsley

Library Faculty Research

Background: Few issues in higher education are as fundamental as the ability to search for, evaluate, and synthesize information. The need to develop information literacy, the process of finding, retrieving, organizing, and evaluating the ever-expanding collection of online information, has precipitated the need for training in skill-based competencies in higher education, as well as medical and dental education.

Methods: The current study evaluated the information literacy skills of first-year dental students, consisting of two, consecutive dental student cohorts (n = 160). An assignment designed to evaluate information literacy skills was conducted. In addition, a survey of student online search engine …

Trends In Social Networking And Variable Data Printing, Chelsea Mcallister

Graphic Communication

No abstract provided.

#Reformjo: Jordanian Tweets For Social Reform, Megan Daily

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

What can be said in 140 characters or less? During what has been dubbed the “Arab Spring”, Twitter has been heralded as the catalyst that sparked revolutions. Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain and others have utilized this microblogging site to express opinions, share links, and inform the world what is happening. In the past few months, the number of Jordanians on Twitter has risen sharply. During the course of my research, I aimed to discover if there were “elite users”, people whose opinions had more weight or significance in this dialogue as the Twitter community tends to develop with a distinct …

Internet Usage And Religious Authority: A Case Study Of The Catholic Church Of South Korea, Youngho Park

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This study examines what impact the Internet usage by church members has on religious authority, focusing on a case study of the Korean Catholic Church. The goals of this study are to investigate the ways in which church members use the Internet for communication in the Church, to examine whether and how the Internet usage by church members affects religious authority, and to identify what kind of religious authority is affected. This study encompasses two main parts: historical background of the Church's Internet usage and analysis of the online forums about "The Four Major Rivers Project". The latter is divided …