Journalism Studies Commons^™

Professor Studies Invasive Species In Africa, Nicole Nelson

The Scope

James Vonesh, an associate professor of biology at VCU, recently returned from South Africa, where he focused on an invasive species of frog. His research question: Why do certain species flourish in a new environment while others do not?

Project Tracks Veterans’ Brain Injuries, Riley Murtagh

The Scope

About 20 percent of veterans who fought in the Iraq War sustained concussions. Of soldiers who received head trauma, about 8 percent continue to have symptoms, says Dr. David Cifu, chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the VCU School of Medicine. “We need to understand how they’re going to do in terms of those symptoms.”

Many College Students Abuse Alcohol And Adderall, Vanessa Gleiser

The Scope

VCU Counseling Services has seen the gamut of substance abuse problems experienced by college students. “Alcohol is the most abused substance,” says Kristen Kidd Donovan, one of the counselors. Some students also abuse Adderall, which can have serious health consequences.

Songbird’S Winter Grounds Face Environmental Threats, Kirby Farineau

The Scope

VCU graduate biology student Jessica Reese has documented the environmental threats facing the prothonotary warbler. Development has depleted the mangrove forests of Panama and Colombia where these gray and yellow songbirds spend the winter months.

Commercial Drone Research Takes Off At Vcu, Joe Forcier

The Scope

As microprocessors and mounted cameras have become smaller, unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, have skyrocketed in popularity. But UAVs aren’t just child’s play. Researchers at VCU say the devices could be used in a range of beneficial ways, from inspecting bridges and searching for lost hikers to shooting documentaries and surveying land.

Why Can’T They All Be Best In Class?, Malik Hall

The Scope

Researchers at VCU and the University of Florida are developing positive-reinforcement intervention techniques to address problem behavior that may be more prevalent among schoolchildren from low-income homes. The research has an appropriate name: Best in Class.

Glove’S A Perfect Fit For Patients With Raynaud’S Disease, Riley Murtagh

The Scope

For a senior project, VCU engineering student Jessica Bishop wanted to help people like herself who suffer from Raynaud’s disease, which constricts blood flow in fingers and other extremities exposed to cold environments or stress. So she invented a pair of “magic gloves” that regulate hand temperature in cold environments.

Forum Magazine, Spring 2016

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Forum Magazine, Summer 2016

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Informational Efficiency And The Reaction To Terrorism: A Financial Perspective, Nicholas Roland

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this study is to measure the message terror organizations hope to convey using the financial markets as a proxy of measurement to determine patterns within the marketplace and the effects on the terrorists’ ability to deliver a desired message due to the increased use of digital devices and access to instantaneous news, seen over the past decade. Using death count, geographic location, and event type, this study identified 109 attacks between 1985 and 2015 to be analyzed against 5 market indices and 5 securities. Measuring the effects within a 10-day sample window from the time of the …

Movements In Dialogue: Kaleidoscope And The Discourse Of Underground News, Jeb Ebben

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

From 1967 to 1971, Kaleidoscope shared new and revolutionary ideas, challenged its readers, and created an important venue for intramovement dialogue. Beginning as an outlet for Milwaukee’s burgeoning counterculture and evolving into an important part of the mass movement, Kaleidoscope’s willingness to honestly interrogate the issues facing the community it served meant that it was an arena for tensions to be resolved. That Kaleidoscope, unlike many of the underground papers of the era, never transformed into an unofficial party organ for the New Left allowed it to be uniquely critical of the politics of the mass movement while at the …

Newsrooms And Social Media, Hanna E. Steinker

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify how local newspapers and newsrooms are converging to social media. An Ohio newspaper, The Post volunteered to have its Facebook Pages analytics studied over the course of two months, August through September. A constructed week was formed and four of the company’s Facebook Pages were analyzed. The study intends to examine the current social media position of The Post, assess the potential or areas of growth, and create a best practices manual to propel the selected newspaper’s social media accounts forward. Unlike traditional newspaper consumers, social media users tend to gather their …

Jour 2121: Media Writing (Syllabus), Kim Marks

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Basic instruction in journalistic forms and style; use of computer in composition of news reports or articles and in solution of news writing problems; laboratory writing exercises on computer; one lecture, four laboratory hours per week.

Jour 2121: Media Writing (Syllabus), Darrin M. Devault

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Basic instruction in journalistic forms and style; use of computer in composition of news reports or articles and in solution of news writing problems; laboratory writing exercises on computer; one lecture, four laboratory hours per week.

Perceptions Of Ict Use In Rural Brazil: Factors That Impact Appropriation Among Marginalized Communities, Paola Prado, Alejandro Tirado-Alcaraz, Mauro Araújo Câmara

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

This study of digital inclusion among the rural poor examines how residents of remote mountain communities in Brazil perceive the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). It analyzes social factors that impact ICT appropriation and the behaviors and attitudes that advance digital literacy among marginalized rural populations. The authors conducted factor analysis and logistic regressions to survey data collected. Results confirm the presence of a gender divide in ICT adoption. Women were more likely to perceive that ICT use brings social benefits to the community, and considered that ICTs provide better opportunities for the young.

Ua1c11/89 Jim Burton Photo Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Photographs and negatives taken by Jim Burton documenting life in western Kentucky primarily between the years 1975 and 1980. Venues include Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Owensboro, Madisonville, Cumberland County and Scott County.

Band Formations - Burton was hired by WKU band director to photograph half time performances. It was a freelance job paying $250 per winter semester which allowed him to pay his car insurance.

Bobby Sandige - Bobby was from Burton's hometown of Madisonville and was married in college. Besides being a full-time student, he worked full-time at an underground coal mine. Burton did a feature story on …

Communicative Action And Citizen Journalism: A Case Study Of Ohmynews In South Korea, Seungahn Nah, Deborah S. Chung

Information Science Faculty Publications

Drawing on Habermas’s theory of communicative action, this case study of OhmyNews in South Korea examines how citizen journalism operates in a broad organizational and social context. Through in-depth interviews with professional and citizen journalists, the study reveals that citizen journalism can be well understood at the intersection between the lifeworld and systems. Specifically, the study finds a coexistence mechanism by which citizen journalism competes, collaborates, coordinates, and compromises with professional journalism through communicative action, such as mutual understanding, reason-based discussion, and consensus building.

State Of Mississippi Crisis Communications: Examining Mswin Preparedness, Michael Knox Graham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the Mississippi Wireless Information Network (MSWIN) and its level of preparedness to avert the communication problems for the State of Mississippi that were seen during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, in the event of a similar crisis. It explores the technical workings of the network and the makeup of the Mississippi Wireless Communication Commission (WCC) who oversees MSWIN. It also takes a look at similar networks in Louisiana and Arkansas to compare and contrast those to what is in Mississippi. Primary interviews with the WCC, State of Mississippi officials, and others on the Mississippi Gulf Coast paint a …

The Relationship Between Media And Cultural Identity In Hispanic Families In Mississippi, Marlen Polito

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is a qualitative thesis with in-depth interviews with three children and one parent or caretaker of Hispanic descent. These interviews were conducted to find a connection between media use and cultural identity. By doing a qualitative project the researcher was able to do a video documentary with a written portion explaining the methods and findings. The researcher interviethree students with at least one parent or primary caretaker of Hispanic descent seventh through twelfth grade child, who serves as the main child for the study. This research investigated the relationship between the media and cultural identity among Hispanic children in …

The Impact Of French Camp Academy On Child Abuse And Neglect, Ji Hoon Heo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within the last few decades, child abuse and neglect has not improved in the United States. Government services provides facilities and licensed families for abused and neglected children, but children often do not adjust due to negative past experiences. However, there are other non-governmental programs that help counter child abuse and neglect. This research focuses on one student attending French Camp Academy, a Christian-based boarding school in central Mississippi, in order to shed light on possible ways to stop the vicious cycle that children go through. When children receive the acknowledgment and support from a parental figure, they are more …

Community Newspapers In The Digital Age A Case Study: The Pass Christian, Mississippi Gazebo Gazette, Jace R. Ponder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Print newspapers in the 21st century America exist in a diverse media landscape. Radio, television and online media all compete with newspapers to reach news consumers. With 24-hour cable news and the widespread adoption of the internet, information is available to viewers and readers anytime and anywhere. Much of that information is available free of charge. Traditionally, advertising revenue has carried the costs of print news production. But as the media pie gets cut smaller and smaller, that traditional model is failing to support print newspapers. In the five years since 2010, America has seen a net loss of 331 …

Conversations On Controversy: An Examination Of Internet Discussions On High-Profile Incidents Of Recorded Police Brutality, Brittany Nicole Jefferson

Wayne State University Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the conversations that Internet user have when discussing publicized, recorded incidents of police brutality. This study examined the deaths of Tamir Rice, Eric Garner and Walter Scott and the subsequent discussions about the incidents on YouTube.com, MSNBC.com and NYTimes.com. This was accomplished by using an exploratory content analysis to establish what are the general topics of these discussions. This analysis found that there are 2 major themes that are discussed by Internet users when they comment; the content of the video and the social context of the incident itself. However, the popularity …

Jour 4716: Media History (Syllabus), Joe Hayden

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Major events, stories, personalities, and issues shaping development of mass communication with special emphasis on the history of American journalism, from advent of printing to the age of the Internet.

Jour 3526: Digital Imaging (Syllabus), Jay Adkins

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Photograph as narrative; see, interpret and capture images that communicate information and have meaning and storytelling power; manipulation of digital media with software for use in broadcast, web and print; ethical problems related to digital manipulation. One lecture hour, four laboratory hours per week.

Jour 4410: Public Relations Research (Syllabus), Darrin M. Devault

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Identifying, characterizing and evaluating stakeholder groups and alternative channels of communication; formal research procedures including sampling, instrument design, information gathering, data processing, analysis and reporting.

Slo Assessment Report Feedback Communication Studies - Journalism And Media Communication Ba And Bs 2016, Uno Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Student Learning

Outcomes: The program has eight distinct SLOs (goals). Measures: A single measurement tool (internship supervisor evaluation) was used to assess each SLO. Specific items on the measurement tool were aligned to each of the goals. The performance assessment was completed for 48 students, and a proficiency target was identified (80% assessed as satisfactory or exceptional). Results Reported: The routine data collection over three year period substantiates the results. The internship supervisor evaluation provides the program with results for the eight program goals. Goals 1-7 were assessed with a single data point (one item per goal from the internship supervisor evaluation). …

Rural Reality: How Reality Television Portrayals Of Appalachian People Impact Their View Of Their Culture, Ivy Jude Elise Brashear

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Appalachian people have faced stereotyping of their culture and region in popular culture, news media, and art for generations. For more than 150 years, images of the region have been extracted by outside media makers and disseminated widely, solidifying the “hillbilly” stereotype in the national lexicon. This study focuses on such images in reality television shows about Appalachia, and seeks to determine whether or not those images, and the proliferation of them, has an impact on the ways in which Appalachian people understand and accept their own culture.

Gender Games: The Portrayal Of Female Journalists On 'House Of Cards', Chad Painter, Patrick Ferrucci

Communication Faculty Publications

This textual analysis focuses on the portrayal of female journalists in House of Cards. The uneven depictions of six female journalists could have a socializing effect on the audience. The researchers argue that the character Zoe Barnes is depicted as childlike, unprofessional, and unethical, while the character Ayla Sayyad is portrayed as a dedicated watchdog journalist. The researchers then explore the ethical implications of these portrayals through the lens of social responsibility theory.

Forum Magazine, Fall 2016

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Framing Ole Miss Coverage In Mississippi Newspapers, Christina Steube

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The University of Mississippi, a public institution also known as Ole Miss, is naturally of public interest and consequently is the subject of constant, and sometimes controversial, media coverage. Through the last few years, Ole Miss Athletics has garnered much of that media attention due to its recent successes. However, coverage at Ole Miss, independent of its athletic programs, gets media coverage in a much different way. Sometimes that coverage will involve academic achievements, large financial donations and campus changes. However, other types of coverage, especially over the last four years, have been controversial, dealing with student conduct issues and …