Social Media Commons^™

Placing Notes In The Virtual “Western Wall”: Online Memorial Culture In Chinese Social Media, Xiaoyu Zhang

Master's Projects and Capstones

Each society has a unique way of understanding death and coping with mourning. The increasing online mourners in China gradually generated a collective reference to the Weibo account that belongs to the dead, the “Western Wall.” This project searches for answers to two questions: 1) What characterizes Chinese online memorial practice? And how do these practices compare with those in the Western countries? 2) What aspects of Chinese culture and social conditions can explain Chinese online memorial practices? By combining corpus analysis with thematic analysis on 1,606 comments left on the last tweet of two accounts of deceased Weibo users, …

Instagram And Eating Disorders: An Empirical Study Of The Effects Of Instagram On Disordered Eating Habits Among Young Girls, Katherine Wayles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have studied the relationship between body dissatisfaction and social media use, particularly focusing on young women as vulnerable consumers. Many studies concentrate on the amount of media consumed, rather than the specific activities and behaviors associated with feelings of low self-esteem or poor body image. It is important to determine exactly what behaviors and social media engagements contribute to disordered relationships with food, assessing a user’s pre-existing weight/body concerns in relation to the amount and type of media they consume. Instagram in particular is included in this study, as it is an image-based social networking site where users can …

The Art Of Distancing: A Review Of How To Do Nothing, David J. Mulder, Leah A. Zuidema, Matt Drissell

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

In this symposium style review, Matt Drissell (Associate Professor of Art), Leah Zuidema (Vice President for Online & Graduate Education), and Dave Mulder (Associate Professor of Education) each bring perspectives from their area of expertise.

Posting about the book How to Do Nothing-Resisting the Attention Economy from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/the-art-of-distancing-a-review-of-how-to-do-nothing/

Hair: How Naturals Are Using Social Media To Reshape The Narrative And Visual Rhetoric Of Black Hair, Shari E. Drumond

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Black women’s natural hair has been subject to both praise and scrutiny, though the latter is more common despite the steps taken towards inclusion and diversity. In the age of social media, members of the natural hair community have been able to voice and communicate ideas and issues that are specific to their discourse community. This study explores how the natural hair community uses social media, more specifically Instagram, to discuss the complex issues that surround natural hair including historicization, workplace bias, colorism, and social justice. Additionally, this study argues that natural hair is a form of visual rhetoric as …

Night Of The Witch: Alternative Spirituality, Identity And Media, Andreana Tarleton

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis works to understand the relationships witches and conjurors have with the film and television depictions of them. Employing the method of film critique, I argue that the witch stands as a cultural symbol in the US of women and femmes with power, and that their stories serve as lessons to these populations about what it means to be an acceptable woman or femme, while simultaneously creating and perpetuating stereotypes of magic practitioners. Then, using the combination of hashtag ethnography, in-person and video interviewing and internet surveys, I argue that #witchblr and #witchesofcolor, as well as the space of …

A Partial Presence Is No Presence: Public History Institutions And The Danger Of Social Media, Alex Warren

Graduate Student Research Symposium

243.6 million people use social media in the United States alone: that is roughly ¾ of the population.[1] This massive audience gives the perception that, especially for smaller public history organizations, it is a simple and effective tool to reach their audiences. But this may not be the case. Although social media provides an opportunity to put forth information to a wide public audience in a way that would otherwise be near impossible for many non-profit organizations, the reality of a successful social media presence provides potentially catastrophic results for an unprepared organization.

Effective social media use requires consideration …

Ua12/2/2 Talisman: Zeitgeist, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

2020 Talisman yearbook:

• Mohr, Olivia. Zeitgeist
• Disrupted – Photo Essay, COVID-19
• Brandt, Jess. Cut Short – Edward Games, Grace Jones, Jarred Corona, Joshua Crask
• Zambrano, Max. Point of No Return? – Stuart Foster, Climate Change
• Francis, Kristina. Weapons Women Carry
• Steele, Emma. Now & Again – Talisman
• Gordon, Zora. Not Just Numbers – Sam Aldrich, Social Media
• Christensen, Nicole. The K-Pop Phenomenon – Music
• Hornsby, Morgan. Everything Starts with Mama – Warren County Regional Jail
• McCormick, Dillon. Evolving Sport – Esports, Video Games
• Sheffield, Catherine. Perfect Match – Travis Hudson, Volleyball
• Dozer, Claire. Follow the Signs – Deafness, American Sign …

Facebook’S Façade: Understanding The Disillusionment Of Tunisian Youth, Adam Cooper

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the past nine years, Tunisian youth voter participation has been incredibly low. Once leaders of the country during its democratic revolution in January 2011, youth in Tunisia are now disillusioned with the Tunisian political sphere and have remained absent from formal politics, a transition that is both confusing and worrying. Tunisian youth have also had a dominant presence on Facebook during this time, often utilizing the online space for political activity in lieu of voting in elections and holding membership in political parties. This paper examines the relationship between the Facebook usage and participation in elections of Tunisia youth, …

La Importancia De Los Espacios: Conociendo Los Espacios En Línea Creado Por Los Haitianos Y Organizaciones Haitianas En Chile, Juan Avilez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The state of Haitian migrants in Chile has often been studied through a lens of understanding the reasons for migratory flows and their effects on labor markets within the context of the Chilean state. Notable studies such as that of Pedemonte in 2015 studying the matrixes of exclusion of Haitian migrants in Chilean culture and that of Tijoux in 2015 studying the effects of racism and a neoliberal system on migrants, have adopted to explore the adoption of Haitian migrants to Chilean culture and detail the challenges and ways of community building that the Haitian population in Chile has adapted. …

Geopolitics And The Digital Domain: How Cyberspace Is Impacting International Security, Georgia Wood

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The digital domain is the emerging environment for which the internet and data connectivity exists. This new domain is challenging the traditional place for geopolitics to exist, and creating new challenges to international relations. The use of cyberweapons through direct cyberattacks, such as the possibility of an attack on the U.S. power grid, or misinformation campaigns, such as the one launched by Russia against the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, can expand the international threat landscape. While these new threats increase, states are widely not prepared to address the new challenges in the digital domain. This paper will use three primary …

El Artista Está En Línea: E-Performance En El Tiempo De Covid-19, Ezequiel N. González

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación propone una lectura detallada y comparativa de varias e-performances creadas por el artista visual uruguayo Ernesto Rizzo y la performer argentina Susy Shock, trazando un corpus de trabajo creado durante la crisis de COVID-19 y compartido en Instagram desde finales de marzo a finales de mayo de 2020. Al centrarse en el giro digital del arte de performance debido a las particularidades de la cuarentena, esta investigación busca distinguir este momento de "e-performance", entendiendo cuáles serán sus ramificaciones para el/la artista y el arte de performance en general. Así, a través de una reflexión teórica sobre el terreno …

The Cyclical Influence Of Society And Music, Bailey Gomes

Conspectus Borealis

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 In Indigenous Communities: Five Protective Factors Of “Exercising” Sovereignty, Kelsey Leonard, Natalie Welch, Alisse Ali-Joseph

Faculty Publications

Indigenous Peoples have an inherent responsibility and right to “exercising” sovereignty - the practice of sport and physical activity in performance of our cultural, political, and spiritual citizenship (Ali-Joseph 2018). During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to and equity (inequity) in sport and physical activity has been felt (physically, spiritually, politically) within Indigenous communities. We implement an abundance-based Indigenous approach to understanding Indigenous Peoples’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic through sport and its far-reaching ramifications in Indian Country. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen Indigenous Peoples utilize social media such as Facebook and TikTok to reimagine Indigenous sport …

The Level Of Creative Thinking Of Stem-Oriented Middle And High School Children Associated With The Level Of Self-Motivated Play And Success Within A Builder Game And Engagement In Builder Gaming Communities' Social Media Culture, John Aedo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Literature indicates that the United States has fallen behind other countries in the world in terms of creativity. At the same, children's self-motivated gaming and involvement in gaming communities have grown as a major pass time. The literature is inconsistent on the relationship between games and creativity with some indicating benefit while others indicate harm. Might the observed level of creative thinking among children be associated with the level of a priori self-motivated engagement with creative games and associated social media? Given the wide spectrum of the kinds of games, this research considers the "builder" (e.g. Minecraft) genre and related …

Hear Me Roar, Abigail R. Seethoff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Hear Me Roar, a compilation of personal essays interspersed with short forms, grapples with the nuances of compliance versus autonomy in the context of the male gaze, beauty standards, and pop culture. The collection also explores what it means to treasure something—another person, an object—and how to express and deepen that affection.

The Mothman And Other Strange Tales: Shaping Queer Appalachia Through Folkloric Discourse In Online Social Media Communities, Brenton Watts

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Little work has been conducted on the intersections of queer and Appalachian identities, in part because these two identities are viewed as incompatible (Mann 2016). This study uses a multimodal critical discourse analytic approach to examine the Instagram posts of the Queer Appalachia Project, which represent a substantial body of discourse created by and for queer Appalachians. Of specific interest to this analysis are those posts which employ folkloric figures, such as West Virginia’s Mothman, to do identity work that is queer, Appalachian, and queer-Appalachian. Often, this act is accomplished through juxtaposition with Appalachian imagery and the reclamation of homophobic …

Richard Dyer's Star Theory Applied To Musician/Actress: Lady Gaga, Allora R. Lee

Capstone Showcase

Richard Dyer’s Stars and general studies analyze the unusual phenomena surrounding influential film stars and their unmitigated power to compel and amaze those outside of the spotlight. His studies separate the theory into three intermingling parts: stars as a social phenomenon, stars as images, and stars as signs. There are many components in Dyer’s studies that can be extracted and used in analyses of particular actors and actresses. However, this does not solely revolve around film stars. In this analysis, I will be examining the famous pop music icon and recent actress, Lady Gaga. Through an analysis of her style, …

We Live In A Society: Violence And Radicalization In The Internet Manosphere, Emily Price

Capstone Showcase

In a world of incels, pick-up artists, and other Men’s Rights Activists, friction between the so-called Manosphere and contemporary feminist thought has led to documented violence with regards to American mass shootings. Starting with the violent outbursts of disaffected young men, I will work backwards to the point of contact between the man and the Manosphere. This piece seeks not to draw a connection between radical MRAs and violence – the mass shooters draw that connection themselves in their manifestos by outlining their dissatisfaction with society as it is, and particularly with what they perceive as a politically correct and …

Free-To-Play? An Examination Of Intrinsic Motivation And Gaming Behaviors In U.S. Female Mobile Gamers, Margot Goldblum

Dissertations and Theses

The prevalence of U.S. female gamers has skyrocketed in recent years, largely due to the popularity of mobile games; however, this population is underrepresented in academic research. The present study aimed to close this gap in the literature by focusing on the motivations and behaviors of adult female mobile gamers in the U.S. It also aimed to capture changes in gaming motivation and behavior resulting from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online sample of 354 American women 18 to 77 years of age (M = 36.79, SD = 12.38) were surveyed about their motivations for mobile gaming, …

Cheer Up Luv: An Examination Of The Activistic Efforts Of Eliza Hatch, Jasper (Kirsten) Boyd

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

This paper examines the efforts put forth by Eliza Hatch, who is an established photojournalist and activist, which pertain to women’s rights and sexual harassment all over the world. Hatch has a multitude of projects dealing with sexual harassment and the unequal treatment of women all across the globe. She is mainly based in London and New York, but has also completed projects in Sri Lanka. Through her activistic career, which began in 2017, she has garnered ample media attention and has raised awareness regarding the issues she tackles in her projects. Through her photo-sets, documentaries, and talks at universities, …

Reading Mediations: Modeling Online Critical Literacy Strategies, Lisa Hirschfield

Open Educational Resources

Reading Mediations is an interactive, web-based guide for teaching and learning critical online reading skills. Best used with high school or college students, it includes a selection of critical reading tools and verification resources, guided readings, and structured learning activities. It also presents opportunities for independent exploration and critique of the online news and information ecosystem, with live content provided through Twitter and several news websites.

The guiding principle of Reading Mediations is that the epidemic of misinformation, propaganda, and poor journalism online cannot be eradicated by fact-checking tools alone. It must begin with us, the readers. Learning first about …

How Musical Artists Can Use Social Media For Successful Careers, Kian Hassankhan, Sutirtha Chatterjee

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

This research paper is about elucidating the current business model of the music industry and how artists or musicians can use it to their advantage through social media, specifically Instagram. Through paid and organic advertising, artists, producers and musicians can create successful music business startups and add an additional source of income to their lives. This paper dives deep into real, tangible goals while expanding the philosophy of the aspiring creative entrepreneur by giving them a road map to creating a successful creative brand through the lens of social media.

Racialized Aggressions And Sense Of Belonging Among Asian American College Students, Kevin J. Gin

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

This naturalistic, qualitative inquiry explored how Asian American college students’ encounters with racialized aggressions on social media impacted their sense of belonging at a predominately White institution (PWI). Participants indicated that encounters with racism on social media, especially on the anonymous mobile app Yik Yak, engendered racial distrust, and alienation from their institution. These findings suggest the virtual components of campus culture play a critical role in determining how Asian American college students feel they are welcomed, valued, and included at a PWI.

“Goooooal!”: An Exploration Of The Dutch-Moroccan Footballer Experience, Kate J. Freeman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study seeks to explore how fans of the Dutch national football team, Oranje, engage with the portrayal of Dutch-Moroccan footballers who are navigating between the paradigms of “success story” and “problematic immigrant.” In the climate of the seemingly tolerant country of the Netherlands, we hypothesize that fans of Dutch football interpret and perpetuate the concept that minoritized men have to maintain a flawless performance based on conditions determined by the majority in order to ascertain a higher position in society. By employing Krippendorff’s theory of content analysis (Krippendorff, 2004), we explore the language used to describe three Dutch-Moroccan footballers …

#Bolivia: Trascendiendo Las Fronteras De La Participación Social Y Política A Través De Los Hashtags, Azella Markgraf

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En los últimos años, el uso masivo de los medios de comunicación a través del internet ha cambiado irrevocablemente las formas de socialización y participación pública de la humanidad. Con la existencia de las redes sociales como Facebook y Twitter, los discursos políticos que hace unas décadas hubieran sido restringido por las fronteras materiales ahora se extienden a nivel mundial. Siguiendo la elección nacional de Bolivia el 20 de octubre de 2019, el hashtag #Bolivia se viralizó mientras personas de todas partes del mundo iban discutiendo lo que pasaba en el país. En el presente estudio, observo y analizo el …

Los Efectos De La Socialización Política En Las Percepciones Sobre Los Migrantes Centroamericanos, Katherine Fulcher

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since early 2018, xenophobic attitudes towards Central American Migrants have spiked among Mexican adults. However, it is largely unknown if youth in Mexico feel the same way. This research explores xenophobia among university students through the lens of political socialization, which is the process of developing political opinions, attitudes, and behavior. This study sought to discover what agents of socialization (family, social media, traditional media, and a university education) are most prominent among Mexican youth and what effects these agents have on student perceptions of Central American migrants and migration. To address these questions, a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, …

Utilization Of Social Media In Giving Information Related To Activities And Performance Of Legislative Members (-A Case Study Of Women Legislative Members In The Aceh People's Representative Council (Dpra), Ainol Mardhiah, Dadang Rahmat Hidayat, Agus Rahmat, Nuryah Asri Sjafirah

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The existence of communication media cannot be separated from everyday human life today. Social media provides extraordinary benefits for members of Aceh House of Representatives (DPRA) to get closer to its people. The use of social media to socialize the performance of board members, absorb aspirations and information from the public. The qualitative research method and the case study approach used in this study, this study intends to describe the use of social media in providing information related to the activities and performance of women legislative members in the DPRA in carrying out political communication in Aceh's local parliament. The …

Effects Of Social Media On Self-Image Of Emerging Adults, Floyd M. Curry Jr.

Psychology Summer Fellows

This project extends previous research on social media and self-image and focuses on the developmental phase of emerging adulthood. We measured individuals’ reports of feeling of being in the emerging adult developmental period, their self-concept clarity and ethnic identity, and their use of social media for self-presentation and comparison with others. An online questionnaire was administered to participants who were in the age group of emerging adulthood (18-25 years). Results indicate that those who were in strong agreement that this was a time of experimentation and that this was a time of feeling “in-between” had greater clarity about their self-concept; …

The #Metoo Movement And Its’ Impact In Pakistan, Noor Usman Rafi

MSJ Capstone Projects

The MeToo movement, albeit a social media tool, has practically worked in favor of women empowerment. All the women speaking out against Harvey Weinstein and big Hollywood producers stepping down had a tremendous moral impact on the movement. This gave it so much force and impetus that it translated into a similar trend in India and Pakistan.

Women empowerment and sexual harassment are being discussed regularly in news media in Pakistan. Because of the ripple effect of the hashtag MeToo, victims and sufferers who spoke up have been vital enough to spark this debate. The taboo and silence of ‘being …

Solanum Plastisexum, An Enigmatic New Bush Tomato From The Australian Monsoon Tropics Exhibiting Breeding System Fluidity., Angela J. Mcdonnell, Heather B. Wetreich, Jason T. Cantley, Peter Jobson, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

A bush tomato that has evaded classification by solanologists for decades has been identified and is described as a new species belonging to the Australian “Solanum dioicum group” of the Ord Victoria Plain biogeographic region in the monsoon tropics of the Northern Territory. Although now recognised to be andromonoecious, S. plastisexum Martine & McDonnell, sp. nov. exhibits multiple reproductive phenotypes, with solitary perfect flowers, a few staminate flowers or with cymes composed of a basal hermaphrodite and an extended rachis of several to many staminate flowers. When in fruit, the distal rachis may abcise and drop. A member of …