Social Media Commons^™

Conservation Communication In Web 2.0: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Alveus Sanctuary's Strategies On Twitch.Tv, Hope Denison

Senior Theses

This thesis examines how environmental creators can effectively transmit conservation messages in the evolving Web 2.0 media environment. The case of Alveus Sanctuary, a virtual sanctuary and education center on Twitch.TV, is used to explore the strategies currently used to engage audiences and raise ecological awareness online. Thematic analysis of interviews with the sanctuary’s founder revealed that Alveus combines traditional environmental education with an influencer business model to engage online audiences, leveraging parasocial behavior, interactivity, and collaboration to garner support. A quantitative content analysis of social media posts revealed that these strategies effectively induce parasocial engagement in online spaces. These …

What’S Critical In Critical Media Literacy? Barriers And Good Practices In Adult Education, Stefanie Mayer, Stefanie Fridrik, Josef Mühlbauer, Brigitte Temel, Viktoria Eberhardt

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

While there is broad consensus regarding the social and educational need for CML, its actual didactic content and especially the meaning of ‘critical’ are far from clear. The article argues for a turn to educational practices. Findings are based on empirical research on adult education in Vienna (Austria) consisting mainly of interviews with expert-practitioners in the field of adult education and media and/or digital literacy. We confront academic definitions of the critical impetus of CML with an analysis of innovative projects, which were designed for accessibility and addressed learners facing high educational barriers. Our findings encourage a turn towards the …

From Texas To Tehran: A Multilingual, Irgc-Affiliated Influence Operation On X, Instagram, And Bluesky, Ella Murray, Darren Linvill

Media Forensics Hub Reports

We disclose and analyze a new network of at least 62 accounts affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolu- tionary Guard Corps (IRGC). These accounts can be broadly collected into two groups, one set operat- ed in Spanish pretending to be located in the Americas and one set operated in English pretending to be in the British Isles. Among the first set are accounts claiming to be in Texas, California, Venezuela, and Chile, while the second set of accounts claim to be from Scotland, England, and Ireland. All these accounts systematically amplify politically divisive content and disinformation aligned with IRGC nar- ratives, …

Political Mediatization In The Digital Era: The Case Of Walhi West Sumatera’S Environmental Advocacy, Muhammad Thaufan Arifuddin, Ernita Arif, Yuliandre Darwis, Rinaldi Rinaldi, Muhammad Al-Amin Dalmenda

JURNAL KOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

This article examines how political mediatization operates at the local level through environmental civil society activism in post-authoritarian Indonesia. Focusing on the West Sumatra chapter of the Indonesia Forum for Environment (WALHI) as a critical case, the study argues that media logic is not merely imposed by political elites or mainstream media, but is strategically appropriated by local civil society organizations to contest oligarchic power, shape public agendas, and sustain democratic engagement at the subnational level. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews with environmental activists and youth organizers, and an analysis of …

Sustainability Of Local Media In The Era Of Disruption: A Case Study Of Ayobandung.Com, Bibo Bani, Nindi Aristi, Ira Mirawati

JURNAL KOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

This study examines the sustainability strategy of local media in responding to the challenges of digital disruption in the media industry. The case selected for the research is AyoBandung.com, local digital news portal under PT Ayo Media Network. Local media are structurally vulnerable to platform dominance, forcing them to balance journalistic integrity with economic adaptation. This research employs a qualitative case study approach, with data collected through in-depth interviews with internal stakeholders, including editorial and business management teams. The findings reveal a clear structural and functional separation between the AyoBandung and creative agency, with distinct workflows, content types, and …

Why We Must Commune: Rethinking The Role Of Marketing Communications In Turbulent Times, Javier Garcia

Publications and Research

“Communications” is often thought of as a noun, representing the messages we receive on a daily basis from people, brands, and institutions alike. 

"Communications" is also often associated with an industry that exists to produce such messaging in service of capitalism, with a commercial or otherwise actionable outcome desired from its receiving audience. 

This presentation, hosted by two-time CCNY graduate and senior marketing communications professional and Assistant Professor Javier Garcia, will examine the urgency and opportunity in rethinking the value and study of marketing and communications. 

In his presentation, Professor Garcia will offer suggestions on how to guide students towards …

Understanding Perceptions Of A Peruvian Local Market Program: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis, Rosmery Ramos-Sandoval Dr., Jano Ramos-Diaz

The Qualitative Report

Despite growing global interest in short food supply chains (SFSCs), little is known about how consumers in developing countries perceive these models, especially through digital platforms like social media. This study investigates how Twitter users represent and perceive SFSCs in the context of the Peruvian government´s “De la Chacra a la Olla” program. The study analyzed 1,167 tweets from Peruvian Twitter users referencing the hashtag #DeLaChacraALaOlla between 2014 and 2020, using reflexive thematic analysis within an exploratory case study framework to examine consumer perceptions of SFSCs. The analysis revealed three key themes in consumer perceptions of SFSCs on Twitter: direct …

Malaysia’S Social Media And Virtual Communities: Investigating Digital Engagement, Social Problem Management, And Economic Mobility, Muhammad Ridhwan Sarifin, Nur Hafizah Yusoff, Muhamad Hariz Muhamad Adnan

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

This study explores the evolving role of social media in shaping users’ digital engagement, social problem management, psychological well-being, and economic mobility in Malaysia. A total of 374 respondents participated in an online survey, selected using purposive sampling to capture active users across diverse age, income, and educational backgrounds. The study employed a structured questionnaire with Likert-scale items to evaluate perceptions of virtual community participation. Linear regression and moderation analysis were conducted to determine how social media usage predicts social issue management, emotional and social needs fulfillment, and economic opportunity access. Digital literacy was tested as a moderator between social …

A New Brood: The Return Of China's Green Cicada, Ella Murray, Darren L. Linvill, Patrick Warren

Media Forensics Hub Reports

This report examines a network of AI-assisted accounts purporting to be from Australia, the United States, or the Philippines, posting AI-generated commentary on X about each country’s politics and culture. It is very likely that this network originates in China and is facilitated by an LLM given the coordination of their messaging and the structure of the content itself.

Normalizing Ai: The Evanishing Effect And Rethinking The Machine Heuristic, Bumju Jung, Cameron W. Piercy, Patric R. Spence

Human-Machine Communication

This study examines how people evaluate factual claims attributed to human journalists versus artificial intelligence (AI) news bots, and how these evaluations are shaped by individual endorsement of the machine heuristic. An online experiment (N = 233) used a 2 (Agent: human vs. AI) × 2 (Information Veracity: accurate vs. inaccurate) design in which participants viewed a short tweet embedded in either a human or AI profile and then rated perceptions of source credibility, objectivity, bias, and accuracy. Endorsement of an AI-focused machine heuristic was significantly associated with higher source credibility, perceived objectivity, and perceived accuracy, and lower perceived bias, …

Strategi Personal Branding Youtuber Asian Survivor Dalam Membangun Motivasi Donasi: Studi Analisis Konten Video Youtube, Muhammad Sulthon Asykur, Hasyim Asyari

Jurnal Administrasi Bisnis Terapan

ABSTRACT

Content creators face significant challenges in maintaining audience engagement and social relevance amidst dynamic platform algorithms. This study analyzes YouTuber Asian Survivor's personal branding strategy in building authenticity, engagement, and audience donation motivation using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative analysis employed t-tests and binary logistic regression on 101 videos, while qualitative analysis was conducted through in-depth interviews and observation. Results indicate that neither vulnerable nor inspiring narrative types significantly differentiate engagement levels; however, videos that successfully raised donations exhibited significantly higher engagement rates. Regression analysis proved that an increase in engagement rate raises donation probability by 2.5 times. Qualitative findings …

Pabrik Gula Di Tangan Netizen: Pemanfaatan User Generated Content (Ugc) Sebagai Mesin Promosi Film, Muthiah Khansa Basyirah, Khairunnisa Devani Aqtus Permana Putri Putri, Peny Meliaty Hutabarat, Yunita Miftahul Jannah

Jurnal Sosial Humaniora Terapan

Social media continues to drive growing digital trends in Indonesia, including marketing strategies. TikTok has become one of the social media platforms capable of gaining wider exposure due to its ability to create viral content. In line with the increasing use of TikTok, the phenomenon of User Generated Content (UGC) has emerged. This study aims to examine UGC in the marketing strategy of the film Pabrik Gula (Sugar Factory) to improve effective communication, close relationships with audiences, and creative content production strategies. This study uses User Generated Content (UGC) as the research subject and Pabrik Gula as the object, using …

Digital Diplomacy And Activism: Sustaining Institutional Legacy Through State-Proxy Discursive Competition In The Aftermath Of The Usaid 2025 Suspension, Maryam Alaa Elprince

Capstone and Graduation Projects

This study examines how the 2025 suspension of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) transformed the arena of U.S. foreign-aid diplomacy by eliminating the agency’s operational capacity and erasing its digital presence, thereby redistributing discursive authority across a fragmented communicative field. The research aims to determine how diplomacy adapts when a bilateral institution central to American soft power is dismantled through top-down decision, and whether discursive power exercised online can extend institutional relevance and legitimacy beyond structural collapse. Using an interpretivist qualitative design that combines digital-forensic reconstruction, document-based content analysis, and elite interviews  with top ranking officials, the …

Crisis Communication In The Influencer Era: A Crisis Response Analysis Of Poppi And Alani Nu, Meredith E. Staley

Honors College Theses

As social media continues to reshape modern public relations practice, beverage brands like Alani Nu and Poppi offer relevant examples of influencer-driven communication and crisis response. This honors thesis compares and contrasts these brands following two major crises: Poppi’s influencer vending machine campaign and the health concerns and backlash surrounding Alani Nu’s energy drinks. Despite the well-known prevalence of these brands, there is little scholarly research examining their crisis communication strategies. Guided by Situational Crisis Communication Theory, this study uses a combination of social and news media content analysis to evaluate how each brand responded to its respective crisis. Each …

How Does Media Exposure Promote Nature Deprivation, Impacting Next Generational Social Interaction? Screen Time Vs. Green Time: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study, Mia N. Ryder

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study explores the impact social media can have on individuals' other qualities of life. This study particularly highlights its impact on in-person social engagement along with nature utilization and enjoyment, keeping in mind the corresponding benefits associated with those two variables. UNH undergraduate students were selected as participants. Participants completed surveys assessing their sense of regulation with social media consumption and reliance, their tendency to use and enjoy accessible natural resources, and their overall capacity to experience social comfort. Our survey was designed using 3 separate scales: A Green Space Enjoyment Scale, Social Comfortability Scale, and the third being …

Adolescent Girls’ Experiences Of Digital Dating Abuse Through Social Media: A Scoping Review, Kiara E. Rodriguez

Social Work Theses

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a prevalent adverse childhood experience with lasting psychological and behavioral consequences. As adolescents increasingly engage with social media, with 95% of teens aged 13-17 reporting using it, digital spaces have become a significant context in which dating abuse can occur. Digital dating abuse (DDA) refers to patterns of abusive behaviors that are directed toward a dating partner through digital technologies, including social media and mobile phones. Despite the growing role of social media in adolescent relationships, research on how adolescent girls experience DDA in these contexts remains limited. The central question for this scoping review …

Technology-Facilitated Violence And Abuse: Portrayals And Perceptions, Christina S. Walker

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In the past, intimate partner violence (IPV) was primarily perpetrated in person. However, due to new mediated communication technologies and capabilities like social media and artificial intelligence (AI), perpetrators can use this technology for various purposes including subjecting others to violence, harassment, and abuse. Such violence can be a form of IPV and is referred to as technology-facilitated violence and abuse (TFVA). TFVA is becoming increasingly prevalent and is encountered by a staggering percent of women. Furthermore, unlike traditional forms of IPV, even men are subjected to TFVA at increasing and disproportionate rates, particularly male teens.

In the current state …

Adaptive Boundary-Aware Fact-Checker Placement For Misinformation Suppression In Social Networks, Mostafa Taghizade Firouzjaee, Ghazal Naderi, Ross Gore, Neda Moghim

School of Cybersecurity Faculty Publications

The spread of fake news on online social networks is driven by imitation-based user behavior and network topology, often leading to persistent misinformation clusters and echo chambers. In this study, we develop a spatial evolutionary game-theoretic framework in which agents update their latent opinions through payoff-biased imitation, while external fact-checkers act as non-imitative intervention nodes. Building on this formulation, we propose an adaptive, boundary-aware intervention mechanism that dynamically regulates both the density and spatial allocation of fact-checkers according to real-time system conditions. Competing information clusters are identified through local neighborhood composition, enabling boundary nodes, i.e., interfaces between fake-news and non-fake-news …

The Impact Of True Crime Podcasts On Cold Case Investigations And Victims' Advocacy, Kyle Gamache, Karlie Rice, Ashley Allen, Willem Pontbriand

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

True crime has long captivated public interest, evolving from sensationalized accounts in the Middle Ages to the widespread popularity of modern podcasts. This qualitative study explores the ethical complexities of true crime media by examining how it intersects with criminal investigations, public perception, and victim advocacy. Through in-depth interviews with law enforcement officers, victim advocates, and true crime content creators, the study investigates differing attitudes toward the role of podcasts in active and cold cases. Using Colaizzi’s (1978) phenomenological method, data were analyzed to uncover shared and divergent themes across professional roles. Law enforcement participants voiced concerns over web- sleuthing …

Creation And Representation: Rhetorical Effectiveness Of Audience Construction Within The Deaf Vlogging Community, Imani Rodriguez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Diverse minority groups use YouTube as a platform to share stories, grow brands, and develop communities online. While previous research has investigated Deaf-focused videos on YouTube, past focus has been on video genres, creator purpose, and how content engages with existing representation and stigma (Hibbard & Fels, 2011; Li et al., 2022; Souza et al., 2023; Martzos et al., 2021; Oliveira et al., 2021; Parton, 2016). There has also been research on how online communities can initiate open conversation for many minority groups that may not be possible due to location, disability, or censorship (Case, 2012).

This research focuses on …

Too Warm To Win Big? Unpacking The Backer Dynamics Behind Female Crowdfunding Success Using A Warmth And Competence Perspective, Dan Liu

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

While crowdfunding is often heralded as a democratized funding avenue that empowers women with higher success rates, this study reveals a more nuanced picture of gender dynamics. The Stereotype Content Model suggests that women are often perceived as warmer but less competent. Using a large dataset from Kickstarter, we find that female-led projects can attract more backers, likely due to warmth-driven appeal, but receive smaller average contributions, potentially due to concerns about risk linked to lower perceived competence. However, the total funding raised by female-led campaigns is comparable to that of male-led ones, showing no clear advantage or disadvantage. This …

Online Community Dynamics: An Analysis Using Louvain During Major Sporting Events, Anushka Jaint, Yashodhan Karulkar, Kashish Jindal, Sri Sai Harshita Gadavarthi, Sanya Gulati

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

With the power of social media transforming the way people connect and interact with each other, the dynamics of community formation on platforms such as X during major events are of crucial importance. While social media is an increasingly key driver in determining interactions, little is known about the online influence forming and developing fan communities in high-stakes events. This study looks into the development of user communities for datasets drawn from Kaggle on two of the world’s largest sporting events: the FIFA World Cup 2022, or football, and the T20 World Cup 2022, or cricket, with the aim of …

Modern (Networked) Warfare: Its Concepts, Evolution, And Issues, Ramesh Subramanian

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The on-going Russo-Ukraine war (February 2012-present), the recent India-Pakistan war (May 7-10, 2025), and the Israel-US attacks on Iran (June 13, 2025) have become interesting for a variety of reasons, and garnered a lot of attention in international defense publications and weapons manufacturers. To many defense analysts and defense industry professionals, these wars have become real-life testing platforms to examine and evaluate various present-day war technologies. They have opened up discussion on the future of war, the increasing use of inter-connected networks in warfare, and the increasing use of remote-operated drones in conducting surveillance and in offensive actions against …

Blockchain As A Digital Coordination Infrastructure For Project Management: A Systematic Review And Integrative Framework, Cherie Bakker Noteboom, Sai Neelima Seru, Aravindh Sekar

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Blockchain technology has gained increasing attention as a digital infrastructure capable of improving transparency, trust, and coordination in complex, multi-organizational project environments. However, existing research on blockchain-enabled project management remains fragmented and industry-focused, providing limited guidance for organizational adoption and integration. This study addresses this gap through a systematic literature review of 29 peer-reviewed studies, following PRISMA guidelines, to examine how blockchain capabilities are incorporated into project management practices across industries and maturity stages.

Grounded in Resource-Based View and Coordination Theory, the analysis employs a feature-to-process mapping approach to link six core blockchain capabilities—decentralization, transparency, immutability, smart contracts, traceability, and …

The Value Of Personal Data Ecosystems: A Flemish Media Sector Case Study, Maarten De Mildt, Melanie Verstraete, Sofie Verbrugge, Didier Colle

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Personal Data Stores (PDSs) have been proposed as a privacy-preserving approach to data sharing that increases individual control over personal data while enabling new forms of cross-organizational collaboration. This collaboration leads to the emergence of Personal Data Ecosystems (PDEs). Despite growing interest in PDEs, limited research has examined how the organizational and economic barriers identified in prior studies manifest in practice. This paper investigates these challenges through a case study of the Flemish media sector within the Solid4Media project, which explores the use of PDSs to support data sharing and personalization across media organizations. Using a qualitative research design, data …

Responsible People Analytics For Remote-Work Decisions: A Machine-Learning Benchmark For Classifying Perceived Productivity, Ruth Menjivar, Nima Molavi, Narges Mashhadi Nejad

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study examines whether employee-perception survey data can support responsible people-analytics decisions about remote-work productivity. Using the public New South Wales (NSW) Remote Working Survey 2021 (N=1,512), the study benchmarks statistical and machine-learning classifiers for self-reported perceived productivity classes (same, less, or more productive when working remotely relative to onsite work), not objective output, under default, class-weighted, and resampling protocols. Main evidence comes from 5×5 repeated stratified cross-validation using macro F1 and balanced accuracy with fixed model specifications. Class-balanced separability is modest. Random Forest, CatBoost, and LightGBM form a leading cluster with overlapping confidence intervals (macro F1 ≈0.51–0.52). Affective/well-being items, …

Towards Developing A Career Technology Fit Framework And Analyzing Its Influence On Work-Related Outcomes Among It Professionals, Gunjan Tomer

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

With growing attrition rate and significant demand for skilled IT professionals, the importance of studying their behaviour has become important for both academia and industry. Despite ample amount of research, there is still a gap between theory and practice. Based on our qualitative study conducted on Indian IT professionals we propose that technology allocation might contribute in understanding the behaviour of IT professionals. We found that IT professionals evaluate the technology allocated to them based on their individual career motives. This evaluation, either positive or negative, influences their job outcomes. Further, we explored the factors that make a technology preferable …

High Technology And The Developing State: The Arrival Of Supercomputers In India, Ramesh Subramanian

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

While India has made vast strides in information technology in the last few decades, its success is mainly attributed to its software, rather than its hardware sector. In fact, India’s attempts at developing computer hardware that can match international standards have largely been unsuccessful. A notable exception is its development of a series of supercomputers that match and exceed many international standards. This paper looks at an interesting period in India’s computing history – namely the 1980s and 1990s – focusing on its development of an indigenous supercomputer. During that period, supercomputers were thought to be the sole privy of …

You Are Your Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams: A Journey Beyond The Lens Blueprinting The Influence And Impact Of Media And Podcast Pedagogy On Black And Brown Creatives In Higher Education And Beyond, Diamond N. Morgan Dr.

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

Explores the influence and impact of media and podcast pedagogy on Black and Brown creatives (BBC) in higher education. Grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), the Black Creative Educational Experience (BCEEs) framework, and the conceptual lenses of sociological and public podcasting, this study examines how podcasting functions as a transformative pedagogical and sociocultural tool for storytelling, identity development, creative expression, and community building within collegiate environments. Utilizing a convergent parallel mixed methods design, the study integrates quantitative survey data from 65 participants with qualitative focus group discussions to provide a holistic understanding of participant experiences across personal, professional, academic, social, …

The Crowdfunding Paradox In Crisis: Rising Funder Demand Vs. Declining Entrepreneur Supply, Dan Liu, Guangzhi Shang, Cynthia Fan Yang

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study investigates how the crowdfunding marketplace responds to major crises, focusing on behavioral shifts among funders and entrepreneurs. Results show a dual impact on platform dynamics. On the demand side, funders become more engaged, with notable increases in the number of backers, average contributions, and total pledge amounts. This heightened activity suggests stronger altruistic motivations, as individuals view crowdfunding as a way to support others during difficult times. On the supply side, however, entrepreneurs act more cautiously, leading to a decline in new project launches. This drop likely reflects increased risk aversion and uncertainty as creators navigate volatile conditions. …