Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Applying User Centered Design Principles To Deliver Surface Water Data To Diverse Audiences, Luke Buckley

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

User-Centered Design (UCD) is an iterative process that allows designers and developers to create useful products. Using a combination of brainstorming, in-person interviews, usability testing, and design evaluation, the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (MBMG) is building a web portal to deliver Montana’s Surface Water Assessment and Monitoring Program (SWAMP) data in an efficient manner.

Data from the MBMG and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) are currently being collected and stored. The MBMG has more than 100 surface-water monitoring sites in its Ground Water Information Center (GWIC) database. In addition, the DNRC has stream stage (ft), …

How Different Generations Perceive Political News, Elizabeth C. Hilfrank

Student Publications

The 2016 presidential election was one of the first elections to see new media play a large role. While also being the first presidential election many millennials could vote in, this research paper looks at how different generations used various news sources to receive political news in 2016. The paper is supported by a documentary video case-study of the author's close close family and friends' perception of political news in 2016.

Fake News, Political Narrative, & Social Media: A Structuration Approach, Adam M. Housh

Capstone Collection

This research aims to unveil a connection between fake news distribution, readership demand, and social media networks, in this case, Facebook. In this research, fake news is defined as “content that is deliberately false and published on websites that mimic traditional news websites (Johnson and Kelling 2017, p3)”. It is argued that fake news content is not produced at random, but is tailored to particular political demographics and narratives. Exposure to such media not only validates ideological positions, it polarizes political beliefs. Furthermore, Facebook not only acts as an effective distribution medium, but allows individual users to skip structural filters …

Confidential Publics: Digital Reconciliation And Queer Muslim Identities, Mariam Mustafa

Masters Theses

In this paper, I trouble constructions of community through exploring temporal spatial configurations of support for queer-identified Muslims living in America. I assert that when community is not something one can physically access, use of the internet to create temporary spaces of community is critical in assessing identity reconciliation between intersectional conflicting identity. As it relates to queer Muslims, where there is a distinct lack of public community, the level of crisis some individuals face is explored through their use of online vehicles to establish social support systems that would otherwise not be available. My paper provides a framework in …

Food Discourse: The Communicative Gateway Toward Understanding Formerly Colonized Representation In Parts Unknown, Mitch Combs

Theses and Dissertations

CNN’s television series, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, merges food and travel genres to communicate representations of local, indigenous, and other formerly colonized cultures. This thesis will present the significance of Parts Unknown through a review of literature that concerns postcolonial theory and food discourse to which critical insights emerge and explain how indigenous cultures are represented within Western “foodie” television. These insights will then guide a postcolonial investigation of the food rhetoric used to represent/discuss colonized and local groups within three episodes of Parts Unknown. Additionally, potential applications for rhetorical criticism are discussed by using Parts Unknown as an example …

Communicating Environmental Risks: Local Newspaper Coverage Of Shellfish Bacterial Contamination In Maine, Brianne Suldovsky, Eva Arbor, Victoria Skillin, Laura Lindenfeld

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coastal resources play a vital role in Maine’s cultural and economic wellbeing, contributing an estimated 168 billion dollars to the Maine economy. There are numerous risks to the sustainability of Maine’s shellfishing industry and working waterfront, including pathogenic bacterial pollution. In this study, we ask a broad fundamental question central to science and environmental journalism: how do newspapers cover localized environmental risks and what are the implications of those approaches? Utilizing the northeastern US state of Maine’s shellfishing industry as an exemplar environmental issue, this study examines how Maine’s two most read newspapers, the Bangor Daily News and the Portland …

History Of Journalism Education: An Analysis Of 100 Years Of Journalism Education, Hilary Akers Dunn

LSU Master's Theses

This quantitative content analysis uses course descriptions to find changes in journalism education at the University of Missouri, Louisiana State University, and the University of North Carolina over 100 years. This study found that there are two influencing factors that are inherent to the journalism profession: advances in technology and the maturity of the profession itself. These two influencing factors produced changes in technology used in curriculum, course focus (e.g. skill, theory, general knowledge, and history), and course topics (e.g. advertising, broadcasting, public relations, etc.) This study also found that leadership is the most influential factor of change in journalism …

Lindenwood Digest, March 27, 2018, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.

Lindenwood Digest, March 23, 2018, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.

The New Media, Globalization, And The Public Interest: A Conversation With Newton N. Minow (2003), Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article provides a summary of a weekend-long convocation held in April 2002 that was sponsored by the Coudert Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. The motto of the nonprofit group, which was founded by Dale Coudert in 2001, is, “Subjects That Matter, with People Who Make a Difference.” Each mid-winter through early-spring season, the nonpartisan and nonideological Coudert Institute organizes conversations and seminars on an eclectic array of topics featuring prominent academics, artists, musicians, and practitioners. The institute’s goal is to spark open and inclusive dialogue directed to critical reflection and enlightenment. This selection contains the fruits of a …

Lindenwood Digest, March 20, 2018, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.

Exploring Screen Time Habits And The Life Empowerment Divide At An Hbcu, Kim Smith, Tobin Walton, Alvin Keyes

Faculty Publications

College students at a historically black university used their social media accounts to recruit 1,232 of their peers to take an online survey that explored digital screen time and social media habits at this HBCU. The study revealed that 51% devoted daily screen time to academic empowerment, 31% devoted it to leisure, and 11% devoted it to life empowerment. Sixty-six percent said they spent too much screen time on leisure and not enough on life empowerment, i.e., using resources in the digital world to improve their lives. The paper explored the divide, its implications, and how to narrow it.

Adolescents’ Perceptions Of “Cheating” In Gaming And Educational Settings, Brandon Nease, Michelle Samura

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Background. Given the widespread popularity of video gameplay among adolescents, it is important to understand the relationship between video gameplay and adolescent behaviors in various contexts.

Aim. This exploratory study aimed to explore adolescent gamers use of player guides and cheat codes during video gameplay in order to understand how they reason about the relationship between cheating in video games and cheating in academic settings.

Method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents in order to gain in-depth insight into participants’ perspectives on video gameplay and their perceptions of cheating in video games and academic settings. Interview data was coded and …

Lindenwood Digest, March 16, 2018, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.

Virtual Collaboration: Exploring New Frontiers, Kristen Borysewicz, Merete Christianson, Jessica D. Gilbert Redman, Laura Trude, Erika Johnson, Dawn Hackman

Librarian Posters and Presentations

Librarians looking for professional development opportunities, especially in states like North Dakota where many serve small populations in rural areas, will benefit from thinking creatively about organizing a conference. Two sections of the North Dakota Library Association (NDLA) used Blackboard Collaborate Ultra as a platform to produce a fully online conference. This virtual “unconference” was interactive and robust, with speakers from across the state, interactive whiteboards, poster rooms, meeting space for special interest groups, and more. In this workshop, we will share what we have learned about Collaborate Ultra, including its strengths and weaknesses. We hope to brainstorm and discuss …

Information Disorder And The Need For News Literacy Education In The Digital Era, Lauren Brown-Hulme

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper serves as a comprehensive report on the need for and barriers to news literacy education in the United States. Current misinformation issues in the U.S. are introduced and the importance of news literacy among citizens of a democracy. Answers to these questions are sought: What are the current challenges regarding news literacy in the digital age and what are the implications? Further, can news literacy be taught? Based on measured practices, what are the best methods for news literacy education? Existing literature covers the topics of information disorder and news literacy, highlighting the importance of news literacy in …

Lindenwood Digest, March 9, 2018, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.

Lindenwood Digest, March 6, 2018, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.

The Emergence Of Institutional Repositories: A Conceptual Understanding Of Key Issues Through Review Of Literature, O. P. Saini

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

It is the responsibility of the libraries to keep update its users by incorporating different technologies or tricks among the services offered to users. The libraries are managing diversified collection in both electronic and physical formats including the theses and dissertations awarded by their respective parent institutes in physical form. The academic libraries are directed by the Indian government through a mandate to protect and preserve the theses and dissertation in electronic form and provide access to the public domain. Institutional Repositories (IRs) have the perspective to store any amount of information electronically. Therefore, many of the academic libraries are …

Lindenwood Digest, March 2, 2018, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been an employee newsletter since 2009.