Social Media Commons^™

Sports Fan Interaction: A Comparison Of Teams To Determine The Common Thread Between Fan Engagement Across Social Media, Emma L. Ishee

Honors Theses

This study focused on the utilization of social media by collegiate athletic teams and how it relates to their interaction with their fan base. The aim of this study was to determine if a particular platform or post type gained the most fan interaction. The study also examined whether the men’s or women’s teams receive more interaction from fans. A random number generator selected three collegiate athletic teams from three different school in three conferences. Data was collected in the week leading up to the opening game. Ultimately, the results were not able to prove one type of post more …

The Curated Chronicles Of The American Family: An Ideological Analysis Of The Love Taza Blog, Elizabeth Radley

Master's Theses

Named one of the top ten influencers of parenting by Forbes, Naomi Davis of the family-lifestyle Blog, Love Taza has transformed her family chronicles into a successful Internet business with an extensive following ("Top Influencers of 2017: Parenting"). This thesis examines the content of Love Taza to understand what messages Naomi communicates to her readers and how her readers may be receiving those messages. Using a sample of 600 posts from 2012-2017, a quantitative analysis was conducted to determine the type of content being presented. According to the findings, the majority of the posts included sponsored content and the most …

The Role Of Social Media In Small Museums In Michigan, Kaitlin Mcgrath

Honors Theses

Social media is now firmly ingrained in the daily life of many people. In order for museums to remain relevant in society, institutions like museums need to learn how to integrate this new technology into their practices. Small museums especially may have the most to gain from utilizing this technology in their institutions. These museums usually do not have access to as many resources as their larger counterparts. The challenge for museums is knowing how to use social media effectively. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of social media in museums with a focus on small …

How To Be The Perfect Asian Wife!, Sophia Hill

Art and Art History Honors Projects

“How to be the Perfect Asian Wife” critiques exploitative power systems that assault female bodies of color in intersectional ways. This work explores strategies of healing and resistance through inserting one’s own narrative of flourishing rather than surviving, while reflecting violent realities. Three large drawings mimic pervasive advertisement language and presentation reflecting the oppressive strategies used to contain women of color. Created with charcoal, watercolor, and ink, these 'advertisements' contrast with an interactive rice bag filled with comics of my everyday experiences. These documentations compel viewers to reflect on their own participation in systems of power.

Advertisements On Facebook: Identifying The Persuasive Elements In The Development Of Positive Attitudes In Consumers, Mahmud Akhter Shareef, Bhasker Mukerji, Mohammad Abdallah Ali Alryalat, Angela Wright, Yogesh K. Dwivedi

Dept. of Organisation & Professional Development Publications

The main objective of this study is to develop the scale items of consumers’ attitudes toward Facebook advertisements and to theorize consumers’ attitudinal behaviour. To undertake this study, a research assistant was appointed, who is also an active member of Facebook, to introduce a message about the product Samsung Tab S, and to pass it to other members of their network. From this experiment, different members of their network participated in generating, passing, and receiving messages to develop a preliminary structured perception which was converted to generate scale items to measure attitude. Then an independent empirical study was conducted among …

Social Media: On Tech-Caves, Virtual Panopticism, And The Science Fiction-Like State In Which We Unwittingly Find Ourselves, Michael Major

Theses

Making use of three historic philosophical thought experiments, this paper blends psychological perspectives with philosophical reasoning to show how social media is corrupting our perception of reality, the result of which is ultimately detrimental to society as a whole. This is accomplished by first using Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to analyze and discuss the ways in which social media is limiting humanity’s access to real knowledge. Next, Michel Foucault’s analysis of punishment in its social context, Discipline and Punish, is used to discuss the ways in which social media is adversely affecting our behavior. Finally, Robert Nozick’s “Experience …

The Reification Of Hegemonic Masculinity Via Heteronormativity, Sexual Objectification, And Masculine Performances In Tau Kappa Epsilon Recruitment Videos, Viki Tomanov

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Fraternity members constitute a large percentage of men who hold highly influential jobs in politics, large corporations, and the like. Since fraternities are limited to men-only, it is important to examine how masculinity is both rhetorically constructed and subsequently performed. Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), the fraternity with the largest amount of chapters nationwide, is the focus of my analysis. Its popularity among college campuses signifies that its recruitment is successful and that, regardless of initiation into the fraternity, many men (and women) view TKE as an example of masculinity. In my analysis, I examine TKE recruitment videos from various universities …

Causes For Editing On Instagram And Its Relation To Perfection And Peer Comparison, Alexandra Wiegand, Katie Kirkland, Latoya Tisdale

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

Donald J. Trump's Twitter Engagement During The 2016 Presidential Election Campaign: A Content Analysis Of Popularity Indicators, Amy Jones

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

Broadcasting The Search For Understanding: The Essay's Relationship With The Podcast, Miriam Bay Sweeney

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this creative thesis project, I explore the relationship between the modern essay and the podcast. I do so by producing the first three episodes of my own essayistic podcast, called Peer-Refined Health. In this foundational exploration, I consider the value of the podcast as a new medium of communication for the essay. I begin this project report with a background on both the podcast and the essay as well as a discussion of my project development. The transcripts of three episodes of Peer-Refined Health follow. Finally, I analyze the relationship between the essay and the podcast and suggest additional …

Social Media Choices And Uses: Comparing Turkish And American Young-Adults' Social Media Activism, Barbara R. Burke, Ayşe Fulya Şen

Communication, Media, and Rhetoric Publications

Advocates of new media—especially social networks, blogs, and photo/content sharing sites—argue that these tools create transformative impacts on society. Recently, around the world younger activists in popular democracy movements, uprisings, and protests, feeling disengaged by traditional forms of political discourse, have debated their positions on new media, and have used digital media to communicate, organize, and coordinate protest activities. While some media scholars suggest this is an indication that young people are active in creating a public sphere constructed by social media, there is still little real-world evidence that the technological potentials are widely realized. To address this gap, this …

What’S Next In Communications? Panel Discussion, Wendy S. Perez, Jessica Green, Rachel Schaefer

Media Literacy: How the Era of Fake News Affects Public Service

Moderator: Staci M. Zavattaro, Ph.D

Panel Participants:

• Tom Hope, Assistant VP for Communications and Marketing, UCF
• Jamie Floer, Public Relations/Outreach Specialist, Orange County Utilities Dept
• Brian Schulte, Marketing Manager, Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership

Abstract:

As society has evolved, so have preferred communications, people today prefer to send a text message versus making a call or talking in person. Everywhere we go technology has a great impact on today’s society. These technological advances have affected everything we do, including how we read, interpret, and disseminate information. More than ever, media literacy has become an important part of …

Exemplary California School District Superintendents Leading The Social Media Charge, Jamie Hughes

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to identify the social media tools used and the role of social media when communicating with parents as perceived by exemplary California school district superintendents. In addition, the purpose of this study was to describe the benefits and challenges perceived by exemplary California school district superintendents when using social media to communicate with parents.

Methodology: A mixed-methods study was applied to identify the social media tools used, the role of social media, and the benefits and challenges of using social media to communicate with parents as perceived by exemplary California school district …

Chasing Success: A Cultivated Reality, Anastasia Bevillard

Honors Projects in Communication

George Gerbner’s cultivation theory claims that people who consume heavy amounts of media are more likely to be influenced by those messages to believe the media reality as opposed to actual reality. Using cultivation theory as the basis for study, I performed a cultivation analysis examining the intersection of mass media and perceptions of success among college-aged young adults living in the United States. The analysis focused on three main points: (1) How mass media perceives and subsequently demonstrates success. (2) The impact of mass media on young adults living in America. (3) What reality of success is cultivated by …

Advertisements’ Perpetuation Of Rape Culture: A Look At How Images Containing Objectification And Victimization Impact Consumers, Lauren Leedberg

Honors Projects in Marketing

The research I have conducted explores connections between images shown in advertisements and the perpetuation of rape culture and gendered stereotypes in society. It was guided by the Cultivation Theory which looks at how media, such as advertisements, can shape our reality. After an extensive literature review, data was gathered via an experimental design utilizing surveys. Within these surveys, respondents were randomly shown an advertisement I created containing the variables to be tested (i.e. images with objectification and victimization). After viewing the ad, they answered questions regarding their attitude toward the brand/product depicted, purchase intentions, a rape myth acceptance scale …

Assessing Psychophysiological Effects Of Malodorous Pollutants In Residents Of Leandrinho, Bahia, Brazil: A Pilot Study Using A Whatsapp-Based Questionnaire, Shanell Folger, Courtney Woods, Rita Franco Rego, Carlos Henrique Amaral, Washington Ramos, Amanda Northcross

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Background: Leandrinho is located in the region that is home to the largest industrial chemical complex in the southern hemisphere that covers approximately 49 km². Leandrinho residents have reported experiencing adverse health effects that co-occur during periods of malodor emitted by the petrochemical industry. However, there is currently no tool for the residents to systematically record incidents of malodor. This pilot study assessed the feasibility of using a questionnaire designed through Whatsapp, a text-messaging application commonly used among residents.

Method: Leandrinho residents were randomly recruited to complete a daily questionnaire using either paper (n=24) or Whatsapp (n=24) over …

Who Is Saying What About Inflammatory Bowel Disease On Twitter?, Ali Khan, Anna Silverman, Anthony Rowe, Samantha Rowe, Matt Tick, Steve Testa, Keri Dodds, Bedoor Alabbas, Marie L. Borum

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Background: With about 330 million active users and its growing media attention globally, Twitter is a powerful tool for conveying information to the general population. There is limited data on the utilization of Twitter for disseminating medical information. This study evaluated messages on Twitter regarding Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Methods: Social Feed Manager (SFM; version 1.10.0; GW University, 2017), a software that mines social media platforms, was used to extract information regarding IBD-related tweets and their accounts over a 10-day period. We queried Twitter for terms related to IBD and categorized messages by geographic origin, type of user, and message …

17 Days: Cross-Country With Social Media, Zachary Alvarado

Senior Theses

"Austin Prescott and Zach Alvarado travel from South Carolina to California using social media to find and communicate with hosts throughout the country..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8k6EQnW5D4

Costs of investment were weighed against capital contributions throughout our campaign. While the film serves to inspire, entertain, and inform, the paper dives deeper into the brand-building, cost-savings, and logistics of the trip. In the end, we more than doubled our initial investment and had an awesome time while doing it.

Research Note - “It’S Just A Tweet”: History, Memory, And Social Media, Alexandre Turgeon

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

What Is Gab: A Bastion Of Free Speech Or An Alt-Right Echo Chamber, Savvas Zannettou, Barry Bradlyn, Emiliano De Cristofaro, Haewoon Kwak, Michael Sirivianos, Gianluca Stringhini, Jeremy Blackburn

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Over the past few years, a number of new "fringe" communities, like 4chan or certain subreddits, have gained traction on the Web at a rapid pace. However, more often than not, little is known about how they evolve or what kind of activities they attract, despite recent research has shown that they influence how false information reaches mainstream communities. This motivates the need to monitor these communities and analyze their impact on the Web's information ecosystem. In August 2016, a new social network called Gab was created as an alternative to Twitter. It positions itself as putting "people and free …