Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Marshall, Il Communication Plan Project, Nathan Myers

2022 Fall Reports (Marshall, IL)

This class will examine the behavior of public and non-profit agencies, and how various internal and external factors affect the performance of these organizations. The course will consider such factors as they are discussed in classic and current scholarship in the field of organizational behavior, as well as examples from the media.

National Assessment Program: Ict Literacy 2022: Technical Report, Dominique Hall, Kate O'Malley, Renee Kwong, Emma Camus, Tim Friedman, Kristy Osborne, Zachary Watts, Dulce Lay

ICT - Digital Literacy

This report describes the various technical, operational and administrative procedures of the NAP– ICT Literacy 2022 assessment. It should be read in conjunction with the NAP–ICT Literacy 2022 Public Report, which presents a summary of the cognitive and contextual analysis of the data collected in the 2022 cycle. The assessment instrument used in NAP–ICT Literacy 2022 was based on the design principles established for NAP–ICT Literacy 2005, which continued through the assessment cycles in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017. The assessment was computer-based and included a broad range of task formats including multiple-choice, short text response, and simulated and authentic …

Views And Opinions Of Mass Media Key Informants On Coverage Of Issues Related To Maternal, Newborn And Child Health In Lake Zone, Tanzania, Violeth A. Mbuni, Nyagwegwe Wango, Elias C. Nyanza

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

In Tanzania, the mass media is a primary means of communicating health information to urban and rural populations. While unsafe abortion is the leading cause of maternal deaths and complications in Tanzania, this has increased the high unintended pregnancy rate. Journalists, editors, program managers and producers play a significant role in determining the health-related issues reported. In the present study, the views, and opinions of mass media key informants on coverage of issues related to maternal, newborn and child health in Lake Zone were investigated. This qualitative study was conducted with key informants from 24 mass media outlets that covered …

Anchorage: Visual Analysis Of Satisfaction In Customer Service Videos Via Anchor Events, Kam Kwai Wong, Xingbo Wang, Yong Wang, Jianben He, Rong Zhang, Huamin Qu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Delivering customer services through video communications has brought new opportunities to analyze customer satisfaction for quality management. However, due to the lack of reliable self-reported responses, service providers are troubled by the inadequate estimation of customer services and the tedious investigation into multimodal video recordings. We introduce , a visual analytics system to evaluate customer satisfaction by summarizing multimodal behavioral features in customer service videos and revealing abnormal operations in the service process. We leverage the semantically meaningful operations to introduce structured event understanding into videos which help service providers quickly navigate to events of their interest. supports a comprehensive …

Purchase Behavior Toward Luxury Fashion Brands During Thailand's Economic Recovery After The Covid-19 Pandemic Among Generation Y Consumers, Jaruwarin Palarungsri

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objective of this research is to explore the purchase behavior toward luxury fashion brands among Thai Generation Y consumers during the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. The research utilized a qualitative approach to gather information from 10 key informants aged 31 to 42, residing in Thailand and spending more than 500,000 Thai baht annually on luxury fashion products. The findings indicate that Thai Gen Y consumers are active followers of economic news and current events, as they consume news on a daily basis and discuss it with their social circle. However, they tend to avoid expressing their opinions …

The Impact Of Brand Image On Customer Loyalty Toward Haidilao Thailand, Liu Xin

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objectives of this research are as followed: to explore Brand image and customer loyalty toward Haidilao Thailand and to investigate the relationship between the two variables. The study collected two hundred fifty-eight participants who is living in Bangkok for at least three months, aged between 20 and 50, and who have dined at Haidilao in the past three months. The findings reveal a positive perception of Haidilao's brand image among respondents (M = 3.89). Notably, functional image received the highest mean score (M = 3.91), closely followed by experiential image (M = 3.91), while symbolic image obtained the lowest …

Covid-19 Infodemic And Social Media Platforms In Thailand, Abhibhu Kitikamdhorn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study aims to fill a knowledge void on disinformation in a non-western context by examining the infodemic phenomenon in Thailand covering an extensive period from 31 December 2019 to 31 July 2021. The research examines how disinformation about COVID-19 spreads on Facebook and Twitter in Thailand, as well as the effectiveness of counter-disinformation approaches, and policy gaps in addressing the infodemic. Data collection relies on these methodologies—content analysis, sentiment analysis, social network analysis, in-depth interviews, and document analysis. Content analysis of sampled data shows that herbal medicine claims, and politicized COVID-19 information, especially about censorship, are prevalent. Contextual factors …

Provider Racial Concordance And Medical Mistrust In Pediatric Dentistry, Chinelo Eke

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Studies have drawn varying conclusions on the importance of a racially concordant patient provider relationship. Medical mistrust has continued to garner attention as healthcare enterprises thread equity, diversity and inclusion throughout their organizational policies, practices and systems.

Methods: Parents/caregivers of pediatric patients at VCU Pediatric Dentistry were invited to participate. Surveys included questions about demographics, racial concordance, language preference, and the validated Group-Based Medical Mistrust Scale.

Results: A total of 246 guardians completed the survey. For guardians, 40% reported Black or African American, 31% Hispanic, and 19% Caucasian. Seventy-one percent of guardians reported speaking English, 18% Spanish, and 11% …

Manifestations Of Communicative Resilience In Experiences Of Serial Arguments Among Adult Children Of Harmful Parental Alcohol Use, Brooklyn Willis

Master's Theses

This thesis investigated the ways in which adult children of harmful parental alcohol use manifest resilience through the lens of the Communication Theory of Resilience (CTR). The CTR presents five communication processes by which resilience, which is the ability to overcome hardship, is demonstrated. Serial arguments, the repeated and unresolved conflicts that occur between romantic partners, were utilized as the context to study resilience. Interviews were conducted to learn about perceptions of serial argument resolvability and the ways and frequencies in which resilience manifested. A pre-interview survey gathered information pertaining to relationship satisfaction and perceptions of resilience. A thematic analysis …

The Great Unknown: Unlimited Artificial Intelligence (2023-2024), Kathryn O'Brien

Argument

O’Brien begins this argument essay with the following reminder that “We use A.I. every day without even realizing. There are so many different algorithms built into every single app we use, as well as search engines like Google.” She goes on to consider the use of Artificial Intelligence in algorithms, online information availability, healthcare, and the arts. Throughout the use of examples within these various contexts, O’Brien interrogates the need for limits to AI in order to counter bias, limit the prevalence of hate speech, and ultimately preserve our humanity.

Theory-Building And Tool-Building For A Science Of Dysfunctional Political Discourse, Eric Hamilton, Marguerite Williamson, Andrew Hurford

Education Division Scholarship

This paper extends a developing analytic framework for political discourse that takes place over digital social media. Earlier presentations of the framework have furnished a rationale for applying the conceptual framework of epistemic frame theory and the tools of quantitative ethnography for political discourse analysis. They have provided early existence proofs of the viability of epistemic network analysis (ENA) for rudimentary models of social media threads that involve political content. The current theoretical paper moves significantly beyond this foundation. It summarizes and deepens the explanation of the constructs of discursive transactions, response grammars, and epistemic frames in political discourse. It …

Paper Gowns, Cold Hands, Or Something Else? Black Women's Barriers To Gynecologic Screening, Nadia Ayesha Sesay

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Cervical cancer mortality burden is carried disproportionately by African American women. Early indicators of cervical cancer are identified through prevention screening, a procedure typically performed by a gynecologist. Ideally, the patient group with the most severe mortality would likewise be the group with the most robust communication exchange with their physician to prevent cervical cancer incidence. However, a slew of factors contributes to continued mortalities among Black women. This study uses semi-structured interviews (n=10) and the health belief model to examine one barrier to Black women’s prosocial behaviors regarding routine gynecologic care—awkwardness, which here is conceptualized as social anxiety. The …

Discourse Analysis Of Knowledge Construction In An Online Teacher Education Course, Elsa Richter

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Peer discourse is a valuable tool for knowledge construction in the higher education classroom environment, and can sometimes be neglected in asynchronous online classes, which have become increasingly prevalent in the past several years. Students interact in different ways online than they do in person, which can affect the class dynamic and the way in which knowledge is constructed within it. Using Weinberger & Fischer’s (2005) Framework to Analyze Argumentative Knowledge Construction in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, this single-case qualitative case study utilizes self-study, content analysis, and discourse analytic methods to investigate undergraduate students’ approaches to knowledge co-construction via discussion boards …

Black Quarterback, White Masks: A Critical Analysis Of The Nfl Anthem Protests, Cody Walizer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The NFL anthem protests were and are an important cultural moment and social movement. The widespread emulation of the protest, and the adoption of the kneel as a symbol of unity, reverence, and silent objection demonstrates the protests’ continued relevance. This dissertation critically analyzes Colin Kaepernick’s protest through the lens of racial rhetorical criticism (Flores, 2016) and Fanonian communication studies (Towns, 2020). Through the case studies of David Brooks, Lee Siegel, and Colin Fleming, and their New York Times opinion pieces on Kaepernick from 2016-17, this study argues that the common discourses surrounding the protest exist within the strategic rhetoric …

“My Ob/Gyn Has The Worst Bedside Manner…” A Qualitative Analysis Of Patient-Provider Communication And Mental Health Outcomes Of Women In Rural Georgia, Tobi F. Oloyede

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite technological advances in medicine and public health innovations, maternal mortality in the United States remains significantly higher than in other developed countries. Specifically, Georgia ranks as the second worst place to give birth in the country. Maternal mental health conditions are common, manageable complications that can happen at any point during pregnancy, childbirth, or in the first year following delivery, with 1 in 5 women affected. Unfortunately, 75% of women who experience MMH symptoms are left untreated.

This study focuses on patient-provider communication through the birthing experiences of women who have been pregnant in Georgia to examine how their …

Development Of A Pronoun Usage Learning Module To Enhance Faculty Education, Evelyn Ashley

A with Honors Projects

Create slideshow presentations about the importance of proper pronoun usage in academia. In the presentations, topics such as the role academia has in educating students on proper pronoun/language usage for both education and industry, how improper pronoun usage hinders transgender students' ability to perform at their maximum capacity, and ways that instructors can foster a safe and welcoming environment in regard to proper pronoun usage will be discussed.

‘It’S Like Flipping A Switch’: Understanding The Challenges, Expectations, And Identity Of High School Wrestlers, Aubree Herman

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This study aims to understand the challenges and expectations of high school wrestlers, and how they are managing their social identities within the parameters of the sport. The rise of female wrestlers within the last decade and the hegemonic masculine roots of the sport show how imperative it is that research shed light into the unique experiences of high school wrestlers. Social identity theory was used as a theoretical framework and participants answered interview questions that discussed the three components of their social identity (i.e., cognitive, affective, and evaluative). They also identified challenges that they faced, the kind of expectations …

And The Survey Says ... A Qualitative Exploration Of Structurational Divergence From The Perspectives Of Nurse Managers Who Are Accountable For Patient Experience Measures, Lisa Carpenter Huddleston

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

For more than a decade, hospital leaders have focused on boosting patient experience scores as part of the federal government’s value-based purchasing (VBP) program. Hospitals that receive federal financial assistance (such as Medicare) are mandated to participate in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), a standardized survey that measures patients’ perceptions of their care. Results are publicly reported, and hospitals may be penalized on their reimbursements if they do not reach established benchmarks for patient experience. However, much debate has occurred about whether VBP has increased the quality of healthcare and whether the HCAHPS is an …

It's In The Design: Student Perceptions Of Intercultural Interactions In Online Communication Classrooms, Darius Lana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study identifies how intercultural interaction takes place in online communication courses within higher education. Radically politicized efforts to remove discussion around identity and difference from education and increased enrollment in online courses has raised a concern regarding the degree to which diversity, equity, and inclusion goals are being met in college classrooms generally and online sections specifically. This study identified how current pedagogical content, structure, and delivery of online communication courses may impact intercultural interaction and interaction. Findings indicate a need to address the design of online communication courses to better meet the desired intercultural interaction of the students …

A Pilot Study Of An Immersive Folktale User Experience, Iulia Popescu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Immersive media provides new avenues for preserving and sharing traditional folktales. To keep up with modern generations and continue to cultivate an interest in the arts as well as different cultures, this researcher argues that storytellers need to keep on adapting by conveying stories in new ways. Virtual Reality (VR) offers an interesting medium to present and preserve folktales. The goal of this study is to evaluate the user and learner experience of an immersive digital media application design using a think aloud protocol, surveys, and tests to document what worked and what did not in the design, including if …

Christian Perspectives On Natural Disasters Using A Religious Systems Approach, Lakelyn Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study investigated how Christian beliefs and the perceived importance of practice at each level of the religious systems model may impact Protestant Christian beliefs about natural disasters and natural disaster responses. This study was conducted to address diverging trends in religious interpretations of and reactions to risk and crisis events. Participants answered a series of close- and open-ended questions via on online survey about religious beliefs and practices and their personal experiences with natural disasters and responses. Qualitative findings demonstrated an overarching Christian ethic underlying participants' experiences and responses. Most comments from participants mentioned individual and micro level actions …

A New Era Of Policing: Uncovering Ways Officers Believe Community Relations Can Be Restored, Bradi Kai Kooyman

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The present study qualitatively investigated law enforcement officers’ opinions on creating more positive relationships with community members and how news media can play a role in deteriorating community attitudes and perceptions of law enforcement officers. A total of six participants were selected to participate in a forty-five-minute interview. Participants were asked questions regarding positive and negative factors in their relationship with their communities, local and national law enforcement portrayals in news media, reforms needed within law enforcement, beliefs toward community policing, and factors that lead to success in their relationships with citizens. This study discovered that building trust, implementing community …

Halloween 2023: It's A Barbie World!, Jin-A Choi, Yi Luo, Bond Benton, Keith Green

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Move over, black and orange, and step aside for the color that is going to dominate Halloween this year, “Barbie Pink.” And yes, Ken, “it won’t matter what you do, you will always be number two,” at least when it comes to Halloween costumes in 2023. And those wildly popular Star Wars and Marvel character costumes traditionally seen during the “spookiest” time of the year? It seems they won’t match the popularity of the fictional character, Barbie, who reemerged this year on the pop culture scene after the incredible success of the Warner Bros. film “Barbie” released in July.

Based …

2023 Scotus Report: Americans Reacted With Disgust And Sadness Toward The Scotus' Recent Rulings, Yi Luo, Bond Benton, Jin-A Choi

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

On June 29, SCOTUS struck down affirmative action, ruling the race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities unconstitutional. Then, on June 30, SCOTUS handed down another landmark ruling which outlawed student loan forgiveness and terminated President Biden’s plan to provide student loan reliefs for tens of millions of Americans. This high court’s decision on student loans will likely affect one in eight Americans, leaving student loan borrowers feeling frustrated, defeated, and angry. As online media have increasingly played a central role in facilitating civic engagement and shaping individuals’ decisions on contested issues, this study thus examines how social media users …

Researching How Excess Social Media Use And Filters Affect Trust, Ula J. Mccarthy

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In the present day, excessive social media use has become synonymous with the younger generation. Prolonged social media interaction has resulted in new terminology describing the compulsive need for internet and social media use: internet addiction. This is a new term, and while it has not been defined as a clinical addiction used in acute care settings (Zahrai et al., 2022), it is important to understand its symptoms, like excessive social media use. Given the rapid speed of social media integration in modern society, it is important to investigate how excessive social media use (ESMU), as defined by Zahrai et …

Investigating Mental Illness Perception On Social Media And The Propensity To Self-Diagnose, Camille R. Omega

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The perception of mental illness has often been studied in traditional face-to-face settings, but the research on its perception in an online setting has been growing recently. Social media platforms have allowed for important conversations regarding mental health to gain popularity and led to the formation of communities where users can share their personal experiences. It has also given professionals the opportunity to educate others on various mental health topics and answer specific questions their audience may have. From these posts and forums, users who are concerned with their mental health can be given the guidance to achieve proper assistance …

Does News Platform Matter? Comparing Online Journalistic Role Performance To Newspaper, Radio, And Television, Claudia Mellado, Nicole Blanchett, Agnieszka Stępińska, Cornelia Mothes, Sophie Lecheler, David Blanco-Herrero, Yi Ning Katherine Chen, Akiba A. Cohen, Sergey Davydov, Mariana De Maio, Filip Dingerkus, Hassam Elhamy, Miguel Garcés-Prettel, Cyriac Gousset, Daniel C. Hallin, María Luisa Humanes, Marju Himma-Kadakas, Claudia Kozman, Misook Lee, Christi I.Hsuan Lin, Mireya Márquez-Ramírez, Jorge Maza-Córdova, Kieran Mcguinness, Karen Mcintyre, Jacques Mick, Ana Milojevic, Cristina Navarro, Dasniel Olivera

All Works

The shifting role of journalism in a digital age has affected long-standing journalistic norms across media platforms. This has reinvigorated discussion on how work in online newsrooms compares to other platforms that differ in media affordances and forms. Still, more studies are needed on whether those differences translate into distinct practices, especially when examining cross-national studies. Based on a content analysis of 148,474 stories produced by 365 media organizations from 37 countries, this article compares the performance of journalistic roles in online newsrooms to three other types of media—TV, radio, and print. The paper analyzes if journalistic roles present themselves …

Analyzing Media Representations Of Rape Investigations And Interrogating The Representation Of Victim Blaming And Rape Myths: A Feminist Rhetorical Critique On The Netflix Limited Series Unbelievable, Kelly N. Hutchison

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The problematic portrayals of rape investigations in televised media reify a culture ofvictim blaming and perpetuate an ideology that is harmful to victims and survivors. This thesis utilizes a feminist rhetorical critique to analyze the gender and socioeconomic representations of rape victims and rape investigators, in the Netflix limit series Unbelievable, to understand the problems in their portrayals. In a world where individuals are consuming media constantly, it is important to be critical of media representations because even seemingly progressive media representations may perpetuate harmful stereotypes.

Anti-American Stance In Turkey: A Twitter Case Study, Gowri Prathap, Alex Korb, Luke Palmieri, Ekrem Kaya, Saltuk Karahan, Hamdi Kavak

School of Cybersecurity Faculty Publications

The availability of social media and biased actors exacerbated Anti-American and Anti-Western views to extremes. In this paper, we report our efforts in analyzing anti-American views on Twitter. We have collected over three years of Turkish tweets related to the US, translated them into English, and analyzed these tweets using various computational social science tools. We found that Turkish tweets related to the US are significantly negative, and emotions reflect disgust and anger. Furthermore, we found that the source of the negative views stems from political actors like Trump or Biden rather than general hatred. Our results shed light on …

The "Othering" Of America: How The Strategic Use Of Crisis And Ressentiment Succeeded In The Trump Era, Laura J. Franklin

Dissertations

The establishment of a crisis theme through public rhetoric often triggers widespread attention, resulting in public concern and media coverage of an issue that could potentially be overblown or deceptive. In right-wing political discourse, this crisis warning is typically delivered by a White male leader with ready access to the powerful news media. An “us versus them” theme often occurs. Within this mode of a hegemonic exclusion, a culture of immigrants or an American minority are often depicted, perhaps aggressively, as a threat: A threat used to motivate, enrage and create the frustrations inherent in ressentiment. This dissertation explores the …