Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Publication From apartheid to democracy: Shifting news values of journalists at the “Sunday Times” newspaper(University of Kansas, 2009-05-31) Janneker, DenzylThis study explores the news values of journalists at the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa. Of particular interest are the values espoused under the apartheid era and whether these values changed with the resultant transformation to democracy in 1994. Using a qualitative method of inquiry, the study shows the pursuit of capital and the newspaper's watchdog role emerge as enduring values in a new dispensation. Contrasting views are held on whether the newspaper was a staunch critic of the apartheid government, but what is clear is that values not only shifted due to the country's political transition, but through the personality of an editor who embraced change.Publication The Kansas soldier as a war correspondent 1898-1899(University of Kansas, 1957) Stewart, Alan J.Publication Who Gives a “Like” About the HPV Vaccine? Kansan Parent/Guardian Perceptions and Social Media Representations(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Luisi, Monique Linette RobinsonAmong U.S. states, Kansas children’s HPV vaccination rates remain low. Parent/guardian HPV vaccine-beliefs likely influence vaccination rates. Additionally, Facebook’s popularity suggests that this forum’s representation may influence parent/guardian decisions to vaccinate children. This dissertation explores how Kansan parents/guardians of HPV vaccine-eligible children perceive the vaccine in the contexts of the health belief model (Rosenstock, 1974; Rosenstock, Strecher, & Becker, 1988) and the social amplification of risk framework (R. Kasperson et al., 1988), parent/guardian engagement with HPV vaccine-related information, and Facebook representations by general users and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the vaccine’s first decade on the market. Results indicate HPV vaccine risk perceptions among some Kansan parents/guardians, social media as an active and passive source of information, and the HPV vaccine’s representation on Facebook as increasingly negative. HPV vaccine promotion strategies should consider focusing on the vaccine’s representation and risk attenuating messages.Publication The Visual Language of Emojis: A Study on College Students’ Social Support Communication in Online Social Networks(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Harn, Ren-Whei JoannaThe transition from high school to college can be stressful, and research suggests that stress is often the trigger of mental health issues like depression and anxiety among college students. Social support can be critical in helping young adults adjust to college and buffering college students from the negative effects of stress. In this digital media age, social support can be attained through interactions on social network sites such as Facebook or Instagram. A major disadvantage of computer-mediated interactions is the difficulty of incorporating nonverbal cues such as facial and gestural expressions. While the absence of visual cues has been a challenge for effective online supportive communication, the recent emergence of emojis addresses this issue. This dissertation examines how college students use emojis to communicate social support on Instagram. Specifically, it examines how emoji use is associated both with stress and with types of social support messages. Three empirical studies were conducted: content analysis of Instagram posts including the #collegeproblems hashtag, content analysis of the visual representations of emojis, and five focus groups with undergraduate college students. Results show that college students share thoughts about schoolwork, self-expression, and physical and mental health on Instagram. In addition, emojis are often used to enhance the sentiment of a message or express empathy, as well as to convey humorous or sarcastic expressions. The ambiguity of emojis makes it particularly suitable for emotional communication because one of the benefits of visual language communication is its interpretive flexibility. However, the findings also indicate that visual representation discrepancies with the current design and development of emojis can cause miscommunication and lead to unsupportive interactions. As one of the first studies examining the role of emojis in online supportive communication, this dissertation offers theoretical and practical implications regarding the use of visual graphics in social support. Concepts and measurements used in this study inform future studies in online communication, emojis, and visual communication. For scholars interested in studying social support and empathy, this study provides a mixed-methods framework for understanding these complex concepts.Publication Factors and Attributes Affecting the Adoption of Digital Media Technologies by Public Relations Practitioners in Kuwait(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Ebrahim, HusainThis exploratory study examined the attitudes and factors influencing the decision to adopt new digital media technologies by public relations practitioners in Kuwait. Kuwait’s public relations practitioners were found in the past to be slow in adopting digital media technologies. Yet, Kuwait now ranks among the highest in the region in terms of new digital media consumers. In a recent Kuwait public relations conference, scholars addressed that the field needs to benefit more from adopting digital technologies. Hence, there is a lag in adopting communication technologies when compared with Western societies. The diffusion of innovation was the theoretical framework of this study. Therefore, the study examined the association of Rogers’s attributes of innovation with the decision to adopt new digital media technologies by public relations practitioners in Kuwait. In addition, the researcher examined how public relations practitioners differently perceive these five attributes of innovation based on gender and organization sector. This dissertation implemented a mixed-method approach, using qualitative and quantitative methods. The researcher in-depth interviewed (N = 14) public relations practitioners working in Kuwait and surveyed (N = 147) others. In-depth interviews provided an explanation of each of Rogers’s attributes of innovation. Interviewees mentioned the features of each of these attributes that influence their decision to adopt new digital media technologies. The descriptive results of the survey showed that only 1% of survey respondents had not adopted a new digital media technology for public relations practices. In addition, respondents identified Instagram as the most beneficial new digital media technology for public relations in Kuwait. Inferential statistics of the survey presented one significant finding in that public relations practitioners in private sector organizations were more influenced by the trialability attribute of innovation than public relations practitioners in public sector organizations. The main implications were that technology producers would benefit from the attributes of innovation features to encourage public relations practitioners to adopt their technologies. Adopting these technologies would improve women’s public relations practices. Last, adopting digital media technologies would reduce public relations costs.Publication The effects of cause-related marketing (CRM) on social media and in health communication: How does CRM-based social media message influence health perception?(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Kang, HannahGiven that cause-related marketing (CRM) frequently features health issues in marketing, this study examined how and to what extent cause-related marketing (CRM) on social media affect millennials’ responses to both marketing and health information embedded in CRM. A total of 300 undergraduate students (71% female, Mage=19.66 for all participants) participated in a 2 (brand-cause fit: low vs. high) X 2 (cause proximity: local vs. international) between-subjects experiment. In addition, cause involvement (high vs. low) was the third independent variable. In terms of marketing perspectives, this study found main effects of brand-cause fit, cause proximity, and cause involvement on marketing related dependent variables (e.g., attitudes toward brand, campaign participation intention). However, this study did not find two-way and three-way interactions on attitudes toward brand, attitudes toward non-profit organization, attitude toward the CRM message, campaign participation intention and engagement on social media. In terms of health communication variables, main effects of cause involvement on attitudes toward sunscreen use, and attitudes toward skin cancer were found. Moreover, this study found a three-way interaction on behavioral control for sunscreen use as well as two two-way interactions: a two-way interaction between fit and cause involvement on behavioral control for sunscreen use, and a two-way interaction between brand-cause fit and cause proximity on attitudes toward skin cancer. Taken together, these interaction effects indicate a great potential of using CRM to target those who are less involved with the cause in health communications. The findings suggest that a CRM message with low brand-cause fit and a local cause, and a CRM message with high brand-cause fit and an international cause can motivate consumers who are less involved with the cause to have a higher level of behavioral control for sunscreen use and more positive attitudes toward skin cancer. Moreover, as for the theoretical contributions of this study, it is noted that the effects of level of involvement contradict prior results using the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). The results showed that individuals who are less involved with the cause are more likely to have more positive attitudes toward marketing variables and health communication variables than those who are more involved with the cause. Thus, future research should examine whether cause involvement in the digital and CRM context plays a role as a moderator in ELM from both the marketing and health communication standpoints.Publication The rural press in Kansas(University of Kansas, 1932) Ryther, Thomas C.Publication May I offer you a gift card? An analysis of Volkswagen's crisis response strategy in the wake of its Dieselgate scandal(University of Kansas, 2017-01-01) Tidwell, MatthewVolkswagen’s Dieselgate scandal represents one of the largest automotive crises in history. In the United States, approximately 500,000 cars were found to emit as much as 40 times the legal limits in pollutants after the company installed software to defeat emissions testing. This mixed methods case study examines owner and consumer opinions to determine the impact and effectiveness of VW’s choice of compensation strategy for its crisis response. The study’s conclusions are that consumer brand sentiment didn’t recover in the weeks following two separate compensation offers. In fact, factors including the company’s prior heavy advertising of the cars as “clean diesel” before the discovery, intensified the feelings of shock and betrayal. Strong prior reputation, long seen as a buffer against negative crisis reputational impact, is also examined. The study observes a corollary to reputation as a buffer – finding instead that Volkswagen’s strong prior reputation and heavy brand loyalty, coupled with its aggressive promotion of a false buying proposition, actually created a fall from grace that resulted in a stronger sense of betrayal and contributed to more negative brand sentiment.Publication The political cartoon in America and Europe(University of Kansas, 1932) Bowers, Virginia GenePublication Publication The better business bureau movement : Its relation to the problem of greater public confidence in advertising(University of Kansas, 1930) Graves, Alfred JamesPublication Court action as influenced by public opinion directed by the newspaper(University of Kansas, 1931) Newell, Valerie ZirklePublication The change in the news style of the Associated Press(University of Kansas, 1928) Nichols, Raymond F.Publication Lawrence, 1970 : a narrative and oral histories surrounding three crises(University of Kansas, 1990) Weeks, Marian J.The project focuses upon the era of turmoil and protest in Lawrence in 1970. The narrative article and appendix of oral histories provide background and accounts of three crises: the University of Kansas Student Union fire on April 20, 1970, and the three-day curfew; the shooting death by a policeman of Rick "Tiger" Dowdell; and the shooting death of Harry "Nick" Rice during a disturbance at which police weapons were fired. During the April and July crisis periods, vigilantes, students, white protesters, blacks and police readied their guns. The city's response was the Police- Community Relations Program, a conflict resolution/ sensitivity training program. This master's project includes the perspectives of many factions identified in the conflict. This narrative article draws from the six oral histories in the appendix, additional interviews, newspaper articles, a Dowdell inquest transcript and other written materials. The weaknesses in the oral history/cultural journalism method have hopefully been corrected in this project through the narrative, the editing, the comparison of sources, the selection of materials, the notes included in the oral histories and the balance of materials taken together. The oral histories provide personal accounts, anecdotal experience and current perspective on those experiences in the sources' own language. This project only begins to fill the gap of material published on Lawrence in 1970, and upon the deaths of the two former KU students and the Union fire.Publication Not Just for the Military: A Study of PTSD and Student Journalists on the Trauma Beat(University of Kansas, 2010-04-13) Gartman, Courtney A.This study examines student journalists from Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois who reported on each school's mass shooting during the time of the trauma. The researcher attempts to identify whether these student journalists exhibited signs and symptoms of Posttraumatic stress disorder, and if so how were such symptoms combated. To identify PTSD characteristics of avoidance, hyperarousal and intrusion I used the Impact of Event Scale-Revised coupled with participant in-depth interviews. Results indicated that several participants demonstrated symptoms congruent of PTSD such as: anxiety, feelings characteristic of depression, a heightened auditory response and withdrawal from friends and family. Recognizing how to routinize the news, and leaning on peers were key elements in these student journalists learning how to cope with their trauma exposure.Publication Student unrest and the Kansas press : editorial reactions to violence in Lawrence and at the University of Kansas in 1970(University of Kansas, 1982) Johnson, Ronald EugenePublication Growth of newspapers in the United States(University of Kansas, 1928) Dill, William AdelbertPublication Passing of the crusading editor in Kansas(University of Kansas, 1928) Benson, IvanPublication Some backgrounds of newspaper function(University of Kansas, 1928) Church, George FrancisPublication The influence of the newspaper on contemporary English and American literature(University of Kansas, 1923) Kistler, John Joseph