Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Community, engagement, social media monitoring'

This thesis examines community engagement in social learning for achieving more sustainable collaborative natural resource management in practice. Results show that while such engagement is being effectively facilitated at the local community level, it is not being scaled-up to the national policymaking level for achieving sustainability in this field in practice. The thesis proposes a tool for monitoring community engagement in social learning to address this problem of community engagement, learning and scale.

With the growing popularity of online communities on social media, non-profit organizations have the possibility to easily reach and communicate with the public. Furthermore, small non-profit organizations with few resources are able to use online communities, not only to market their activities but also to build a closer bond with its members. However, non-profit organizations also need community members to engage in the online communities for them to function efficiently. Many small non-profit organizations struggle with engaging their community members in their online communities. This study, therefore, aims to compare how two small non-profit organizations communicate with their community members to create member engagement. The study is a qualitative, comparative case study and is based mainly on theories concerning organizational communication, online communities, and engagement. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with representatives from the non-profit organizations and through observations of their online communities. The study showed that non-profit organizations communicate their values by using storytelling and displaying emotions in their posts to create engagement. The study further shows that non-profit organizations communicate newsworthy and qualitative information which is of societal value to engage community members.

The term "costumer engagment" has grown in importance in recent years to describe cosumers interative experiences with brands. The populaty of that term was boosted by the rapid penetration of social networking sites which facilitated the engagement of consumers through online brand communities. Moreover, Facebook brand pages are widely popular among young consumers due to its rapid adoption in marketing on social media networks.In light of the Syrian conflict, and after the return of stability and safety to most of the Syrian regions, local Fast food Syrian chains found an opportunity to recover and powerfully expand in the Syrian market, especially after the closure of global fastfood chains due to international sanctions. On the other hand, Social media marketing practices are considered to be in the infancy stage in Syria, with many mpanies starting to recognize the power of social media in communication with customers. The objective of this thesis was to investigate the antecedents of young customers engagement between ages 18-29 years in Fast food Facebook brand pages in Syria. The study examined two structures (brand trust and brand love) as antecedents related to consumers relationships with Local Fast-food brands and brand loyalty as an outcome of customer engagement. In the quantitative phase, an online survey was used to collect data for the current study, where was posted on Facebook brand pages of the fast-food chains in Syria. The data collection was conducted by drawing a sample from young consumers whose ages are between 18 and 29, and who are active members of official fast-food brand pages on Facebook in Syria, Also Structure Equation Model (SEM) was conducted to study these relations between variables. The most significant findings of this study reveal that brand trust and brand love factors can influence the level of customer brand engagement, which in turn will affect loyalty. Moreover, this study offers useful managerial insights for Fast food brand managers to better assess the motives and outcome of customer brand engagement with these Facebook brand pages, to establish better emotional and effective relations with them, therefore the ability to stand in the competitive business environment.<br>N/A

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 26, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Esther Thorson. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

1 Optionen für ein Social Media Monitoring Für Unternehmen sind Social Media – derzeit noch vorrangig im Marketingbereich – von großem Interesse. Aufgrund der hohen Geschwindigkeit der Informationsgenerierung und -verbreitung, der Glaubwürdigkeit im Rahmen des subjektiven Meinungsaustauschs sowie der Masse an verfügbaren Informationen stellen sie insbesondere für kleine und mittlere Unternehmen eine große Herausforderung dar. Diese besteht dabei nicht nur aus der Minimierung der Risiken, wie beispielsweise dem Umgang mit massiven verbalen Attacken von Nutzern gegen ein Unternehmen, sondern auch in der gewinnbringenden Verwendung der verfügbaren Informationen. Um letztere zu erreichen, müssen die Social Media-Dienste mit einer klar definierten Strategie beobachtet und ausgewertet werden (Monitoring). Gewonnene Erkenntnisse müssen anschließend im Unternehmen angewendet werden. Dadurch eröffnen sich für Unternehmen nutzenbringende Möglichkeiten, wie beispielsweise Erkenntnisse über Nutzermeinungen zum eigenen Unternehmen, zu dessen Produkten oder Dienstleistungen sowie zu dessen Mitbewerbern. Das Monitoring der Dienste geht allerdings mit einer hohen Komplexität einher, da zahlreiche Faktoren und Anforderungen bewertet und beachtet werden müssen. Der vorliegende Beitrag widmet sich insbesondere der Aufarbeitung der Anforderungen die ein Unternehmen an ein Social Media Monitoring-Tool stellen kann. Zunächst wird dazu das Angebot möglicher Tools klassifiziert. Basierend auf der Funktionalität der Tools werden anschließend die Anforderungen herausgearbeitet und beschrieben. Der Beitrag schießt mit der kurzen Darstellung eines Konzeptionierungsansatzes. [...]

This thesis explores the effects of new media, specifically the Internet and the popular social networking site Facebook, on alumni engagement among Millennials in the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences. Millennials are defined as those born in or after 1982. Alumni engagement is defined as part of the larger social science term of social capital and is defined here as consisting of volunteerism and financial giving. To explore this topic, a survey was constructed and sent electronically to all Millennial alumni from the UK College of Health Sciences. Data reveal Millennial alumni from the College of Health Sciences are not particularly engaged through volunteerism or financial giving. Survey responses, however, indicated that most young alumni are recommending the college to prospective students and plan to give financially in the future. Practical implications from this study may prove beneficial for advancement practitioners and administrators in the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences.

<p> Considerable research provides clear evidence for the relationship between student achievement and the engagement of parents and community members with their local schools through meaningful involvement of parents, families, and members of the community. The purpose of this mixed-methods research study is to find evidence supporting building principals in communication efforts which engage students&rsquo; families thus contributing to student learning and achievement. The growing expectation that educational leaders use digital communications and social media to engage others has been met with some success by some building administrators and school district leaders. </p><p> This study focuses on the communication skills and behaviors of principals and the resulting effects on public perception and engagement. Qualitative, focus-group interviews were conducted with principals at both the elementary and secondary levels. Survey data was gathered from parents and community members measuring attitude and perspective. Results suggest effective principals are aware of the impact of digital communications and social media and are becoming more strategic in their use of such tools. Participants report increased involvement in school activities as a result of their efforts. Survey results indicate most parents and community members (83%) rank their local school most favorably. Principals effectively using digital communications and social media meaningfully engage a variety of parents and community members knowing their involvement can lead to improved student achievement.</p>

Parenting plays an important role in many adult lives. Parenting a child with profound multiple disabilities results in a distinct parenting experience. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the role of social media in the lives of parents raising children with profound multiple disabilities. Five parents raising children with profound multiple disabilities were interviewed, and resulting themes were identified. Consistent with previous research, parents described the initial adaptation to their child’s disability-related needs as the most challenging period of their parenting to date. Adaptation was followed by an acclimation to a new normal of their parenting experience. Parents described moving from medical crises, feelings of isolation, and unfamiliarity with resource systems to becoming empowered through interactions with other parents raising children with profound multiple disabilities, both in-person and through social media. Parents focused on three areas with their social media efforts: their own social needs, their child’s social needs, and their child’s disability-related needs. To address disability-related needs, parents used a social media bricolage approach to create a composite of social media group memberships that reflected their child’s complex medical, disability and intervention profiles. Parents described social media use as daily and essential to their functioning both personally and within their parenting. However, parents prioritized in-person social connections and utilized social media to make and maintain relationships both online and in-person. Parents expressed awareness and deliberate use of privacy settings in using social media. Parents described common pitfalls to social media use and described engaging in disability awareness through social media. Parents described social media as providing a sense of community through which they became empowered in their parenting. They also networked through in-person and virtual social interactions. Social media provided these parents with a networked community empowerment experience as they parented their child with profound multiple disabilities.

This analysis seeks to understand the power of social media to create sustainable social movements. The 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle were one of the first internet-supported acts of protest and illustrate the power of the Internet and social media to bring together diverse coalitions of actors and maintain decentralized power structures. Next, the analysis studies the non-profit advocacy organization Invisible Children and the recent media explosion of their Kony 2012 campaign to make sense of how uses of the Internet have expanded since 1999. The Kony 2012 case illustrates the power of committed networks in disseminating information but also alludes to some of the new challenges social media presents. Ultimately, this analysis concludes that social media has simultaneously empowered and crippled social media, calling for an intentioned use of the Internet applications, strong leadership, and cultural framing to sustain mobilization.

The music business is one of the industries most affected by digitalization of content and distribution channels. As industry revenue shifted from principally physical to digital channels in 2015, while being the business with the largest presence and most popular accounts in virtually all social media platforms - the current state of the music industry is change. This has led industry professionals into searching for new and innovating ways of reimagining the business model of music distribution. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of video live-streaming as an addition to the current social media channels used to market artists. This was done through looking into what industry professionals think of the subject in terms of strategic reasoning and potential, observing an interactive live-stream with a Swedish boy band, and a questionnaire directed towards end-users and listeners of Swedish popular artists to define what their stance is towards music-related social media in general, and live-streaming in particular. The findings show that live-streaming certainly has a gap to fill in the social media tool-box at music companies through facilitating the defining process of superfans based on data analysis gathered from live-stream consumers, and that the channel has potential to create engagement beyond that of other social media platforms. Furthermore, end-users want to consume more live-stream content from Swedish artists. They want content that feels more personal and revealing, while utilizing the abstract feeling of “here and now” in order for it to be more interesting than other content on social media - something that the music industry professionals agree is important in live-streamed music content.<br>Musikbranschen är en av de branscher där digitaliseringen av innehålls- och distributionskanaler haft störst påverkan. Industrins inkomst skiftar från att huvudsakligen komma från fysiska till digitala kanaler samtidigt som musikbranschen har den största närvaron och de mest populära kontona i praktiskt taget alla sociala medier - musikindustrins nuvarande tillstånd är förändring. Detta har lett branschfolk in i letandet efter nya och innovativa sätt att återuppfinna affärsmodellen för musikdistribution. Således är syftet med denna studie att undersöka potentialen för video live-streaming som ett tillägg till de nuvarande sociala media-plattformar som används för att marknadsföra artister. Detta gjordes genom att titta på vad branschfolk tycker om ämnet vad gäller strategiska resonemang och potential, observera en interaktiv live-stream med ett svenskt pojkband, samt en enkät riktad till användare och lyssnare av svenska populära artister för att definiera vad deras inställning är till musikrelaterat innehåll i sociala medier i allmänhet, och live-streaming i synnerhet. Resultaten visar att live-streaming har en lucka att fylla i musikföretagens sociala medier-verktygslåda genom att underlätta definitionsprocessen av superfans baserat på dataanalys som samlats in från lives-streams, och att kanalen har potential att skapa engagemang utöver det som genereras av andra sociala medierna. Dessutom vill användare konsumera mer live-stream-innehåll från svenska artister. De vill ha innehåll som känns mer personligt och avslöjande, samtidigt som man utnyttjar den abstrakta känsla av "här och nu" för att det ska vara mer intressant än annat innehåll på sociala medier - något som musikindustrins yrkesverksamma också tycker är viktigt i live-streamat musikinnehåll.

Music ensembles have made a concerted attempt to reach out through social media platforms to the communities surrounding their concert venues in order to attract young adults to replace aging audiences. By observing opera and symphony orchestra audience members’ social media engagement through Twitter and Facebook Live, this dissertation endeavors to better understand how technology has changed the culture of classical music concert attendance. The music organizations utilizing social media considered for this study include the Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera for Tweet Seats, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on Facebook Live. Consideration of live-tweets, Facebook Live concerts and comments, and personal interviews with social media users and music ensemble personnel provides insight to the changing experience of concert attendance. Interviews with online users who are actively participating in Tweet Seats on Twitter and chatrooms on Facebook Live during live-streamed concerts reveal that integrating social media during live performances enhances their sense of community, and their musical and social experiences. Participants indicate that prior classical music experience affects their motivation to participate and engage with other users. For many interviewees, affordability and VIP perks were initial incentives for their online involvement, but the overall experience for these users is complex. Interacting online allowed classical music fans to connect and/or reconnect to the ensembles and their music, and to an existing wired community, while negotiating with changes to the long-standing conventions of classical music culture. These alternative concert-going experiences made possible by social media reconstruct liveness within a digital world, cultivate classical music fandom, and enrich the live listening experience through collective engagement.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Mateus Ferreira (2017).pdf: 2637208 bytes, checksum: 72d86778b24ee6f41ebbb06fd605a123 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-27<br>Academic research has suggested that social media can improve corporate reputation, sales, return on investment, positive word-of-mouth and create value for consumers. Playing the central role in this relational process, consumer or customer engagement (used interchangeably in this context), emerged as one of the main constructs explaining the success and failure of brands on social media. Considering engagement as a multidimensional construct composed of cognitive, emotional and behavioral dimensions that varies according to the subject (e.g., customer or employee), focal object (e.g., brand, product or advertising), and context (e.g., retail or online), in this dissertation we make a specific field cutting in order to discuss consumer engagement (subject) with brands (object in Article 2 and 3) or brand communities (object in Article 1) on social media (context). As a general aim of the dissertation, we analyze consumer engagement in different nomological networks, prioritizing its antecedents and mediating role (Article 1) or consequences and its relationship with another measure of engagement (Article 3), in addition to perform a comparative analysis of different scales developed to measure it (Article 2). In the Article 1, we show that the Vivek, Beatty, Dalela, and Morgan (2014) consumer engagement scale, originally developed for application in multiple contexts, can also be applied to multiple objects. We validate this scale in a nomological network with perceived homophily and brand involvement as antecedents and corporate reputation as consequence. Our results show that besides having a direct positive effect on corporate reputation, consumer engagement has a strong mediating role. In the Article 2, our goal is to compare some of the main scales developed to measure consumer engagement: Dessart, Veloutsou, and Morgan-Thomas (2016), Hollebeek, Glynn, and Brodie (2014) and Vivek et al. (2014). To do this, we propose a procedure for the comparative analysis of scales that involves i) the selection, ii) standardization and iii) analysis of measures. We replicate three selected scales with the same object (brand) and context (social media), considering that most of the developed scales were applied to the same object and context. Based on the Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis, our results show similarities, differences, and advantages of applying each scale. In Article 3 we jointly analyze two streams of consumer engagement studies by considering brand engagement in self-concept (BESC) as a measure of engagement with brands in general (Sprott, Czellar, & Spangenberg, 2009) and consumer engagement with a specific brand Vivek et al., 2014), and how the latter impacts the perceived value of consumers and corporate reputation. By means of the multigroup analysis with samplings carried out in Brazil and the United States, our results showed that in addition to excellent adjustment, both at the model level and at the path level there was no difference between the groups, which indicates the cross-cultural invariance in the structural model. Finally, in Chapter 5 we synthesize the conclusions of the dissertation.<br>Pesquisa acadêmicas sugerem que as mídias sociais podem melhorar a sua reputação corporativa, vendas, retorno sobre o investimento, boca-a-boca positivo e criar valor para os consumidores. Desempenhando o papel central neste processo relacional, o engajamento do consumidor ou cliente (usados como sinônimos neste contexto), emergiu como um dos principais construtos que explicam o sucesso ou fracasso de marcas nas mídias sociais. Considerando o engajamento como um construto multidimensional composto por dimensões cognitiva, afetiva e comportamental que varia de acordo com o sujeito (ex. consumidor ou empregado), objeto focal (ex. marca, produto ou propaganda) e contexto (ex. varejo ou online), nesta tese nós fazemos um corte mais específico do campo e para discutir o engajamento do consumidor (sujeito) com marcas (objeto no Artigo 2 e 3) ou com a comunidade de marca (objeto no Artigo 1) em mídias sociais (contexto). Como objetivo geral da tese, nós analisamos o engajamento do consumidor em diferentes redes nomológicas, priorizando seus antecedentes e papel mediador (Artigo 1), ou consequentes e sua relação com outra medida de engajamento (Artigo 3), além de realizar uma análise comparativa de diferentes escalas desenvolvidas para medi-lo (Artigo 2). No Artigo 1, nós mostramos que a escala de engajamento do consumidor da Vivek, Beatty, Dalela e Morgan (2014), originalmente desenvolvida para aplicação em múltiplos contextos, também pode ser aplicado a múltiplos objetos. Nós validamos esta escala em uma rede nomológica com homofilia percebida e envolvimento com marca como antecedentes e reputação corporativa como consequente. Nossos resultados mostram que além de ter efeito positivo direto na reputação corporativa, o engajamento do consumidor tem um forte papel mediador. No Artigo 2, o nosso objetivo é comparar algumas das principais escalas desenvolvidas para medir o engajamento do consumidor: Dessart, Veloutsou e Morgan-Thomas (2016), Hollebeek, Glynn e Brodie (2014) e Vivek et al. (2014). Para fazer isso, nós propomos um procedimento para análise comparativa de escalas que envolve i) a seleção, ii) padronização e iii) análise das medidas. Nós replicamos três escalas selecionadas com um mesmo objeto (marca) e contexto (social media), considerando que a maioria das escalas desenvolvidas foram aplicadas para este mesmo objeto e contexto. Baseado nas análises da Teoria Clássica dos Testes (TCT) e na Teoria de Resposta ao Item (TRI), nossos resultados mostram similaridades, diferenças e vantagens da aplicação de cada escala. No Artigo 3 nós analisamos conjuntamente duas correntes de estudo do engajamento do consumidor ao considerar engajamento com marca no autoconceito (BESC) como uma medida de engajamento com marcas em geral (Sprott, Czellar, & Spangenberg, 2009) e engajamento do consumidor com uma marca específica (Vivek et al., 2014), e como o último impacta no valor percebido dos consumidores e na reputação corporativa. Por meio da análise multigrupo com amostragens realizadas no Brasil e Estados Unidos, nossos resultados mostraram que além de excelente ajuste, tanto no nível do modelo como no nível de caminho não houve diferença entre os grupos, o que indica a invariância intercultural dos grupos no modelo estrutural. Por fim, no Capítulo 5 nós sintetizamos as conclusões da dissertação.

Este texto explica la importancia actual de las redes sociales ya que son parte esencial de los planes estratégicos de cada marca ya que se construye una relación a lo largo del tiempo con los usuarios. La comunicación que se transmite en las plataformas digitales influye en la comunidad, también llamada Brand Community, que interactúa diariamente de manera positiva o negativa según sea la experiencia del consumidor. Es así como una comunidad mantiene una retroalimentación constante sobre sus experiencias o pensamientos que motivan entre sí a la recompra o también para mejorar la reputación de la marca. Las interacciones en el mundo digital por parte de la Brand Community se ven como resultado de un compromiso que se mantiene frente la marca, a esto se le llama Customer Engagement. Los seguidores de la marca, motivados por el valor que representa para ellos y por sus experiencias, desarrollan el Brand Loyalty. El sentimiento que las marcas están buscando que sus consumidores tengan hacia ellos, ya que se trata de una relación que perdura a lo largo del tiempo y difícilmente puede quebrarse. El principal objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la relación de cómo estas 3 variables se relacionan entre sí y resaltar la importancia que se debe tener dentro del marco de prioridades de las marcas.<br>This text explains the current importance of social networks since they are an essential part of the strategic plans of each brand since a relationship is built over time with users. The communication that is transmitted on digital platforms influences the community, also called the Brand Community, which interacts daily in a positive or negative way depending on the consumer experience. This is how a community maintains constant feedback on their experiences or thoughts that motivate each other to buy back or also to improve the reputation of the brand. Interactions in the digital world by the Brand Community are seen as the result of a commitment that is maintained with the brand, this is called Customer Engagement. The followers of the brand, motivated by the value they represent for them and by their experiences, develop Brand Loyalty. The feeling that brands are looking for their consumers to have towards them, since it is a relationship that lasts over time and can hardly be broken. The main objective of this research is to analyze the relationship of how these 3 variables are related to each other and to highlight the importance that must be had within the framework of brand priorities.<br>Trabajo de investigación

Τaking into consideration how frequent the presence of light is in the most of the communication events and initiatives of human beings, as well as, the continuous need of the society for an evolution and facilitation of communication, without barriers, this thesis aims to study how light can be an impactful medium, suitable to influence and create, a social worldwide engagement οn a daily basis. Βy applying current techniques and methodologies of the field, through the published bibliography and articles, the collection and presentation of the existing projects, original interviews and questionnaires, this research, attempts to present significant reasons and arguments that designate the light as a basic communication tool, suitable to dynamically contribute in transferring messages and information on sociopolitical, environmental and health-related fields. In the end, it is justified that light under a certain context is an attractive medium, suitable for raising awareness, communicating messages for local and global issues and creating social engagement in the urban space. By providing arguments for the importance of the use of light in sociopolitical, environmental and health issues, emphasizing on the dynamic lighting environments that can communicate information through light, this research concludes with an aspiration for more conscious use of this communicative “language” in the urban space. Through the final conclusions, it is evident that the continuation of a constructive dialogue on the subject will help solidify the position of light as a fundamental and meaningful communication medium. For that reason, the discussions and conclusions will give the audience and researchers the incentive to dive deeper into the issue and investigate the many aspects of it in further analysis.

This dissertation project seeks to address the sociological processes, dynamics, and mechanisms inflecting how and why U.S. society reproduces a sexually dimorphic, binary gender structure. The project builds upon the work of sociologists of gender on the doing gender framework, intersectional feminist approaches to identity formation, and hegemonic masculinity and relational theories of gender. In a 2012 article in Social Science and Medicine presenting contemporary concepts in gender theory to the health-oriented readers of the journal, R. W. Connell argues that much public policy on gender and health relies on categorical understandings of gender that are now inadequate. Connell contends that poststructuralist theories highlighting the performativity of gender improve on the assumption of a categorical binary typical in public policy, but they ignore the insights of sociological theories emphasizing gender as a structure comprising emotional and material constraints of the complex inter-relations among social institutions in which performances of gender are embedded. According to Connell, it is the task of social scientists to uncover “the processes by which social worlds are brought into being through time – the ontoformativity, not just the performativity, of gender.” This project explores the ontoformativity of gender in consideration of Patricia Hill Collins’ concept of the four domains of power. According to Collins, matrices of domination are intersecting and interlocking axes of oppression including but not limited to race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, nation, age, ability, place, and religion that reproduce social inequalities through their interoperation in the cultural, interpersonal, structural, and disciplinary domains of power. West and Zimmerman contrast gender as an axis in the matrix of oppression with site-specific roles, arguing that gender is a master status that is omnirelevant to all situations such that a person is assessed in terms of their competences in performing activities as a man or a woman. The doing gender approach has been accused of theorizing gender as an immutably monolithic social inequality. This project seeks to explicate the dynamics of gender ideology by probing its weaknesses in the interpersonal and cultural domains of power. As Collins and coauthor Sirma Bilge posit, for people oppressed along axes of gender, race/ethnicity, class, age, place, ability, and other binaries that constrain their actions in the structural and disciplinary domains of power, “the music, dance, poetry, and art of the cultural domain of power and personal politics of the interpersonal domain grow in significance.” Each of the three components of the dissertation project addresses a facet of mechanisms and processes of the interpersonal and cultural domains of power in (re)producing the binary gender structure in U.S. society. Paper #1, titled, “Integrating Black Feminist Thought into Canonical Social Change Theory,” explicates how people in marginalized social locations mount definitional challenges to their received classifications in the cultural domain of power by rejecting the consciousness of the oppressor and wielding rearticulated collective identity-based standpoints as contextually attuned technologies of power to recast historical narratives. Paper #2, with teenaged co-researcher Emma Draper, titled “Ordering Gender: Interactional Accountability and the Social Accomplishment of Gender Among Adolescents in the U.S. South,” maps how youth theorize interactional accountability processes to binary gender expectations in the interlocking social institutions of medicine, the family, schools, and peer social networks. Paper #3 is a book proposal comprising an introductory chapter. The book will tell the story of how young feminist arts-activists challenge the binary gender structure through resistance in the cultural and interpersonal domains.

Public participation is not a form of civic responsibility that it once was. With not only fewer people taking part in the public participation process, there is a trend towards an older (45 years and older) group of residents that come to such meetings or workshops. Plans, such as Specific Plans or General Plans often take years to implement and require all generations to give feedback on what is needed for the future. Additionally, within the last decade, there has been a rise in social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. These websites emerged as informal virtual places for friends to connect, but have slowly evolved into a tool for businesses, and more importantly, government to connect with constituents. This study explores the relationship between the decline of public participation with findings to support the reasons residents do not take part in the process, and the rise of social media as a tool for engagement with findings to support how cities nationwide use Facebook. Social media provides a two-way form of communication between the community and the local government which aides in promoting genuine participation. Additionally, social media allows for efficient outreach and noticing of meetings or public workshops. As opposed to newspaper or website noticing, websites such as Facebook allow for local governments to target a specific audience by location, age, or interests. Findings indicate that although many cities developed a Facebook Page to engage the “younger generation”, all ages became fans of the City operated Facebook Page. In addition, the findings show that the true potential of Facebook as a participatory tool have not been discovered. cities are developing their own ways of using it as a tool as there is no formal best practices manual for City planning departments. The findings of this study have provided the necessary information to develop a best practices manual for planning practitioners to utilize. The manual provides information on developing a Facebook Page as well as the implications of the technology.

Map Kibera project and it’s Voice of Kibera reporting initiative present an example of new media applying the principle of crowd sourcing to foster social change and provide voice to community of Kibera, Kenya. The aim of this study was to analyses, firstly, how the concept of participatory communication has been applied during the implementation of the project. As a basis for this approach an Integrated Model of Communication for Social Change was applied during the analysis of articles being produced on two project blogs to identify what steps have been implemented and what new aspects could be brought. Secondly, it was important to understand what social change the implementation of such project could bring to community it serves for. Finally, in order to develop a strategy for sustainability possible barriers/limitations of citizen/actor engagement were identified. Research tools used for this analysis were qualitative semi-structured interviews with project team members as well as participants/non participants of the project combined together with quantitative content analysis applied on articles produced on Map Kibera and Voice of Kibera blogs.Most important findings indicate that the application of IMCFSC took place almost fully but was applied on a particular community – project team. At the same time the use of crowd sourcing platform and reporting gave citizens of Kibera an opportunity to create their own agenda and provide a real picture of the area thus gaining a “voice” and possibility to speak out loud to broader communities. Nevertheless it is important to mention that the access to information created during the project was possible mostly in the offline form (printed materials, maps) and via mobile phones thus indicating to such barriers as the lack of such ICT tools as computers and also to the need to co-operate more closely to broader community of Kibera to avoid possible misconception of the work of the project. These findings are important to consider when planning implementation of similar projects in other communities located in different geographical, political and social settings.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how rural Ugandan women engage with discussions of HIV and AIDS on community radio. It explored how this audience may relate such broadcast discussions to their own lived experience of HIV and AIDS. It is explained in the study that, while the Uganda government has an official policy of openly discussing matters of HIV and AIDS, health communication strategies still operate within a context where there is an underlying "culture of silence" that discourages openness about sexual matters. It is also pointed out that there are widespread gender disparities among rural communities, which severely limit women's ability to make use of health communication initiatives aimed at educating them. Against this backdrop, the study sets out to explore audience responses to a particular example of Speak Out and Listen, a weekly programme broadcast on Mama FM, a Kampala-based radio station managed by the Uganda Media Women's Association (UMWA). The study maps out responses to the programme by a particular group of rural women. It is argued that these research participants' comments confirm the importance, noted in literature dealing with health education, of drawing for content on what members of an audience have to say about their own lived context. It is proposed that, despite the existence of a 'culture of silence', the women's comments demonstrate an ability to speak with confidence about their experience of living with HIV and AIDS. Thcy are able, more particularly to discuss the constraints placed by gendered power relations on women's ability to draw on the educational content of programming that targets people living with HIV and AIDS. As such, the comments that such women offer represent a valuable resource for HIV and AIDS related programming. The principal conclusion of the study is that health communication initiatives such as Speak Out and Listen would benefit from facilitating conversations with their target audience about their lived experience of HIV and AIDS, and incorporating such discussion into their programmes

This research analyzes the zero waste movement in Cologne, Germany, aiming to findout how media and communication influence pro-environmental (consumer) behavior ofan already environmentally aware target audience. A special focus lies on what dominantchannels and mediums are used as well as what role social media influencers play.Therefore, 15 interviews were conducted in two of the three existing zero waste stores inCologne. The material was subsequently analyzed with a qualitative text analysisaccording to Mayring (2014). The findings revealed that pro-environmental contentresearch online and offline through media and communication can indirectly influencepro-environmental (consumer) behavior of the zero waste movement in Cologne in termsof motivation, inspiration, for information research, or a lively exchange. This dominantlyhappened through the offline community and through face-to-face conversations, but alsowith the use of new and social media. To some extent, social media influencers affecteda younger audience, possibly leading to a consolidation of the individuals’ awareness andattitude as well as an encouragement to take action. However, media and communicationare not the only factors influencing the zero waste consumption behavior. Furtherinfluencers are environmental awareness and consciousness, education, and personalityfactors. Latter can also be an interior barrier, along with family, lack of knowledge, time,and experience. Meanwhile, exterior factors are the economic and organizationalinfrastructure, contradicting lifestyles of the community, and economic constraints thatcould possibly hinder the process towards pro-environmental consumption and behavior.Overall, this research aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the zero waste lifestyleand its drivers as an ideal for pro-environmental behavior, enabling the fight againstclimate change on a local and communal level in Cologne, Germany.

This study focuses on motivation -Involved in recycling behavior among residents of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Knowledge of recycling and how it was acquired, and the variables of environmental concern, economic incentive and the peer pressure were compared so that behavior could be distinguished that separated recyclers from nonrecyclers. Talcott Parsons' work in action theory and George Homans' work in exchange theory provide the theoretical foundation for my study. The research was approached in a qualitatively based design with interviews of twenty area residents. Demographic factors of age, sex, religious affiliation, church attendance, education and income of respondents were solicited. In addition to interviews, I administered a demographic survey. Recycling behavior was correlated positively with older age, convenience, female sex, higher levels of education, higher income, affiliation with liberal church denominations, and urban residence. It was negativley correlated with church attendance. Recyclers were better informed about environmental topics, especially those pertaining to recycling. Peer pressure was shown to have a positive effect on recyclers and recycling behavior. Recyclers were concerned about the quality of their environment, while nonrecyclers felt that the quality of the local environment was above average.

Due to the numerous possibilities of voicing concerns and the flood of data we are exposed to, local issues are at a risk of being overlooked. Following a research agenda proposed by Foth et al. (2013), this thesis explored the possible contributions of situated digital and tangible media for communicating local issues. Making use of the location of an issue could thereby not only allow to reach the targeted audience but also for a deeper involvement of citizens. Through the development of a design intervention in public space, called Local Commons, the benefits of this approach were investigated. Therefore, the intervention combined digital and tangible media in order to engage the public to contribute and debate different perspectives on a given local issue. The interaction with the intervention was thereby twofold. First, the intervention invited the audience to submit images of their perspectives on the issue, which were displayed on a public screen. Via tangible buttons in front of the screen, the audience then had the possibility to agree or disagree to the displayed perspectives, creating a space for deliberation. In a field study, the concept was subsequently tested and evaluated. The results of this study, although not generalisable, supported the chosen approach of this thesis.

Currently, southern Louisiana faces extreme land loss that could reach an alarming rate of about one football sized swath of land every hour. The combined effect of land subsidence and predicted sea level rise threaten the culture and livelihood of the residents living in this region. As the most vulnerable coastal population in Louisiana, the communities of south Terrebonne Parish are called to adapt by accommodating, protecting, or retreating from the impacts of climate change. For effective preparation planning, the state of Louisiana needs to 1) understand the adaptation preferences and responses of these residents and 2) involve these vulnerable communities in adaptation related decision making. The study uses a survey-based methodology to analyze current adaptation preferences. Findings suggest that protection is the preferred adaptation response. The present study additionally uses participatory techniques to develop a land loss awareness mobile application to illustrate the importance and benefits of community collaboration.

How we develop cities in the twenty-first century remains a subject of contentious debate worldwide. As neoliberal strategies are implemented in redevelopment projects, public safety nets are reduced and low-income communities of color in declining urban neighborhoods become particularly vulnerable. This multiple case study seeks to understand the experiences of post crisis urban redevelopment for low-income communities of color in 5 major U.S. cities. The data I analyzed include 101 short videos from the interactive documentary platform Land of Opportunity, documenting the process of post-crisis urban redevelopment in New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Detroit, and San Francisco. In doing so, I discovered that residents' experiences vary greatly based on redevelopment strategy that was employed and the level of resident involvement in the redevelopment process.

While aiming to reach results (such as improved health status) humanitarian workers in aid organizations such as Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RCRCM)[1], make use of outcomes in related global forums, standards and networks. Common concepts discussed related to humanitarian action are the following ones: effectiveness, local ownership and mutual accountability. In addition, concepts such as Results Based Management (RBM), highlighting the importance of delivering and accounting for results influences humanitarian organizations. Donors such as governments are pushing for RBM. The RBM reform impacts Swedish aid policy and RCRCM in Sweden, represented by Swedish Red Cross. However researchers and civil society actors find that RBM is not a silver bullet to facilitate results.   Dialogue with beneficiaries goes back to the beginnings of humanitarian action, but dialogue using social media to capture beneficiaries’ views started only around a decade back.   In this case study, I investigate RCRCM and focus on Swedish Red Cross. In particular I explore the following research problem: how does beneficiary communication and accountability using social media contribute to reaching and measuring results?   My data includes individual and focus group interviews and RCRCM guiding documents. Conclusions include that: indeed beneficiary communication and accountability contributes to reaching results and have potential to better capture results. Direct RCRCM organizational benefits are potentially huge given RCRCMs extensive worldwide community level network. The benefits include better access, more relevant activities and funding opportunities. However challenges include perceived lack of expertize, management commitment and generally slow change of mind set with regards to downward accountability. [1] A) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), B) the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and C) national societies in 189 countries around the world (see section 2.1)<br>När biståndsarbetare i hjälporganisationer som rödakorsrörelsen (RCRCM)[1], arbetar för att nå resultat (såsom bättre hälsa för utsatta människor) använder de sig ofta av de ambitioner som vuxit fram i biståndsrelaterade globala fora, nätverk och standards såsom: effektivitet, lokalt ägarskap samt ömsesidigt ansvarsskyldighet och ansvarsutkrävande. Samtidigt har begrepp som ”result based management” (RBM) fått stort inflytande på humanitära organisationer när det gäller vikten av att nå och visa på konkreta resultat. Finansiärer, såsom regeringar, ställer allt tuffare krav på RBM metodik används genom ett starkt inflytande på svenskt bistånd och därmed på RCRCM i Sverige, företrätt av Svenska Röda Korset. Dock finns både forskare och humanitära organisationer civila som hävdar att RBM knappast är någon patentlösning vare sig för att nå eller visa på resultat. Medan dialog med biståndsmottagare funnits så länge bistånd funnits har systematisk dialog med hjälp av sociala medier för att få förmånstagarnas synpunkter bara skett ett tiotal år. I denna fallstudie undersöker jag RCRCM med fokus på Svenska Röda Korset. I synnerhet studerar jag följande forskningsproblem: hur bidrar dialog med och ansvarighet gentemot förmånstagare som sker med sociala medier till att nå och mäta resultat?Mitt material inkluderar individuella- och fokusgruppsintervjuer samt studier av RCRCMs styrdokument. Slutsatser inkluderar att: direkta organisatoriska fördelar för RCRCM av dialog med mottagare är potentiellt enorma givet RCRCM världsomspännande lokala nätverk. Fördelarna inkluderar ökad möjlighet att nå de mest utsatta, mer relevanta insatser och bättre finansiering. Bland utmaningarna som lyfts är brist på expertis och ägarskap hos organisatio-nens ledning och svårighet till byte av ’mind set’ vad gäller nedåtgående ansvarighet. [1] A) Internationella rödakorskommittén (ICRC), B) Internationella rödakors-och rödahalvmånefederationen (IFRC) och C) nationella föreningar in 189 länder i världen (se sektion 2.1)

Through research, inquiry, and an evaluation of Recovery By Design, a ‘design therapy’ program that serves people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, it is my assertion that the practice of design has therapeutic potential and can aid in the process of recovery. To the novice, the practices of conception, shaping form, and praxis have empowering benefit especially when guided by Conditional and Transformation Design methods together with an emphasis on materiality and vernacular form.

Throughout the pages of my thesis, I comprehensively analyze the processes, intentions, and production of my thesis film Stay Woke. My examination will exhaustively probe every stage of the film from development to preproduction to production to postproduction and beyond. Individual aspects of this process including writing, casting, locations, production design, cinematography, directing, budgeting, scheduling, and postproduction workflows will be detailed. As I make elaborations in each section, I will explain my learning experiences from each day’s new tasks, challenges, and lessons. All of these things will be framed with regards to the overall goal and themes of the film.

This study deals with finding a way to enable citizen-led urban innovation through technology while concentrating on various aspects of controversial city developments. Therefore the literature concerning this topic is first investigated and current online systems designed for citizens to engage in city development decisions explored. In addition, literature, approaches and systems related to conflict resolution are also presented and discussed. By means of applying multiple design cycles, including several user studies, an online platform for citizens to elaborate controversial ideas for the city together was developed. These design cycles were focused on first finding a suitable process to elaborate on ideas and find consent. The process implementing this is tested during two workshops that portray the procedure that would be realised on the platform. Findings after each workshop are used to revise the process. In order to design a user interface that could implement such a process first an expert focus group was asked to brainstorm solutions for multiple design questions. Considering this input two platform mock-ups were created and shown to participants to receive feedback. A final prototype of the online platform was then implemented and tested in a final user study. During this study participants elaborated an idea together to test the whole resulting product, while being able to use the online platform in an in the wild setting. In spite of discovering how dependent the usage of the platform is on its users, the feedback received for the general idea of using an online platform to elaborate on ideas and find consent was overall positive.

Diese Arbeit bietet eine solide theoretische Grundlage zu Philanthropie und religiös motivierten Spendenaktivitäten und deren Einfluss auf Wohltätigkeitstrends, Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und einer auf dem Gedanken der sozialen Gerechtigkeit beruhenden Philanthropie. Untersucht werden dafür die Strukturen religiös motivierte Spenden, für die in der islamischen Tradition die Begriffe „zakat“, „Waqf“ oder im Plural auch „awqaf-“ oder „Sadaqa“ verwendet werden, der christliche Begriff dafür lautet „tithes“ oder „ushour“. Aufbauend auf diesem theoretischen Rahmenwerk analysiert die qualitative und quantitative Feldstudie auf nationaler Ebene, wie die ägyptische Öffentlichkeit Philanthropie, soziale Gerechtigkeit, Menschenrechte, Spenden, Freiwilligenarbeit und andere Konzepte des zivilgesellschaftlichen Engagements wahrnimmt. Um eine umfassende und repräsentative Datengrundlage zu erhalten, wurden 2000 Haushalte, 200 zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen erfasst, sowie Spender, Empfänger, religiöse Wohltäter und andere Akteure interviewt. Die so gewonnen Erkenntnisse lassen aussagekräftige Aufschlüsse über philanthropische Trends zu. Erstmals wird so auch eine finanzielle Einschätzung und Bewertung der Aktivitäten im lokalen Wohltätigkeitsbereich möglich, die sich auf mehr als eine Billion US-Dollar beziffern lassen. Die Erhebung weist nach, dass gemessen an den Pro-Kopf-Aufwendungen die privaten Spendenaktivitäten weitaus wichtiger sind als auswärtige wirtschaftliche Hilfe für Ägypten. Das wiederum lässt Rückschlüsse zu, welche Bedeutung lokale Wohltätigkeit erlangen kann, wenn sie richtig gesteuert wird und nicht wie bislang oft im Teufelskreis von ad-hoc-Spenden oder Hilfen von Privatperson an Privatperson gefangen ist. Die Studie stellt außerdem eine Verbindung her zwischen lokalen Wohltätigkeits-Mechanismen, die meist auf religiösen und kulturellen Werten beruhen, und modernen Strukturen, wie etwa Gemeinde-Stiftungen oder Gemeinde-„waqf“, innerhalb derer die Spenden eine nachhaltige Veränderung bewirken können. Daher bietet diese Arbeit also eine umfassende wissenschaftliche Grundlage, die nicht nur ein besseres Verständnis, sondern auch den nachhaltiger Aus- und Aufbau lokaler Wohltätigkeitsstrukturen in Ägypten ermöglicht. Zentral ist dabei vor allem die Rolle lokaler, individueller Spenden, die beispielsweise für Stiftungen auf der Gemeindeebene eingesetzt, wesentlich zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung beitragen könnten – und das nicht nur in Ägypten, sondern in der gesamten arabischen Region. Als konkretes Ergebnis dieser Arbeit, wurde ein innovatives Modell entwickelt, dass neben den wissenschaftlichen Daten das Konzept der „waqf“ berücksichtigt. Der Wissenschaftlerin und einem engagierten Vorstand ist es auf dieser Grundlage gelungen, die Waqfeyat al Maadi Community Foundation (WMCF) zu gründen, die nicht nur ein Modell für eine Bürgerstiftung ist, sondern auch das tradierte Konzept der „waqf“ als praktikable und verbürgte Wohlstätigkeitsstruktur sinnvoll weiterentwickelt.<br>This work provides a solid theoretical base on philanthropy, religious giving (Islamic zakat, ‘ushour, Waqf -plural: awqaf-, Sadaqa and Christian tithes or ‘ushour), and their implications on giving trends, development work, social justice philanthropy. The field study (quantitative and qualitative) that supports the theoretical framework reflects at a national level the Egyptian public’s perceptions on philanthropy, social justice, human rights, giving and volunteering and other concepts that determine the peoples’ civic engagement. The statistics cover 2000 households, 200 Civil Society Organizations distributed all over Egypt and interviews donors, recipients, religious people and other stakeholders. The numbers reflect philanthropic trends and for the first time provide a monetary estimate of local philanthropy of over USD 1 Billion annually. The survey proves that the per capita share of philanthropy outweighs the per capita share of foreign economic assistance to Egypt, which implies the significance of local giving if properly channeled, and not as it is actually consumed in the vicious circle of ad-hoc, person to person charity. In addition, the study relates local giving mechanisms derived from religion and culture to modern actual structures, like community foundations or community waqf that could bring about sustainable change in the communities. In sum, the work provides a comprehensive scientific base to help understand- and build on local philanthropy in Egypt. It explores the role that local individual giving could play in achieving sustainable development and building a new wave of community foundations not only in Egypt but in the Arab region at large. As a tangible result of this thesis, an innovative model that revives the concept of waqf and builds on the study’s results was created by the researcher and a dedicated board of trustees who succeeded in establishing Waqfeyat al Maadi Community Foundation (WMCF) that not only introduces the community foundation model to Egypt, but revives and modernizes the waqf as a practical authentic philanthropic structure.

More than 2.6 million troops have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, surveys reveal that more than half feel “disconnected” from their civilian counterparts, and this feeling persists despite ongoing efforts, in the academy and elsewhere, to help returning veterans overcome physical and mental wounds, seek an education, and find meaningful ways to contribute to society after taking off the uniform. This dissertation argues that Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans struggle with reassimilation because they lack healthy, complete models of veteran identity to draw upon in their postwar lives, a problem they’re working through collectively in literature and artwork. The war veteran—returning home transformed by the harsh realities of military training and service, having seen humanity at its extremes, and interacting with a society apathetic toward his or her experiences—should engage in the act of storytelling. This act of sharing experiences and crafting-self subverts stereotypes. Storytelling, whether in a book read by millions, or in a single conversation with a close family member, should instruct civilians on the topic of human resiliency; it should instruct veterans on the topic of homecoming. But typically, veterans do not tell stories. Civilians create barriers to storytelling in the form of hollow platitudes—“thank you for your service” or “I can never understand what you’ve been through”—disconnected from the meaning of wartime service itself. The dissonance between veteran and civilian only becomes more complicated when one considers the implicit demands and expectations attached to patriotism. These often well-intentioned gestures and government programs fail to convey a message of appreciation because they refuse to convey a message of acceptance; the exceptional treatment of veterans by larger society implies also that they are insufficient, broken, or incomplete. So, many veterans chose conformity and silence, adopting one of two identities available to them: the forever pitied “Wounded Warrior” or the superficially praised “Hero.” These identities are not complete. They’re not even identities as much as they are collections of rumors, misrepresentations, and expectations of conformity. Once an individual veteran begins unconsciously performing the “Wounded Warrior” or “Hero” character, the number of potential outcomes available in that individual’s life is severely diminished. Society reinforces a feeling among veterans that they are “different.” This shared experience has resulted in commiseration, camaraderie, and also the proliferation of veterans’ creative communities. As storytellers, the members of these communities are restoring meaning to veteran-civilian discourse by privileging the nuanced experiences of the individual over stereotypes and emotionless rhetoric. They are instructing on the topics of war and homecoming, producing fictional and nonfictional representations of the veteran capable of competing with stereotypes, capable of reassimilation. The Introduction establishes the existence of veteran culture, deconstructs notions of there being a single or binary set of veteran identities, and critiques the social and cultural rhetoric used to maintain symbolic boundaries between veterans and civilians. It begins by establishing an approach rooted in interdisciplinary literary theory, taking veteran identity as its topic of consideration and the American unconscious as the text it seeks to examine, asking readers to suspend belief in patriotic rhetoric long enough to critically examine veteran identity as an apparatus used to sell war to each generation of new recruits. Patriotism, beyond the well-meaning gestures and entitlements afforded to veterans, also results in feelings of “difference,” in the veteran feeling apart from larger society. The inescapability of veteran “difference” is a trait which sets it apart from other cultures, and it is one bolstered by inaccurate and, at times, offensive portrayals of veterans in mass media and Hollywood films such as The Manchurian Candidate (1962), First Blood (1982), or Taxi Driver (1976). To understand this inescapability the chapter engages with theories of race, discussing the Korean War veteran in Home (2012) and other works by Toni Morrison to directly and indirectly explore descriptions of “difference” by African Americans and “others” not in positions of power. From there, the chapter traces veteran identity back to the Italian renaissance, arguing that modern notions of veteran identity are founded upon fears of returning veterans causing chaos and disorder. At the same time, writers such as Sebastian Junger, who are intimately familiar with veteran culture, repeatedly emphasize the camaraderie and “tribal” bonds found among members of the military, and instead of creating symbolic categories in which veterans might exist exceptionally as “Heroes,” or pitied as “Wounded Warriors,” the chapter argues that the altruistic nature which leads recruits to war, their capabilities as leaders and educators, and the need of larger society for examples of human resiliency are more appropriate starting points for establishing veteran identity. The Introduction is followed by an independent “Example” section, a brief examination of a student veteran named “Bingo,” one who demonstrates an ability to challenge, even employ veteran stereotypes to maintain his right to self-definition. Bingo’s story, as told in a “spotlight” article meant to attract student veterans to a college campus, portrays the veteran as a “Wounded Warrior” who overcomes mental illness and the scars of war through education, emerging as an exceptional example—a “Hero”—that other student veterans can model by enrolling at the school. Bingo’s story sets the stage for close examinations of the “Hero” and the “Wounded Warrior” in the first and second chapters. Chapter One deconstructs notions of heroism, primarily the belief that all veterans are “Heroes.” The chapter examines military training and indoctrination, Medal of Honor award citations, and film examples such as All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Heroes for Sale (1933), Sergeant York (1941), and Top Gun (1986) to distinguish between actual feats of heroism and “Heroes” as they are presented in patriotic rhetoric. The chapter provides the Medal of Honor citations attached to awards presented to Donald Cook, Dakota Meyer, and Kyle Carpenter, examining the postwar lives of Meyer and Carpenter, identifying attempts by media and government officials to appropriate heroism—to steal the right to self-definition possessed by these men. Among these Medal of Honor recipients one finds two types of heroism: Sacrificing Heroes give something of themselves to protect others; Attacking Heroes make a difference during battle offensively. Enduring Heroes, the third type of heroism discussed in the chapter, are a new construct. Colloquially, and for all intents and purposes, an Enduring Hero is simply a veteran who enjoys praise and few questions. Importantly, veterans enjoy the “Hero Treatment” in exchange for silence and conforming to larger narratives which obfuscate past wars and pave the way for new ones. This chapter engages with theorists of gender—such as Jack Judith Halberstam, whose Female Masculinities (1998) anticipates the agency increasingly available to women through military service; like Leo Braudy, whose From Chivalry to Terrorism (2003) traces the historical relationship between war and gender before commenting on the evolution of military masculinity—to discuss the relationship between heroism and agency, begging a question: What do veterans have to lose from the perpetuation of stereotypes? This question frames a detailed examination of William A. Wellman’s film, Heroes for Sale (1933), in the chapter’s final section. This story of stolen valor and the Great Depression depicts the homecoming of a WWI veteran separated from his heroism. The example, when combined with a deeper understanding of the intersection between veteran identity and gender, illustrates not only the impact of stolen valor in the life of a legitimate hero, but it also comments on the destructive nature of appropriation, revealing the ways in which a veteran stereotypes rob service men and women of the right to draw upon memories of military service which complete with those stereotypes. The military “Hero” occupies a moral high ground, but most conceptions of military “Heroes” are socially constructed advertisements for war. Real heroes are much rarer. And, as the Medal of Honor recipients discussed in the chapter reveal, they, too, struggle with lifelong disabilities as well as constant attempts by society to appropriate their narratives. Chapter Two traces the evolution of the modern “Wounded Warrior” from depictions of cowardice in Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage (1895), to the denigration of World War I veterans afflicted with Shell Shock, to Kevin Powers’s Iraq War novel, The Yellow Birds (2012). As with “Heroes,” “Wounded Warriors” perform a stereotype in place of an authentic, individualized identity, and the chapter uses Walt Kowalski, the protagonist of Clint Eastwood’s film, Gran Torino (2008), as its major example. The chapter discusses “therapeutic culture,” Judith Butler’s work on identity-formation, and Eva Illouz’s examination of a culture obsessed with trauma to comment on veteran performances of victimhood. Butler’s attempts to conceive of new identities absent the influence of systems of definition rooted in the state, in particular, reveal power in the opposite of silence, begging another question: What do civilians have to gain from the perpetuation of veteran stereotypes? Largely, the chapter finds, the “Wounded Warrior” persists in the minds of civilians who fear the veteran’s capacity for violence. A broken, damaged veteran is less of a threat. The story of the “Wounded Warrior” is not one of sacrifice. The “Wounded Warrior” exists after sacrifice, beyond any measure of “honor” achieved in uniform. “Wounded Warriors” are not expected to find a cure because the wound itself is an apparatus of the state that is commodified and injected into the currency of emotional capitalism. This chapter argues that military service and a damaged psyche need not always occur together. Following the second chapter, a close examination of “The Bear That Stands,” a short story by Suzanne S. Rancourt which confronts the author’s sexual assault while serving in the Marines, offers an alternative to both the “Hero” and the “Wounded Warrior” stereotypes. Rancourt, a veteran “Storyteller,” gives testimony of that crime, intervening in social conceptions of veteran identity to include a female perspective. As with the example of Bingo, the author demonstrates an innate ability to recognize and challenge the stereotypes discussed in the first and second chapters. This “Example” sets the stage for a more detailed examination of “Veteran Storytellers” and their communities in the final chapter. Chapter Three looks for examples of veteran “difference,” patriotism, the “Wounded Warrior,” and the “Hero” in nonfiction, fiction, and artwork emerging from the creative arts community, Military Experience and the Arts, an organization which provides workshops, writing consultation, and publishing venues to veterans and their families. The chapter examines veteran “difference” in a short story by Bradley Johnson, “My Life as a Soldier in the ‘War on Terror.’” In “Cold Day in Bridgewater,” a work of short fiction by Jerad W. Alexander, a veteran must confront the inescapability of that difference as well as expectations of conformity from his bigoted, civilian bartender. The final section analyzes artwork by Tif Holmes and Giuseppe Pellicano, which deal with the problems of military sexual assault and the effects of war on the family, respectively. Together, Johnson, Alexander, Holmes, and Pellicano demonstrate skills in recognizing stereotypes, crafting postwar identities, and producing alternative representations of veteran identity which other veterans can then draw upon in their own homecomings. Presently, no unified theory of veteran identity exists. This dissertation begins that discussion, treating individual performances of veteran identity, existing historical, sociological, and psychological scholarship about veterans, and cultural representations of the wars they fight as equal parts of a single text. Further, it invites future considerations of veteran identity which build upon, challenge, or refute its claims. Conversations about veteran identity are the opposite of silence; they force awareness of war’s uncomfortable truths and homecoming’s eventual triumphs. Complicating veteran identity subverts conformity; it provides a steady stream of traits, qualities, and motivations that veterans use to craft postwar selves. The serious considerations of war and homecoming presented in this text will be useful for Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans attempting to piece together postwar identities; they will be useful to scholars hoping to facilitate homecoming for future generations of war veterans. Finally, the Afterword to the dissertation proposes a program for reassimilation capable of harnessing the veteran’s symbolic and moral authority in such a way that self-definition and homecoming might become two parts of a single act.

The thesis analyses how Rotary International (RI), a non-profit organisation with a community service focus, uses Facebook to influence membership recruitment and retention; and along with user findings, presents an evidenced argument about the current lack of success. First-hand observations, as a visitor to community organisations in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia had suggested that many had an ageing and declining membership, and thus a sustainability problem. Anecdotal evidence suggested that generational differences were making traditional club structures and communication channels less attractive to younger members, and that social media might provide the interactive format and informal context needed to recruit and retain younger members. A subsequent extensive review of the scholarly literature revealed that few were reporting on Facebook uses in community organisations. The resulting project used staged progressive focusing with content analysis of RI district and club newsletters and Facebook pages providing sub-questions for investigation. The online survey, conducted over four months, used a restricted number of self-selected respondents from RI clubs with a Facebook page in one of the three South Australian districts. Survey responses were statistically analysed, providing details of fall-off, demographics, Facebook usage, including generational differences, social capital development, recruitment and retention. Thirteen informants then participated in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews, exploring key survey themes, as well as changing membership profiles, members’ needs, the development of social capital, and the potential of Facebook to change recruitment and retention rates. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analysed using NVivo. To allow further exploration of issues relating to Facebook page content and the lack of interactivity, each informant was asked to provide Facebook export data, including all posts made over the duration of the surveys and interviews. A typology was designed to describe these posts, and used as the basis for further NVivo analysis. The research found that the initial content analysis of each eligible club’s Facebook page (n=72 in 2013), completed prior to the online survey, showed that the number of contributors and the level of interactivity were low. However, the Most Popular Age (MPA) of those engaging with their club’s Facebook page, was almost 20 years younger (35–44 years), than the average club member (55–64 years), thus providing a potential source of younger members for recruitment. Most respondents noted that their club’s Facebook page had no role in their own recruitment, which predated its establishment. It was found that few clubs were using their Facebook pages in the interactive, community-building manner that might have been expected; and that the branding of organisational Facebook pages, with logos, was counter-productive, resulting in lower levels of engagement. However, those engaged with club Facebook pages were younger than the average RI member. This study argues this group provides the potential for rejuvenation by recruitment and retention. The argument concludes with practical recommendations for future uses of Facebook in community organisations.<br>Thesis (M.Phil.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2015

碩士<br>中國文化大學<br>國際貿易學系<br>107<br>The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships among consumer brand engagement, brand identification, community identification and brand trust. We ad-ministered surveys via the internet to collect data from 318 consumers who use a social media to follow beauty or sport brands. The results show that: (1) brand engagement positively affects brand identification and brand identification; (2) brand engagement positively affects brand trust; (3) community identification and brand identification positively affects brand trust; (4) the positive effects of Brand engagement on brand trust is mediated by brand identification and community identification. This research discusses the implications of theory and social media, and suggestions for future re-search.

This study investigates how graffiti writing is learnt and how graffiti writers experience this learning. Drawing on the concept of communities of practice, it frames graffiti as a skillful and aesthetic practice that is learned in a communally- situated context. This shifts the focus from graffiti as a stigmatised practice to a demonstration of the expert knowledge that young men develop over time through their engagement with a learning community. The research consisted of semi-structured interviews and observations of graffiti practice with eleven male graffiti writers. The thesis argues that graffiti writing involves a wide range of cognitive, social, emotional and bodily skills. These skills coalesce at the site of practice where they in turn inform the learning of novice graffiti writers. This thesis shows that the way writers experience the learning of graffiti occurs within a highly masculine space that can serve to exclude women’s participation. By developing an understanding of the lived experiences of male graffiti writers, this research contributes new knowledge about youth cultural practice as a site of learning and production.

碩士<br>輔仁大學<br>大眾傳播學研究所碩士班<br>106<br>Internet users nowadays are no longer just passive recipients of information. They can actively create and share information on the Internet; therefore, a type of virtual community for the purpose of knowledge sharing has emerged. Such platforms provide users with a space for communication and knowledge sharing, and assist members to find the information and answers they need through other users who share their knowledge, experience, and expertise on the platforms. This study examines users of “Zhihu”, the largest knowledge sharing community in China, and to investigate the relationships among knowledge quality, sense of virtual community, and stickiness; as well as the influence of these factors on users’ engagement in the community. This study conducted an online survey with a sample size of 557 valid responses. After performing a factor analysis on online community engagement, the result showed that users’ online community engagement behavior can be divided into three categories: (1) browsing & searching; (2) QA & interaction; and (3) recommendation & forwarding. The study also conducted hierarchical regression analyses to examine the influence of knowledge quality, sense of online community, and stickiness on three types of user online community engagement. The findings indicate that (1) understandability in knowledge quality will positively affect users’ browsing & searching on Zhihu; (2) knowledge reliability will positively affect users’ QA & interaction; (3) knowledge usefulness will positively affect users’ recommendation & forwarding behavior on Zhihu; (4) community identity in sense of virtual community will positively affect the all of the three types of users’ online community engagement behavior; (5) exchange support in sense of virtual community, however, has no significant predictive power on users’ online community engagement; and (6) users’ stickiness will positively affect users’ “browsing & searching” as well as “QA & interaction.” Based on the research results the study provides future research directions and practical suggestions in the end of the thesis.

The constant use of social media networks is one of the biggest trends observed in recent years, whose popularity seems to keep growing, and always being reinvented somehow. Every person of any generation is now present on, at least, one social media network and spends a substantial part of their time interacting in online communities. And where people are, there is where brands want to be. Hence the need for companies to adapt to the digital ecosystem, ensuring their presence and maintaining the best possible practices. Although it has been observed that the relationships between brands and consumers in social networks are favorable for both parties and bring equal benefits, there are some sectors that are unable to do it as efficiently as others. A good example of this issue is reflected in the banking sector, which is one of the most outdated in this matter. This dissertation aims to understand the difficulties that currently exist in the interaction between consumers and banks on digital platforms, as well as the motivations that drive consumers to want to be part of their Banks Online Communities and to stay engaged in the long term. Simultaneously, the aim is to study the existence of variables such as Engagement and Brand Love in this area and their consequences for the topic. The data was collected through a quantitative analysis, supported by an online questionnaire based on the literature of different authors regarding the previously mentioned topics. The results allow us to understand the ways in which the banking sector can adjust in order to positively influence its consumers to be present and assiduous to their digital platforms.<br>A utilização constante das redes sociais é uma das maiores tendências observadas nos últimos anos, cuja popularidade parece não parar de crescer, existindo sempre forma de se reinventar. Qualquer pessoa, de qualquer geração, está presente em pelo menos uma rede social e passa uma parte substancial do seu tempo em comunidades online. E onde as pessoas estão, é onde as marcas querem estar. Daqui, surge a necessidade de adaptação das empresas ao ecossistema digital, garantindo a sua presença e mantendo as suas best practices. Apesar de se ter vindo a observar que as relações entre marcas e consumidores nas redes sociais são favoráveis para ambas as partes e trazem benefícios, há ramos de negócio que não conseguem fazê-lo de forma eficiente. Um destes casos consiste no setor bancário, que é um dos mais atrasados neste tema. Esta dissertação pretende compreender as dificuldades que existem atualmente na interação entre os consumidores e os Bancos nas plataformas digitais, bem como as motivações que estimulam os consumidores a querer fazer parte da Comunidade Online dos seus Bancos e a manter-se engaged no longo prazo. Simultaneamente, pretende-se estudar a existência de variáveis como o Engagement e Brand Love nesta área, bem como as suas consequências. A recolha de dados foi feita através de um estudo quantitativo, suportado por um questionário online baseado em literatura científica referente aos tópicos previamente mencionados. Os resultados permitem compreender quais os caminhos a seguir pelo setor bancário, de forma a conseguirem influenciar positivamente os seus consumidores a estarem presentes e serem assíduos nas suas comunidades online.

This practicum develops the concept of Mapping Digital Landscape Narratives. It is an exploration of the use of social media as a passive form of community engagement in landscape architecture. Digital landscape narratives are stories about places that are created collectively by various agents, including people, groups, organizations and communities through the Internet and the use of social media. A case study of the Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg, Manitoba is used to explore the potential of social media as a tool in planning and design. This practicum explores the importance of social media to participatory culture. An understanding of landscape narratives is developed, and contemporary forms of representation are explored. The document explores three forms of data including original social media data, such as photographs and videos, metadata such as hashtags and locations, and social network data, which is created when people interact on social media. Research into mapping, social network analysis and online privacy outline best practices for researchers and designers of public space. A study of the Festival du Voyageur’s programming, along with an interview with the festival’s planning staff, establishes a conventional data set that outlines the festival on a city scale, a neighborhood scale, and the scale of the festival grounds. Social media data from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are mapped and analyzed to create a complimentary data set. Ultimately an overall complex narrative is developed describing the festival from various points of view at various locations.<br>October 2016

This dissertation aims to understand the feelings expressed by consumers on online reviews, regarding the different dimensions that comprise a luxurious hotel experience, alongside with how management response reflects guests 'feedback. To contextualize this modern online interaction, the research comprises the analysis of relationship marketing and customer engagement concepts, as basis theoretical constructs, alongside with social media marketing and electronic word-of-mouth. Giving this broad knowledge concerning the type of relationship established between hotels and guests nowadays, it was possible to investigate much further the hospitality sector, highlighting online reviews and how they have been promoted a deeper study about consumers 'experiences. Afterwards, one analysed the process behind hotels' response to the online available feedback, translated into the concept of management response, in terms of its conceptualization, benefits and potential strategies. A netnographic study was conducted on two luxury hotel brands - Hilton and Marriott, and eight hotels were selected - four of 4-star and four of 5-star - on London. Two hundred reviews were extracted for each property on Tripadvisor, side by side with hotels 'responses, so in the end 2864 online comments were gathered between February and March 2019.<br>Esta dissertação visa compreender os sentimentos expressados pelos consumidores nas "online reviews", sobre os diferentes elementos que compõe uma experiência hoteleira luxuosa, assim como de que forma a resposta dos hotéis reflete esse mesmo "feedback". Para contextualizar esta moderna interação "online", a investigação compreende o estudo dos conceitos de "relationship marketing" e "customer engagement", como pilares teóricos, bem como de "social media marketing" e "electronic word-of-mouth". Com um conhecimento alargado sobre o tipo de relação estabelecida entre hotéis e hóspedes nos dias de hoje, foi possível estudar o sector hoteleiro em específico, dando destaque às "online reviews" e à forma como têm contribuindo para um estudo mais aprofundado das experiências dos consumidores. Depois, analisou-se o processo que envolve a resposta dos hotéis ao "feedback" disponível "online", traduzido na noção de "management response", em termos da sua conceptualização, benefícios e possíveis estratégias. Foi realizado um estudo netnográfico a duas marcas pertencentes ao sector hoteleiro de luxo - Hilton e Marriott, tendo sido oito hotéis selecionados - quatro de 5 estrelas e quatro de 4 estrelas - na cidade de Londres. Foram extraídas 200 "reviews" sobre cada uma das propriedades no Tripadvisor, assim como a resposta dos respectivos hotéis, traduzindo-se num total de 2864 comentários analisados entre Fevereiro e Março de 2019.

The land-grant university system was founded in the 19th century as a public means to help improve people’s everyday lives. A century and a half later, the challenges that the public faces to live a quality life are constantly changing, creating a need for the land-grant system to respond and adapt to continue to fulfill its mission. While the literature contains a wealth of conceptual papers addressing the role and mission of land-grant universities, relatively few papers could be found that reported empirical data or proposed and tested metrics for public engagement constructs. The current study sought to address this void in the literature through the investigation of factors influencing Indiana residents’ level of interest in engaging with Purdue University. Mail survey methods were used in which up to three contacts were made with adult members of 4,500 Indiana households identified through address-based sampling. Stratified random sampling was employed to ensure adequate rural household participation for other project purposes. Usable responses were received from 1,003 households representing 87 Indiana counties for a total response rate of 26%. <br><div><br> </div><div> A theoretical perspective was developed from Public Sphere Theory and the social science writings of Jurgen Habermas and Alexis de Tocqueville. Descriptive findings revealed some to moderate concerns about community and social issues such as affordable health care, violent crime, pollution and prescription drug abuse. Moderate levels of anomie, or perceived social disconnectedness, were also reported by respondents. Several items tapped respondents’ past levels of interaction with and current perceptions of Purdue University. Nearly a fifth of respondents reported interacting with Purdue University by having visited a website for news or information, followed by interacting with a Purdue University Extension professional. Regarding perceptions of Purdue University, the results of this study revealed relative consensus among respondents that Purdue University makes a positive contribution to the state of Indiana through its educational, research and outreach programs. For a majority of the perceptual items regarding Purdue University, more than one-third of the respondents neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement, suggesting some areas in which the university might improve its reputational standing with Indiana residents in the future. Nearly one-quarter to about half of the respondents indicated interest in topical areas addressed by Purdue Extension programs as well as an interest in engaging with the university. Respondents reported the highest levels of interest in free Extension programs in their local area, followed by the topics of science and technology, health and well-being, and gardening.</div><div><br> </div><div> A predictive model of respondent interest in engaging with Purdue University was developed and tested using binary logistic regression procedures. The model was shown to be of modest utility in accounting for variance in respondent interest in engaging with Purdue University, explaining 12% to 16% of total variance. Past interaction with Purdue University, perceived level of concern for social and community issues, and highest level of education were the strongest predictors in the model.</div><div><br> </div><div> The current research was completed in 2019 as Purdue University celebrated its 150th anniversary. Results and implications of this study provide important insight into current engagement levels, concerns and perceptions of residents within the state of Indiana, whom the university is mandated to serve. One of the study’s primary contributions is the establishment of baseline engagement data on current levels of Indiana residents’ interest in engaging with Purdue University on selected topics. Findings from this study could be of benefit to university administrators, faculty, staff and Extension professionals in assessing and improving future programming and setting strategic priorities. This study also adds to the conceptual and empirical body of literature, which may help inform future public engagement efforts at other land-grant universities. Periodic social science and public opinion research is needed to keep pace with the changing needs and perceptions of Indiana residents. Different data collection modes should be utilized to reach more audience segments and add to the growing knowledge base of public engagement.</div>