Browsing by Author "Haenschen, Katherine"
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Attitudes Toward University Communication: Applying and Extending the Theory of Planned BehaviorRaboteau, Albert Jordy, III (Virginia Tech, 2019-06-28)The percentage of alumni who donate to their university has been declining for more than 25 years. This paper applies the proven theory of planned behavior to shed new insight on what factors influence alumni's decision whether or not to donate to their university. Nearly 1,500 non-donor alumni of a large, mid-Atlantic research university were surveyed. The study found that 36.6% of the difference in intent to donate was explained by a combination of attitudes, beliefs about what other people do or think should be done, perceptions of control, past donation behavior to other nonprofits, experience while in college, and ongoing communication with the university. Several elements, including attitudes, beliefs about what others do or think should be done, and rating of communication effectiveness had significant effects on alumni's intent to donate. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
- The Craft of Violence: A Posthuman Patchwork of Technological InterrelationsFox, Alice Quinn (Virginia Tech, 2023-05-04)
- Masking the Second Amendment: Issue agenda building during the 2020 American presidential electionShaughnessy, Brittany Rose (Virginia Tech, 2021-06-10)This study content analyzed interest group and candidate tweets from the 2020 American presidential election to determine what issues and substantive attributes were most salient on interest group and candidate agendas during the "hot phase" of the campaign. Cross-lagged correlations were conducted during two time periods from Labor Day to Election Day 2020 to measure agenda building effects. These tests were conducted for Democratic nominee and eventual President Joe R. Biden, and Republican nominee and former President Donald J. Trump. These tests were also conducted for two issue-based interest groups: Everytown for Gun Safety and the National Rifle Association. Findings indicate that Biden influenced Trump's campaign agenda, but Trump did not influence Biden's. The interest groups showed reciprocal influence with each other. Given the unprecedented nature of the 2020 election, the candidates were largely talking about the same issues. However, substantive attributes reveal the candidates' true issue agenda. This study offers methodological innovation by utilizing NVivo for content analysis.
- Trending in the Right Direction: Using Google Trends Data as a Measure of Public Opinion During a Presidential ElectionWolf, Jordan Taylor (Virginia Tech, 2018-06-19)During the 2016 presidential election, public opinion polls consistently showed a lead in the popular vote and Electoral College for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Following Trump's surprise victory, the political pundits and public at large began to question the accuracy of modern public opinion polling. Fielding a representative sample, convoluted and opaque methodologies, the sheer amount of polls, and both the media's and general public's inability to interpret poll results are among the flaws of the polling industry. An alternative or supplement to traditional polling practices is necessary. This thesis seeks to investigate whether Google Trends can be effectively used as a measure of public opinion during presidential elections. This study gathers polling data from the 2016 presidential election from states that were considered swing states. Specifically, this study examines six total polls, three from states that swung in the way the polls predicted they would – Nevada and Virginia – and three from states that swung against the prediction – Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Answers to the "Most Important Issue" question in each poll are compared to their corresponding topics in Google Trends by calculating Pearson product moment correlations for each pair. Results indicated that in states that swung as predicted, Google Trends was an effective supplement to traditional public opinion polls. In states that did not swing as predicted, Google Trends was not an effective supplement. Implications of these results and future considerations for the polling industry and Google are discussed.
- What’s in a Font?: Ideological Perceptions of TypographyHaenschen, Katherine; Tamul, Daniel J. (2019-12-20)Although extensive political communication research considers the content of candidate messages, scholars have largely ignored how those words are rendered – specifically, the typefaces in which they are set. If typefaces are found to have political attributes, that may impact how voters receive campaign messages. Our paper reports the results of two survey experiments demonstrating that individuals perceive typefaces, type families, and type styles to have ideological qualities. Furthermore, partisanship moderates subjects’ perceptions of typefaces: Republicans generally view typefaces as more conservative than Independents and Democrats. We also find evidence of affective polarization, in that individuals rate typefaces more favorably when perceived as sharing their ideological orientation. Results broaden our understanding of how meaning is conveyed in political communication, laying the groundwork for future research into the functions of typography and graphic design in contemporary political campaigns. Implications for political practitioners are also discussed.