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Browsing by Author "Smith, Stephanie A."

Now showing 1 - 10 of 10
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    The Colored Sense of Awareness: An Analysis of African American Perceptions of Race and Communication in the Workplace
    Mercer, David Lewis (Virginia Tech, 2019-06-21)
    The United States has a troubled history with race relations. African Americans have immeasurably experienced racism and racial oppression in various forms and in many sectors of the American society. One of the sectors that the racial inequalities of our past have affected is the employment sector. Many Americans experience the workplace on a daily basis and therefore experience the inequities that persist in such environments. This study explores African American experiences with race in the workplace and the way that race shapes today's workplace. Specifically, this study analyzes the experiences of African American professionals working at for-profit organizations and their perceptions of the way that race shapes their organization's culture. This study employs a constant comparative analysis of qualitative interviews using Critical Race Theory as a guide. The interviews explored the manner in which race, Diversity and Inclusion (DandI) programs, and communication affect organizational culture. The thesis further questions if and how organizations are working to create and sustain a more equitable workplace for all employees. The findings suggest that African American professionals perceive that their organizations are welcoming and inclusive of all minority groups. They also perceive the organizational culture to be friendly and family-oriented where open, positive, and encouraging communication exists. The professionals feel that their organizations are generally interested in diversity, however they feel the organization's engagement with diversity practices is not sufficient. The findings of this study could be used as a tool for organizations to reevaluate their diversity practices and to ensure that they are creating an equitable workplace.
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    Connecting communities: A case study of social media recruitment at three community colleges
    Coble, Jessalyn Elizabeth (Virginia Tech, 2018-06-26)
    In addition to recruitment pressures felt by all in higher education, community colleges have the unique challenge of communicating with students of all ages, interests, and academic levels, and doing so with limited staff and resources. Many recruiters have turned to social media as an important tool for reaching potential students. However, for community colleges with few staff, social media communication can be difficult and time-consuming. This study explores how community college administrators are using social media as a recruitment tool, and how this use aligns with students' needs and expectations. This two-part study employs uses and gratifications theory to guide qualitative interviews with the social media administrators at three Virginia community colleges and focus groups with current students at each of the colleges. This study takes a unique approach to theory by comparing the uses and gratifications of both the message creator and user. Social media administrators at the community colleges were found to use social media to gratify their awareness, recruitment, and reach/engagement needs. Students thinking about the recruitment process were found to expect community colleges' social media content to gratify their needs for socialization, discovery, and access. Administrators are meeting many of the students' reported social media recruitment needs but could use the data provided in this study to improve their social media efforts in a few emerging areas.
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    Evaluating Consumer Response to Environmental Labels on Packaging Using Eye-Tracking
    Smith, Stephanie A. (Virginia Tech, 2015-07-21)
    Labeling is one way consumers evaluate products for purchase. Environmental labeling is used to provide environmental information to the consumer. If a person is familiar with a particular labeling process they may be more inclined to consume such product. This study used the Tobii© T60 eye-tracking system to determine differences in gaze durations and time to first fixation between the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label and an unsubstantiated label. Labels were placed on two different products (toilet paper and paper plates) and four locations (top-right corner, bottom-right corner, top-left corner, and bottom-left corner). Additionally, after the participants viewed the images they were asked to complete the six-question GREEN Consumer Values scale and then asked to sort eighteen different images based on label type and price. Participants did not differentiate between the two labels. Labels placed in the bottom-right corner received the least amount of attention (as measured by fixation duration) when compared to labels placed in the other three corners. Eye-tracking data was then split at the median and two groups were created: low label fixators versus high label fixators. High label fixators scored overall higher on the GREEN Consumer Values scale than low label fixators. Participants sorted the 18 products based on price, putting the lowest-labeled product first 84% of the time. Future studies could include looking at other environmental labels and broader populations.
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    Gender Representation in Sports Illustrated for Kids
    Wooten, Kelsey Dianne (Virginia Tech, 2019-06-21)
    Sport media has been a known producer of traditional gender images that reflect inequality between sexes. Sport media has been studied endlessly, but one aspect that has not fostered as much attention is sport media, advertising, and children. Sports Illustrated for Kids is the only sport media print magazine for children, with a readership age of 8-15 years old. Images and gender stereotypes have been used continuously by advertising companies to sell products to consumers. Children in particular cannot accurately determine between content that is meant to inform and content that is meant to sell. This study examined whether editorial and advertising images in Sports Illustrated for Kids reflects actual participation rates of athletic activities based on gender in issues from the past decade. Utilizing past research, this study looked at overall numbers and stereotypes by examining factors such as state of dress, photo angle, and motion in photograph. Findings show that females are still under and misrepresented in SIK. Even so, findings of this study suggest representation of women in team neutral sport such as soccer and basketball is on the rise. Findings could have implications for SIK's young readership as well as highlight a need for more education about advertising and editorial practices being implemented.
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    Get Lit: An analysis of the framing of party schools in the U.S.
    Hanks, Carlianne Lindsey (Virginia Tech, 2019-06-21)
    Universities and colleges in the U.S. are constantly mentioned in lists such as The Princeton Review's Top Party School list or similar rankings that can potentially impact the institution, as well as local news coverage regarding the institution's ranking and the drinking and partying habits of its student body. This study explores media coverage of party schools through a lens of framing and relationship management theories. Through a quantitative content analysis of news frames used in local news coverage of universities or colleges with noted "party school" reputations in the 2016 to 2017 academic school year, as well as frames represented in the official university responses, this study uncovers how universities with these noted reputations are framed by the local news media. In addition, the study explores the ways in which university responses to media coverage impact the potentially mutually-beneficial relationship between higher education institutions and its stakeholders, as it is a primary function of public relations (Kim et al., 2007). In order to examine the predominant frames used by local news media in college towns and "party school" university responses, frames of negative emotional appeal, morality, human interest and harm reduction were explored to determine their salience in written messages found in news headlines and university responses. The results of this study provide explanations to a phenomenon that largely impacts the reputation of a higher education institution in the U.S., as well as implications for the management of relationships between the media and universities.
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    Hear Us Out: When Colleges Talk About Tuition Increases
    Polikoff, Richard A. (Virginia Tech, 2018-05-24)
    In the decades that followed World War II, tuition at American colleges was well within the financial reach of most families. Since 1980, however, it has grown more expensive to attend both public and private colleges, as tuition has surged at a rate that has far outpaced inflation. At the same time, the economic and lifestyle disparities between those who earn four-year degrees and those who do not have reached record levels. As a result, students have to go to college in order to have a realistic shot at prosperity, but must borrow significantly in order to afford the cost of attendance. Colleges are aware that whenever the subject of increased tuition comes up, be it a proposed increase or an official one, it is a threat to their image and is likely to be viewed as offensive by students, who are already straining from the high cost of college. Thus, colleges employ a range of image restoration theory strategies at all phases of the conflict management life cycle, in order to restore, repair, and protect their images. While the rhetorical strategies taken by colleges may be given a great deal of thought by college spokespersons, they are not always strategically appropriate. This thesis uses mental accounting to extend image restoration theory, and offers rhetorical strategies that colleges may consider in order to minimize the threat to their images posed by increased tuition.
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    Pandemic Partnering: COVID-19's Impact on College Students' Dating Practices
    Wanzer, Claire Victoria (Virginia Tech, 2022-06-28)
    This thesis seeks to explore if and how college students' dating practices have changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Through eight focus group interviews (n=51), participants discussed their dating practices, use of online dating platforms, and navigation of health and safety protocols. A thematic analysis was used to identify and define major themes from the focus groups. Findings revealed four themes in how college students define dating, which were relational investment, exclusivity labels, dating progression, and the role of hookup culture. When addressing how the pandemic has changed the way college students date, six themes were identified: importance of communication, technology as a tool, impact of family, violating safety norms, negative affect expression, and gaining perspective. This thesis extends academic research on how dating is defined and how uncertainty in the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted dating practices of college students at a large U.S. university in the mid-Atlantic region.
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    The Quarterbacks of the NFL Draft: A Study into the Media Coverage of the 2012 and 2020 First Round Quarterbacks
    Clements, Christopher Frederick (Virginia Tech, 2021-06-10)
    This study seeks to identify, understand, and compare the themes created, by the print media, utilized to ascribe identity to college quarterbacks as they are entering the NFL Draft. The study will compare the four first-round quarterbacks from the 2020 NFL Draft and four first-round quarterbacks from the 2012 NFL Draft; which because of its historic nature of being the first draft to include a white and Black quarterback of drafted number one and two, respectively, is used as a baseline. The study uses framing theory and previous research to understand the themes present in the media coverage of these quarterbacks from the 2020 NFL Draft and the 2012 NFL Draft. A total of 112 newspaper articles from the Newsbank database were analyzed using qualitative research methods to compare the differences in frames that exist due to the racial background of each quarterback. Additionally, the difference in narratives and expressed frames, depicted by the print media over an eight-year time span were compared and examined using framing theory. The findings reveal that in both 2012 and 2020 there was racial framing utilized, in the sports media, when describing college quarterbacks and these racial frames functioned as a reflection of the existing racial views within society. The findings also displayed a clear difference between the frames present in 2012 and 2020. This difference, however, did not point toward a lessening of racial framing, but rather to a shift in the formation of the themes utilized, by the sports media, to create the racial frames.
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    Retells and Remakes: Understanding How Horror Urban Legends Change Over Time
    Costello, Lincoln John James (Virginia Tech, 2021-08-27)
    This study seeks to understand how horror urban legends undergo changes over time and the possible reasons for their alterations. Past researchers have yet to analyze the shifts that have occurred within the retellings of these dark tales, and through this analysis, light will be shed onto what truly affects the media's storytelling behavior. Building upon meme theory, this study will use narrative and historical context analyses to uncover the objectives, narrative elements and temporal environments surrounding 10 replications of three horror urban legend memes over the past century. This research will uncover how these memes have mutated over time and inform the world as to how context plays a role. A total of 30 horror urban legend artifacts (10 per meme) were analyzed using qualitative research methods in order to uncover the similarities and differences that appeared in the replications of each of the memes. Also, the contemporary thoughts, attitudes and values of the various time periods in which each of the retellings existed were analyzed to understand how historical events and movements may have led to a change in the story. The findings revealed that social movements played a large role in the alteration of horror urban legend memes, particularly in regards to the second wave of Feminism. Additionally, the findings showed that memes that heavily portrayed racism were altered in more recent decades to include leading actors and characters of various ethnic backgrounds. Because of these findings, this research aligns with and expands upon the work completed by Joel Best and Gerald Horiuchi (1985).
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    Social Identity Theory and Rebranding: The brand formerly known as Dunkin' Donuts
    Gaskill, Meghan Lynne (Virginia Tech, 2020-01-10)
    This study examines the impact that the rebranding of Dunkin' Donuts to Dunkin' has on brand perception, specifically in Generation Z and Millennials through the lens of social identity theory. Factors studied include visual brand identification, brand loyalty, purchasing habits, and perception of brand equity. Forty-four (N=44) students participated in four focus groups looking at these variables. The findings showed that social identification with Dunkin' is formed through personal brand experience, although participants were resistant to self-categorization with Dunkin'. The findings also demonstrated that social identification decreased slightly through the visual rebranding, but did not create any reported impact on purchasing habits. It was also reported that the level of social identification was based off of perception of brand value and quality. Finally, participants demonstrated that there was an impact on social comparison through participants questioning Dunkin's values as an organization. Given that the sample was all Millennial and Generation Z consumers, this study also determined that company values are important to these cohorts. It also suggested that perceived modernization of a brand can positively impact brand equity, and that communication of rebranding changes to the public are an important step of a successful rebrand. Practical implications of this research are also discussed.