UH Faculty, Staff, and Student Works
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Browsing UH Faculty, Staff, and Student Works by Department "Communication, Jack J. Valenti School of"
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Item An Afrofuturism Genre Study Using Computational and Literary Methods(2019) Brown, VictoriaAfrofuturism is a literary genre first defined by Mark Dery in his 1994 essay “Black to the Future” as speculative fiction that addresses African-American themes and concerns. My usage of the term builds on later scholars’ work by including the diaspora and focusing on such themes as the malleability of time and the nature of social change as keys to understanding the genre. Here I present a genre study of Afrofuturism with two components. For the computational textual analysis, I take a sample of Afrofuturist literary criticism and run the texts through a program. This program compiles lists of words which are found most often and near each other within those texts, and assigns a numerical probability describing how likely that string of words is to be an accurate representation of a particular text. Using this method, I have identified the three most significant themes in the scholarship and can reason out claims about the rest of the field based on those. The second part is a more traditional literary analysis in which I examine and compare Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Invisible Man has only been analyzed using an Afrofuturist perspective once before, by Lisa Yaszek, and I expand on her findings by focusing on time in the two novels. These authors use the possibilities inherent in the past, present, and future at different moments as experiments, points of reflection, and political tools in their narratives, and ultimately tie their characters’ futures to ideals of self-determination and community.Item Corporate Social Responsibility and the Magic of Meaning Theory in Major Corporations LGBTQ+ Pride Advertisements(2023-04-13) Foret, CaitlynThe objective of this research is to find what types of pride campaigns produce the best results for the company advertising and for the LGBTQ+ community and use the findings to pinpoint the ideal campaign that implements social issues. Through analyzing the campaign components, the company benefits from the campaign, and the gay community gain from the campaign, I will evaluate the relationship between these dilemmas to determine if they influence each other and if more detailed and physically supportive campaigns prove to be more beneficial for all parties. I theorize that when companies A. Donate money to politicians and political causes that support LGBTQ+ causes and rights, B. physically or monetarily contribute to LGBTQ+ activism, and C. Produce authentic and well-considered social media and advertisement campaigns, then the corporation will receive more revenue, a positive image, and consumer support because of the consistency they place in CSR advertising and implementation practices. Therefore, companies in the future that implement consistent CSR communications related to LGBTQ+ pride and equality will also be successful, and there will be an approximately linear relationship between the implementation of these items and corporate gain.Item #NoFilter: An Analysis of Journalistic Interventionism in Twitter Coverage of the Travel Ban(2017) Dennis, ReginaJournalists primarily employed interpretation in covering the travel ban, or quoted sources' opinions or interpretations. While reporting focused on the various negative implications of the travel ban, none of the journalists specifically called for it to be rescinded, indicating an adherence to objectivity. These findings add to the literature by exploring the extent to which reporters may engage in interventionism on social media; this could inform newsroom conversations about reporting via social media.Item The Road To Nowhere(2021-04) Key, NoahThis thesis explores the combination of two distinct film genres: the coming-of-age narrative and the losing-grip-on-reality trope seen in psychological films. Influenced by the global pandemic and other crises, this thesis looks to how young people have to grow up in a time where everything is unknown, and reality is not in its normal state. This thesis comprises of an analytical, introductory essay that explores my creative process, a Hollywood-standard treatment, and an original, feature-length screenplay entitled The Road to Nowhere. Works that inspired and influenced this thesis include Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Graduate, Birdman, Donnie Darko, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, and Talking Heads’ Road to Nowhere. The screenplay examines both a crisis of identity and a crisis of reality, asking the following questions: who are we and where do we belong in this world; how do we perceive the world around us; how much are we willing to risk finding happiness; and where do we find happiness: in the jobs and opportunities we earn or the people and environment we surround ourselves with?Item Understanding the Perceptions Surrounding Pelvic Floor Disorders within Arab American Communities(2021-04-01) Attia, SarahObjective: The aim of the study was to collect more data about the perceptions surrounding Pelvic Floor Disorders (PFDs) within Arab American Communities to produce culturally sensitive materials that may be used in the healthcare field. Methods: We utilized the qualitative research strategy of conducting one-on-one interviews with women of different Middle Eastern backgrounds. The participants were asked about their perceptions and asked to comment on two informational fliers. The interviews were then transcribed and compiled to be analyzed using a code book to account for major themes. Results: A total of 20 women were included from different Middle Eastern backgrounds including: Egyptian, Palestinian, and Iraqi women. 35% of the participants reported having issues with PFDs with 57% of them being over the age of 45 and 42% being under the age of 45. The bulk of the participants, 65%, did not report having any issues with PFDs. The groups differed with factors such as age, nation of origin, income, English literacy, and years lived in the United States. Data seemed to emerge mostly along the lines of age and years spent in the US with the conservative culture influencing older age groups and persons who have spent less time in America. Conclusion: The data suggests that women with PFDs in the Arab American community have significantly more concrete knowledge and perceptions surrounding PFDs. Women who did not experience a PFD had minimal to no knowledge surrounding these disorders including some women who were health professionals.Item Walk It Like You Talk It: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Magic of Meaning Theory in Major Corporations LGBTQ+ Pride Advertisements(2023-05-02) Foret, CaitlynMillennial advertising audiences are more pro-LGBTQ+ and care more deeply about queer issues than prior generations. Corporate brands have responded to this demographic shift by implementing LGBTQ+ issues into their marketing strategy thus boosting cultural influence and increasing profits. Through utilizing corporate social responsibility and the magic of meaning theory, corporations that produce pride advertisements such as Target, Nike, and CVS have gained popularity and increased profit when they produce pride campaigns with consistent communication and implementation of CSR. This thesis analyzes the implementation and communication of LGBTQ+-related affairs of several corporations that produce pride advertisements, including their donations to politicians and pro-LGBTQ+ or anti-LGBTQ+ causes, physical or monetary contributions to LGBTQ+ activism, and the authenticity of their social media, corporate communication, and advertising campaigns. This research concludes with an analysis of how corporations should approach CSR related to social causes like LGBTQ+ activism as a result of the findings in the case studies of three corporations.Item Worlds of Journalism Study(2023-04-13) Hernandez Sanchez, EvelynThe WORLDS OF JOURNALISM STUDY (WJS) is an academically driven project founded to regularly assess the state of journalism throughout 110 countries throughout the world. The study's primary objective is to help journalism researchers, practitioners, media managers, and policymakers better understand the worldviews and changes that are taking place in the professional orientations of journalists, conditions, and limitations under which they work, and the role of journalism in a changing world. The proposed research project focused on understanding how journalistic practices in El Salvador and Guatemala have changed due to politics, the economy, technology, and culture. A representative sample of journalists from both countries were interviewed with survey questions that aim to identify levels of risks and how journalists are coping and adapting to these changes. Data is still being collected; the results shared are preliminary findings. WJS is important to protect the rights of the journalist and to inform the public of journalistic practices around the world and their meaningful contribution to society. Journalists shared personal experiences that emphasized the importance of Journalistic practices and the need to be understood so we can know how best to protect press freedom around the world. We found that social media plays an important role in journalistic practices as many journalists stated that social media influencers have become influential and problematic in their journalist practices. Another important finding was that government officials, military personnel, and other government-affiliated individuals influence journalists' reporting assignments not through censorship, but because of fear of retaliation.