This thesis reports on a study which investigated the application of social media in teaching Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) in a University of Brunei. The aim was to complement the on-campus delivery of this module, encourage student engagement and produce more active than passive learners. However, tensions existed between social media and the content of the course because of the potential of social media to drown and influence Bruneian Malay cultures and Islamic beliefs in a way that is not consistent with MIB. A questionnaire to 362 undergraduate students at the University of Brunei Darussalam taking the PB1501 MIB module in the semester 1 2012/2013 provided an initial sense of social media use and expectations. Six MIB teachers were also selected to represent different perspective of using social media in MIB module. Furthermore, the observation of ten MIB Facebook groups spaces and content analysis of ten MIB Facebook groups' transcripts produced information on teaching and learning activities as well as findings as to how teachers facilitate student engagement. The findings of the study indicate that whilst social media is a tool that should be able to solve the pedagogical problems in the MIB course, at the same time cultural obstacles are perceived by some teachers in this particular setting, impacting on its acceptance. Findings suggest that the implementation of social media such as Facebook in order to solve a pedagogical problem have raised tensions in this specific cultural environment. The research also shows the MIB teachers have mixed feelings about the fact that social media could complement MIB education. A way of conceiving the tensions between these issues is provided by the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework developed by Koehler and Mishra (2009), which is used to understand teacher decisions with respect to MIB, MIB pedagogy and social media (TPACK). This shows the connections and interactions between the content of MIB, the MIB pedagogy and social media.

This study examines the way social media changes the way documentaries are developed, produced and distributed. I want investigate how web 2.0 technologies disrupt the documentary sector and the way producers navigate the social media ecology. Research exposed an industry in transformation. New roles, like the Producer for Marketing and Distribution (PMD), the Impact Producer (IP) and a participant-centric mode of documentary filmmaking are revealed. The way users connect via social media has changed the way people interact with each other at work. A balanced real- and virtual world network approach makes a strong and highly central network position for a documentary project possible. Emotional contagion and an authentic online presence create value for a films social media campaign. Both are crucial factors to the mobile multi-device audience expecting a credible social media experience. Research suggests that users accept the risks associated with the way their data is exploited by social networks as long as the user's social media experience is not diminished. The concept of the Global Digital Family is revealed when reappraising social media. I suggest further research into the problem of online authenticity. Kozinets' ideas on Gemeinschafts-type engagement (Kozinets, 2015) shed light on the phenomenon. But exactly when something is perceived as authentic online is still not entirely clear and should be investigated further. I also recommend that the PMD is formally accredited to encourage industry recognition.

Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) are a system of food provision which is considered as the embodiment of the Sustainable Development (SD) agenda. They typically operate counteractively to conventional food networks (CFNs) seeking to reconnect all members in the supply chain through ethical and sustainable engagements. They are grounded by the theoretical underpinnings of quality conventions (Murdoch, 2000; Thévenot, 2002) and embeddedness notions such as alterity, valorisation, and appropriation (Dansero & Puttilli, 2014; Kirwan, 2004). Many scholars have focused on exploring AFNs in various contexts, initially focusing on binary notions of dichotomy between AFNs and CFNs, then developing discourse in terms of assessing hybridity (Holloway et al., 2006; Maye, 2013; Ponte, 2016; Renting, Marsden, & Banks, 2003; Tregear, 2011). Recent studies have indicated the potential for further research concerning social media based AFNs (Bos & Owen, 2016; Reed & Keech, 2017; Wills & Arundel, 2017). Therefore a contribution in terms of further understanding this issue arises from this thesis. The research was conducted in the midst of the referendum for the UK to withdraw from the European Union, the subsequent ‘leave’ vote resulting in a level of uncertainty in terms of policy implications. One policy implication may be that the UK will have to readdress the way it engages and supports its food and agriculture sector post-Common Agricultural Policy, therefore this research comes at a timely juncture. This research adopts an interpretivistic epistemological stance, with a constructivist ontological position. Social network analysis (SNA) of Twitter connections was conducted in order to assess connectivity and density of the AFN that was present in Chester and its region. Content analysis of this network was then conducted in order to understand SD related terms and shortlist pertinent actors for further analysis. Interviews were conducted with nine actors from this network in order to critically evaluate their perceptions of SD from an online and offline perspective. The results of the SNA suggest that the AFN of Chester and its region was not particularly well connected in terms of density. However, the SNA was a useful data collection tool, especially concerning the replicability and transferability of participant selection strategy. Further results suggested that there was a need for more organisational structures to support AFNs in becoming more mainstream and collaborative. It was also clear that there was still a degree of opposition between CFNs and AFNs, despite hybridity. A final finding of the research is the consideration of smart localism. The implications of this research are discussed, along with suggestions for future research including; the need to better understand leadership, relations between AFNs and CFNs, the role played by intermediates, and the expansion of social media based research.

This study analyzes the use of social media by state legislative bodies, broken down by a combination of legislative body (House, Senate, or general legislature) and by party (Republican or Democrat). I analyzed Twitter and Facebook posts for each of these groups during the week of January 11-15, 2016, specifically looking for four improvements: transparency, policy making, public services, and knowledge management and cross-agency cooperation. The research questions are: RQ1: Which social media platforms are state legislatures using? RQ2: What improvements are the state legislatures using in their social media output? RQ3: Is there a significant difference in the improvements presented on Facebook and Twitter? The results revealed that 52.9% of 700 groups had created Twitter and Facebook accounts, with 55% of those accounts on Twitter. The analysis also showed that upcoming events are more common than expected on Twitter, and that posts asking for support on an issue are more common than expected on Facebook. This study is important because it relates to voting trends of the 18-24 age group in the United States. An overwhelming majority of this age group uses social media, but this group has very low voting rates. If governmental bodies can utilize social media to communicate with this population, then it is possible that they would be better informed and more motivated to vote and be civically engaged.

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of and attitudes toward social networking as a tool for use by NASCAR speedways and to gauge track perceptions on the effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool. Individual NASCAR tracks were surveyed (n=22, 84.6% response) to explore current track social media practices and the potential impact of social networking sites on NASCAR marketing and consumer relations. Results found that individual tracks as well as the two major ownership groups highly agreed about issues concerning the use of social media to increase sales and to develop fan bases. However, they also agree there are other marketing tactics that are still more effective than social media at this time.

No description available.

This study explores the impact Social media has on the postpartum depression experience. To date, no work has examined the association between social media and postpartum depression. This research is an exploration into the use and impact of social media on individuals with postpartum depression. One hundred and three participants provided information about their demographics, experience with depression, treatment options, use of social media and preferred method of support. This information was gathered and analyzed via a web-based survey instrument. Descriptive statistics was used to compare responses on the internet based questionnaire. The study findings show that Social Media has a positive impact on individual that experience postpartum depression. Most participants indicted that social media assisted in offering emotional, informational and appraisal support through social media. In addition, it appears that a majority of study participants had a positive experience with social media. The greatest use through social networking and social knowledge sites.

This thesis reports on the use of verified Twitter accounts during crisis events. Twitter is a social media platform that allows users to broadcast and exchange public text messages and it can be used as a communication tool during crisis events. Verified Twitter accounts are those accounts that Twitter has investigated and found to be genuinely maintained by the claimed owner. Celebrities, public officials, and other well-known persons or companies often seek this account status. The owners of these accounts are likely to provide more accurate or relevant information during a crisis event because they represent a brand, whether themselves or an organization. To study the role verified Twitter accounts play in a crisis event, information was collected from Twitter’s API (Application Programming Interface) from February 28, 2018 through March 3, 2018 during a powerful storm on the East Coast of the United States called a Nor’easter. Through data collection and analysis, this thesis describe show verified Twitter accounts communicated during a crisis event. Three exploratory questions were proposed to better understand the use of verified Twitter accounts: Who are the verified Twitter users that tweet about a crisis event? What types of information do verified Twitter users tweet about a crisis event? When do verified Twitter users tweet about a crisis event? Results show that verified Twitter accounts create more original messages, share more informative messages, and spread less spam than their non-verified counterparts.

Authors: Linda Olsson & Dennis Åström Title: A journey of discovery on the third floor – A case study in how juvenile agents in the municipality of Kalmar communicate with its young people Level: BA Thesis in Media and Communication Studies Location: Linnaeus University Language: Swedish Number of pages: 60 Introduction: The participation amongst young people regarding political, democratic and society related questions is through an investigation confirmed not being high enough. Within the municipality of Kalmar, juvenile agents work as a link between young people and the opportunities that the municipality provides. To create this link with young people, communication is essential. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to create an understanding of how the juvenile agents work in order to create and maintain communication with young people. The purpose is also to evaluate the result of the information campaign they executed in 2011. Methodology: For this paper we had a hermeneutic approach with an inductive viewpoint. In our qualitative research we gathered our empirical material by doing qualitative interviews and the respondents were chosen based on both their knowledge in the subject of youth related questions and also the results of the information campaign in 2011. Conclusion: Within the process of creating and maintaining communication with young people, we can see that the juvenile agents strive to become a strong link between them and young people. The obstacle they stand in front of, as we see it, is that the creation of communication is achieved in a bigger extent than the maintaining of communication. Keywords: Communication, municipality, democracy, youths, social media

There has been scarce research into the topic of B2B in the context of social media. Due to this, the aim of this study was to explore how social media is used within B2B in the initial phase of building relationships. The research questions regarded; attracting new customers, which channels that were used and potential drawbacks of using social media. An analytical framework was presented with the factors reputation, familiarity, similarity and knowledge of alternatives from literature within attraction. In order to collect the empirical data, semi-structured interviews were conducted with consultancy agencies. The results showed that social media was used to increase familiarity through third party sources, which was enabled by companies networks. Channels used for this were LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Regarding similarity, companies used social media to promote its personality that could attract customers both in a business and personal manner. The channels used for this were LinkedIn and Facebook. Furthermore, it was important that the type of information that was shared represented the company, and companies worked to improve this type of information. Further on, companies encouraged people in their network to share content in order to enhance reputation by third party sources. Channels used for this were LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Concerning knowledge of alternatives, social media were used as search-friendly channels, which enabled companies to remain on top in the search list, and make them a potential choice for customers. Channels used for this were LinkedIn and blogs. Furthermore, the major social media drawbacks for B2B companies were lack of resources in terms of time and lack of control over the information once it was posted online.