<p> Algorithmic curation is a growing influence on our information flows as it complements and sometimes supplants traditional mass media and personal information sharing. One of the primary agents of this rise in algorithmically-curated information flows is the Facebook News Feed, a onetime source of primarily entertainment that has, as of late, taken large strides towards the news business. It is fair to say that Facebook has a huge influence on our information, one that will likely expand in the future; even if not Facebook, similar systems will rule our information. Yet, we know next to nothing about how they work, as the algorithms that power them are sealed inside a black box. This thesis approaches the Facebook News Feed through a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods in a process dubbed &ldquo;Negative Reverse Engineering&rdquo; in an attempt to gain access to the contents of the black box not through traditional technical means, but through an analysis of Facebook&rsquo;s values structure and needs. Components include an extensive, cross-disciplinary review of the literature, an experiment based around the generation of filter bubbles through the application of negative pressure, a grounded content analysis of Facebook&rsquo;s statements and documents, an autoethnography of Facebook use, and a regression analysis of Facebook under duress. From this data, a Hierarchy of Needs for the News Feed is created, rejecting the model of News Feed filtering as an equation in favor of a holistic, values-based model.</p>

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Burnett, Florida State University, College of Information. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 7, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 122 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Maryland, College Park, 1989. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 262-266).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Maryland, College Park, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 262-266).

<p> The Internet and social media are tools that possess the ability to make communicating with celebrities, politicians and all types of important figures an actual possibility. This content analysis explores the use of then- presidential candidate Donald Trump&rsquo;s use of Twitter to communicate with his followers. A random sample of tweets was selected following the time period after the Republican National Convention to a week after the general election. The study relies on Kent and Taylor&rsquo;s (2001) principle strategies of how to create effective relationship building through dialogue. There is very little research available concerning political candidates and dialogic theory on social media. However, what is found in this study remains consistent with that of similar studies on dialogic theory and celebrities and organizations&rsquo; use of social media. Social media as a tool for building effective relationships through the use of dialogic principles is severely under-utilized. Despite the lack of dialogic principles, Trump&rsquo;s followers remained highly engaged into his tweeting habits, especially with tweets that attacked an individual or the media. The findings prove that these types of tweets were published most often thus lending credence to assert that the aggressive rhetoric was popular amongst his followers.</p><p>

Over the past few years Information-Centric Networking, a networking architecture in which host-to-content communication protocols are introduced, has been gaining much attention. A central component of such an architecture is a large-scale interconnected caching system. To date, the modeling of these cache networks, as well as understanding of how they should be managed, are both in their infancy. This dissertation sets out to consider both of these challenges. We consider approximate and bounding analysis of cache network performance, the convergence of such systems to steady-state, and the manner in which content should be searched for in a cache network. Taken as a whole, the work presented here constitutes an array of fundamental tools for addressing the challenges posed by this new and exciting field.

Freedom of speech and the art of argumentation have long held fascination for the American rhetorician. Unfortunately, few rhetoricians have seen fit to analyze the overlap which exists between these two areas of rhetorical study. This dissertation attempts to remedy this predicament. Utilizing the works of Otto Dieter, concerning points of stasis in arguments, and Richard Weaver, concerning types of arguments, the public arguments over the First Amendment issues of flag burning, funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Mapplethorpe trial in Cincinnati were analyzed. The variables used in this analysis consisted of: (1) to which First Amendment issue an argument pertained; (2) whether an argument was pro or anti First Amendment; (3) the point of stasis upon which the argument hinged; and (4) the type of argument used. Chi-squared analysis was run between the variables to determine if differences exist, with special attention given to the differences between anti and pro First Amendment arguments. The findings indicated that the anti free speech side divided their arguments more evenly between the argument types described by Weaver. In addition, when compared to the pro free speech arguments, the anti free speech side utilized more arguments from circumstance and less argument from genus. These findings indicated an overemphasis of the immediate situation and less of a concern for the long term consequences by the anti free speech side. With regard to the points of stasis, both sides were found to rely more heavily on point of stasis, with the finding being stronger on the pro free speech side. It was presumed that this finding was due, not to qualities possessed by proponents of either side, but to situational factors. In addition, when compared against each other, the anti free speech side utilized more points of quality and definition than the pro free speech side.

<p> Museums, and museum professionals, engage in a significant role within society. This dissertation is a qualitative exploratory study of the ways in which museum professionals promote or hinder the social inclusivity of museums through curatorial voice. Through a series of exhibit evaluations and intensive interviews, the researcher investigates the mechanisms used to craft curatorial voice within museums that handle contested subject material. This research seeks to broaden the understanding of curatorial voice, as viewed through the theoretical lenses of gatekeeper theory and co-creation of identity, with the explicit purpose of aiding in the development of professional guidance to help make museums more socially inclusive.</p>

<p> This thesis is a partial replication of a previous study by Lee, Choi, Kim, and Kim (2014). This study was conducted in order to better understand how young American voters ages 18&ndash;35 interacted with their political social networks and how those networks influenced their political behavior through the lens of their social network sites&mdash;such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Social Network Theory was used as a foundation for this study because it provides a theoretical explanation as to how social networks are formed and how humans typically interact with their networks. The variables Network Heterogeneity, Opinion Polarization, Social Network Site Usage, and Political Discussion were measured. A series of Pearson&rsquo;s r correlation and stepwise multiple regressions were run in order to ascertain the relationships between the four variables. The major result of the study found a significant relationship between Network Heterogeneity and Opinion Polarization, which potentially indicates that having a diverse social network can lead to polarized political opinions. The results of this study lead to multiple opportunities for future study in both the fields of communication and political science.</p><p>