with Professor Michael E. McCarthy, Vassar College / McGuinn Hall 121

In a time when information and opinions are to a large extent shared via social media, it is important to find a way to determine how credible the content is. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether PageRank based algorithms can be used to deter- mine how credible a Twitter user is based on how much the user’s posts are retweeted by other users. Two different algorithms based on PageRank have rated the credibility of Twitter users in a network. This ranking has been compared with a manual credibil- ity check on the users to determine how close to reality the credibility distribution from the algorithms is. The results show that the algorithms can be said to preform better than random, but they still assign inaccurate credibility scores to many users. The simplicity of the algorithms is an advantage compared to other methods used in previous research. The conclusion is that the algorithms in their current states are not suitable for determin- ing the credibility of Twitter users. / I en tid då information och åsikter till stor del delas via sociala medier är det viktigt att finna ett sätt att avgöra hur trovärdig detta innehåll är. Syftet med denna studie är att utreda om det med hjälp av algoritmer baserade på PageRank-algoritmen går att avgö- ra hur trovärdig en Twitteranvändare är, baserat på hur mycket användarens inlägg bli- vit delade av andra användare. Två olika algoritmer baserade på PageRank har rankat trovärdigheten hos Twitteranvändare i ett nätverk. Denna rankning har sedan jämförts med en manuell trovärighetstilldelning av användarna för att avgöra hur nära verklighe- ten algoritmernas trovärdighetsfördelning är. Resultaten visar att algoritmerna kan anses prestera bättre än slumpen, men att de trots detta tilldelar en fleaktig trovärdighet till många användare i nätverket. Algoritmernas triviala natur ger dem en fördel gentemot algoritmer som använts i tidigare studier. Slutsatsen är att algoritmerna i deras nuvaran- de form inte är lämpade för att fastställa trovärdighet hos Twitteranvändare.

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published_or_final_version / abstract / Statistics and Actuarial Science / Master / Master of Philosophy

Tanning bed use, especially among young, white females, has become a serious health problem in the United States. Those who use tanning beds value a tanned appearance; thus, one possible way to get individuals to stop using tanning beds is to persuade them to begin using an alternative method: a sunless tanner. This study sought to use persuasive messages to encourage individuals to both stop using tanning beds and start using a sunless tanner. Deviance Regulation Theory (DRT) was used to design three messages, and source expertise was manipulated (high and low). In addition, attitudes, perceived norms, benefits and threats about tanning were examined. Results indicate that the combination of DRT message design and source expertise produced several message conditions that were effective at decreasing tanning bed use intent. No combined message condition was effective at changing sunless tanner use intent. DRT message design alone did not produce results, nor did source expertise. Tanning attitudes were influenced by reference groups, and perceived norms about tanning predicted individual‘s tanning bed use for several reference groups. In addition, there was an interaction between benefits and threats of tanning.

Tanning bed use, especially among young, white females, has become a serious health problem in the United States. Those who use tanning beds value a tanned appearance; thus, one possible way to get individuals to stop using tanning beds is to persuade them to begin using an alternative method: a sunless tanner. This study sought to use persuasive messages to encourage individuals to both stop using tanning beds and start using a sunless tanner. Deviance Regulation Theory (DRT) was used to design three messages, and source expertise was manipulated (high and low). In addition, attitudes, perceived norms, benefits and threats about tanning were examined. Results indicate that the combination of DRT message design and source expertise produced several message conditions that were effective at decreasing tanning bed use intent. No combined message condition was effective at changing sunless tanner use intent. DRT message design alone did not produce results, nor did source expertise. Tanning attitudes were influenced by reference groups, and perceived norms about tanning predicted individual‘s tanning bed use for several reference groups. In addition, there was an interaction between benefits and threats of tanning.

This thesis explored the credibility and usefulness of beef cattle magazine articles with and without photographs perceived by students at a Southern land-grant institution. The thesis also explored the use of alternate forms of repeated measure to determine if a relationship existed in instrumentation when a photograph was presented first or presented second. The study found that credibility was perceived to be greater when photographs were present in an article. The study found that usefulness was perceived to be greater when photographs were not present in an article. The study found a relationship between credibility and usefulness when presented with and without photographs. The study found that perceived credibility was greater when an article presented with a photograph was presented first. The study also found that perceived usefulness was greater when an article without photograph was presented first. The findings of this study indicated that magazines should take these factors into account when a desired outcome is to increase editorial credibility and increase the effectiveness of the message.

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Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.