Online communication channels provide people with a vast amount of information from different sources. Health influencers on social media are one of the sources that people use to gain health information and support regarding health-related issues; they are people with different backgrounds and expertise that social media users follow and perceive to be experts in that field. This qualitative case study employs content analysis to analyze videos of three health influencers and explore the kind of expertise that each case communicates to their followers. Videos are analyzed based on an analytical framework that looks into Syntactic, thematic and rhetorical structures to explore how they frame their messages in order to be perceived as experts. The study detected three different kinds of expertise who have different styles in communicating their expertise and in framing their messages: the informative awareness expert, the self-referential expert and the practitioner expert. Further details on the different and common framing styles each expert used is discussed in this thesis. Analyzing expertise online provided an insight on health influencers characteristics and their strategies to perform their expertise. It also suggests the kind of health information seekers who could be interested in this kind of expertise. The research results provide insights on regulating the potential effects of health influencers online.

Statistics show that the number of mass shootings and involved fatalities have drastically increased over the last five years. The framing of these attacks in the mass media has a substantial impact on the public opinion on the causes of shootings, possible prevention methods and gun control in general. Following study aims to uncover potential ideological influences of political tendencies of liberal and conservative newspapers on the media coverage of the most recent mass shooting in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. A qualitative content analysis with a general structural analysis of 39 articles from the liberal newspaper The New York Times and the conservative newspaper The Washington Times and a more detailed Critical Discourse Analysis of the frames of blame, prevention methods and gun control were conducted. Findings show that The Washington Times´media coverage on blame attributions and prevention methods mainly included frames of mental health. The focus in The New York Times´ coverage is clearly on gun issues and the demand for gun restrictions. The topic gun control is positively framed by The New York Times. The Washington Times, however, framed gun control in connection with conspiracy theories and thus portrayed it in a more negative light. The findings prove an influence of the newspapers´ political tendencies and ideologies on the media coverage of the Florida mass shooting.

This research paper studied the first two weeks after President Donald Trump allegedly called African countries “shithole countries” in a bi-partisan meeting on immigration. It explored the frames and emerging themes used by the media when covering the incident and the surrounding issues. Using the framing theory as a theoretical framework, the study examined the six identified news frames through qualitative content analysis. The six frames used in the coverage of the “shithole countries” incident are racial, conflict, consequences, morality, human interest, and policy. The study examined articles from four news sources that lean liberal, conservative, central-liberal, and central conservative. The study indicated that the four news sources all used five of the six frames, as the Wall Street Journal did not use the morality frame at all. The most used frame was the human interest frame, followed by conflict and consequences. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal used the conflict frame the most. And CNN and FOX used the consequences frame the most.

xv, 183 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Entrepreneurs seeking to commercialize science-based technologies face considerable challenges including uncertain environments, policy makers and investors' ignorance, and public opposition and ethical concerns. Most research exploring the emergence of technologies assumes the existence of accepted uses or products, despite the fact that efforts to commercialize science-based technologies often begin before specific applications exist. We have little empirical evidence of how individuals and organizations influence the earliest development of technologies. To address this gap, I conduct a real-time, seven-year, qualitative study of the nanotechnology venture investing community. The study draws on extensive archival data, participant observation of a complete series of annual nanotechnology investing conferences, and case studies of the three venture capital (VC) firms specializing in nanotechnology through the period of the study. The cases are based on semi-structured and website archives. I document the emergence of competing nanotechnology frames in the period prior to the identification of product applications. I identify three sequential activities of nanotechnology business proponents: constructing a socio-semiotic space, positioning as experts within the space, and translating scientific, opposition and futuristic discourse for a target audience. I introduce the concept of a socio-semiotic space and develop a model reflecting the three activities to explain the process through which technology proponents project a business frame to support the commercialization of science-based technologies. This dissertation contributes to our knowledge of technology evolution by focusing on the understudied period of early emergence and the sociopolitical process of technology framing. I contribute to our knowledge of how science discoveries become the basis for fields of commercial activity. The findings of this dissertation provide knowledge that can assist business people and policy makers seeking to develop science- based technologies and the fields that emerge around them. / Committee in charge: Alan Meyer, Chairperson, Management; Richard Steers, Member, Management; Richard Mowday, Member, Management; John Orbell, Outside Member, Political Science

xiv, 240 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The use of rhetoric to frame policy issues often influences the amount of attention countries pay to international issues and the level of support for those issues. Often, domestic and international actors present different descriptions of policy issues in order to advance their own views and change the international agenda. Despite frequent attempts to change the international agenda and the importance of agendas for policy formation, our understanding of the factors that contribute to why particular issues get international attention is limited. This project develops a theoretical understanding of the development of the international agenda, how issues on that agenda are framed, and why agendas change over time. The project contributes to international relations theory by understanding the factors responsible for increasing attention to issues, and the factors that influence how states define the problems on the international agenda that may eventually become part of international treaties and organizations. The project redefines agendas through a constructivist approach where individuals interpret real phenomena through frames. Rhetoric's influence on agenda changes described in this project also demonstrates a mechanism through which the soft power of attraction changes international outcomes. The project takes a positivist approach to analyzing constructivist and realist causes of agenda changes. The project tests specific implications of these theories of international agenda development and issue framing by examining the case of international efforts to address whaling. The project demonstrates the importance of polarity in enabling changes in attention from security to non-security issues and the importance of rhetoric in causing changes in issue frames. / Committee in charge: Ronald Mitchell, Chairperson, Political Science; Craig Parsons, Member, Political Science; Lars Skalnes, Member, Political Science; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt

PESSOA, Camila Mont’Alverne Barreto de Paula. Pródigo em decisões contra o interesse público: imagem pública, agendamento e enquadramento do congresso nacional nos editoriais dos Jornais o Estado de S. Paulo e Folha de S. Paulo. 2016. 248f. – Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-graduação em Comunicação, Fortaleza (CE), 2016. / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-02-03T17:30:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_dis_cmbppessoa.pdf: 1907122 bytes, checksum: 48568d321807387c93b27136e1f6db1e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo(marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-02-03T17:34:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_dis_cmbppessoa.pdf: 1907122 bytes, checksum: 48568d321807387c93b27136e1f6db1e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-03T17:34:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_dis_cmbppessoa.pdf: 1907122 bytes, checksum: 48568d321807387c93b27136e1f6db1e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / Although diverse factors influence the shape of the public image of political actors and institutions, Journalism occupies a privileged role in this process. In respect to the editorial gender, newspapers put themselves in the discussion arena, defending their viewpoint and certain policies. Political agents, on the other hand, are aware of the coverage’s influence. They know how important it is to be supported or rejected in editorials and how much it can help or jeopardize their reelections plans, for example. Thus, this work aims to analyze which public image of the Brazilian Congress is shaped in the editorials of two newspapers, O Estado de S. Paulo and Folha de S. Paulo, identifying themes, characters and frames presented in their coverage. Besides, we also want to investigate the image that these newspapers shape to themselves in their editorials and identify the role they believe to play in the society. The corpus is composed by 164 editorials that mention the Congress, the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate, published by both newspapers, between 2011 and 2013. We use Content Analysis as methodology. This method provides support to identify the most frequently presented themes in the coverage, the most mentioned characters and the frames used to characterize the Brazilian Congress. Results point that both newspapers’ coverages regarding the referred institution are mostly composed of criticism. Most editorials dedicate themselves to Politics and the most frequent frame is conflicts between government and allies in the Congress and between government and Congress in general. Congressional representatives are characterized as self-interested and devoid of concerns with public spending. Other political agents and institutions are also characterized in a negative way, such as Executive institutions and, to a smaller extent, those of the Judicial power. To a certain extent, it is possible speak of an anti-political bias in the coverage, especially considering that the journalistic field legitimizes itself to the audience when it appears as supervisor of the political field. Despite the coverage’s tone of criticism, newspapers recognize the importance of the Congress to democracies. Criticism can actually contribute to make the political sphere more responsive, but we cannot forget that the interests of the journalistic institutions are at stake in editorials, generating tensions between public and private interests. / Embora fatores distintos influenciem na configuração da imagem pública de agentes políticos e de instituições, o Jornalismo ocupa um papel privilegiado em tal processo. No caso do texto editorial, o jornal tem a oportunidade de se posicionar na arena de discussão, defendendo seus pontos de vista e determinadas políticas públicas. Os agentes políticos, por sua vez, estão cientes da influência da cobertura e do quanto ser apoiado ou rechaçado em um texto com caráter editorial pode ajudar ou comprometer, por exemplo, os planos de reeleição. Nesse contexto, a dissertação propõe analisar qual a imagem pública do Congresso Nacional construída nos editoriais dos jornais O Estado de S. Paulo e Folha de S. Paulo, identificando temas, personagens e enquadramentos mais presentes na cobertura. Além disso, a intenção é investigar que imagem os periódicos analisados constroem de si nos editoriais, bem como identificar o lugar que acreditam ocupar socialmente. O corpus da pesquisa é composto por 164 editoriais que tratam do Congresso (de modo geral), da Câmara dos Deputados ou do Senado Federal, publicado pelos dois jornais, entre 2011 e 2013. Os textos são examinados tendo como metodologia a Análise de Conteúdo, que oferece subsídios para identificar os temas mais abordados pela cobertura, as personagens mais citadas e os frames acionados para caracterizar o Legislativo Federal. Os resultados apontam que há uma cobertura predominantemente crítica em relação às referidas instituições por parte dos dois jornais. A maioria dos textos dedica-se à Política e o enquadramento mais frequente trata das relações conflituosas entre o governo e a base aliada e entre o governo e o Congresso de maneira geral. Os parlamentares são caracterizados como auto interessados e desprovidos de preocupações com o gasto público, mas a caracterização negativa não é exclusividade deles, acontecendo também em relação a agentes e instituições do Executivo e, em menor dimensão, do Judiciário. Em certa medida, pode-se falar em um viés antipolítico na cobertura, até porque é ao mostrar-se como fiscalizador do campo político que o Jornalismo se legitima perante a audiência. Considera-se que, apesar da cobertura crítica em relação ao Congresso, os periódicos sabem da importância da instituição para o regime democrático. Este tom pode, inclusive, contribuir para tornar a esfera política mais responsiva, mas não se podem esquecer que os interesses e as agendas das próprias instituições jornalísticas estão em jogo nos editoriais, criando uma tensão entre interesse público e privado.

In a context of rising inequalities in the European Union, accompanied by a certain mistrust in the capacity of the European institutions to improve and secure the social conditions of the citizens, the question of ‘social Europe’ is more than ever source of debate and interrogations. Focusing on the revision of the Posting of Workers Directive, proposed by the Commission in 2016, this thesis analyses the way the European Ministers framed this revision and ‘social Europe’ more broadly during the negotiations.This work contributes to the existing research on elite framing and expands this field to ‘negotiations analysis’, a topic which has rarely been addressed. The analysis, based on Helbling’s frame categorisation, shows that workers’ social protection is a divisive issue which opposes two main groups: the proponents (high wage member states) and the opponents (low wage member states). The first group frames ‘social Europe’ as a way to restore trust in the European economic model, jeopardised by the downward pressure on wages and social conditions caused by low wage member states. On the other hand, opponents to the revision frame social policies as disruptive forces damaging the single market’s competitiveness and economic freedoms. They portray themselves as the victims of an unwelcome protectionism orchestrated by high wage member states.These findings question the future of ‘social Europe’, as they bring to light the unwillingness of both sides to rethink the European economic system. In the absence of a strong and positive ‘counter-narrative’, it seems that social policies will continue to beseen as hindering economic freedoms or as a mean to legitimise a system that has proven to be unequal. In that sense, the European social project did not yet reach the ‘status’ of the economic project and is still understood as a side issue that cannot challenge the status quo. If framed differently, social welfare in the Union could become a priority and take precedence over the fundamental freedoms that have been defined twenty-five years ago, in a very different socio-economic and political context.

Esta dissertação descreve e analisa o debate público sobre o projeto do Pontal do Estaleiro entre as esferas pública, política e midiática. O terreno referente ao Pontal do Estaleiro se tornou uma polêmica durante a revisão do Plano Diretor de Desenvolvimento Urbano e Ambiental de Porto Alegre. Este projeto monopolizou um debate entre novembro de 2008 e agosto de 2009, ao sair do escopo da revisão do plano diretor e solicitar alteração da Lei Complementar 470 de 02/01/2002 (LC 470/2002) para permitir edificações residenciais em espaço de orla às margens do Guaíba. A polêmica rendeu duas aprovações do projeto, veto do prefeito e audiências públicas na Câmara de Vereadores. Acabou resultando em deliberação pública através da realização de uma consulta à população. O trabalho aborda a circularidade das questões nas cinco principais fases do debate, a partir das especificidades de cada instância. Na esfera política, analisaram-se os movimentos de accountability (prestação de contas) em notícias publicadas pela Câmara de Vereadores e Prefeitura Municipal nos respectivos sites. Na esfera pública, foram identificados os argumentos da arena de interlocução através da observação participante de uma audiência pública, duas reuniões do Fórum de Entidades e de entrevistas realizadas no dia da consulta pública. Na esfera midiática, foram examinadas as questões enquadradas nas principais coberturas jornalísticas sobre o Pontal, realizadas pelos jornais Zero Hora, Correio do Povo e Jornal do Comércio. Concluiu-se que as esferas realizam diferentes tipos de comunicação no debate. A esfera pública substanciou os principais argumentos que foram discutidos no debate público. Juntamente com a esfera política, foi mais permeável à circulação de questões em debate, mas ambas não conseguiram agendar a esfera midiática na exposição argumentativa. Assim, a mídia se mostrou menos permeável aos argumentos reduzindo a amplitude do debate público. / This thesis describes and analyzes the public debate on the development proposal for Pontal do Estaleiro between the public, politics and media spheres. Pontal do Estaleiro’s property became controversial during the revision of the Master Plan for Urban and Environmental Development of Porto Alegre. This project was the main focus of a debate between the months of November 2008 and August 2009, when it left the scope of the Master Plan review and a change of the Complementary Law 470 of 01/02/2002 (LC 470/2002) was requested in order to allow residential buildings to be built on the coast of Guaíba Lake. The controversy was such that the project had two approvals, the mayor's veto and public hearings at the City Council. It eventually was resolved through public deliberation by a query within the population. This work addresses the issues of circularity in the five main stages of the debate considering the specificities of each instance. In the public sphere, the arguments of the arena for dialogue were identified through participant observation of a public hearing, two meetings of the Forum of Entities and interviews done during the public consultation. In the political sphere, the movements of accountability were analyzed in reports published by the City Council and City Hall on their websites. In the media sphere, issues framed in the main news coverage on the Pontal made by Zero Hora, Correio do Povo and Jornal do Comércio were examined. It was concluded that the spheres carry different types of communication throughout the debate. The public sphere has substantiated the main arguments that have been discussed in public debate. Along with the political sphere, it was more open to the circulation of issues under discussion, but both failed to influence the media sphere's agenda towards the explanatory argument. Thus, the media showed itself less susceptible to arguments, reducing the extent of public debate.

Why Serbia’s path towards EU membership has been so contentious and fraught with difficulty? Why did Europeanization happen more ‘smoothly’ in some countries, while it stalls or fails in others? This study shows Serbia’s reluctance to Europeanize by exploring how the Serbian ruling elite received the EU’s norms of peace, media freedom and rights of migrants and refugees. As such, it contributes to the emerging research agenda on norm diffusion and Normative Power Europe. Through an analysis of key public statements of Serbian political leaders over the past four years, the present thesis examines how politicians discursively framed EU’s ideas, standards and normative convictions within the Belgrade-Pristina normalization dialogue, in light of the refugee crisis and in terms of media freedom. The findings indicate that the Serbian governing elite has responded differently to the EU’s normative influence in different policy domains with resisting and rejecting certain norms while adopting and adapting other. In general, the thesis evaluates that despite the significant efforts of the EU to export its ideas and values, it has only had a limited effect on Serbia. I conclude that these results further cast doubt on the future of Serbia’s accession to the EU.

abstract: The purpose of this project is to better understand police perceptions of sexual assault complainants by assessing their likelihood of questioning a complainant’s credibility and by examining police attitudes toward victims of sexual assault. To advance understanding of these issues, this dissertation (1) expands upon prior research by drawing on a sample of officers from one of the largest metropolitan police departments in the United States and, (2) through the use of framing theory, contributes to the literature by focusing on the attitudes of police toward sexual assault complainants and how these beliefs are shaped by day-to-day experiences. This dissertation investigates two research questions using a mixed-methods approach. The data come from 400 sexual assault complaints that were reported to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and 52 LAPD detective interviews. I quantitatively examine the factors that influence officer perceptions of complainant credibility, focusing on indicators of “real rape,” “genuine” victims, “inappropriate” victim behavior, and “character flaws.” I contextualize this work by examining police attitudes toward sexual assault victims using qualitative data taken from interviews of sex crimes detectives. This research contributes to the broader case processing literature by focusing on victim credibility, a factor consistently found to influence case processing decisions. Moreover, this study contributes to research on the frames officers assign to women who report sexual assault. Analyses from the quantitative portion of the study confirm that indicators of “real rape,” and complainant “character issues” were key explanatory factors influencing credibility assessments. Regarding qualitative results, three sexual assault victim frames were identified. These frames include depictions of victims as they relate to: (a) the suspect/victim relationship, (b) problematic victim behavior, and (c) age. These three frames indicate that certain types of victims are viewed as problematic. This dissertation contributes to three broad bodies of literature: law enforcement decision making, law enforcement perceptions of sexual assault victims, and framing theory. This dissertation was able to tap into officer attitudes to shed light on the ways officers treat women who come forward to report sexual assault, providing valuable insight into officer attitudes, credibility assessments, and victim framing. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Criminology and Criminal Justice 2015