Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Communication, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-61).

Dissertation (Ed.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010. / Directed by Carl Lashley; submitted to the Dept. of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jul. 9, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-129).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: We are living in an increasingly global and connected society with information creation increasing at exponential rates. The research sets out to help solve the problem of mitigating the effects of information overload in order to increase the novelty of our interactions in the digital age. Online social-networks and microblogging services allow people across the world to take part in a public conversation. These tools have inherent constraints on how much communication can feasibly occur. Become too connected and a user will receive too much information to reasonably process. On Twitter (a microblogging service), lists are a tool for users to create separate feeds. The research determines whether lists are an effective tool for coping with information overload (abundance of updates). Using models of sustainable online discourse and information overload on computer-mediated communication tools, the research found that lists are an effective tool to cope with information overload on microblogging services. Quantitatively, individuals who make use of lists follow more users and when they start using lists they increase the amount of information resources (following other users) at a greater rate than those who do not use lists. Qualitatively, the research also provides insight into the reasons why people use lists. The research adds new academic relevance to ‘information overload’ and ‘online sustainability’ models previously not used in the context of feed-based online CMC tools, and deepens the understanding and importance of usercurated filtering as a way to reap the benefits from the increasing abundance of information in the digital age. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ons leef in ’n toenemend globale en gekonnekteerde samelewing waarin inligtingskepping toeneem teen ’n eksponensiële koers. Hierdie navorsing het ten doel om die newe-effekte van die oorvloed van inligting te verlig sodat daar meer waarde uit ons interaksies in die digitale era kan geput kan word. Aanlyn sosiale-netwerke en mikroblog-dienste laat mense wêreldwyd toe om deel te neem in ’n openbare gesprek. Hierdie aanlyn gereedskap het egter inherente beperkinge op hoeveel kommunikasie prakties moontlik is. Wanneer gebruikers té gekonnekteer raak, word daar te veel ingligting ontvang om redelikerwys verwerk te kan word. Op Twitter (’n mikroblog-diens) is lyste ’n hulpmiddel waarmee gebruikers afsonderlike strome van inligting kan skep. Deur die gebruik van modelle van ‘volhoubare aanlyn diskoers’ en ‘inligtingoorlading’, bewys hierdie navorsing dat lyste ’n doeltreffende hulpmiddel is om die oorvloed van inligting te verlig op mikroblog-dienste. Kwantitatief volg gebruikers wat lyste gebruik meer gebruikers vergeleke met die wat nie lyste gebruik nie. Wanner hul lyste begin gebruik, volg hulle gebruikers teen ’n hoër koers as dié wat nie lyste gebruik nie. Kwalitatief bied die navorsing ook insig oor die redes vir die gebruik van lyste. Die navorsing onderstreep die akademiese relevansie van ‘inligtingoorlading’ en ‘aanlyn volhoubaarheid’ modelle wat nie voorheen gebruik is in die konteks van stroom-gebaseerde aanlyn gereedskap nie, en verdiep die begrip en belangrikheid van gebruiker-saamgestelde filtrering as ’n manier om die voordele te trek uit die toenemende oorvloed van inligting in die digitale era.

Word-of-mouth (WOM) communication is a well studied phenomenon in the literature and content propagation in Online Social Networks (OSNs) is one of the forms of WOM mechanism that have been prevalent in recent years specially with the widespread surge of online communities and online social networks. The basic piece of information in most OSNs is a post (e.g., a tweet in Twitter or a post in Facebook). A post can contain different types of content such as text, photo, video, etc, or a mixture of two or more them. There are also various ways to enrich the text by mentioning other users, using hashtags, and adding URLs to external contents. The goal of this study is to investigate what factors contribute into the propagation of messages in Google+. To answer to this question a multidimensional study will be conducted. On one hand this question could be viewed as a natural language processing problem where topic or sentiment of posts cause message dissemination. On the other hand the propagation can be effect of graph properties i.e., popularity of message originators (node degree) or activities of communities. Other aspects of this problem are time, external contents, and external events. All of these factors are studied carefully to find the most highly correlated attribute(s) in the propagation of posts.

This thesis examines creativity as manifested in an online and transnational network of musicians who compose chipmusic, a kind of electronic music characteristic of 1980s early home computers and videogame sounds. The primary argument is that creativity in chipmusic worlds is networked, meaning that it is dispersed across various activities that are labelled as creative: chipmusic-making, technology-hacking practices that underpin the music, digital cultural practices such as use of social media, online releases, crowdsourcing, staged and screened performances, and any other activity related to chipmusic. The thesis examines the ways in which networked creativity is mediated in the chipscene from an interdisciplinary methodological viewpoint informed by ethnomusicology, anthropology, and sociology. Although the chipscene is geographically dispersed across more than thirty countries worldwide, the chipscene network is well-connected. Communication and music circulation practices of chipmusicians are enabled by the internet. This thesis primarily discusses chipmusic culture that suggests a rich context where creativity discourse is as intensely diverse as the chipscene itself, in which it is embedded. In looking at the creative process and performance practices, I employ a mixed methods approach based on ethnographic research methods and social network analysis, to examine how intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of chipmusic-making, such as ideology, cultural values, network infrastructure, chiptune poetics and aesthetics, distribution of creative roles, authenticity, differentiation, genre dynamics, and intellectual property issues, shape creativity.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-08-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:30:55Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ferreira_sr_me_bauru.pdf: 2465612 bytes, checksum: c2e592e56a6ec6ab74492322eecc3b9c (MD5) / No dia 11 de julho de 2012 a jovem estudante Isadora Faber, de 13 anos, criou uma página no Facebook chamada Diário de Classe. O objetivo era utilizar o espaço para denunciar deficiências na educação pública no Brasil a partir da sua realidade particular, vivida na escola Ebm Maria Damázio Coelho, em Florianópolis (SC). Depois de despertar a atenção da imprensa e ganhar repercussão nacional, o caso ilustrou diversas perspectivas sobre as novas formas de expressão e conversação trazidas por tecnologias da informação, especialmente sites de redes sociais como o Facebook. Ao analisar o conteúdo presente no diário de Classe, no contexto das reações sociais e midiáticas à página, o presente trabalho permite observar de que maneira os atores sociais constroem identidades e reforçam cidadanias em ambiente social. Para isso, investiga, sob a perspectiva intercultural de Néstor Garcia Canclini, como as apropriações do Facebook em diálogo com a mídia tradicional possibilitaram a participação social e favorecem o ciberativismo em uma contexto de modernidade reflexiva / On July 11 th 2012, a young student called Isadora Faber, 13 years old, created a page on Facebook called Diário de Classe - gradebook. The target was use the tool to report deficiences of public education in Brazil from her particular reality, experienced in school Maria Damázio Coelho, in Florianópolis (SC). After gretting press attention and gaining national visibility, the case illustrated several perspectives on new forms of expression and conversation brought by information technology, especially from social networking sites such as the Facebook. By analyzing the content present in Diario de Classe, in the context of social and media reactions to the page, this work allow us to observe how social actors construct identities and reinforce citizenship in social environment. To reach this, investigates with intercultural perspective of Néstor Canclini, how Facebook's appropriation in dialogue with the traditional media allow social participation and favor cyberactitivism in a context of reflexive modernity

Thesis (MTech (Public Relations Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / The purpose of this mini thesis is to investigate the research question, "What is the importance and effectiveness of public relations practice in obtaining coverage in a multimedia newspaper?" It is obvious that the introduction of the multimedia newspaper has affected the role of the public relations practitioner and the role of the journalists. But has it changed the manner in which public relations practitioners practice public relations (that is the influence of the multimedia newspaper on the public relations industry) and its value in the eyes of the multimedia journalist. The study will measure the multimedia editorial staff's opinion and perceptions of the multimedia newspapers content and public relations practice's impact on that content. The research is interested in whether the introduction of the multimedia newspaper has affected the role of the public relations practitioner and the journalists and whether it has changed the manner in which public relations practitioners practice public relations (that is the influence of the multimedia newspaper on the public relations industry). The research reviews the perceived value of public relations to journalists operating within the multimedia newspaper context.

Thesis (MTech (Internal Auditing))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015. / The research study focuses on the risk management practices and procedures small, medium and large enterprises in the Cape Metropole have in place to mitigate social media risks. Enterprises and employees of these enterprises use social media platforms for business and personal purposes. There usage could have an impact on the enterprise should social media risks materialise due to a lack of formalised risk management practices and procedures. The purpose of the research study is to determine whether enterprises have risk management practices and procedures in place to mitigate social media risks. The research study also expands on the controls enterprises have in place and seeks to gain an understanding of the type of social media platforms used by the enterprise. The research study consisted of a literature review and an empirical study to investigate social media risk management practices and procedures in enterprises. A quantitative research method were used to carry out the required research, by making use of a structured questionnaire to obtain responses from respondents from small, medium and large enterprises in the Cape Metropole. The research results obtained revealed that most enterprises have implemented risk management practices and procedures. However, not all enterprises have risk management functions in place which involves all relevant departments to support in mitigating social media risks, more specifically to monitor and manage adherence to social media policies and procedures. The researcher recommends that enterprises have to enhance their control environment and improve existing risk management functions, practices and procedures on a continuous basis before such risks materialise and potentially damage their enterprise.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Social media have exacerbated negative impact across all facets of commercial banks. The evolution and ubiquity of social media has permeated the unprecedented pressure which is unavoidable in two identified commercial banks located in the Eastern Cape (OR Tambo District, Mthatha) namely: ABSA and Standard Bank in this decade of information technology. Thus, social media have imposed negative impressions on employees’ understanding, thereby resulting in the negative perceptions of employees regarding its benefits and influence which drastically amounted to change of employee interactions and communication. The primary objectives of the study are to investigate the impact made by social media on teams in the banking sector and to ascertain the types of teams who are utilizing social media tools. A quantitative research method was employed whereby 194 questionnaires were distributed and 102 completed, thereby generating a response rate of 53%. The data were analysed using SPSS version 23.0. The results present the descriptive statistics in the form of graphs, cross-tabulations and other figures for the quantitative data that was collected. Inferential techniques included the use of correlations and chi square test values which were interpreted using p-values. This study findings revealed a significant relationship between biographical variables (age, gender, race, level of education, work experience, job category, job type, job level and employer) and five dimensions (understanding of social media, social media optimism, social media influence on human interactions, challenges of social media in banks and perceptions in business etiquette). The study’s findings revealed a positive and significant relationship between social networking as a great contributor to business productivity and that social media, as a medium, enhances communication effectiveness at 0.448** . However, social media optimism was found to be negative due to lack of trust. The challenges of social media have come with embedded risks of fraud, hacking of information and so forth. These impacts were identified as risks which could violate policies and procedures of financial institutions. This study concludes and recommends that branch managers from commercial banks (ABSA and Standard Bank) should formulate and develop policies to guide employees on the use of social media; this is to intensify intervention in the event of inevitable excessive loss in the financial strength of these commercial banks