abstract: The landscape of higher education is constantly evolving. Similar to a wave that washes ashore and transforms the shoreline, the same is occurring with higher education and its "shoreline". With the influx of technology and social media on college and university campuses, higher education institutions have had to grapple with whether or not to implement the technology (e.g. mobile devices) and the social mediums (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) that accompany these technologies into the academic and social college experiences of the tech-savvy students enrolling in higher education institutions. Higher education's new shoreline is largely being produced by the new paradigms of technology and social media adopted by the Net Generation college student. The forces of the evolving nature of technology are having an enormous impact on higher education practitioners. The prolific transcendence of Smartphones, tablets, and social mediums and the expansion of broadband (e.g. Wi-Fi) are changing student expectations of how higher education practitioners engage, communicate, and connect with the Net Generation college student. The assumption that many higher education practitioners have of social media is that social media primarily consists of Facebook and Twitter. Arguably Facebook and Twitter comprise the primary social avenues students traverse when communicating with friends and family but additionally, these sites can also be utilized for academic and social purposes advantageous to colleges and universities in enhancing the college student experience. The purpose of this study is to understand and describe how the Net Generation college student uses social media in their academic and social college experiences. Through the use of a descriptive analysis, this action research study described how the Net Generation college student uses social media in their academic and social college student experiences. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Higher and Postsecondary Education 2012

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Barbara DeSanto / Rugby was created in 1876 and since then has expanded from the colleges of England to a globally played sport. Rugby, along with many other sports such as lacrosse and cricket, has found difficulties in obtaining mainstream media attention in the United States. This series of in-depth interviews explore how U.S. rugby may be able to utilize social media to elevate rugby to mainstream media status. This study will use in-depth interviews to understand the strategies of Division 1 Men’s U.S. Rugby social media officials and media strategists from the Professional Rugby Organization (PRO). These in-depth interviews will first identify what strategies rugby has used, then will evaluate which strategies efficiency. Second, the in-depth interviews of the club-level social media chairs will also be asked about his or her background in social media strategy. The information collected will be used to make recommendations as to what professional rugby and club-level rugby strategies should be used on social media. The information will also be used to identify what level social media rugby chairs should be educated or trained in using social media, if any. This study also explored the outcomes of the social media efforts for the advancement of rugby in the U.S. as well as emerging sports in the future.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how users of a special collection library of an academic institution in South Africa sought information and how social media could play a role in library service provision. Data for the empirical component was collected in September 2015. The study used a mixed methods approach to collect quantitative data which was analysed using Excel spreadsheets and qualitative data which was analysed using thematic analysis. A total of 36 self-administered printed questionnaires were used to solicit information on how users of the special collection library sought information for academic purposes using social media. Information was collected on the concerns, barriers and motivations that influence or deter users from using social media for academic purposes. Semi-structured interviews involving 11 participants were used to collect information on the views, experiences, thoughts and opinions of participants as regards the role that social media can play in providing library services. The study used purposive sampling in selecting participants for both the quantitative and qualitative study. Participants were users visiting the Special Collection Library at Institution A (a tertiary institution in South Africa), as well as users recommended by librarians of the Special Collection Library at Institution A. The participants included researchers, academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students at the academic institution as well as outside users (users not enrolled at Institution A or not staff members). The key findings include: (a) The most preferred social media tool used for academic purposes was Twitter, used mainly for sharing information and notification purposes. (b) Most preferred features of social media were those that provided for more engaging communication. (c) Users preferred more subject specific information on social media. (d) The concern listed as very significant by the largest number of participants was breach of privacy. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations were made for the library to give greater support to diversity of expression of knowledge and foster participation with the user as content creator and not just a consumer of knowledge. Also, the library should consider using strategies that promote the discoverability of the special collections. Such strategies include: using the social media tool of the users’ preference (for example Twitter in this case) to raise awareness of the collections (such as, maps and artefacts) that are unique to the library; using social media such as WhatsApp to post reference lists related to particular topics that refer users to the special collection resources such as manuscripts and artefacts. Using WhatsApp also provides opportunity to start conversations/chats around special collection resources. Training should be developed and provided to librarians and users that focus on those features that promote the display of special collections resources such as the uploading of photographs. Recommendations were made for further research. / Mini Dissertation (MIT)-University of Pretoria, 2016. / Information Science / MIT / Unrestricted

Modern tourists travel in new ways. The rising class of so-called “Creative tourists” prefer to explore everyday life instead of simply ticking off a list of sights to see. However, travel guides all currently represent places as simply a collection of sights. At the same time, public geotagged social media data is opening a new world of ways to investigate another place. In this thesis, I describe efforts to bring these trends together, by developing neighborhood guides for travelers, based on social media. I first investigate why people geotag and where this public geotagged data comes from. Then, after developing a model of what tourists want through a series of interviews and surveys, I develop a prototype social-media-based neighborhood guide for travelers. By an iterative user study and quantitative investigation into photo sources, I find that this data can give users an ideal glimpse into a new city. Implications are widespread: I show not only how social media can be used to help people travel, but also develop a perspective on what social media tells, and does not tell, about cities and neighborhoods. I show that social media provides an idealized qualitative image into a city, while perhaps not reflecting the objective, quantitative reality. This matches tourists’ needs ideally, providing an exciting new opportunity for a new generation of tourism tools.

This study aimed to provide researchers in the development of media studies with research into understanding the star as the object of desire in a contemporary context, using Robert Pattinson as the star and The Twilight Saga, which made him famous, as an example of the effects that the use of social and online media have on audiences in terms of their perception and identification of a particular star. This study drew from literature and theories such as stardom, star as the object of desire, audience theory, fantasy, desire and escapism as well as theory on globalisation, the mass media and online and social media. Whilst social and online media have been in existence for a number of years, there is little research that has been performed in order to determine whether or not the use of social and online media directly affect users’ understanding and perception of certain stars and films. There has also been little research performed in order to gain an understanding of fantasy and desire, in terms of films and film stars, outside the constraints of the cinema. This study examined this notion, noting that The Twilight Saga has been successful production worldwide, in order to discover whether or not the use of social and online media perpetuates obsession in the fans and audience members. The first part of the study that was conducted, applied certain theories discussed and developed in the literature review, to Robert Pattinson and The Twilight Saga in order to obtain a better understanding of the star and the film series in terms of cinema, stardom, fantasy and escapism and online and social media. A comparative case study of six online articles, from prominent online sources featuring Pattinson, was then conducted in order to investigate Pattinson’s image and status in the online community. Finally, a content analysis of various online and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube was performed in order to find out what type of information and imagery was being generated about Pattinson and the Saga as well as to investigate how fans and followers engaged with the different media channels and what kinds of comments they were making about the star and the Saga. It was found that Pattinson, the character he plays in the film series, Edward Cullen, and The Twilight Saga have a large presence on key social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, with a vast amount of followers and fans; Facebook and Twitter being the most popular and interactive media avenues. It was also found that Pattinson, Edward and The Twilight Saga, through the avid use of the social media tools, elicited and incited signs of obsession, fantasy and desire within an extensive amount of fans and followers, outside the constraints of the cinema

Recent studies have shown an increasing impact of online social networks such as Twitter on sports media. The following study aims to provide insight about communication patterns of athletes during the Olympic Games 2012 in London. Drawing on literature from traditional fields such as social capital (Field 2003), the 'uses and gratifications' approach (Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch 1974), self- presentation (Goffmann 1971) and recent studies about social media in sports (Kassing and Sanderson 2012), a Twitter-analysis of ten athletes was conducted during the Olympic Games 2012 in London. Following a content analysis of 1042 tweets (including 246 pictures), the research findings of this study reveal that athletes predominantly use Twitter as a platform for self- presentation. Furthermore, the analysis showed the possibility for fans to use Twitter in order to overcome the parasocial orbit (Kassing and Sanderson 2012) of virtual space and engage in actual social interaction with athletes. It is concluded that linkages of athletes with various stakeholders and the official framework of social media guidelines by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), result in self- restricting communication patterns of the athletes during the Olympic Games 2012.

Bullying is a national public health problem that is affecting millions of youth in Canada. With the proliferation of technology, bullying has permeated private spaces and is no longer limited to just school grounds. Due to the ease of accessibility of technology among youth, bullying is able to circumvent traditional safety barriers provided within the homes of youth which compounds concerns for parents. Since cyberbullying is still at an early stage, there is a need for research that explores the past experiences of students who have directly or indirectly encountered cyberbullying. Therefore, this study explores the experiences with cyberbullying of students at the University of Ottawa, who are between the ages of 18-23. The researcher conducted ten interviews guided by the transcendental approach to phenomenological reduction method. The study also sought to understand why cyberbullying happens and how adolescents who have directly or indirectly encountered cyberbullying respond. The findings revealed that online risk behaviour, perceived predictors of victimisation, response to cyber abuse, and justification for avoiding help-seeking behaviour appear to be linked to the severity of a user’s cyberbullying experience.

The objective of the thesis is to assess the potential of Facebook as a sole tool for intruduction of small, internet brand into the market and to assess advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook as an exclusive communication tool. The thesis consists of four parts. First part outlines brand creation theory and basic of strategy brand management, second part describes social media and social networks, third part focuses on Facebook and its marketing tools and part four provides description and analysis of introduction of the brand "FTB.cz" into the market using the tools and methodology described in chapters one to three.

The aim of this research was to explore the user participation behaviours in the emerging structure of organisational social media platforms; a term coined and defined in this thesis. This emerging community structure originates from technical discussion forums and knowledge repository systems, and appears to be concerned with solving user problems, generating professional and technical content, and facilitating interaction in the external organisational domain. This research has explored three such platforms in the software and technology sector; namely, the SAP Community Network, the Oracle Community site, and Microsoft's professional platforms, MSDN and TechNet. Qualitative open-ended interviews were conducted and analysed under the interpretive paradigm, to generate a theoretically-grounded account on the use of social media tools in this context, the benefits and value outcomes gained, the underlined reasons and motivations that drive participation, and the emerging impact of active contribution as external users gain recognition. It was found that organisational social media platforms enable the development of rich technical content, personalised experience and thought leadership, creating in this way an environment for problem solving, professional development and expert recognition. The voluntary participation observed is evidently underlined with a combination of altruistic attitudes (e.g. satisfaction, enjoyment and a pro-sharing attitude), reciprocal helping behaviours (e.g. paying it forward, and sharing knowledge and experience) and personal gain expectations (e.g. visibility, recognition and career advancement). The individual platform users appear to acquire participation roles based on their technical expertise (newbie, knowledgeable and expert) and on the level of engagement they wish to undertake (lurker, contributor, community influencer and recognised user). A group of highly active users is formed in this way at the top tier of participation that establishes channels for professional credibility, product feedback and external advocacy through a close relationship with organisational members. These findings suggest that organisational social media platforms can constitute a new interface with the external environment and a potential business model, under which flexible forms of communication and interaction affect the support infrastructure changing the way in which customer service can be delivered, product and sales advocacy can be established, and innovation and product development can be achieved; complementing in this way internal processes with external activity.

This thesis is intended to examine the general significance of the social networking site Instagram in corporate marketing to subsequently highlight its importance for the wine industry. Besides extensive theoretical research, an online survey was conducted to de-termine the current degree of implementation. The survey was conducted among wineries in the wine-growing region of Saale-Unstrut with the aim of analysing their experiences and perceptions of marketing via social media and Instagram. Furthermore, three other wineries were identified that had already firmly integrated Instagram into their marketing program. Their experiences and opinions were then compared with the approaches of the wineries domiciled in Saale-Unstrut. From these theoretical and practical findings, a rec-ommendation for action was developed, which should make it easier for wineries to suc-cessfully start and use Instagram in marketing in the future. The thesis ultimately supports the need to integrate Instagram - as an attractive element - into the marketing mix. Espe-cially in the wine industry there is a lot of untapped potential that ought to be exploited by more businesses. Nevertheless, this subject also offers a lot of potential from a scien-tific perspective. Alongside with a representative examination of the results presented, it is also worthwhile to study the perspective of customer perceptions of wine advertising via Instagram.:1 Introduction 1.1 Meaning of the Topic and Problem Statement 1.2 Aim of the Work 1.3 Methodical Approach 1.4 Structure of the Thesis 2 Delimitation of Social Media and Social Networking Sites 2.1 Social Media 2.2 Social Media Marketing 2.3 Social Networking Sites 3 Portrait of Instagram 3.1 Development of the Platform 3.2 Strategic Distinction from other Social Networking Sites 3.3 Analysis of the User Structures 3.4 Relevance to Corporate Marketing 3.5 Marketing Approaches on Instagram 4 Marketing in the Wine Industry 4.1 Wine and the Marketing Mix 4.2 Digital Wine Marketing 5 Use of Instagram in Wine Marketing 5.1 Survey Design and Procedure 5.2 Results 5.3 Reference Group 5.4 Discussion 6 Guidance for the Use of Instagram in the Marketing of Wines 6.1 Planning 6.2 Implementation 6.3 Evaluation 7 Conclusion, Critical Reflection and Suggested Future Research