This exploratory study examined the interaction and effect of message characteristics, organizational credibility, and the presence of disaster on intention to donate to a Disaster Relief Organization (DRO). The Elaboration Likelihood Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior were used to theorize and test participant's message processing and donation behaviors. The study design incorporated random assignment into one of eight conditions. Findings reveal (a) participants have a higher donation intention when a disaster is present, (b) negative framing, when compared with positive framing, yielded the highest intention to donate when a disaster was present, (c) when no disaster is present, participants expressed a higher intention to donate to a highly credible DRO over a DRO that lacked credibility, (d) perception of DRO credibility is mediated by presence of a disaster, and (e) social media is being used in addition to more commonly found traditionally mass media for information during a disaster. In summary, this study extends previous research on processing and donation behaviors by examining the interaction of message characteristics and source credibility both during a disaster and without a current disaster. The study contributes to the growing body of research on disaster donations by incorporating social media use. / text

The purpose for this thesis was to explore a dynamic between the news media, their subjects, and their audience. I investigate whether everyday news media frame the information they deliver in such a way as to potentially direct the audience on how to respond to news stories. The setting for this research question is in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and the subject matter deals specifically with agriculture, its practitioners, how they do business, and how the local news media report about it. The issue will be explored from an applied anthropological perspective, basing conclusions on field research and an internship with the Department of Environmental Protection and their agricultural liaison. Several newspaper articles and television news broadcasts were monitored over several years and selected on a basis of their relevancy to the topic. The anthropological value of this study is in discovering how media disseminate this particular subject matter and how a deficiency in information flow could result. I explore a body of literature that is both diverse and germane to the field of media studies to gain a broad perspective on how different news events are mediated. Following the analysis, a qualitative assessment is given to further the understanding of how local news media frame reports related to the practice of agriculture.

In steel moment resisting frames, the region of the column located within the beam-column joint is known as the panel zone. When a steel moment resisting frame is subjected to lateral load, due to wind or seismic loads, the panel zone is subject to high shear. In some cases, the shear in the panel zone is sufficiently high that the panel zone must be reinforced to increase its stiffness and/or strength. This is normally accomplished by welding doubler plates to the column in the panel zone region. Doubler plates can be a costly feature in steel moment resisting frames because of the substantial amount of welding involved. There has been a large amount of past research that has investigated the required shear strength and stiffness of the panel zone region to establish a basis for sizing doubler plates. However, very little past research has investigated the details of attaching doubler plates to columns. These attachment details can have a significant influence on the structural performance of panel zone and on cost. The overall goal of this research was to conduct preliminary finite element studies that provide insight into several key issues related to the attachment of doubler plates to columns and to identify issues that require further research. The research involved finite element modeling of a simplified representation of beam-to-column joint subjected to monotonic loading. A total of twenty-one analysis cases with different doubler plate attachment details were studied. Issues that were investigated included the effect of welding different edges of the doubler plate to the column (horizontal edges only, vertical edges only, and all four sides), the effect of extending the doubler plate beyond the panel zone region, and the effect of providing two thinner doubler plates of equivalent total thickness on both sides of the column web instead of one thick doubler plate on one side of the column web. In addition, the forces developed in the doubler plate welds were computed from the finite element analysis and compared with current building code requirements for the design of these welds. Observations and preliminary design recommendations on these issues are provided in this thesis, along with recommendations for further research. / text

This investigation of the 2014 midterm election brings together research in communication, journalism, political science, and sociology. Incorporating concepts of interdependence through the application of social network analysis, I analyzed how journalists construct and utilize networks of news sources in election coverage. Survey results indicate that journalists use sources in a complementary fashion in order to fulfill their resource needs. Such perceptions are also dependent on aspects of the journalist, news norms, organizational pressures, and extra-media influences. Overall, source networks are strategically used to fulfill traditional journalistic norms of objectivity and credibility as well as economic and entertainment needs. Content analysis results suggest that, along with more traditional variables such as ownership and source type, networks characteristics also influence new outcomes, with higher network density resulting in increases in issue coverage. In other words, greater connections among sources may result in more substantive information being passed on to voters. For the field of communication, this study enhances our understanding of agenda building and framing by revealing (1) how journalists perceive their networks (networks to journalists), (2) how they translate real life networks into symbolic networks within news coverage (networks from journalists), (3) how source networks vary across time and election contexts (networks across time), and (4) how such networks influence coverage outcomes. It furthers our understanding of the role interdependence plays in news construction and suggests the incorporation of network concepts and measures will increase our understanding of the news production process.

The importance of education creates a need to better frame education issues for the public and policymakers. This thesis builds on framing theory to examine whether framing educational issues domestically or internationally affects support for increased educational spending. It tests straightforward hypotheses about one-sided frame exposure in a survey experiment conducted via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The findings have implications for approaches that may be effective for generating support for education funding in the U.S.. By determining the best frame to use to motivate educational support, policymakers can better tailor their strategies and platforms in the media and communication with the public.

With a base in Ian Manners’ theory about Normative Power Europe – that the European Union is to be seen as a normative power instead of a civilian or military – this paper seeks to contribute to the discussion about identity by examine the normative elements of the union’s policies towards Russia between 1997 and 2013. Which norms are most important and how does the diffusion look? The findings show that democracy, rule of law and respect of human rights are among the most diffused norms, and this is more than often done by using the Russian interest in economic progress. Over time the European Union has taken on a more critical approach against Russia, while still appreciating their prosperous relation when it comes to trade and energy. The union balances between asserting its identity by the diffusion of norms on one hand, and maintaining a pragmatic relationship on the other, which leaves the identity issue as still a very complex question.

A controversial party’s entry into parliament - a review of Expressen’s depiction of the Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) The purpose of this essay was to study how Expressen presents the Sweden Democrats, as well as reasoning about the effects this depiction could have on the citizens’ opinion. Using a quantitative method I studied 122 articles, and through a qualitative method four of these could be further analyzed to reach a deeper result. The theoretical perspective that was applied in this study was primary agenda-setting and framing theory, to illuminate the power of media. The result showed that a prominent theme was to present Sweden Democrats as racists. Other recurring themes were to include the party misfortunate-, successful, crime-related scandals and as victims. It also showed that the Sweden Democrats rarely gets to speak in the articles and that the headlines and events are angled in an unfavorable way for the party.

In Canada, parental acceptance and uptake of the HPV vaccine has been low. There is a need for more effective HPV vaccination health messages for parents. Whether a message is framed in terms of the benefits of engaging in the behaviour (gain frame), the costs of failing to engage in the behaviour (loss frame) or both the benefits and the costs (mixed frame) has potential to impact parents’ decision making. The appropriate frame of a message may depend on the recipient’s sex and involvement with the health issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the persuasiveness of gain-, loss- and mixed-framed messages on mothers’ and fathers’ intentions to have their young son or daughter vaccinated against HPV. The study used a 3 Frame x 2 Sex of Parent x 2 Sex of Child design. We randomly assigned participants (n=367) to read a framed message and then complete a 29-item questionnaire assessing theoretical determinants of parental consent for vaccination. ANCOVAs revealed a three-way interaction for intentions to speak to a doctor about the HPV vaccine, F(2, 342)=3.66, p =.03, perceived severity of HPV, F(2, 347) = 3.10, p = .05, and for anxiety about their child contracting HPV, F(2, 342)=3.58, p=.02. Effect size comparisons revealed that gain-framed messages seem to persuade parents who are the opposite sex to the child for whom they are considering the vaccine. In turn, loss- and mixed-framed messages may persuade parents who are the same sex as the child for whom they are considering the vaccine. Perceived severity of HPV and anxiety about HPV mediated the relationship between message frame and intentions for some parent-child dyads. Findings have implications for constructing effective messages encouraging parents to consider having their child vaccinated against HPV. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2010-07-07 23:06:25.757

Physical inactivity is a national issue affecting more than half of all Canadian adults (Colley et al., 2011). Health messaging, including message framing, has been a popular medium for encouraging individuals to adopt recommended health behaviours such as physical activity. Previous research has demonstrated that gain-framed messages, which emphasize the benefits of a behaviour, are more effective at promoting physical activity (PA) than loss-framed messages which emphasize the costs. However, the mechanism through which this facilitating effect occurs is unclear. The current study examined the effects of message framing on attention, attitudes, recall, decision to be active and behaviour as well as the mediating effects of these variables on the frame-behaviour relationship in accordance with the communication behaviour change (CBC) model (McGuire, 1989). Sixty moderately active women, aged 18-35 viewed 20 gain- or loss- framed ads and 5 control ads while their eye movements were recorded via eye tracking. Attitudes towards PA, message recall, decision to become active and PA behaviour during an acute bout of exercise were measured immediately following ad exposure. Self-reported PA was measured one week later. Univariate ANOVAs, ANCOVAs and logistic regressions were conducted to examine the effects of message framing on each level of the CBC model. The gain-framed ads attracted greater attention, ps<0.05, produced more positive attitudes, p = .06, were better recalled, p < .001, influenced decisions to be active, p = .07, and had an immediate and delayed impact on behaviour, ps < .05, compared to the loss-framed messages. However, mediation analyses failed to reveal any significant effects suggesting that alternate mechanisms may be influencing framing effects on behaviour. This study demonstrates the effects of framed messages on several novel outcomes; however the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-08 16:50:51.877

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