Includes bibliographical references. / This work analyses the depiction of coloured women on trial for murder in South Africa’s Western Cape tabloids, the Daily Voice and Son. It argues that these depictions preserve conservative race, class, and gender norms. The coverage of the murder trials of Najwa Petersen, Ellen Pakkies, Zulfa Jacobs, and Chantel Booysen constructs a notion of illegitimate femininity that is rooted in apartheid and colonial discourse on coloured femininity. The ideologies present in this coverage indicate how themes of sexuality; motherhood; victimhood and trauma; class and community; and religion expel the threat female offenders pose to traditional performances of identity. This work is motivated by the shortage of local research on the depiction of female offenders. While international research have developed useful typologies for how female offenders are represented, and have shown how these depictions are sites for the communication of gender expectations, an acknowledgement of the diversity of women’s experiences necessitates a focus on how local discourses of race, class, and gender further influence these representations. Moreover, this work is motivated by the opportunity to offer an indication of how tabloid content works ideologically. By focusing on the depiction of women on trial for murder, this work offers a snapshot of the discourses on race, gender, and class that circulate in the publics created by these titles. The construction of deviant femininity, and its intersection with 'colouredness’ and a working-class identity, is the means through which the status quo is communicated. This work relies on a Foucauldian frame to privilege the power of discourse to construct identity, and the work of Judith Butler to consider how identity is produced and performed under constraint. In line with this focus on language, and due to a specific consideration of the Cape Flats vernacular, this work employs critical discourse analysis to analyse a purposive sample of the coverage of Petersen, Pakkies, Jacobs, and Booysen’s murder trials. Interviews conducted with journalists who have authored these tabloid accounts, and focus groups with tabloid readers who hail from the Cape Flats supplement this analysis. The results of this triangulation indicate the complex interaction between discourses in subduing the threat female offenders pose to normative identities. It also indicates the potential for tabloid newspapers to cement hegemonic and essentialised notions of racialised gender identities, despite South Africa’s post-apartheid context. Tabloids’ recognition of marginalised subjects does not automatically signify democratic transformation, partly because such subjects are represented by corporate monopolies who rely on cultural translators to communicate fixed ways of being. If media are to transform, they need to break from the apartheid era's subjugating and pathologising discourses. This work demonstrates that an interrogation of race, class, and gender politics is crucial for analysing South African tabloids’ contribution to public discourse.

Extant research has demonstrated that the media are rarely able to tell audience members what to think, but are remarkably successful in telling audiences what to think about; this is known as an agenda-setting effect (McCombs & Shaw, 1972). However, little research has examined whether such effects occur when audiences are exposed to news within daily email newsletters- emailed news bulletins sent by aggregator news media featuring important stories of the day. A 2 (topic) x 2 (placement) x 3 (message) mixed online experiment was conducted to examine whether topic and placement of articles within daily email newsletters produced agenda-setting effects over a period of three days. News topic was manipulated as being either health or education content, and placement of articles was manipulated as being the first or last article presented in the newsletter. News topic and placement served as between subjects factors. Participants (N = 108) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. Participants read one newsletter everyday over the course of three days; thus message repetition was a within subjects factor. Results showed that participants in the health condition exhibited stronger agenda-setting effects relative to participants in the education condition. This difference was stronger when placement of the news story was presented first, indicating prominence as a cue of salience within the newsletters. However, placement of topic was non-significant across both topics, as the cue of placement specifically produced conflicting results within the education condition. The results from this study contribute to the growing body of agenda setting research within the digital news era. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester 2017. / April 14, 2017. / agenda setting, daily email newsletters, experiment, salience / Includes bibliographical references. / Patrick F. Merle, Professor Directing Thesis; Russell B. Clayton, Committee Member; Summer Harlow, Committee Member.

This study examines why one may select and enjoy movie adaptations compared to original movies, through the lens of entertainment and media effect theories. The researcher hypothesized that two constructs, parasocial relationships and nostalgia, which can be observed and predicted through individual differences, are important factors to consider when researching the selection and enjoyment processes associated with entertainment media. Using a 2 x 2 online experimental design, this study tested how participants reacted towards movie storyboards portraying potential movie adaptations based on children's cartoon shows in order to explore differences between enjoyment, viewing intentions, parasocial interactions, and nostalgic experiences between participants with different levels of nostalgia-proneness and parasocial relationships with established cartoon characters. Results show that those with stronger parasocial relationships with the cartoon characters enjoyed the storyboards more and had stronger intentions to watch the full movie. Results also showed that those with higher nostalgia-proneness were more likely to want to watch the full movie. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science. / Spring Semester 2017. / April 14, 2017. / Enjoyment, Entertainment, Movie Adaptations, Nostalgia, Parasocial Relationship / Includes bibliographical references. / Arthur Raney, Professor Directing Thesis; Russell Clayton, Committee Member; Laura Arpan, Committee Member.

This study sought to determine how Twitter affected political mobilisation and civic engagement in Zimbabwe from 2015 to 2020. Zimbabwe's competitive authoritarian regime has over the years restricted access to mainstream media platforms, leaving members of the opposition and most civic organisations with no recourse but to resort to social media platforms such as Twitter for purposes of political mobilisation and civic engagement. The research questions were: How did Zimbabwean political actors, namely ZANU-PF, MDC formations, Build Zimbabwe, National People's Party, Independent candidates and ordinary citizens use Twitter for political engagement from 2015 to 2020? To what extent has Twitter influenced political mobilisation in Zimbabwe from 2015 to 2020? What examples are there of successful civic engagement through Twitter in Zimbabwe from 2015 to 2020? A thematic analysis of tweets from political parties that contested the 2018 elections, politicians, civic organisations and private citizens was carried out. Eight themes were identified, four measuring political mobilisation and four measuring civic engagement. For political mobilisation the themes were, engaging ZANU-PF, engaging MDC Alliance, sanctions, and corruption. For civic engagement the themes were focusing on humanitarian aid or causes, personal exchanges, provocative or gaslighting tweets, and human rights or legal issues. Findings indicate that Twitter, has several affordances that result in socio-political influences. Twitter empowers opposition parties and citizens in Zimbabwe. It constitutes a collaborative space on which different political parties pursue common objectives. The accumulation of information and conversations makes Twitter a historical database with verification capabilities. Furthermore, as Zimbabweans have been using Twitter to connect with specific issues and online communities, it has served as an endorsement and/or verification platform. The multiplicity of voices and opinions have made Twitter a marketplace of ideas. By enabling certain individuals or issues to gain prominence, Twitter has become a snowball amplifier of events and issues. Twitter creates boundless, extended or international communities as political actors and citizens across international boundaries have centralised or focused debates. Several opposition politicians, civic organisations and citizens have relied on Twitter to spread information and influence mainstream media channels in what exemplifies a phenomenal ‘Twitter effect'. The political persecution, lawfare and suspension of Twitter accounts has demonstrated how Twitter can be an ephemeral, mutating and transient platform. These metaphoric categories all demonstrate how Twitter serves as an alternative public sphere in Zimbabwe, a potent forum for subaltern counter publics.

A relatively small, but highly visible group of South Africans believe that farm attacks/murders (and other crimes against whites) constitute a targeted ‘white genocide'. Their beliefs have found support and corroboration in various online spaces, but especially within ‘alternative news' Facebook pages. This case study is used as an opportunity to apply a sociotechnical model of media effects to a very real disinformation problem that continues to inflame race relations in South Africa. Three pivotal questions are addressed, relating to (1) how Facebook users on farm attack/murder-focused pages engage with problematic information (fake news) and why; (2) the qualitative and affordance/format-related themes of posts with the highest share counts on these pages; and (3) the common themes of discourse used in defensive responses to social corrections of false information. Findings suggest that South Africa's ‘white genocide' problem is more deep-set than other more ephemeral ‘fake news' stories, especially due to stark racial and political dichotomies, reflected by the post comment sections herein. Group identities and cognitive biases work to sustain the disproportional media ‘spectacle' of gratuitous farm attacks/murders against white South Africans, and leverage Facebook's platform affordances to do so.

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This paper studies the activity of bipedal walking with the objective of describing procedural techniques to automate this process. The main problem this paper explores is how to mathematically characterize the relationships and motion of different limbs involved in the process of walking and to represent realistic and natural walk cycles. Other issues discussed are possible variations to create different types of walk cycles. The results have been used to implement and develop a learning tool to assist students in the creation of animated walk cycles. This paper is reporting on the methods used to create a practical computer-assisted tool to show and teach students how walk cycles get affected by different parameters without having to learn every facet of their complicated 3D animation applications. The results can also be applied to many different areas of visualization, such as architectural and virtual reality environments, where human or bipedal models are involved.

In well-developed instructional programs, professional skills such as business writing, team organization, project management, and oral presentation skills are built into coursework throughout the curriculum. Because of limitations of the classroom environment, these experiences only simulate those encountered in the field, making it difficult for students to appreciate the importance of these skills in their career preparation. In the Digital Media (DIGM) program at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), students often see professional skills aspects of projects in animation, web design, or 3D visualization courses as unnecessary obstacles to learning primary course material. It isn't until they have an opportunity to work in the field that these skills suddenly become relevant. Only then do they understand the consequences of poorly developed professional skills. Industry advisors for our program emphatically stress the need to help students develop professional skills. Our graduates have been praised for technical and artistic skill, but even though they work in teams, write proposals, and make oral presentations in many of their classes, when it comes to applying these skills on the job they haven't fared as well. In a highly competitive job market, it is often demonstration of these professional skills, combined with an overall professional demeanor, that make or break an applicant's ability to successfully land a good job. To address this need, a service-learning project designed to give students real world experience was implemented in the fall 2005 Portfolio Development in Digital Media class. Using "Maryland's 7 Best Practices for Service Learning" as a guide, the project was developed in collaboration with the Tri-City Metro Advertising Federation (TMAF). Students would compete for the opportunity to produce the promotional campaign for the ADDY Awards Competitioni for the Tri-Cities (Johnson City, Bristol and Kingsport, TN). Student teams answered a "Request for Proposal" for the project, which was also sent to advertising professionals. Classroom limitations were removed, and real-world consequences and rewards were in effect. Students were placed in competition with professionals as peers, with the same expectations for performance and delivery. Curricular objectives were achieved by allowing students to apply digital media skills in a professional setting, on a real-world project, that would become a case study for their portfolios. The project provided incentives for a successful proposal in that the proposal chosen was professionally produced and actually used by TMAF. In each year that the project was assigned, one of the student teams designed the winning campaign and was given community recognition for their contribution to their field. Students met the same criteria as competing professionals for responsibility, professionalism, proposal preparation (including research, creative solution, and adherence to instructions), effectiveness of the "pitch" (persuasive oral communication of ideas), and delivery of product. By working with professionals, they made contacts that could assist them in their careers. As the case study will show, this was an eye-opening experience for the students and a learning experience for all involved. Students indicated they felt better prepared to meet workplace expectations. It has enhanced the DIGM program's relationship with the advertising community, and has opened opportunities for our students after graduation by creating a greater awareness of our program within the community.

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