Graduate Major Research Papers and Multimedia Projects

Selling the iPhone or Selling iCapitalism: A Critical Analysis of Themes of Efficiency, Connection and Access in Apple’s iPhone Advertisements

Taylor Moore — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 13:20:23 PST

Human Trafficking 2.0: The Intersection between Human Trafficking and New Media in Canada

Heather K. Simmonds — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:00:31 PDT

Human Trafficking 2.0 is an interdisciplinary, major research project born at the crossroads of Web 2.0 technological advances and domestic human trafficking in Canada, two seemingly disconnected issues. This project will first define human trafficking by situating the issue in a uniquely Canadian framework, specifically through critical discourse analysis of the RCMP’s 2010 national report on human trafficking in Canada. The second section of the project will employ the method of content analysis, investigating 20 Canadian newspapers’ reporting on the issue of Craigslist and human trafficking, proposing how Canadian news reporters might more effectively address future issues of domestic human trafficking, and rally consensus among Canadian public, government, and law enforcement officials. Ultimately, this project will raise questions, make propositions, and interrogate possible communications solutions pertaining to domestic human trafficking in an attempt to create change by envisioning, and mobilizing, the ideal, anti-human trafficking climate in Canada.

All Your Choice Are Belong To Us: An Exploration of Neoliberal Capitalism, Digital Games, and Narrative Choice

Deirdre Andrews — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:00:29 PDT

Dispelling the Arguments Surrounding Canadian Television Programming: An Analysis of Food Network Canada

Marie Romeo — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:47:25 PDT

Since its introduction to the country in 1950, Canadian television has faced numerous obstacles in its attempt to reflect the culture of Canadians through original programming. Various media scholars are quick to point to three identifiable causes for this particular failure. Firstly, they argue that it is impossible to represent Canadian culture because one identifiable culture does not exist due to the country’s emphasis on bilingualism and multiculturalism. Secondly, they argue that Canadian television is a failure due to the high level of regionalism inherent in the medium, particularly programs tendency to focus on the province of Ontario. And thirdly, Canadian television is viewed as a failure due to the notion that Canadians will always prefer American programming. In recent years, the concept of food television has gained substantial popularity; first leading to the creation of the US based Food Network, and then its Canadian counterpart, Food Network Canada. This article raises the question, “To what extent do the programs on Food Network Canada undermine arguments of homogenization of Canadian culture on Canadian television?”, ultimately arguing that Food Network Canada’s original Canadian programming, specifically there instructional programming, dispels these three main arguments presented by media scholars. Following a literature review discussing the issues media scholars present concerning Canadian television, this argument is proven firstly through an extensive discursive analysis of episodes of Food Network programs Chuck’s Day Off, Chef at Home, Everyday Exotic, French Food at Home, Fresh with Anna Olson and Ricardo & Friends, and secondly, through an in-depth analysis of program ratings.

FILM ADAPTATION, ALTERNATIVE CINEMA AND LYNCHIAN MOMENTS OF TRANSPOSITION

Nick van Vugt — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:25:40 PDT

This research paper explores common variations of adaptation found in contemporary cinema by deconstructing classic Hollywood narrative systems of filmmaking and through a comparison of source material and adapted works.

Personality and Positive Psychology in Social Media and Post-Secondary Education

Dustin P. Manley — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:10:21 PDT

This study combines the fields of communication studies and psychology in order to determine the relationship between personality type, academic background, and social media content. Ten participants from each of McMaster University’s seven undergraduate faculties completed a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to determine their personality type, and submitted 10 personally written status updates or comments from the social media platforms of Twitter or Facebook. The Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanation (CAVE) method was used to analyze 630 social media content to determine overall positive or negative explanatory style.

The dominant personality types at McMaster University as determined by the 70 participants are: INFP, ENFJ, and ISTJ. In type preference it was found that 68% of the participants prefer the attitude of Introversion (I), 70% prefer the perceptive function of Intuition (N), 54.3% prefer the judging function of Thinking (T), and 61.4% prefer the orientation of Judging (J). The following personality preferences were found to be correlated with the CAVE’s explanatory dichotomies: Internal/External with Sensing (S) / Judging (J), Stable/Unstable with Extraversion (E) / Sensing, Global/Specific with Sensing/Thinking, and Controllable/Uncontrollable with Sensing.

Of the 630 submitted social media content, 68.4% of them were found describing positive events. It was found that 92.1% of the social media content contained an optimistic explanatory style. These findings strongly suggest that the majority of content written and uploaded on social media is positive and that personality type plays a minor role in content and explanations produced. It is concluded from these results that social media is an inherently positive medium for university students. The primary reason for this is believed to be a result of social media being an immensely public sphere forcing all individuals, regardless of personality type, to engage in higher levels of self-monitoring.

Questionable Coverage: Canadian Online News Media And The Representation Of The Oil Sands

Josh Willard — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:10:19 PDT

Some of the most pressing environmental issues, such as climate change and global warming, have been discussed, examined and contested in online news media. However, little research has been completed on the reporting styles of Canadian media, and in particular, Canadian online news media’s coverage of the oil sands. This paper examines media content and discusses the concept of media bias by examining the differences in reporting styles of the online formats of the CBC, the National Post, and The Globe and Mail, and discusses to what degree these news websites are providing balanced coverage from an environmental point of view. Through a content analysis of a collection of news articles, this study allows for an in-depth examination of which oil sands voices, such as oil companies, and environmental or government organizations, for example, are given a balanced amount of coverage. The study finds that stories on the oil sands are very limited and that there are a number of different news frames that are missing from the coverage, including the oil sands’ potential harm to humans and wildlife. The oil sands have become a pressing issue for Canadian oil companies, environment groups, and oil consumers, and as the sands continue to take a large toll on the environment, the sands will only become more contested and questioned.

Digging Deeper into Digg: Power Users, Gatekeepers and Agenda Setting

Daryl Spong — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:12:25 PDT

A content analysis looking at Digg’s front page material and users from June 2010 to May 2011, attempting to find patterns that suggest inequality amongst how the site’s front page material is published. With an emphasis on gatekeeping and agenda-setting, a sample size of over 2,600 front page posts were reviewed, finding that Digg’s front page was indeed controlled by a small group of users.

Cultural Values in Food Advertisements: A Comparison of Food Advertising in China and North America

kun wang — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:31:06 PST

This study examines cultural values as reflected in North American and Chinese food advertising appeals. The findings indicate that the portrayals of traditional Chinese cultural values remains relatively stable, which support well the localization which means the food ads reflect local rather than global values. However, the understanding of food reflects the qualitative living, as well as the healthy lifestyle seems as prominently displayed in Chinese ads as in the North American food advertisements. Implications for globalization versus specialization advertising strategies are also explored.

SoftShare: A Wearable Surveillance Tool

Jennifer Hambleton — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 20:12:13 PDT

The interactive art project SoftShare allows the user to manipulate soft sensors that are made of conductive yarns and fabrics. This wearable e-textile project emphasizes sensorial aspects of surveillance. Following a set of simple instructions, the person wearing this garment is capable of creating a short sensorial travel diary. These actions of responding and recording “out in the field” of the urban environment are a method of examining surveillance as a multi-faceted dynamic involving embodied perceptions of space. Inhabiting for a time what is essentially an electronic device allows the user to participate in monitoring a space within which, because of the pervasiveness of surveillance in urban spaces, they are also being monitored. What are the effects of surveillance technologies and ubiquitous computing on material and tactile experience? How is identity and tacit knowledge affected and transformed by the new fluid social spaces that are characteristic of embedded surveillance technologies? Embodied experience is always an element of processes of surveillance or use of locative media. The tangible media of conductive textiles is employed to explore participation and communication within new surveillance spaces.