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open access

Transforming the Predator: Representations of the Child Sexual Abuser in 21st Century American Visual Media

Description: This thesis examines the ways American visual media -television and mainstream/independent cinema- has presented the narrative of child sexual abuse since the beginning of the 21st century. Due to the rise of the counterculture movement and the sexual revolution of the 1960s, a discourse for talking about child sexuality was created. By providing an opportunity to discuss children and sex, for the first time cultural products could deal overtly with child sexual abuse, rather than connotativel… more
Date: August 2009
Creator: Jay, Samuel M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Performance Rights in Sound Recordings: the Impact of the Performance Rights Act on Radio, Records, and Performing Artists

Description: The original works of copyright holders included tangible creations, as music written on a page, thereby, extending copyright protection to songwriters and music publishers. Until 1995, absent from U.S. copyright law was protection for copyright owners of intangible sound recordings. the Performance Rights Act (PRA) seeks to amend the US copyright law in order to grant copyright holders of sound recordings the right to performance royalties from terrestrial broadcast radio. If passed, the le… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Wright-Harmon, Joy
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

My Land, My Life

Description: My Land, My Life is a documentary film about the woman, Jo Angela Lamb, who lives and works on Frying Pan Ranch in Texas Panhandle. the film explores the complexity of a ranch woman's experience that breaks the spell of the stereotyped image of American cowgirls. It also reflects on women ranchers’ relationship with their family members and their relationship with the land.
Date: May 2012
Creator: Zhang, Mingyun
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Jiggs

Description: Jiggs is a documentary that explores how Jiggs Gaffney serves despite his mental disability. By observing Jiggs’ involvement at Pine Cove Christian Camps, and revealing his past, the documentary shows how anyone can be used for a greater good, and reveals how God can be served and glorified by anyone, no matter the individual circumstances.
Date: May 2012
Creator: Sosa, Mario
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Tactile Media: Factors Affecting the Adoption of Touchscreen Smartphones Among Consumers with Vision Loss

Description: Touchscreen technology is on the rise as the new standard in smartphone design. But, the usability of touchscreen is hindered for consumers that lack the physical ability to navigate such devices. Two focus groups were conducted in order to identify specific uses and gratifications that people with visual impairments had when using mobile phones. Additional questions were presented to the participants to determine if touchscreen technology limited access to communication and entertainment. The … more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Bradley, Sapora L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Graciously We Receive

Description: Graciously We Receive is an ethnographic documentary film about Hearts for Homes, a volunteer Christian outreach organization that does no-cost home repairs for low income elderly homeowners. Graciously We Receive examines the symbiotic relationships between volunteers and the homeowners, addressing the need to be needed by meeting the needs of others. Using qualitative research methods derived from the social sciences, Graciously We Receive represents an advancement in media-based research me… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Dent, J. Fredrick
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Social Networking: the Benefits of Twitter for Music Fans and Consumers

Description: Due to the evolution of new media technologies, social networking websites have become major avenues for online media consumption. Twitter is one of many proven beneficial for online users. It is utilized for many different reasons, one of which includes music. It is then necessary to know how beneficial Twitter is for music fans and consumers. This study attempts to analyze the benefits of Twitter for music fans and consumers. Using an online survey, different gratification items are measured.… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Perrilliat, Jessica A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Live From New York and Straight to Washington: an Explorative Study of Internet Audience Perceptions of the Portrayals and Appearances of Presidential Candidates on Saturday Night Live

Description: This thesis examines if and how the Internet viewers of Saturday Night Live skits were influenced by the video skits. the viewers’ online comments were read, categorized and analyzed for content to explore and discuss how the viewers “read” the text of the online video skits. Each video in which candidates John McCain, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama appeared is summarized and analyzed through viewers’ comments. a sample of skits including actors’ portrayals of McCain, Palin, Cli… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Miller, Paige Thomason
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Branded Content: Understanding the Mechanisms of Strategic Messaging in Entertainment Television Formats

Description: Branded content as an advertising tactic is a growing phenomenon that is not widely researched and is generally ambiguous in nature. This study uses qualitative methods to explain how branded content is defined, how it functions, and how it can influence a brand. Case studies of IKEA and Chevrolet were compared alongside four interviews with branded content professionals. the data collected suggests that branded content in structure and substance is varied, however it comprises engagement, the … more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Nicholson, Danielle Marie
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Rehlet Iraqi (An Iraqi Journey)

Description: Rehlet Iraqi was created to depict an Iraqi refugee family’s struggle after fleeing war-torn Iraq. Their struggle is highlighted with hope and high expectations for a better life within the United States. This film emphasizes the toll that emigration has on the life of a family before and after their arrival to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Date: August 2011
Creator: Wahbeh, Fadi
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Diffusion Of Location Based Services And Targeting Us Hispanics: A Case Study

Description: This study reviews factors that identify U.S. Hispanics as being an ideal target market for adopting Location Based Services (LBS). By using the diffusion of innovation theory, an observed pattern of Hispanics’ adoption of technology, advertisements, smartphones and various smartphone value-added services reveals U.S. Hispanics to be more likely to adopt LBS than non-Hispanics. The study also identifies the top U.S. cell phone wireless providers and analyzes their marketing position towards U.S… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Yepez, Jennifer
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The “Nigger Trinity”: Engaging the Discourse in Post Civil Rights/Post 1960s America

Description: The cultural and popular media landscape of the United States of America changed after the Civil-Rights movement of the 1960s. The word “Nigger” was changed during that same period of American history. There are several authors and a comic that helped change this word during the 1960s. The post Civil-Rights American has a different experience and understanding with this word than those born before 1970. This work triangulates the current cultural location of the word “Nigger,” “nigga,” and “the… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Bell, Adrian Shane
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Noisefold

Description: This documentary film follows the group NoiseFold as they rehearse and perform their unique style of interactive video art before an enthusiastic audience. Originally hailing from the vibrant art community in Santa Fe, New Mexico, founders David Stout and Cory Metcalf return home to prepare for a special performance along with the addition of collaborator and cellist, Frances-Marie Uitti. Shot in black and white, the film aesthetically borrows from early cinema and incorporates a blend of cin… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Lewis, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Teacher Perceptions of the Flipped Classroom: Using Video Lectures Online to Replace Traditional In-class Lectures

Description: Advancements in media technologies have resulted in increased student usage causing teachers to struggle to be able to engage and hold student’s interest in a typical classroom. As students’ needs change, the field of education changes. One strategy that is gaining in popularity among teachers is the implementation of the “flipped classroom” also known as the “inverted classroom” or “reverse instruction” - a method incorporates technology to “flip” or “reverse” what is typically done in class … more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Snowden, Kelly E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Blood Brothers

Description: Blood Brothers as a media project works as a diptych. There are two – seemingly identical – pieces of the project that must both be experienced to understand the project as a whole. The first piece of the project is the linear documentary. This part captures the experience as it exists in the past. It exists as a master copy of the original story of mine and my foster brother’s relationship. This version of the story will always exist in the past. The second part is the live-cinema documentary … more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Quam, Jonathon David
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Provincial Heroism: Hunanese Audiences and Sylvester Stallone

Description: The thesis focuses on analyzing and discussing Hunanese audience members’ receptions of three of his films – Rocky IV (1985), Cliffhanger (1993) and The Expendables (2010) to reveal the audiences’ motivations of admiring him and his movies. The analysis is based on Hunanese male characteristics because Hunanese culture is a male centric culture. In the Rocky IV film, Hunanese fans like his manhood, nature of soldier, and determination. In the response to Cliffhanger, some audience members appre… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Kuang, Jun
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Piracy on the Ground: How Informal Media Distribution and Access Influences Cultures in Contemporary Hanoi, Viet Nam

Description: This thesis explores how pirate cultures and “informal” distribution circuits operate on the ground level and integrate global media texts (mainly Hollywood films) into a small section of the local everyday society of Hanoi, Viet Nam. Situating the pirate stores and its components as active and central, this thesis will examine the physical flow of media through these store sites. In addition, by exploring the interactions between media texts, store owners and workers, customers, and the store’… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Tran, Anthony
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Stage and Scream: The Influence of Traditional Japanese Theater, Culture, and Aesthetics on Japan's Cinema of the Fantastic

Description: Although widely viewed in the West, Japanese films are often misunderstood, as they are built on cultural, theatrical, and aesthetic traditions entirely foreign to Western audiences. Particularly in regards to Japan's "fantastic" cinema - including giant monster pictures, ghost stories, and "J-Horror" films - what is often perceived as "cheap" or "cheesy" is merely an expression of these unique cultural roots. By observing and exploring such cultural artifacts as kabuki, noh, and bunraku - the … more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Petty, John E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

It's a Wonderful Business: The Art of Production Sound

Description: It's a Wonderful Business: The Art of Production Sound is a documentary film that offers an inside look at what it takes to record the dialog of actors and diegetic sounds on a movie set. This is the job of the production sound crew, in charge of recording the voices of some of the most talented and prominent performers in the motion picture industry. The documentary features interviews with former and current production sound mixers and boom operators from some of the most acclaimed films in t… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Milano, Omar
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Campania In-Felix (Unhappy Country)

Description: This documentary film explores the damages produced by the illegal dumping of toxic waste in the environment and the rise in health concerns specific to the Campania region in Southern Italy. The management of waste material in the region is in the hands of the Camorra - a mafia organization with vast economic and political power. Through the narration of personal stories, the documentary reveals the broken emotional and cultural balance between the people from the region and their land.
Date: May 2011
Creator: Corsale, Ivana
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Standing Up to Experts: The Politics of Public Education

Description: In a small room in Austin, Texas, a group of 15 people are single-handedly deciding what is taught to the next generation of American children. The highly politicized 15 member Texas Board of Education is currently going through the once-in-a-decade process of rewriting the teaching and textbook standards for its nearly 5 million schoolchildren. Texas is also unbelievably influential on the standards that textbook publishers use as a basis for their textbooks nationwide. Over the last 10 yea… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Thurman, Scott
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The reshaping of the traditional television advertising model: An analysis of media agency perceptions and decision-making processes regarding the effects of digital video recorders on television commercial effectiveness.

Description: This research analyzes media agency executives' perceptions and strategic decision-making processes when accessing the impact of digital video recorders (DVRs) on the traditional television commercial spot. Strategic decision-making models, as well as major industry research, forms the theoretical framework used to guide the study. The research takes a quantitative approach using a survey in order to obtain the perceptions and decision-making processes of the media agency executives'. The findi… more
Date: August 2007
Creator: Way, Heather C.
Partner: UNT Libraries

In Martha We Trust? The Cultural Significance of the Martha Stewart Phenomenon

Description: The thesis examines the relationship between Martha Stewart's rendition of domesticity and a broader cultural trend of the late 1990s U.S. domestic retreatism. It argues that the mode of construction and representation of the "domestic dream" in Stewart's programs cannot be examined outside of such concepts as class and ethnicity, whose understanding depends on the cultural, social, and political context of a given era, a context, in which they become transparent as aspects of the Western (whit… more
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Date: August 2003
Creator: Chmielewska, Katarzyna
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Education for Education's Sake? Exposing the Arts District of Downtown Dallas

Description: This thesis discusses the relatively new approach of art education, by paralleling it to Marxist ideology on art. The Dallas Arts District is one example of a city where museum art education is in conflict: being adopted more vigorously by some and with less acceptance by others. In order to provide a glimpse into the museum ideology of downtown Dallas, previous schools of thought regarding the role of curators and the introduction of educators into museums will be detailed, as well as confli… more
Date: August 2005
Creator: Gormly, Robin K.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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