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Although the social network site (SNS) Facebook achieved great success around the world, in China, it was over taken by the local website Kaixin001. Using comparative analysis and interviews, this thesis compared the architecture of the two websites and Chinese users' attitude towards them. From one side, the result indicates

Although the social network site (SNS) Facebook achieved great success around the world, in China, it was over taken by the local website Kaixin001. Using comparative analysis and interviews, this thesis compared the architecture of the two websites and Chinese users' attitude towards them. From one side, the result indicates that they are almost the same, but not quite. Kaixin001 is a copycat which adapts to local cultures and political regulations. From the other side, the research also highlights that people associate Kaixin001 with a game platform rather than a social tool. It suggests that there are two layers of digital divide: access and utilization. Chinese users can not get equal access because of the Great Firewall. At the same time, unlike western users, they are fond of playing games, listening music and other functions, rather than creating original content or building social capital. Therefore, the SNS utilization is not equal. Because of regulations and self-surveillance, their SNS use is enjoying the apolitical does not challenge the Chinese state. At the end of the thesis, the author points out the limitations of this research. As Internet-mediated qualitative research, this study lacks extended time and samples to explore the SNSs in global context. Further research is needed to collect extended samples. Moreover, the users' dependence on social network websites may be addressed to seek more comprehensive and deeper understanding of SNS.
ContributorsQin, Yuchun (Author) / Wise, Greg (Thesis advisor) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Waldron, Vincent (Committee member) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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Description
ABSTRACT

Elite experience and careers in judged female sports complicate the binary categories of retirement while they are especially exposed to cultures of abuse, pressure and subjectivity. This thesis is comprised of multiple voices and experiences from the elite female athletic perspective, including my autoethnographic narrative. Highlighted and discussed are the

ABSTRACT

Elite experience and careers in judged female sports complicate the binary categories of retirement while they are especially exposed to cultures of abuse, pressure and subjectivity. This thesis is comprised of multiple voices and experiences from the elite female athletic perspective, including my autoethnographic narrative. Highlighted and discussed are the topics of sexual assault and abuse, family pressure on children to do and excel at sport, the National Team experience representing the United States and subjected bodies and judging. It is an aim of this thesis to culminate all of those factors in the final chapter and hold that the experience and the cultures of athletic identity within synchronized swimming, gymnastics and figure skating not only cannot be explained by current research on athletic identity through retirement but have the capability to retire undeveloped young women by overdeveloped athletic identities. Through a sampling of voices and experiences across different female judged sports, over three decades, the reader will observe similarities that cause these sports to have a culture of solidarity through the aspects they hold in common with each other. The narrative highlights pivotal moments in the lives of the elite female athlete within these sports, which add to the calculation of their athletic identities and the lack of their personal identities. Through reflection and analyses of not only my story, but the interviewees from my original research and that of Joan Ryan’s as well, I aim to voice a mutual experience of elite athletes. Consisting of multiple factors throughout many years we will see through my autoethnography, paralleling with other voices and experiences, how it all intersects and contributes to this: Who am I now and where do I go from here?
ContributorsHaylor, Alyson (Author) / Colbern, Allan (Thesis advisor) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
The present study explored memorable messages that professional female athletes have recalled throughout their careers. This study sought to understand what types of memorable messages are recalled by female athletes that have made it to the top of their sports at the professional level and to understand whether the recalled

The present study explored memorable messages that professional female athletes have recalled throughout their careers. This study sought to understand what types of memorable messages are recalled by female athletes that have made it to the top of their sports at the professional level and to understand whether the recalled memorable messages were gendered or not. Respondents were asked via a survey questionnaire to recall a memorable message, describe the meaning and context of the message and finally what effect, if any, the message had on them. Qualitative survey questionnaire responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results indicated that memorable messages were not gendered in any way but there were several relevant themes, which included: wisdom, performance, instruction, motivation, dedication and identity. These results are new to the field of memorable messages within the field of sport and hold significance for future research.
ContributorsMatthews, Robyn J. H (Author) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Thesis advisor) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Waldron, Vincent (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
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Description

This work explores the dynamic of gender and sport through the lens of Title IX, with the intention of highlighting the importance of gender equality within athletics.

ContributorsVigil, Amanda Beth (Author) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Shearer, Emilee (Committee member) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05