Department of Journalism & Media Communication
Permanent URI for this community
These digital collections include theses, dissertations, faculty presentations, and faculty publications from the Department of Journalism & Media Communication. Due to departmental name changes, materials from the following historical department are also included here: Journalism and Technical Communication.
Browse
Browsing Department of Journalism & Media Communication by Author "Abrams, Katherine, advisor"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Message effectiveness in the local food context(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Koroulis, Catharine Kelly, author; Abrams, Katherine, advisor; Sivakumar, Gayathri, committee member; Thilmany-McFadden, Dawn, committee memberThe local food movement has grown in popularity and might be beneficial both to individuals and communities. Most messaging strategies around local foods incorporate environmental or social elements, however a dominant branding strategy does not currently exist. We uncovered three common factors that were found in several studies on motivators to purchase local foods. These motivating factors were food quality, healthfulness, and support of local farmers. We sought to identify if message frames around these motivations created positive attitudes and behavioral intent to purchase local foods. To test this relationship 408 study participants were recruited from general education courses at Colorado State University. The theories included in this study were framing theory and the theory of planned behavior, which includes attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intent. Personality traits have been shown to moderate the effectiveness of message frames as well as attitudes toward local food. Therefore, personality traits were also taken into consideration as potentially moderating the relationship between frame type and attitudes/behavioral intent to purchase local foods. The factor-five model was used to evaluate personality types. The factor-five model includes the personality types neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness. Our results show that each frame type did not significantly influence participants’ attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, or behavioral intent to purchase local foods. This was the case both before and after personality traits were taken into consideration as moderating the relationship between frame type and behavioral intent. However, our main analysis did reveal that the personality trait openness is significantly related to each element of the theory of planned behavior model. Additional exploratory analysis shows that females are more likely to have favorable attitudes toward local food than males. Exploratory analysis also revealed that current and past production of food is related to a greater perceived behavioral control to purchase local foods. We suggest that the study might yield more meaningful results if pre-existing attitudes and elaboration on behalf of participants had been considered. We recommend a replication of this study with message strength and quality taken into greater consideration. In two separate areas of study, we also recommend further research on the relationship between attitudes toward local food and degrees of separation from food production as well as a possible link between the personality trait openness and local food sales.Item Open Access Simplification, debranding, and new marketing techniques: an historical analysis of brand logo design(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Wenzel, Mariah Claire, author; Abrams, Katherine, advisor; Castillo, Daniela, committee member; Kelly, Kathleen, committee memberMarketing and advertising trends, like fashion, go in and out of style with the seasons and the years. In decades past, advertisements were once created entirely out of text. But as cameras got better, printers more detailed, and digital marketing came to the forefront, advertising shifted to a visual medium. In a general overview of the top companies in the U.S., there seems to have been a shift towards more simplistic even minimalist design practices. In trying to objectively measure a design, there are many factors to consider if one wishes to categorize simple versus complex. Through the use of a visual content analysis, this study explored the evolution of 20 of the top U.S. companies' logos over the course of four different design iterations. In comparing logo design trends over time, this study examined simplicity as a function of several different design variables, as well as textual elements used with these company logos. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, portions of this particular study were unable to assert with statistical relevance that visual design variables were a factor in this simplification. However, it was discovered that textual elements, as a portion of the logo, were changing in terms of the number of characters used within the design. Although this study was unable to support several of the initial assumptions the researcher held, it does provide a valuable framework for further research.Item Open Access Wheat-free for the wrong reasons? College students' attitudes and information sources pertaining to the gluten-free diet(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Walker, Anne, author; Abrams, Katherine, advisor; Kodrich, Kris, committee member; Wdowik, Melissa, committee memberThe gluten-free diet has grown popular over the past years, with more people on the diet than simply celiac patients. Health professionals were concerned by the high number of people on the diet for reasons other than celiac disease because of dietary deficiencies that stem from eating gluten-free. Health scholars believed that misleading media messages touting the weight-loss and general health benefits of the diet were leading to the popularity of the gluten-free diet. However, these statements were not supported by research. In the pursuit of knowledge, research questions were developed for attitudes and information sources of the diet. Agenda setting and framing theory were used to examine survey results to better understand the possible influence media sources are having on attitudes towards the diet. To achieve a better understanding of attitudes and sources of information about the gluten-free diet, an online survey was given to 351 college students assessing their attitudes and both interpersonal and media information sources. College students were chosen as the study population based on their proclivity for fad dieting, changes in eating habits, and issues with weight. Results indicated that while students neither believed the diet was healthy nor unhealthy for everyone, they did hold negative attitudes about gluten-free as a fad diet, and believed others thought the diet was annoying and healthy. Search engine results were the most popular source of gluten-free diet information, and health type media sources were the most preferred type of media. Friends and family were the most used sources of interpersonal information, and health care providers were the least used interpersonal source of information. Students who had celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity were more likely to find gluten-free information on a search engine, on followed blogs or websites, and in magazine articles; these students were also more likely to discuss the diet with friends, family, and a health care provider. Implications and recommendations for future research were also discussed.