This post was first published in January 2021. Editor Note: Over the coming weeks, The College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University will work to provide experiential and academic faculty perspectives on the causes and consequences of the events surrounding January 6, 2021. This means that some posts will offer academic…
Category: mass media
Making Sense of January 6th: What We Know About Why Mobs Emerge
This post was first published in January 2021. Editor Note: Over the coming weeks, The College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University will work to provide experiential and academic faculty perspectives on the causes and consequences of the events surrounding January 6, 2021. This means that some posts will offer academic…
We Cannot Just Moderate Extremism Away
This post first appeared on Items. In the wake of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, the role of social media in propagating extremism was once again under scrutiny. However, as Deana Rohlinger’s research demonstrates, stronger moderation policies alone would fail to account for the many ways that users express political beliefs through…
Galentine’s Day has become a thing – why hasn’t Malentine’s Day?
This first posted on February 13, 2020. On Feb. 13, women will celebrate Galentine’s Day, a holiday trumpeting the joys of female friendships. The holiday can trace its origins to a 2010 episode of “Parks and Rec,” in which the main character, Leslie Knope, decides that the day before Valentine’s Day should be an opportunity to celebrate…
Galentine’s Day: What It Tells Us About Our Changing Society
Whether or not Galentine’s Day has staying power remains to be seen. In the end, it doesn’t matter much. Social change is already happening.
Won’t You[r Money] Be Mine? The Marketability of Queer Inclusivity on Valentine’s Day
While we’ve pointed out some flaws with the upcoming holiday, we’ll also note that there are some pros. It’s fun to dress nicely, receive chocolates and flowers, and pretend to like that chalky heart-shaped candy, all for the sake of celebrating our significant others. But if we’re going to celebrate this made up Love Day, then we should each do it our way, no matter who we are or who we love. And the retailers shouldn’t get to have the final say on how we choose to go about it.
Ph.D. Spotlight: The Determinants of Vote Choice in Ballot Measure Elections
What types of informational cues do voters rely on when forming opinions? When does it matter for ballot measures? Is newspaper coverage biased in ballot endorsement elections? What types of bias do newspapers engage in? Does the bias of newspaper coverage in ballot elections affect the outcome of ballot measure elections? With an election just…
Research Spotlight: How Does Advice to Women and Men Traveling Alone Reflect Gender Inequality?
Searching the internet has become almost a prerequisite for travel (though considerably fewer trips, of course, are happening during the pandemic). Online articles and blogs are appealing sources of information because they offer up-to-date travel advice, often drawn from personal experiences. Despite their widespread use, online travel articles have received surprisingly little research attention. Dr….
Research Spotlight: The Impacts of President Trump’s Midterm Endorsements
It’s not breaking news that President Trump likes to tweet. In 2018, he used that social media platform to dole out a rapid-fire of endorsements of congressional candidates running in the midterm elections. During that campaign, he gave out 134 endorsements to 45 congressional candidates on Twitter, and endorsed another 35 congressional candidates at 47…
Masks and Masculinity: Trump’s Strong Man Performance
This post first appeared on the Institute for Research on Male Supremacy blog. President Donald Trump’s refusal to wear a mask in public serves as a form of masculinity performance that characterizes Trump as a strong man—tougher than the COVID-19 virus, and unable to be controlled by establishment forces telling him what to do. While…
Wicked Problems, Wicked Solutions 