MA, Kent State University, 2014, College of Communication and Information / School of Media and Journalism

This thesis looks to develop how dematerialization theory shapes consumer experiences in the music industry, as the industry shifts to more digital practices. First, the literature review explores the history of the music industry, including a chronological examination of how the industry became oriented toward the digital space and how the original digital files were developed. It also includes an overview of consumer behaviors in the music industry and online in general, as well as an overview of how cloud computing continues to influence the industry. Following the literature review, there is an explanation of dematerialization theory as it exists in its current understanding, which is in relation mostly to art with growing applications involving how dematerialization is changing with the use of screens. The methodology for this research involved in-depth interviews, and background research supporting the use of in-depth interviews is included, as well as the breakdown of the subjects who were involved in this research. The findings are then discussed, and the findings marry the earlier research from the literature review with the respondent answers from the interviews. The respondents and previous research are used to develop four personas to best understand how dematerialization theory is changing with the music industry. The four personas discussed are the expressive, the promoter, the true fan, and the enthusiast. These types are explained in detail, and then each is discussed in relation to each other and in relation to dematerialization theory and how the personas can better shape the theory. An in-depth look is given to how consumers interact with music in physical and digital spaces and how meaning is generated in each space and in multiple ways. Finally, the conclusion builds the case for further research questions, as well as current implications that the music industry and related fields can take away from this research.

Committee: Danielle Coombs (Advisor); Michele Ewing (Committee Member); Evan Bailey (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Multimedia Communications; Music

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2019, Leadership and Change

More than a decade after the emergence of social and digital media, professional communicators increasingly use these channels to interact with a wide array of stakeholders. Simultaneously, public relations (PR) and communications leaders seek to understand whether their efforts to communicate and engage with stakeholders through these channels are effective in establishing and building relationships, as well as to measure “effectiveness” in the new technology-driven communications landscape. With this study, I addressed a gap in the academic research with regard to understanding the effectiveness of social and digital media as a communications tool by assessing employees' perceptions of their organization with respect to five communication concepts, both in general and based specifically on the company's social media communications. I assessed the relationship between the employee stakeholder and the organization from two viewpoints: first, from the viewpoint of the employees with whom the organization is communicating, and second, from the viewpoint of the communications professionals who post social and digital media messages on behalf of the organization. The results showed that an intervention to educate employees about the organization's social and digital media communications did not result in employees' increased positive perceptions of the organization as a whole or of the organization's sites with regard to each of the five communications concepts. The increase in employees' positive perceptions of the organization's social and digital media sites, which reflected the communication concept “promoting communal relationships,” was significant at p < .10; also, increases for three individual statements that were part of the communications concepts were sufficient for statistical significance. The intervention did result in statistically significant increases in employee use of social and digital media to engage with the organization and in usage of specifical (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mitchell Kusy PhD (Committee Chair); Carol Baron PhD (Committee Member); Mike Porter EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Management; Marketing; Mass Communications; Multimedia Communications; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Web Studies

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE), Wright State University, 2018, Electrical Engineering

In this project, we continue previous CSR project entitled RF Steganography based Joint Radar/Communication Waveform Design to develop a bio-inspired secure low probability detection (LPD) radio frequency (RF) waveform that can serve multiple purposes simultaneously. Previously, we have developed an RF steganography based RF waveform to conceal a secure digital communication within a linear frequency modulated (LFM) chirp radar signal. By exploiting novel reduced phase shift keying modulation and variable symbol duration, the new waveform is resistant to time domain analysis, frequency domain analysis and cyclostationary analysis. However, to demodulate the hidden communication message, the intended receiver has to know the entire sequence of variable symbol duration, or the entire sequence of pseudo-random phases. We are developing a chaotic based self-synchronization scheme to solve this problem and provide enhanced security. Specifically, a chaotic sequence generator is employed to generate an aperiodic chaotic sequence to control the phase of the reduced phase shift keying modulation. The intended receiver only needs to have knowledge of the initial condition of the chaotic sequence generator to generate the entire pseudo-random phase sequence to achieve self-synchronization.

Committee: Zhiqiang Wu Ph.D. (Advisor); Saiyu Ren Ph.D. (Committee Member); Yan Zhuang Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering; Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1986, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Engineering

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2010, Electrical and Computer Engineering

RF systems onboard rotorcrafts are susceptible to a periodic variation in both the magnitude and phase of the received signals due to the rotation of the rotor blades. This is often referred to as rotor blade modulation (RBM). As its name indicates, RBM causes a modulation of the incident signal, which is dependent on the frequency and direction of the incident signal. As one might imagine, RBM has the potential to degrade a given RF system. Therefore, RBM must be accounted for when characterizing the performance of any RF system onboard a rotorcraft. The first part of this thesis develops methods for incorporating RBM in computer or hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulations of RF systems onboard rotorcrafts. The methods are verified using the response of an antenna mounted on a simple rotorcraft that is analyzed through numerical electromagnetic computations as well as characterized by measurements. In the second part of this thesis the effects of RBM on digital communication systems are discussed. It is demonstrated that one can mitigate the effects of RBM within the receiver using spatial diversity and simple equalization techniques.

Committee: Inder Gupta PhD (Advisor); Joel Johnson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2008, Electrical Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

Digital Video Broadcasting - Return Channel over Satellite (DVB-RCS) Turbo Codes have become increasingly popular because of their ability to provide an uplink and downlink on the same path. However, the hardware implementation of these codes remains a challenge to the engineers and designers. This research focuses on the implications of quantizing a decoder's input to achieve a significant improvement in the hardware implementation of the decoding architecture. The performance issues related to the quantization have been studied in detail. An approach to achieving performances very close to the floating point methodologies has been presented in the form of an algorithm. Results show that by sacrificing very little performance, cost effective and optimal hardware designs can be obtained.

Committee: Jeffrey C. Dill (Advisor) Subjects: Electrical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2008, Mass Communication (Communication)

The aim of this research was to better understand virtual online communities (VOCs), that is, communities that are formed and maintained through the Internet. This research was guided by four research questions: What do participants in VOCs actually seek? How does a participant critically evaluate information produced in VOCs? What differences do VOC members perceive between their online community experiences compared to their experiences in real-life face-to-face communities? In what ways might a VOC shape its members' views toward political and social change? The methodology employed was participant observation of 20 informants within their online and offline realms plus in-depth interviews with each informant. Interviews and observations were conducted from 2005 - 2007. This research identified two different types of VOCs: dependent and self-contained VOCs. Dependent VOCs act as extensions to already existent face-to-face communities while self-sustained VOCs are communities where relationships between members are formed, developed, and nurtured purely through virtual encounters on the Internet based on shared interests. Four functions were identified in this study: information exchange, social support exchange, friendship, recreation. Information exchange is a function where the VOC main purpose was to provide information for members. Social support refers to the degree to which a person's basic social needs are gratified through interaction with others. Friendship are formed within the VOC not only for social support, but also provide deeper, more meaningful relationships. Recreation within a VOC occurs when the community's main purpose is purely entertainment. This study also identified six motivations: accessibility/convenience, escapism, alternate identities, social recognition, voyeurism, written communication as a medium. Three issues in VOCs also emerged in this study: trust, evaluation of online material, and marginalized communities. VOCs exist in a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Drew McDaniel Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Collins Ph.D. (Committee Member); Robert Stewart Ph.D. (Committee Member); Don Flournoy Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication