Background/Purpose: Students enroll in college at least in part to prepare for a career after graduation. At the same time, for many students, attending college requires working to earn money (Perna, 2020). Optimally, these work positions concurrently provide students the opportunity to develop skills that have labor market returns, explore career…

How does the presence of information, or lack thereof, affect consumer behaviors and firm outcomes in the context of digital economy? My dissertation examines this broad question in three different empirical contexts. In the first chapter, I study how providing brand information influences the performance of job ads on an online job search…

Many high school students first "visit" colleges and universities through digital means. For some students, institutional websites are the only exposure they have to the campus until fully admitted and enrolled. Thus, institutional websites are one of the most important media for potential students to secure information, and web presence…

Water conservation in residential landscapes remains essential to mitigate projected global water shortages. Social media has seldom been used to drive engagement in conservation and may be an important channel for environmental change agents to communicate to clientele and promote behavior changes. We tested messages framed with real conservation…

This study develops, validates, and applies a teacher applicant typology using labor market data. We construct our typology by applying a correlated topic model to 11,000 personal statements teachers submitted as part of their applications for open positions in Wisconsin public schools between 2015 and 2017. We identify seven types of teacher…

The purpose of this research is to quantify differences in key performance indicators between paid and organic (not paid) website traffic over a one year period of time at a regional comprehensive university in Kentucky, which is located in the southeastern United States. Two distinct sources of website traffic can be measured: paid traffic and…

Background: To address concerns that healthy weight and lifestyle campaigns (HWLCs) could have unintended psychological or behavioral consequences, this study tested reactions to TV advertisements from two HWLCs--"LiveLighter"® (employs graphic health effects messaging) and "Swap It Don't Stop It" (employs animation and…

This paper explores the potential of a collaborative research laboratory to enhance advertising education by catalyzing student learning, engagement, and faculty interaction. By offering a comprehensive blueprint through this lab, we illuminate how institutions can leverage the benefits of such labs through immersing students in practical consumer…

Universities websites have become a recruitment tool that is popular with students. Recruitment pages often seek to demonstrate the benefits of studying at the institution by adopting an objective approach that makes use of textual content that emphasises facts and data. Story-based text consisting of alumni experiences of a programme of studies…

This study examines the persuasive English language in MasterClass's video advertisements. An analysis framework was formed using twenty-four techniques to identify persuasive language, and the purposes of using different techniques in one hundred and forty-one MasterClass's video scripts. The analysis included identifying the primary argument of…

This quantitative study explored the intricate landscape of marketing strategies influencing adult learners' satisfaction with their decisions to enroll in community colleges. Using survey research design, this study illuminated significant insights into the multifaceted world of higher education marketing, particularly in the context of community…

In this study, I investigated marriage and family therapy (MFT) accredited graduate programs' utilization of social media as a platform to educate the public about the MFT profession's unique systemic relational orientation. This study also explored MFT graduate programs' representation on social media and highlighted the issues of public…

The objectives of this study are to investigate verbal and visual semiotic resources employed as well as the cultural aspects embedded in the online soft drink advertisements. The data of this study was selected from the U.S. official soft drink brand Coca-Cola Instagram account (@cocacola), and a total of 58 advertisements were analyzed. Three…

Due to the advent of big data and efficient computational resources, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have seen massive growth in recent years. Informatics degree programs are scrambling to meet the ever-increasing market demand of such professions. To explore the skillsets required for AI and ML positions, the authors…

Background: There has been an increase in the number of women's magazines in South Africa, which also contributes to the country's economic growth and development. Objective: Magazines serve as a source of entertainment and information and they cater for readers interested in learning more about what features in society and even globally, which…