Four Peaks Review Undergraduate Journal

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://digital.lib.washington.edu/handle/1773/47832

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Introduction
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 6/10/2011) Rufo, Kenneth
In this introduction to The Four Peaks Review, a defense is made regarding the fundamental importance of long-form, academic-style work. In addition, the scope and future plans for the journal are articulated.
Audiences of Seattle Men's Chorus and Seattle Women's Chorus as Seen in Network Graphing
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 9/20/2012) Li, Quan (Michelle); Tapado, Conrado
For this project, we wanted to analyze the relationships of audience members of the Seattle Men?s Chorus and Seattle Women?s Chorus to one another. Using data provided by the organization, we were able to analyze which concerts were more popular amongst individual audience members. We wanted to find the answers to the following questions. Are there particular audience members that frequently attend concerts? Also, which ZIP codes contain the highest concentration of audience members? As a gay chorus, would ticket sales be concentrated in ZIP codes with higher-than average numbers of same-sex heads of household? Using Network Graphing analysis, the study supplies answers to these questions.
Facebook's 8 Fundamental Hooks and 6 Basic User Types: A Psychographic Segmentation
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 10/11/2012) Evans, David; Robertson, Nora; Lively, Tenille; Jacobson, Linda; Llamas-Cendon, Mariana; Isaza, Heidi; Rosenbalm, Sam; Voigt, John; Martin, Kevin Michael
Understanding the different types of Facebook users is the first step to effectively communicating with them and providing appropriate features. Psychographic segmentation is a statistical procedure that first identifies the fundamental value-propositions or 'hooks' of a technology, and then derives the user types who respond similarly to those hooks. Partnering with Psychster Inc., students in the University of Washington Master of Communication program in Digital Media (MCDM) applied this method to 236 Facebook users who rated the importance of 90 value-propositions via an online survey. The 6 user types that were found can be remembered by the acronym FBSIGN.
The Medium of Media: The Past, Present, and Future of Personal Screens
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 6/10/2011) Hunter, Elizabeth
We live in a screen culture. Most Americans rise, labor, and rest to the glow of a screen. In Western culture, screens developed as a means to provide visual entertainment. Now they serve as the common medium that displays nearly all digital media. We work, read, and entertain ourselves facing the screen, from computers to televisions to films and video games. Even traditionally paper-based mediums, like books and newspapers, are increasingly experienced through a screen. Screens have evolved to fit our needs, and our lives have evolved to fit screens.” This essay examines the historical trajectory of the personal screen, examining its origins in cinema and television, the cultural and environmental effects of screen technology, and the current state of the personal screen in order to predict the look and purpose of screens in the future. The essay focuses on screens for personal use only, such as computer, television, mobile, and gaming screens, and the relationship between the technology and the user.
Billboard Evolution
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 6/10/2011) Chien, Cat
In today’s era where digital technologies and media reign over a consumer’s life, certain media have to catch up, integrate, or evolve in order to stay relevant and noticeable – billboards being one of them. From the ancient times of the pyramids to the modern day use of digital billboards, oversized, horizon-penetrating communication platforms have transformed in display and messaging over centuries but have nonetheless maintained the core principle of their intended purpose: to communicate a message to the masses. This paper reviews the history of billboards and its journey from a standalone architectural structure to its current multi-dimensional, sometimes electronic form. From there, predictions of where and what the billboard will become in ten years are identified based on human media consumption trends and the expectation of digital media technologies. From the way I see it, billboard farms such as Times Square or the Hollywood Sunset strip will be become more of a novelty attraction site whereas the billboard itself will diminish in size but will create a more meaningful experience with the everyday individual who comes across it.
Curating the Social Graph, or What Your Friends Say About You
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 9/20/2012) Ellingwood, Brook; Janisch, Mary; Porter, Ian; Rufo, Kenneth; Scheve, Inge; Thornton, Daniel; Yeager, John
This white paper explores the current state of data, both personal and social, in the context of the social graph. ?We will begin, as we must, with the question of privacy, but we wish to underscore that while privacy provides a necessary starting point to this discussion, privacy typically delimits a particular question about how much data about yourself is known to others. ?Our concern here is both related and distinct, in that we are concerned with the wealth of data being collected about semi-public interactions between social agents, even if those agents are themselves tightly curtailing who has access to their personal, ?private? data.
The State of Glo's Social Networks: A Multi-Network Analysis
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 9/20/2012) Ball, Ashley; Underhill, Lara; Walker, Derek
This essay presents an analysis and comparison of the Facebook and Twitter networks of the beauty and fashion site Glo (glo.msn.com). In what follows, we examine the state of each network via network graphing analysis, noting similarities and differences in the way they function, and recommend strategies for Glo going forward based on our investigations.
Construction of an Analog Educational Game: Exploring Card Game Mechanics to Create an Astronomy Game for Fourth and Fifth Graders
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 9/20/2012) Fiorito, Alison; Priestley, Monique
The authors investigate deficiencies in the science curriculum for Fourth and Fifth graders in the King County school system, and in so doing discover that while students astronomy appears on standardized tests, there exists no corresponding standardized curriculum. In order to redress this deficiency, the authors propose, iterate, and test, an analog card game that might help students learn the required material, as well as set the stage for future learning in astronomy and astrophysics.
KEEP OUT! Teen Strategies for Maintaining Privacy on Social Networks
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 6/10/2011) Janish, Mary
Teens are one of the biggest users of online social networks today. Social networks such as Facebook allow teens to carry out some of the developmental work of adolescence virtually. Teens can “hang out” with friends, experiment with identity, and take social risks. But as social networks grow in popularity, a teen’s “friends” on a social network can be a diverse group that includes even their parents. This paper looks at teens’ nuanced views on privacy and how many teens have developed strategies to maintain their privacy on social networks, including posting fake information and using aliases instead of real names.
Gaming in sub-Saharan Africa
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 6/10/2011) Fiorito, Alison
Gaming holds significant promise in sub-Saharan Africa. Looking at the existing and trending ICT infrastructure in the region, this essay analyzes the potential for gaming as both an industry and a benefit to the region. Special focus is given to the countries of South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.
Mapping Crisis
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 6/10/2011) Pavey, Joseph
The potential for geo-location and mobile devices to help provide information and structure responses regarding disease outbreaks in developing regions is considered alongside advances in mapping technology.
An Experimental Study of How Restaurant-Owners' Responses to Negative Reviews affect Readers' Intention to Visit
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 9/20/2012) Evans, David; Oviatt, Jill; Slaymaker, Jordan; Tapado, Conrado; Doherty, Patrick; Ball, Amy; Saenz, Dacia; Wiley, Elizabeth
Since 2009, business owners have been able to publicly respond to negative reviews on Yelp, but experts still give very contradictory advice as to what they should say. And to date no experimental studies exist to provide guidance. Graduate students in the University of Washington MCDM program under David Evans, Ph.D. of Psychster Inc. experimentally tested what effect responses to negative reviews have on readers' intention to visit a restaurant. They randomly exposed 259 readers to carefully controlled mockups of a Yelp business profile and gathered their reactions.
Disruptive Distribution in the Music Business, Part 1: An Historical Perspective
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 6/10/2011) Hudson, H. Dean
The current digital disruption to music distribution, while extensive, is not without historical precedent. The introduction of the phonograph, radio broadcasting, and a combination of several recording and distribution technologies in the 1940s all caused disruptions to the music industry. These periods were followed by long phases of consolidation. This paper attempts to examine previous technological changes in the business of recorded music and identify several patterns that they have induced.
Privacy, Propriety, Performance, and Pseudonymity
(University of Washington Department of Communication, 6/10/2011) Ellingwood, Brook
The past 100 years have seen an enormous loosening of what is considered “acceptable” public behavior. Much of what we do now on Facebook, Twitter, and other social sharing sites would have been wildly socially inappropriate just a few decades ago, but is seen as perfectly normal by most users. Concerns about online privacy often get confused with concerns about online. It is instructive to think of social media as performance media in which users adopt personas heightening aspects of their personalities that best match interactions. The decline of the Internet’s tradition of pseudonymous posting has changed both the nature and quality of online discourse and personal reputation. Areas of potential further inquiry are suggested.

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