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Social media afford a context within which users interact with other users. Recognizing variations in contexts afforded by social media, the current study classified social media into two types, i.e., relational media, which allow users to build individual social connections, and categorical media, which support group-based connections. Effects of relational and categorical media were examined, employing a mindset approach as a theoretical framework. The mindset approach manifests the... Show moreSocial media afford a context within which users interact with other users. Recognizing variations in contexts afforded by social media, the current study classified social media into two types, i.e., relational media, which allow users to build individual social connections, and categorical media, which support group-based connections. Effects of relational and categorical media were examined, employing a mindset approach as a theoretical framework. The mindset approach manifests the situated nature of cognition, emphasizing individuals’ tendency to harness immediate contexts in meaning-making processing. Based on this postulation, the current study proposed that social media induced distinctive mindsets, entailing self-concept, goal-orientation, and concrete-abstract level in perceiving others.The current study also examined effects of social media on users’ group identification and belief change. Based on previous literature on social identity, it is proposed that distinctive mechanisms determine group identification in relational and categorical media. For relational media users, perception of individual relations to other users was expected to mediate the effect of relational media on group identification. In contrast, for categorical media users, perception of being a member of a group and perception of a homogeneous group were expected to mediate the effect of categorical media on group identification. Furthermore, based on the automatic social influence literature, the present study proposed that relational and categorical media, compared to non-social media, induce greater belief changes, and the belief changes are mediated by group identification. The predictions were tested using an online experiment (N = 705), in which participants used a mock-up social media, in which they formed social connections of either relational or categorical type, or used it without building social connection. Participants read others’ posts and comments revealing their opinions on health-related issues. Participants’ mindset, social perception, group identification, and belief changes were assessed. Results revealed that using social media influenced participants’ mindset: The relational group reported greater in-group self-concept and considered in-group goals more important, and used less concrete terms when describing their group members. Also, the categorical group considered in-group goals more important. Furthermore, using social media influenced group identification: The relational and categorical group reported greater group identification than the control group. Yet, the relative contributions of predictors of group identification differed across the conditions. For the relational media, relational perception was a dominant determinant of group identification and homogeneity perception was the least influential. For the categorical group, homogeneity perception was a predictor as significant as others. Lastly, effects of social media use on belief changes was not different across the social media type.The current study contributes to our understanding of how social media influence users by employing a novel theoretical framework, mindset approach, in examining subtle differences generated by social media. The mindset approach enables us to find nuanced effects: Different types of social media afford distinctive mindsets and psychological mechanisms for group identification. Show less

The protection of natural areas around the world requires legitimately created laws with which people comply. The Pantanal is among the world’s largest wetlands and a conservation priority region—a natural area where protection is imperative. Most of the Pantanal is in Brazil, which protects the wetland’s natural resources with a wide-ranging set of laws and rules. Voluntary compliance with natural resource management rules theoretically depends on perceived legitimacy of rules and those in... Show moreThe protection of natural areas around the world requires legitimately created laws with which people comply. The Pantanal is among the world’s largest wetlands and a conservation priority region—a natural area where protection is imperative. Most of the Pantanal is in Brazil, which protects the wetland’s natural resources with a wide-ranging set of laws and rules. Voluntary compliance with natural resource management rules theoretically depends on perceived legitimacy of rules and those in charge of creating and enforcing them, but related attitudes have not been explored in the Pantanal. The goal of this research was to establish baseline insights about noncompliance in the Pantanal to inform efforts aimed at improving protection in the region. I explored both at noncompliance with natural resource laws in general and specific violations of fishing rules by professional fishermen. I first conducted exploratory key-informant interviews (N=11), through which I found strong sentiments in the community that enforcement is incapable of coercing compliance, and lack of perceived fairness of between those creating and enforcing rules. Then I administered a face-to-face questionnaire (N=41) in March–September, 2016. Most participants self-reported that they violated the rule (85.4%). Trust in biologists who help define the size limits significantly influenced frequency of violations. Half of the participants distrusted biologists to set the rules, even though a large majority (87.8%) had never talked to biologists. The literature suggests that interpersonal interactions can increase perceptions of fairness, and therefore in this community more positive interactions between biologists, enforcement, and locals may increase compliance. Show less

Social media have become widely used platforms for dissatisfied customers to express disappointment with failed goods and services. Referred to as an online “firestorm,” negative eWOM spreads instantly and exponentially through people’s social networks (Pfeffer, Zorbach, & Carley, 2014). Marketers may worry that strong emotional expression of a complaint would lead to negative brand consequences, but that is an empirical question. Guided by Attribution theory and Accessibility-Diagnosticity... Show moreSocial media have become widely used platforms for dissatisfied customers to express disappointment with failed goods and services. Referred to as an online “firestorm,” negative eWOM spreads instantly and exponentially through people’s social networks (Pfeffer, Zorbach, & Carley, 2014). Marketers may worry that strong emotional expression of a complaint would lead to negative brand consequences, but that is an empirical question. Guided by Attribution theory and Accessibility-Diagnosticity model, this study examined how tie-strength and diagnostic information influence consumers’ inference-making of intense negative eWOM sender motives which in turn leads to credibility perceptions. An online experiment manipulated tie strength and the behavioral patterns of diagnostic cues to address the as yet unstudied effects of negative eWOM on credibility perception, attitude toward the brand, and sharing intention.This study used a 3 (Tie-strength: strong vs. weak vs. none) x 4 (Cues Present [high consistency/ medium consistency/ low consistency], Not Present) between-subjects, posttest only random assignment factorial experimental design. The results showed that the consistency of behavioral pattern manifested in previous posts of the eWOM sender influences attribution of sender’s motives. That is, when the original negative eWOM and the previous posts show consistently high consistency (i.e., negative valence posts), receivers made more dispositional attributions compared to when the previous posts showed low consistency (i.e., positive valence posts). Such impact of the previous posts was moderated by the tie-strength between the sender and the receiver. When the source is a close friend, receivers did not consider the cues of past behavioral pattern, unlike receivers who viewed a post from an acquaintance or a stranger as a sender of intense negative eWOM. Furthermore, indirect effects suggest that attribution of sender motives further influences persuasive outcomes such as brand attitude and sharing intention. The results give some implications for brand managers and eWOM platform developers. First, those who manage social media consumer complaints should consider the network of eWOM senders. Second, eWOM platforms should consider ways to highlight diagnostic cues such as previous posts. Previous posts can be emphasized by showing the previous rating history of the reviewer. In this way, receivers would not necessarily visit the eWOM sender’s profile page to gather more information on previous eWOM behaviors. Show less

Industry professionals and scholars in academia have probed the question of how best to engage audiences. Social media has facilitated various business opportunities as well as provided organizations with platforms through which they can engage their stakeholders. A key issue surrounding customer engagement is how it is conceptualized and what factors facilitate and support user interaction on social media. In this dissertation, the Self Determination framework served as the theoretical... Show moreIndustry professionals and scholars in academia have probed the question of how best to engage audiences. Social media has facilitated various business opportunities as well as provided organizations with platforms through which they can engage their stakeholders. A key issue surrounding customer engagement is how it is conceptualized and what factors facilitate and support user interaction on social media. In this dissertation, the Self Determination framework served as the theoretical foundation for understanding customer engagement on Facebook brand pages. The research model was based on the premise that individuals are likely to symbolically engage on social media when they feel self-determined to do so based on three key factors: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Through a survey of students at a large Midwestern university (n=745) this dissertation found: 1) social media self-efficacy positively predicts symbolic customer engagement in the form of sharing on Facebook brand pages; 2) time spent on Facebook is a positive predictor of liking, commenting, and sharing; 3) social media experience is a negative predictor of symbolic customer engagement in the form of liking and commenting; 4) social skills negatively predict symbolic customer engagement in the form of commenting, and 5) customer relationship with the brand and community predict symbolic customer engagement in terms of liking, commenting and sharing. This research contributes to the body of knowledge in the realm of communication and marketing through strengthening our understanding of how online brand communities and relationships serve as strategic assets for organizations in building brand engagement. Findings in this dissertation are limited by the characteristics of the population studied. Further research is recommended to better understand the different types of engagement and how such engagement impacts user perceptions. Show less

This dissertation examines U.S. news coverage of ten historically significant wildfires 2003 – 2013. Using framing theory with support from the Issue Attention Cycle, this historical study examines how wildfire (also referred to as "wildland fire" and "forest fire") is framed within the nation's print media over time and includes measures of news flow as well as five functions of frames: problem (including actor), attribution of responsibility, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation.... Show moreThis dissertation examines U.S. news coverage of ten historically significant wildfires 2003 – 2013. Using framing theory with support from the Issue Attention Cycle, this historical study examines how wildfire (also referred to as "wildland fire" and "forest fire") is framed within the nation's print media over time and includes measures of news flow as well as five functions of frames: problem (including actor), attribution of responsibility, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation. The coding protocol employs five frames: fire danger or threat; loss; conflict; resources, and recovery. Rarely have aspects of this news coverage, such as framing or news flow, been studied even though it crosses areas of high interest in communication, such as, hazard, crisis, risk, and public perception. From aggregate levels of data, this dissertation establishes that framing the severity of wildfire incidents ranges from a measure in terms of human capital, such as homes, historic structures, and other property, to loss in terms of life, such as firefighting personnel, unaffiliated citizens, wildlife, domestic animals, companion animals, and livestock. Other frames dominating the coverage suggest severity is framed by size, such as acres threatened or lost, the number of personnel involved in fire suppression, or environmental impact, such as air quality threats, water pollution, loss of timber, and conflicts over salvage timber sales. This result aligns with prior research on environmental reporting that suggests environmental news is framed in terms of capital value.This dissertation also poses a question about journalist source usage in coverage of wildfire; results show journalists rely in equal amounts on agency personnel (federal, state, local, or volunteer jurisdictions) and unaffiliated citizens who are either affected by a wildfire or are expected to be in harm's way. Interestingly, firefighters themselves appeared more often than expected as in other hazard reporting: press comments tend to be restricted to persons in authority (an Incident Commander would be a preferred source in major incidents, such as those selected for this study). Scientists have a high frequency, but rarely in the same article as a fire chief. Industry, such as insurance or timber sources, has minimal appearance despite the 15-month data collection timeframe per incident to allow for discussion of recovery and rebuilding.Whether space was allotted to discussion of fire prevention (such as the "Firewise Communities" campaign), preparation for emergency situations, and prediction of fireseason as a whole varied by state. Those with lesser population, such as Idaho and Nevada, saw the most coverage of fireseason predictions, preparation for fire conditions, and guidelines for preparing and updating supplies. Discussion of fire as necessary for biological systems did not appear as part of efforts to provide balanced coverage of wildfire. While this discussion might be appropriate for coverage of recovery, it would not be expected to appear as part of breaking news of a wildfire. Results show this discussion appears when journalists interview biologists, foresters, or silviculturists in discussions of fire exclusion or strategy.Finally, results show frame and source usage are tied to stages of the news cycle, Applying an adapted model of Anthony Downs' Issue Attention Cycle reveals that as the lifecourse of the issue progresses, different sources dominate news coverage but appear at nearly predictably stages of the news cycle. Show less

This study looked into a dual motive of rumor transmission, driven by informational and sensational features of rumor statements. Prior research of rumor has focused on only the informational value of rumors. However, that utilitarian perspective does not explain why highly implausible but sensational rumors are shared. Based on the utilitarianism and hedonism of the consumption motives of products, this study proposed that informational rumors are transmitted for utilitarian gratifications... Show moreThis study looked into a dual motive of rumor transmission, driven by informational and sensational features of rumor statements. Prior research of rumor has focused on only the informational value of rumors. However, that utilitarian perspective does not explain why highly implausible but sensational rumors are shared. Based on the utilitarianism and hedonism of the consumption motives of products, this study proposed that informational rumors are transmitted for utilitarian gratifications while sensational but implausible rumors are transmitted for hedonic gratifications. Rumor believability and emotional arousal were proposed as mediating variables for the utilitarian motive process and for the hedonic motive process, respectively.Toward that end, an online experiment with college students was conducted in the Twitter context. A 2 (rumor informational value: high vs. low) x 2 (rumor sensational value: high vs. low) between-subjects design was employed. Rumor believability, emotional arousal, motives of rumor transmission, and the likelihood of rumor transmission, were measured after exposure to experimental stimuli. Results of structural equation model analyses suggest that, as predicted, informational rumors and sensational rumors are likely to be transmitted through different routes. Rumor informational value had a significant indirect effect on the utilitarian motives (i.e., fact-finding motive and information-providing motive) of rumor transmission through rumor believability. However, only the fact-finding motive was correlated with the likelihood of rumor transmission. As predicted, rumor sensational value predicted emotional arousal. However, unlike the prediction of this dissertation, emotional arousal did not predict the hedonic motive of rumor transmission, and the hedonic motive did not predict the likelihood of rumor transmission. Instead, emotional arousal directly impacted the likelihood of rumor transmission.By considering the role of emotional arousal and how psychological motives shape rumor transmission, this dissertation extended prior research on rumor in which the cognitive paradigm dominated. This dissertation provides deeper insight into rumor transmission, such as what becomes viral and why implausible rumors are shared. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed. Show less

The current study examines the effect of participation in the High Point Drug Market Intervention (DMI) on re-offending post intervention. The DMI is a program that attempts to eliminate overt open-air drug markets through a focused deterrence approach. This approach involves targeting the individuals driving the crime problem in a targeted area, and enhancing the threat of criminal sanctions while at the same time offering help from the community and social service providers. By increasing... Show moreThe current study examines the effect of participation in the High Point Drug Market Intervention (DMI) on re-offending post intervention. The DMI is a program that attempts to eliminate overt open-air drug markets through a focused deterrence approach. This approach involves targeting the individuals driving the crime problem in a targeted area, and enhancing the threat of criminal sanctions while at the same time offering help from the community and social service providers. By increasing the perceived likelihood and severity of the sanctions for those most likely to be involved in committing crimes in the area, it is expected that the offenders' perceptions of risk will be altered and they will be deterred from offending. Using survival analysis to compare the recidivism patterns of participants in the program relative to those of an equivalent comparison group, this dissertation examines the DMI's deterrent effect on the offenders targeted to participate in the program. While studies on the DMI have found it to have a positive crime-control effect in the communities where it is implemented, participant outcomes at the individual level have not been examined. This study addresses this gap in the literature by providing a more complete understanding of the DMI's impact on the offenders targeted to participate in the program. The findings suggest that offenders who participated in the DMI were arrested faster and were at greater risk of arrest for prohibited offenses than those in the comparison group. While these results are not consistent with what was hypothesized, they may indicate success for the law enforcement follow-up component of the intervention. The findings also suggest that there was no difference in time to re-arrest and risk of re-arrest between the DMI and comparison group for drug offenses and any offense. Overall, the findings indicate that participation in the DMI did not have a deterrent effect on the targeted offenders. Future research should focus on components of the intervention that are thought to influence offender behavior such as social services, family involvement, enforcement consequences, the call-in process, and deterrence message to determine if they are having the expected affect on the targeted offenders. Show less

This dissertation focuses on emergency preparedness communication, which is defined as communication efforts and activities to inform the public of accident risks and emergency response plans before a large-scale accident occurs. Emergency preparedness communication is essential in reducing accident damage. However, organizations have tended to ignore emergency preparedness communication because of the assumption that such communication would harm public confidence in their risk-generating... Show moreThis dissertation focuses on emergency preparedness communication, which is defined as communication efforts and activities to inform the public of accident risks and emergency response plans before a large-scale accident occurs. Emergency preparedness communication is essential in reducing accident damage. However, organizations have tended to ignore emergency preparedness communication because of the assumption that such communication would harm public confidence in their risk-generating activities. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear accident in 2011 is one example of organizations ignoring emergency preparedness communication. The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold: (1) to examine the current status of emergency preparedness communication at nuclear power plants in the United States and (2) to investigate the effects of emergency preparedness communication on people's perceptions and attitudes toward nuclear plants. To achieve these goals, this project conducted two separate studies.First, the current study conducted a content analysis using the websites of all nuclear power plants in the U.S. and discussed how emergency preparedness communication was conducted and what messages were communicated in online media. The results showed that most websites provided information on emergency preparedness, but that emergency preparedness was emphasized less than other types of information. Nuclear power plants in the U.S. tended to emphasize information on the benefits of nuclear power, rather than on emergency preparedness.Second, this study employed an experiment to examine how communicating accident risks and emergency preparedness would affect people's perceptions and attitudes toward nuclear plants. The experiment created fictional nuclear power plant websites that delivered different messages as stimuli. The study compared the control condition, which gave respondents only general information on the nuclear plant, to the emergency preparedness communication condition, in which respondents were provided information on emergency response planning. The experiment yielded mixed findings. Information on emergency preparedness increased negative feelings and decreased positive feelings. However, the information concurrently enhanced the perception that the plant was honest. The information also increased the perception that the plant was caring when respondents thought that they were familiar with nuclear power. The author formulated a model that included those perceptions and emotions to predict people's willingness to accept a nuclear plant at local and general levels. This dissertation contributes to the field of risk and crisis communication by advancing discussion on the benefits and drawbacks of informing the public of accident risks and emergency preparedness. The study reveals understanding of nuclear power plants' provision of information as well as the public perception of emergency preparedness information. Emergency preparedness communication does not increase or decrease the level of support for nuclear power plants. However, emergency preparedness communication changes the public's reasoning for acceptance of the plants, shifting their acceptance from an emotional-based to trust-based reaction. As a practical implication, this study recommends that nuclear power plants in the U.S. communicate accident risks and response plans more openly and proactively to achieve public trust in the nuclear industry. Show less

This research documents the design and testing of two strategies for using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to increase farmers’ knowledge and uptake of DT maize: (1) locally-made, or “participatory” video, and (2) a multichannel method that incorporates the same video with timely mobile phone-based audio messages. We conducted a randomized field experiment in Machakos and Makueni counties in Kenya. The experiment randomly allocated the two strategies to farmers in the study... Show moreThis research documents the design and testing of two strategies for using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to increase farmers’ knowledge and uptake of DT maize: (1) locally-made, or “participatory” video, and (2) a multichannel method that incorporates the same video with timely mobile phone-based audio messages. We conducted a randomized field experiment in Machakos and Makueni counties in Kenya. The experiment randomly allocated the two strategies to farmers in the study areas. It was found that, after implementing these interventions, farmers in the multichannel group demonstrated significantly higher knowledge about DT maize and its accompanying management practices. Further, they were significantly more likely to report purchasing improved seed as well as intending to plant DT maize than the farmers in the video-only and the control groups. Farmers in the video-only group did gain a higher level of knowledge than the farmers in the control group; however, this difference is not statistically significant. Moreover, farmers’ perceived risk regarding DT maize was found to be associated with their level of knowledge on the varieties and to which kind of treatments they are exposed. Farmers in the two treatment groups showed lower perceived risk than farmers in the control group, especially in the multichannel group. Mitigating the perceived risk of growing the varieties played a crucial role in motivating farmers to test DT maize. We found risk perception was more likely to decrease willingness to test DT maize among farmers who retained lower levels of knowledge than the farmers who had higher levels of knowledge. The results suggest that an ICT strategy integrating multiple ICTs can effectively communicate contextualized knowledge and timely reminders to farmers. This strategy helped farmers gain knowledge about DT maize and induced them to test new seed varieties. This finding contributes to existing theories on the usage of ICTs in agricultural knowledge provision. Previous literature mainly discusses whether single ICTs can improve farmers’ knowledge and uptake (e.g. Gandhi, et al., 2009; Cole & Fernando, 2012), while this study investigates how to design ICT-based approaches by integrating various ICTs to make them more effective in innovation diffusion. In this case, those designing ICT strategies should consider farmers’ cognitive capacities and the characteristics of agricultural innovations, such as complexity and whether farmers need to practice multiple steps at various points in a growing cycle, as such design can influence farmers’ learning and uptake of the innovations. Lastly, this study contributes to a greater understanding of farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of DT maize and how they are associated with farmers’ uptake decisions. Show less

The use of interactive activities in classrooms (e.g., digital games) has been linked to a boost in students’ motivation, interest, and learning. Such mediated environments usually include visual representations of the user (e.g., avatars) and/or mentoring characters (e.g., virtual mentors). It has been suggested that the psychological connection between users and their avatar (or virtual mentors) can potentially increase the effects of positive educational outcomes. When considering the... Show moreThe use of interactive activities in classrooms (e.g., digital games) has been linked to a boost in students’ motivation, interest, and learning. Such mediated environments usually include visual representations of the user (e.g., avatars) and/or mentoring characters (e.g., virtual mentors). It has been suggested that the psychological connection between users and their avatar (or virtual mentors) can potentially increase the effects of positive educational outcomes. When considering the context of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, the lack of effective STEM role models has been connected with the reinforcement of stereotypes in STEM, which in turn have negative psychological and academic effects in students - such as lower performance and lower interest in STEM subjects, as well as feelings of unbelonging to STEM fields. Negative outcomes are stronger among minority groups in STEM (i.e., women and non-white men) and can affect students even at a young age, undermining their interest in pursuing STEM careers in the future.The current research project aims to explore if virtual mentors can be used as STEM role models for middle school students in a STEM gaming website. This project aims to contribute to the broad field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) by investigating how different designs for virtual mentors (i.e., STEM-looking or non-STEM looking) in a STEM gaming website can affect 1) middle schoolers’ perceptions of virtual mentors as STEM role models and 2) middle schoolers’ Growth Mindset behavior, interest in STEM skills, and self-efficacy related to learning STEM topics (STEM learning self-efficacy) and being successful in STEM subjects (STEM academic self-efficacy). User Experience (UX) principles guided the design of the virtual mentors and the STEM gaming website; the psychological connection between students and their virtual mentors was drawn from previous literature focused mainly in learning theories (e.g., Social Cognitive Theory, Growth Mindset), stereotypes (e.g., Stereotype Threat), and avatars (e.g., Proteus effect).Results suggest that girls and boys perceive and interact with the STEM gaming website in similar ways, but differences exist when considering pre-to-post change in STEM metrics. While all participants showed an overall increase in Growth Mindset and STEM learning self-efficacy after website use, when compared to boys, girls showed a greater increase in STEM learning self-efficacy. Regarding STEM skill interest, girls and boys demonstrated an opposite behavior: girls showed an increase in STEM skill interest, while boys showed a decrease. Regarding the design of the virtual mentors, during interviews all participants were more inclined to choose a STEM virtual mentor and to perceive STEM virtual mentors as better role models (i.e., more successful and better in facilitating learning) than non-STEM virtual mentors. However, when considering STEM metrics, it seems that boys would benefit more positively from having STEM virtual mentors while for girls it would be better to have non-STEM virtual mentors. Finally, there are reasons to believe that identification with the virtual mentor can indeed impact middle schoolers’ STEM metrics and such impact is different for girls and boys; thus, future research should consider the effects of choosing and/or customizing a virtual mentor - both features were suggested by participants as improvements for the website.This exploratory study is a first step towards the understanding of the psychological connection between users and their virtual mentors in a STEM gaming website through the lenses of both learning and avatar theories. Show less

Through extensive archival research, oral history and ethnography, this dissertation examines the coal mining photographs of photojournalist Jack Corn, repositioning his work alongside the work of noted social documentarian Milton Rogovin as being important in reshaping the visual discourse of mining in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. This dissertation argues that Corn’s and Rogovin’s work in Appalachia disrupted coal mining discourses popular throughout the first half of the 20th-century by... Show moreThrough extensive archival research, oral history and ethnography, this dissertation examines the coal mining photographs of photojournalist Jack Corn, repositioning his work alongside the work of noted social documentarian Milton Rogovin as being important in reshaping the visual discourse of mining in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. This dissertation argues that Corn’s and Rogovin’s work in Appalachia disrupted coal mining discourses popular throughout the first half of the 20th-century by repositioning their subjects in a way that changed how society thought about mining. For Corn, the disruption in discourse came from repositioning his subjects from a perspective of celebrating the heroics of mining in the context of empire building to illustrating the devastating consequences of extracting coal from the Earth. Corn’s work was generated through a combination of assigned, commissioned and independent projects that led to the creation of a significant body of work. For Rogovin, his work repositioned miners from being a faceless commodity to the coal companies, anonymously working to support the nation’s vast industrial complex, to being individuals with unique identities that existed outside the confines of the mines in which they worked. By exploring the ways Corn and Rogovin disrupted popular mining discourse, this dissertation also challenges conventional notions that widespread documentation of the state of the environment in the United States began in the 1970s. Across the literature, the formation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the agency’s Documerica project are often discussed as being the pivotal moment when photographic documentation of the environment began to illustrate the widespread effect of human activity on our physical world. This dissertation argues, however that, while Documerica was significant in creating a large and diverse archive of photographic evidence showing the effect industry was having on workers, family, public heath, and community, photographers such as Corn and Rogovin were approaching documentation from a similar perspective more than a decade before the project launched in 1971. While working at The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee, Corn departed from documenting traditional narratives of miners at work to explore the socio-economic, environmental and public health aspects of mining while covering coal communities in Appalachia beginning in the 1950s. Heavily influenced by newspaper coverage of the struggles of miners, including coverage from Corn and The Tennessean, Rogovin headed to Appalachia in 1962 and commenced what would become one of his longest and most prolific projects: documenting miners, their families and their communities. Finally, this dissertation argues that through their photography Corn and Rogovin were participating in a form of activism with the images they made being more than just documentation, but a type of visual protest against the social and environmental conditions they encountered in Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. In much the same way Margaret Bourke-White, for example, gave LIFE magazine readers their first glimpses of Apartheid through her photographs of South African gold miners in the 1950s, Corn and Rogovin gave Americans living outside Appalachia a visual introduction to the human cost of a nation’s growing energy consumption. Show less