Asst. Prof. Desmond Patton's paper "Internet banging: New trends in social media, gang violence, masculinity and hip hop" picked up by several news outlets

His study is featured in the Michigan Chronicle ( http://goo.gl/0ggo2 ), WWJ ( http://goo.gl/OHNRe ) and Spero News ( http://goo.gl/u9rFc ).

The paper examines:

-- internet banging within the context of gang violence, paying close attention to the mechanisms and processes

-- the role of hip-hop in the development of internet banging and highlight the changing roles of both hip hop and computer mediated communication as social representations of life in violent communities

-- the presentation of urban masculinity and its influence on social media behavior