The online identity formation of the institution of higher education: analysis of power relations and subject positions

The current study examined over 3000 visual images on the homepages of 234 National University to determine how power relations are depicted. Using a hybrid methodology of grounded theory, critical discursive analysis, and facial prominence scoring, the work culminates in a theory: The (Im)Balanced Theory of College Identity Formation Online. The theory holds that colleges used different tactics, strategies, and resources when depicting various subject positions on their homepages.