In China, an increasing number of individuals and companies are adopting microblogging, a popular form of social media, in order to connect and interact with other people, and recent online events indicate the power of microblogging in Chinese society. Holding the belief that microblogging brings out the interactive nature of new media as well as the audiences, many companies are exploring microblogging in order to better communicate with their audiences. However, very little is known about how those brands use microblogging to promote themselves and what the audiences’ preferences are on this platform. Employing uses and gratifications and feminism theories, this study examined how fashion brands use Weibo.com, one of the main microblogging platforms in China, to promote themselves and what the Chinese women, the main audience of both Weibo.com and fashion brands, ask for from fashion brands’ tweets. The quantitative content analysis of the tweets of three major fashion brands, namely Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and Bvlgari, shows the general pattern of how microblogging are being deployed. A further investigation was conducted through ethnographic content analysis in order to examine the implicit values conveyed by fashion brand’s tweets and the audiences’ preferences towards these values. Results from the analyses revealed that the prevailing topics covered in the fashion brands’ tweets included their products, related celebrities, and the brands’ events or projects, and fashion brands usually combined several topics in one tweet in order to provide more information to the audiences. Taken a deeper look at the latent message of the tweets, fashion appears to play a positive role in emancipating contemporary Chinese women.

The booming organic food industry has led to an increased complexity in the way in which organic foods are marketed. Consumers now encounter a multitude of reasons for why they should (or should not) purchase organic foods. This research examines the promotion of organic food from four different food companies (three grocery stores and a food delivery program) as a way to uncover the narratives used to describe and endorse organic food. With an analysis of website and in-store content from chain, organic and local companies, I have used previous research in the area of organic food discourse to identify themes within the selected content. This study concludes that while there are important commonalities among the narratives, it is not the organic food itself that these commonalities stem from, but rather the company context (company goals and values) that frame the promotional narratives. / Graduate

The purpose of this paper has been to examine various ethnic stereotypes in two Swedish film adaptations of Astrid Lindgren’s character Pippi Longstocking. I have used a semiotic content analysis and postcolonial theory to investigate: 1) how the ethnic groups are represented in the different materials, 2) if there is a hegemonic relationship between the foreign group and one’s own group, 3) whether there has been a "decolonization" during the twenty years that separate the two films. This study has shown that, in the 1949 adaptation, primarily Africans were produced in a negative light and as biologically inferior in relation to the whites. Furthermore, other ethnic groups, such as Indians, Egyptians, Brazilians, and Danes, were portrayed as scared, alien or different. However, the TV series of 1969 permeates with a greater sense of racial tolerance than its predecessor and, despite remnants of racial stereotyping, the overall tone of the later adaptation feels more progressive.

The literature indicates that children are highly influenced by product packaging and that it is the packaging that will make the product stand out from the crowd and hopefully making a sale. There have been a number of valuable studies offering practitioners principles and guidelines on how to enhance package design for products that target children; however the extent to which practitioners adhere to the principles proposed by academics has had limited attention. This study is therefore aimed at examining the degree to which practitioners implement current knowledge relating to the principles of package design in the context of packages designed to attract children, while simultaneously assessing the relationship between package design and brand performance. An extensive secondary research of the literature has been made to establish a list of criterion for package design for children elements assessment. At the same time, attempts have been made to gather brand performance data. Product samples have been collected from major supermarkets in New Zealand and then analysed against the criterion using the principle of content analysis. The result generated by this study shows that practitioners are mostly adhering to the principles of children’s package design established by academic research. However, the relationship between brand performance and package design was not established in this study.

The literature indicates that children are highly influenced by product packaging and that it is the packaging that will make the product stand out from the crowd and hopefully making a sale. There have been a number of valuable studies offering practitioners principles and guidelines on how to enhance package design for products that target children; however the extent to which practitioners adhere to the principles proposed by academics has had limited attention. This study is therefore aimed at examining the degree to which practitioners implement current knowledge relating to the principles of package design in the context of packages designed to attract children, while simultaneously assessing the relationship between package design and brand performance. An extensive secondary research of the literature has been made to establish a list of criterion for package design for children elements assessment. At the same time, attempts have been made to gather brand performance data. Product samples have been collected from major supermarkets in New Zealand and then analysed against the criterion using the principle of content analysis. The result generated by this study shows that practitioners are mostly adhering to the principles of children’s package design established by academic research. However, the relationship between brand performance and package design was not established in this study.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-178). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (PhD)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2008. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jennifer Luebeck. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-206).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Stephen D. McDowell, Florida State University, College of Communication, Dept. of Communication. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 355-364). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-104).