Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1972. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2003. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2925. Typescript. Abstract precedes thesis as preliminary leaves iii-iv. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 70).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1987. / Title from title page screen, viewed August 22, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Ronald L. Laymon, Kenneth H. Strand (co-chairs), Robert L. Arnold, Sally B. Pancrazio, William F. Stimeling. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-96) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

This study analyzes the divisions, attitudes, and background characteristics of political consultants. The political consulting field has grown greatly within the last decade, and a growing amount of attention is being paid to these once obscure political professionals. To help answer some of the questions raised about the political consulting field, I have written this thesis. The first part is an overview of the history of political consulting. The history tracks the growing use of political consultants in political campaigns, as well as the birth of new campaign technologies and their effect.The second part of the thesis is an examination of some of the major areas of political consulting. These areas include Campaign Planning/Management, Computer Listing, Direct Mail, Fundraising, Media Planning/Production/Placement, Phone Banks, Political Action Committee Solicitation, Public Opinion Polling/Surveys, Public Relations, Research, Speechwriting, Vote Demographic Analysis, and Voter Contact/Turnout.The third part of the thesis is a description of, and the results of a survey conducted of political consultants. The questionnaire probed into areas such as ideology, party preference, attitudes toward the electorate, candidates, and campaign services. Also explored were motivating factors in taking on a campaign, advantages and disadvantages of being a political consultant, and their involvement in regional/international political consulting.The results of the survey are described in terms of frequency distribution and cross tabulation by campaign service areas in an analysis of the findings at the end of the thesis.

Thesis (M.S.)--South Dakota State University, 2007. / Adviser: Laurie Haleta. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2009. / Title from file title page. Sean Richey, committee chair; Richard Engstrom , Jason Reifler , committee members. Description based on contents viewed July 22, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-41).

The concept of social media has grown rapidly in the last years. This can be attributed to the rate of adoption and the penetration of social media around the world. Currently, there is an estimate of over two billion people that are actively using social media. The increased usage of social media has changed the way people interact and communicate. Literature suggests that Internet-enabled social networks (relationship between or among individuals and groups) are developing faster than offline relationships. Previous studies have linked social media to the social network theories that define social relationships based on the actors, the ties that exist and the flow of resources among them. This is made possible by social networking sites and other Internet enabled services that allow friends to meet, connect and interact. Social media allow for individuals, groups or organisations to build their social network of friends and followers. It also facilitates the formation of communities with common interest. Social media facilitate the creation and exchange of content such as text messages, images, audio and video formats among individuals or communities that share a common interest or belong to the same social network. Social capital theorists suggest that the ties that exist in social interaction like on social media have the ability to create benefit for the actors in the networks. This provides the foundation to study the benefits that individuals and organisations can obtain from social media. The opportunity to target and communicate directly with the target market and potential customer qualifies social media as a valuable marketing tool and an important component of the integrated marketing communication. As a marketing communication tool, social media introduces a completely new paradigm into marketing communications. Therefore marketing professionals and academics are continuously seeking how to take advantage of social media for different industries. In the field of politics, the use of marketing concepts to engage voters and drive collective participation in political processes has become critical due to stiff competition. The use of social media for political campaigning and engagement could be beneficial, but politicians and political organisations are not taking full advantage of the concept. Previous studies show that organisations are aware of the opportunities that social media could provide for their organisations. However, they are reluctant because they are faced with the problems of lack of information on how to implement social media for business purposes. This treatise investigates the approach and critical success factors for the use of social media for political campaigning and engagement. To evaluate the conceptual framework that was suggested by this study based on the literature review and case studies, an empirical study was conducted among the members of the Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape. A survey was conducted among the members of the Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape using a questionnaire and 92 responses were received. The questionnaire measured the respondents’ social media usage, level of political engagement, perception on the use of social media for political engagement and the level of political activities on social media. Also, hypotheses were tested to examine the assumption that there might be an association between the respondents’ gender, population group and level of political activities on social media. The findings of this study indicate that a structured approach, a strong emphasis of engaging followers socially and micro-targeting are critical to effective implementation of social media for political campaigning and engagement. Other factors include the direct involvement of leadership, listening and encouragement of user generated contents. This study concludes that political organisations can use social media to establish multi-levelled social networks that provide access to their target audience and also reach potential audience through their friends. This social connectedness can then be translated into political social capital for campaign and engagement purposes.