A dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of D. Litt. In Communication Science University of Zululand, 2001. / In this dissertation, I present the results of an analysis of the role of female body image in the promotion of commercial products in magazines that are available in South Africa at the beginning of the 21st century. The South African legislation is progressive towards promoting gender equality. But the central problem is that there are still gaps between the progressive legislation and the attitudes and beliefs of South Africans towards gender equality, particularly in the use of female body images in magazine adverts by the advertising industry. This gap between de jure and de facto is due to gender differences and stereotypes that have been entrenched in every aspect of our lives (for example, in language, culture, religion, and so on). According to Deacon (1997:376-410) and Pease and Pease (2000:60-61), because of the gendered social environment in the ancestral world, our brains (as females and males) evolved differently within the continuing gendered social environment. So, our fore brain, which is responsible for thinking, reasoning and planning processes, has helped us to reconstruct our gendered social environment by the formulation of legislation that promote human rights including the right to equality. However, the legislation on equality is not sufficient to reconstruct our environment. The evidence is that within the good legislation that has been made in South Africa, the advertising industry is continuing with the biased portrayal of female and male body images in the magazine adverts, in particular. Besides, the female body image is still portrayed in stereotypical roles. For example, the female is presented in passive roles and as objects as well as sex objects. However, the consumers do not adequately challenge the advertising industry about this gendered portrayal of the female body images in magazine adverts because the consumers themselves have a gendered view of the world. Therefore, other social programmes (in schools and communities) should supplement legislation that has been made in order to try and reconstruct the gendered social environment in South Africa. But, there are still areas for further research in the area of gender and body image to try and uncover the effects that the body image has on the consumers.

This thesis focuses on messages concerning gender that are communicated within contemporary U.S. society. Research consisted of twelve ethnographic interviews with students between the ages of nineteen and twenty-seven from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Society is ever changing and individuals learn rules and either comply, resist or try to change traditional gender behaviors. The social contexts in which an interaction takes places are where many messages concerning gender behavior are communicated. The five areas that this study researched include: work, education, romantic relationships, friendships, and exercise/sports. Work and education are contexts in which progress has occurred; women have the freedom to apply to jobs and schools of their choice. However, some jobs and majors are still male-dominated (i.e. math, science, and engineering majors). There was the most compliance with traditional gender behaviors in romantic relationships, friendships, and in exercise/sports.

Online collaborations are more prevalent in society due to electronic communication allowing students and professionals to communicate with each other, without needing to spend time or money traveling. The lack of visual cues in electronic communication means writing styles primarily set the tone of a message. A group member‟s gender can affect his or her writing style and what he or she assumes about the message. The differing writing styles and potential gender bias can cause misunderstandings, which delay projects and sometimes lead to ostracizing a group member. The gender composition of an online collaboration, therefore, can have a positive or negative effect on a project. This study helps technical communicators understand how to manage online collaborations effectively to produce a successful project. The study explains how the effects of gender composition on a project are influenced by electronic communication, gender roles, and online collaborations. Society-imposed gender roles include differing writing styles for each gender causing gender bias in both writing and reading electronic messages. Group members, monitors, and project managers must take care in managing online collaborations due to the differences in each gender‟s communication style, and differences in gender roles and expectations for multinational online collaborations. The study shows mixed-gender collaborations have increased chances of misunderstandings because of the differing communication styles of each gender compared to same-gender collaborations. However, the advantages of mixed-gender collaborations outweigh the disadvantages due to the variety of ideas, motivations, and expectations. Technical communicators understanding how all the major topics relate together to influence a iv collaboration are better able to manage an online collaboration and reduce the chances of misunderstandings to create a successful project.

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Contemporary and traditional sex roles differ in clarity. As such couples find it difficult to share these sex roles because of beliefs and attitudes they hold about them. In an attempt to generate guidelines with regard to the complementary sharing of these roles, sex differences and the nature of sex roles were discussed. Although men and women are similar in some respects, they however have fundamental unchangeable differences. Sex roles on the other hand, have changed drastically over the years. Data was gathered through the use of interviews. The result of this study indicates that men and women hold conflicting beliefs and attitudes concerning the sharing of sex roles. A set of guidelines have been formulated to assist couples to share their sex roles in a complementary way so as to make their homes authentic primary educational environments.. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Following recently increased interest in research on gender, the thesis seeks to supplement current research by investigating language and gender. Specifically, it explores the influence of gender on the use of vague expressions within the formal context of departmental meetings. Respondents' TM perceptions of vague language use in the form of responses to a questionnaire were also collected and analysed. The study revealed gender differences as regards vague language use. Women used more vague expressions than their male colleagues. Males and females displayed preferences for certain vague expressions an indication of gender construction. For instance, the men used more vague additives, whereas the females made use of more hedges in their utterances. An attempt is made to explain these preferences in terms of the difference and dominance theories. It was also found that the generally formal context of meetings operated informally within these academic contexts. The explanations for the informality found in academic meetings are related to the degree of distance in relationships, and the frequency of interaction among colleagues. Responses to the questionnaire revealed differences in vague language use as regards male and females on certain items. This revealed a probable indication of gender construction. For instance, whereas the males were more sensitive to context in terms of vague language use, the females were less sensitive to the contextual use of vague language. The difference in male and female sensitivity to context is explained within a constant and fixed female adherence to informality. Politeness, however, did not emerge as a prominent feature, as neither males nor females in this group considered politeness as a major function of vague language use. While the investigation was held within the context of academic meetings, these gender attributes, preferences and or differences may be operating in other contexts. The research therefore serves as a point of departure for further studies on gender and vague language use. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Sociolinguistics)

The research area of this work is online threat awareness within an information security context. The research was carried out on secondary school learners at boarding schools in Grahamstown. The participating learners were in Grades 8 to 12. The goals of the research included determining the actual levels of awareness, the difference between these and self-perceived levels of the participants, the assessment of risk in terms of online behaviour, and the determination of any gender differences in the answers provided by the respondents. A review of relevant literature and similar studies was carried out, and data was collected from the participating schools via an online questionnaire. This data was analysed and discussed within the frameworks of awareness of threats, online privacy social media, sexting, cyberbullying and password habits. The concepts of information security and online privacy are present throughout these discussion chapters, providing the themes for linking the discussion points together. The results of this research show that the respondents have a high level of risk. This is due to the gaps identified in actual awareness and perception, as well as the exhibition of online behaviour patterns that are considered high risk. A strong need for the construction and adoption of threat awareness programmes by these and other schools is identified, as are areas of particular need for inclusion in such programmes. Some gender differences are present, but not to the extent that, there is as significant difference between male and female respondents in terms of overall awareness, knowledge and behaviour.

Following recently increased interest in research on gender, the thesis seeks to supplement current research by investigating language and gender. Specifically, it explores the influence of gender on the use of vague expressions within the formal context of departmental meetings. Respondents' TM perceptions of vague language use in the form of responses to a questionnaire were also collected and analysed. The study revealed gender differences as regards vague language use. Women used more vague expressions than their male colleagues. Males and females displayed preferences for certain vague expressions an indication of gender construction. For instance, the men used more vague additives, whereas the females made use of more hedges in their utterances. An attempt is made to explain these preferences in terms of the difference and dominance theories. It was also found that the generally formal context of meetings operated informally within these academic contexts. The explanations for the informality found in academic meetings are related to the degree of distance in relationships, and the frequency of interaction among colleagues. Responses to the questionnaire revealed differences in vague language use as regards male and females on certain items. This revealed a probable indication of gender construction. For instance, whereas the males were more sensitive to context in terms of vague language use, the females were less sensitive to the contextual use of vague language. The difference in male and female sensitivity to context is explained within a constant and fixed female adherence to informality. Politeness, however, did not emerge as a prominent feature, as neither males nor females in this group considered politeness as a major function of vague language use. While the investigation was held within the context of academic meetings, these gender attributes, preferences and or differences may be operating in other contexts. The research therefore serves as a point of departure for further studies on gender and vague language use. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Sociolinguistics)

Contemporary and traditional sex roles differ in clarity. As such couples find it difficult to share these sex roles because of beliefs and attitudes they hold about them. In an attempt to generate guidelines with regard to the complementary sharing of these roles, sex differences and the nature of sex roles were discussed. Although men and women are similar in some respects, they however have fundamental unchangeable differences. Sex roles on the other hand, have changed drastically over the years. Data was gathered through the use of interviews. The result of this study indicates that men and women hold conflicting beliefs and attitudes concerning the sharing of sex roles. A set of guidelines have been formulated to assist couples to share their sex roles in a complementary way so as to make their homes authentic primary educational environments.. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)