Sharenting is a new term used to define the action of parents posting about their children online. Social media provides parents with an easy to use outlet for image distribution to all family and friends that simultaneously archives the images into a digital baby book. While convenient, once publicly posted anyone can gain access to the images of the children. Instagram is a favorable social media channel for sharenting. A popular hashtag on Instagram, #letthembelittle, contains 8 million posts dedicated to child imagery. A set of 300 randomly selected images under the hashtag were coded. Images tended to contain personal information such as the child’s name, age, and location. Communication Privacy Management and Uses and Gratifications theories provided the theoretical frameworks for this study. The results suggested a possibly dangerous pattern of parental oversharing that could negatively impact the child and the child’s safety.

Sociala medier används i stor utsträckning var dag men frågan är vilka tankar och strategier som ligger bakom användandet av de två digitala kanalerna Facebook och Instagram. Genom en kvalitativ metod undersöks bakomliggande strategier till hur privatpersoner agerar på sina sociala medier. Den undersökande populationen är kvinnor 18-35 år och syftet är att se hur de bygger upp sin identitet och sitt personliga varumärke på sina sociala medier. Studien har genomförts med intervjuer samt ett visuellt material i form av bilder som använts till stöd vid insamling av materialet. Det visuella materialet har tagit avstamp i modellen Brand Mind Space. Den teoretiska anknytningen rör även modellerna A Brand Personality och Communication Privacy Management (CPM). Resultatet visar att Instagram är den kanal som används i störst utsträckning. Det framkommer även att det går att utläsa tendenser till strategier hos privatpersoner i den undersökta populationen. Det är av vikt dels hur privat information delges, vad som förmedlas via profilen samt vad bilderna som publiceras egentligen representerar. Studien pekar på att det viktigaste är att vara ärlig och att den digitala identiteten avspeglar vem personen är, samt att kunna kontrollera spridning av den information som delas. Det är även viktigt att inte sticka ut för mycket eller uppfattas av andra som jobbig. / Social media is widely used every day but the question is what strategies can be found behind Facebook and Instagram. Through a qualitative method research of underlying strategies on how individuals act on their social media have been made. The population is women age 18-35 and the purpose is to see how they structure their identity and personal brand on social media. The study was realized by interviews and a visual material shaped as images. The visual material is based on the Brand Mind Space model. The theory also relates to the models A Brand Personality and Communication Privacy Management (CPM).The result shows that Instagram is the channel used to the greatest extent. It also appears that trends in strategies for individuals in the population can be read out. It is important how private information is communicated, what is conveyed through the profile and what pictures that are published really represents.The study shows that the most important thing is to be honest and for the digital identity to reflect who the person is. It is also important to control the spread of information being shared and to not stand out or be perceived as annoying.

This thesis examines the problem of providing high data-rate wireless connectivity to users in indoor environments. The goal is to be able to reach Gbps/user rates even when there are multiple users present. The technology that we study is to use the 60 GHz spectrum whose special propagation properties make it ideally suited to this task. The approaches developed include using multiple spatially distributed smart antennas in a room or multiple co-located antennas to provide coverage where needed and when needed. All the antennas are connected to a single access point which allows us to dynamically change spectrum and link allocation among the users (as they move or as their needs change). The innovations in this work include the exploitation of the special properties of 60 GHz and the corresponding design of algorithms for efficient spectrum allocation. We use detailed simulations to demonstrate that very high data rates are indeed achievable.

Mergers have become a common feature for South African organisations since the dawn of democracy in 1994. There are several studies completed internationally and locally on how to handle mergers in general. There is limited research however on the role played by communication in this process. In this regard, this study aims to analyse the role of communication during a merger in an information communication technology (ICT) organisation, underpinned by Nudge’s Change Theory, which asserts that employees should be involved in the merger process, thereby making it possible to take their views into consideration. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed in this study to gain insight on the role communication plays before, during, and after a merger. Primary data was collected from employees based at the organisation’s Head Office in Pretoria, through online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Results of the study show that communication with employees before, during and after merger was poor, resulting in high levels of uncertainty among employees. Furthermore, management did not provide adequate feedback to employees during the process. This caused panic among employees and a lack of confidence in the success of the merger. Based on these findings, it is recommended that top management investigates ways of enhancing channels of communication to ensure that communication with employees during mergers is not only meaningful but effective. The findings confirm recommendations made by Nudge’s Change Theory of the need to equip both management and employees during times of uncertainty. In this regard, further research to be conducted with different companies in the sector on the role employee communication plays during mergers to see if similar perceptions are maintained or changed. / Communication Science / M. A. (Communication)

The purpose of this study was basically twofold: 1) to develop an evaluative instrument to measure interpersonal communicative competence, and 2) to determine its relationship to three other supervisory variables—demographic characteristics, self-actualization, and leader behavior. Hypotheses testing, via the Pearson correlation coefficient, indicated the following relationships between interpersonal communicative competence (as measured by the IICC) and supervisory demographics, self-actualization (as measured by the POI), and leader behavior (as measured by the SBDQ): 1) The age of the supervisor was negatively related to the IICC at the .001 level of statistical significance. 2) Years of formal education was positively related to the IICC at the .001 level. 3) The sex of the supervisor (females scoring higher) was related to the IICC at the .01 level. 4) No significant relationship existed between years of supervisory experience and the IICC. 5) Six scales of the POI (I, Ex, Fr, S, A, C) were related to the IICC at the .001 level of statistical significance, one scale (Sy) at the .01 level and two scales (Tc, Sa) at the .05 level. Three scales (SAV, Sr, Nc) were not significantly related to the IICC. 6) No significant relationship existed between the IICC and the two dimensions of leader behavior—structure and consideration.

Based on an interdisciplinary literature review, the authors propose the Communication Business Model (CBM) as a new management approach for corporate communications. To this end, pertinent definitions, frameworks and typologies of business models are analyzed and combined with insights from corporate communications literature. The CBM outlines the generic architecture of business models for communication departments. Such models describe the basic principle of how such a unit operates, what services and products it provides, how it creates value for an organization and what revenues and resources are allocated. Relevance: The question of whether and how communication departments contribute to organizational value creation has rarely been addressed in research. Such evidence is crucial, however, as communications competes internally with other functions (e.g. marketing and human resources) for budgets and staff. This article fills the gap by applying the business model concept, an established approach from management theory and practice, to communication units. Practical implications: The CBM can be used as a management tool to analyze, explain and innovate communication management in organizations. It is a fertile approach for communication practitioners to make the work of their department visible and to position themselves internally and externally.

This study examined stepparents' privacy boundary management when engaging in communicative interactions with stepchildren. I utilized Petronio's communication privacy management theory to investigate stepparents' motivations of disclosing or concealing from stepchildren as well as how stepparents' gender influences such motivations. Moreover, present research also explored types of privacy dilemma within stepfamily households from stepparent perspectives. Fifteen stepfathers and 15 stepmothers received in-depth interviews about their self-disclosing and concealment experiences with stepchildren. I identified confidant dilemma and accidental dilemma in stepfamily households from stepparents' perspectives, as well as stepparents' gender differences in self-disclosing and concealing motivations. Findings also suggest that stepparents reveal and conceal from stepchildren out of same motivations: establishing good relationships, viewing stepchildren as own children, helping stepchildren with problems resulting from the divorce and viewing stepchildren as "others." The result also indicates that stepparents experienced dialectical tensions between closedness and openness during the decision of revealing or concealing from stepchildren.

The aim of this study was to explore human resources (HR) practitioners’ experiences of engagement interventions within a financial institution. A qualitative research approach was followed which was informed by the hermeneutic phenomenological paradigm. Semi-structured interviews were used. The findings indicated that HR practitioners play a critical role in enhancing engagement in organisations through the implementation of effective engagement interventions. The HR practitioners often thought of themselves as the ‘heart’, ‘the core’, ‘facilitator’, ‘business partner’ or ‘middle man’ when implementing engagement interventions. The majority of the HR practitioners did understand engagement, their role in the implementation of engagement interventions and the tools used to assess engagement. However, the findings did indicate that some of the HR practitioners within this study had limited knowledge of engagement, engagement interventions and the tools used to implement engagement. The findings also indicated that the implementation of an engagement intervention should be a collaborative process between employer and employee, with the support of top management to ensure the success of the engagement intervention. Engagement interventions were considered to be predominantly positive and successful by most of the participants. However, it was noted by participants that if there is no follow-through on the implementation of the engagement interventions it can become negative. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study presents the research of an investigation into communication challenges that affected the implementation of Black Economic Empowerment and the communication strategies/policies used to inform and communicate with employees in businesses. To achieve this aim questionnaires were administered to seven BEE compliant organizations in KwaZulu-Natal. Mersham’s communication model for development provides a basis for evaluation of the BEE communication challenges. This study reviewed theories and literature relevant to the implementation of Black Economic Empowerment and Communication Strategies. The perceptions gained from the literature review were used to interpret the results which were obtained through a qualitative paradigm. The findings revealed that communication is a pivotal pillar in any organization and both employers and employees need to maintain the strength that binds these pillars and brings the organization together. South Africa has faced many challenges since the apartheid era. The BEE policy therefore, aims to iron out unfair practices in businesses, which is why communication is extremely important to this process. / M

The disertation thesis deals with the problem of marketing communication of universities. The main reason for a choice of the topic of dissertation thesis and solution to the theme of the dissertation thesis was a fact that nobody has paid adequate attention to the problem of marketing communication of universities Marketing communication of university is a complex problem which is a key part of strategic marketing of universities. The main emphasis is put on planning of marketing communication of university. The dissertation thesis proceeds from the latest knowledge in theory of marketing communication as a key part of marketing. The dissertation is based on the analysing and mapping of key groups of stakeholders by the means of Stakeholder Circle Methodology. The text of the dissertation thesis is divided into four main chapters. Chapter one analyses the current situation of the research problem in the Czech Republic and abroad. Chapter two specifies the subject of dissertation thesis, authors' benefits on the theoretical and practical level and the main aims of the dissertation thesis. Chapter three analyses the methodology of the dissertation thesis and all scientific methods and hypothesis of the dissertation thesis in detail. The main results and interpretation of the authors' research are summarized in the chapter four. At the end of this chapter there will be a verification of hypothesis and suggestion of solution of problems. In conclusion there is a summarisation of the benefits of dissertation thesis and fulfilment of dissertations' aims.