Thesis (M.S. in Contract Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Jeffrey R. Cuskey, Gary D. Notte. Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-102). Also available online.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-181).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 1999. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-151, 172-173).

Thesis (Ph. D. (Communication management))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summaries in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 348-368). Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (doctoral)--Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology, 2005. / Title from PDF file (viewed on Jan. 18, 2007). "DISS ETH No. 15918." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis title: Health Professional-patient communication in relation to weight managementBackground: Global obesity levels have doubled since 1980 and are expected to rise. It is associated with key health risks such as heart disease, some cancers and osteoarthritis and hence has considerable economic consequences for health care resources. Key policy guidelines recommend that all health professionals (HPs) should discuss weight management with their patients making every contact count. However, we know HPs find discussions about weight challenging due to lack of time, training and skills. Knee Osteoarthritis (KO) and obesity are inextricably linked and together with a rise in obesity levels and growing numbers of older citizens rates of KO are set to escalate. As obesity is the key modifiable risk factor for KO, discussions about weight are paramount. This thesis explored this relationship further from the perspectives of patient and HPs, focusing on KO as an exemplar condition where there is scope for improved weight management. Methods: Utilising qualitative methods, three studies were undertaken. Firstly, a systematic review and thematic synthesis was conducted of published literature of physicians' views and experiences of discussing weight management within routine clinical consultations, not specific to KO. Secondly, HPs' experiences of discussing weight in consultations with KO patients through semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 HPs. Interviews were audio recorded and analysed using TA. A final study recruited 25 overweight/obese patients with KO and investigated their experiences of talking about weight with HPs. Results: Overarching themes were identified across the studies. Firstly, HPs are pessimistic about patients' desire to lose weight and their capacity to help them. Several factors lead physicians and HPs to be reticent to accept responsibility for discussions about weight. Within routine consultations and between HPs and KO patients, weight was viewed as a sensitive topic. Both HPs and patients recognized the difficult cycle of pain, reduced mobility and weight gain. Patients with KO desire patient-centred (PC) care but, despite HPs recognizing its value, they do not receive it. Both physicians and HPs lack communication skills in weight management. Conclusions: The work undertaken in this thesis demonstrates that barriers preventing effective clinical interactions about weight identified in routine consultations still exist, even when two conditions such as KO and obesity are inextricably linked. Although HPs and patients hold similar understanding of these interrelationships and recognise the value of PC discussions, HPs struggle in effective behavior change talk. HPs expressed impatience with the efforts of their patients. To readdress this imbalance all consultations about weight should be PC. Both physicians and HPs were inadequately trained to discuss weight and patients' views supported this. HPs working with overweight patients should be trained in evidence-based behaviour change techniques and PC communication techniques to increase their confidence to support patients in weight management. Finally, health psychologists have the skills to both deliver and guide discussions about weight.

While many executives and senior managers believe that formulating a unique corporate strategy is critical for sustainability and success of an organisation; that alone is not enough. Making sure that the strategic vision is effectively communicated down to lower-level managers and employees is equally as important as formulating corporate strategy. Not only does employees need to understand and believe that senior managers know where they are taking the company to; employees are unlikely to rally behind managerial efforts to get the organisation moving in the intended direction if they do not understand the strategic plans of the organisation. When senior managers articulate a vivid and compelling case for where the company is headed, employees begin to want to be part of the journey, and involve themselves in the implementation of the corporate plans. By effectively communicating the strategic vision of the organisation down to the lower-level managers and employees, senior managers derive support of employees and their commitment to get the company moving in the intended direction. Many organisations or companies in the business world fail, not because they do not have financial resources, not because they do not have a unique and innovative corporate strategy, but because of enforcing or imposing the corporate plans to the employees without selling the company’s plans to its employees, so as to have buy-in from them. This will not only let them be part of the solution, but also feel part of the organisation and take ownership of the organisation’s strategic plans. Strategic plans plays an important role in preparing business organisations to meet their current and future challenges. Research carried out in to both large, medium, small and micro sized-firms constantly emphasise a positive relationship between successful implementation of corporate strategies and its performance. This is because it is often mentioned that well implanted strategies produce outstanding organisational performance. The primary objective of the study was to look at effective communication of corporate strategy in a business organisation and the impact it has on successful implementation of corporate strategy in an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firm. Various number of studies have been carried out with regard to corporate strategy, but the impact effective communication can have on successful implementation of corporate strategy has never been studied. The study was conducted within an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firm based in Centurion, Gauteng. It was conducted within an enterprise division of the firm rather than the entire organisation, which employs 400 people. Out of the 400 respondents invited to participate in the study, 98 managed to complete the questionnaires. The study followed a positivistic research paradigm which made use of questionnaires. It made use of an on-line survey where the respondents were invited to participate in the study via e-mails. The study established that certain variables are more critical than other when coming to strategy implementation such as strategic leadership and effective communication.

In the past few decades, corporate crises have received high media attention and revealed the impact that a disaster can have on a company’s reputation. A breadth of scholarly literature has already analysed crisis communications and key elements of an effective response. In this study I examine crisis communications strategies of two companies (British Petroleum and Domino’s Pizza) who responded differently when faced with a crisis. The study will explore the companies’ actions and various media materials including public statements, press releases and social media platforms. This information will be presented alongside corresponding news coverage to reveal how the media translated these actions. Results show that by accepting responsibility and marketing efforts to stop the disaster, a corporation can transform its communication strategy and recover its reputation.

Thesis (MTech (Public Relations Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / This mini dissertation reports on the findings from a study on Chief Executive Officers of dually listed companies which, measures the value they place on Corporate Communication professionals. Using the Hill and Knowlton quantitative framework, the study explicates the role Corporate Communication professionals play within the organisational context and identifies their strategic legitimacy. Much of the literature on the topic of strategic Corporate Communication asserts that this function is drastically marginalised and its value disputed within the inner circle of organisations. The literature states that Corporate Communication managers and strategists are expected to validate their presence within the top levels of management in organisations. CEOs of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and at least one other international stock exchange were surveyed. Findings include evidence of inconsistency and confusion on the part of CEOs, with regard to the understanding of Corporate Communication as a discipline and business function, as well as its location within the organisational structure. Further study is recommended to investigate the determinants of value within Corporate Communication for CEOs, to bridge the current strategic and knowledge gap.

abstract: This dissertation explores South Asian American (SAA) emerging adult daughters' roles as their parents' reluctant confidants and mediators of conflict. Using Petronio's (2002) communication privacy management theory (CPM) as a framework, this dissertation investigates daughters' communicative strategies when engaged in familial roles. Findings from 15 respondent interviews with SAA women between the ages of 18 and 29 reveal daughters' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for role-playing within their families, such as inherent satisfaction and parental expectations, respectively. Additionally, findings highlight daughters' use of coping and thwarting strategies after they become the recipients of their parents' unsolicited private information. Namely, daughters engaged in coping strategies (e.g., giving advice) to help their parents manage private information. Likewise, they enacted thwarting strategies (e.g., erecting territorial markers) to restore boundaries after their parents (the disclosers) violated them. Consequently, serving as parental confidants and mediators contributed to parent-child boundary dissolution and adversely affected daughters' well-being as well as their progression toward adulthood. This study provides theoretical contributions by extending CPM theory regarding reluctant confidants within the contexts of emerging adult child-parent relationships and ethnic minority groups in America. Practically, this study offers emerging adult children insight into how they might renegotiate boundaries when their parents change the relationship by disclosing personal information. Information gleaned from this study provides SAA emerging adult daughters with an understanding of the ramifications of prioritizing their familial roles and being a reluctant confidant, in addition to potential avenues for remediation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Communication Studies 2012