Xavier Institute of Communications, Bombay. Centre for the Study of Communication and Culture, London. Financial assistance from MISSIO, Aachen, and a grant for field-work from UNDA.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

This study investigated the institutional development of the critical perspective in academia. The purpose was to determine the extent to which the perspective has grown in the field of communication. The literature published before this study claimed, without presenting convincing evidence, that the perspective bloomed in the field during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Four questions guided the study: What was the particular development of the "critical" perspective in US communication scholarship? How has it been appropriated and construed by communication scholars? What were the historical circumstances and the intellectual context which framed its development? What is its current status in academia? In order to answer these questions the study traces the perspective's development using a content analysis of three mainstream journals, a survey of academic programs, and a citations analysis. Additional support came from interviews with critical scholars and journal editors, as well as from historical accounts of the period. The results of the study show that the critical perspective found a space for its development in the field of communication, especially in professional journals and citation practices. However, its presence was limited and, by 1987, there were no clear trends about its future development. It seems that the institutional environment did not allow for a vigorous development of the perspective in the field of communication. Utilitarianism, philosophical positivism, and the lack of economic support from government, industry, and funding agencies hindered its growth. The results also show that critical work's central features have been misrepresented by traditional social scientists. In general terms, then, the critical perspective earned a small but permanent place in the field of communication and enjoys the status of a legitimate academic endeavor in the field of communication. Today critical scholars can publish in professional journals and have access to academic appointments and other institutional resources.

Thesis (M.A. in English)--Washington State University, May 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 9, 2009). "Department of English." Includes bibliographical references (p. 50-54).

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 204-211).

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-141). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

This research demonstrates that people's ways of dealing with matters of life and daily occurrences are not the result of standard common sense deductions from learned facts. It has consistently shown that any presented information gets framed by the respondents in a multitude of ways depending on their habitual ways of dealing, viewing, judging, and challenging messages in their environment. Such ways of interacting with one's direct environment are shaped by the most common means of communication or the media that are being used. The literature that has inspired and guided this research is that of scholars like Ong, Havelock, McLuhan, and Burke who had great contributions to the Communication discipline. Consequently, this research challenges the existing public health literature, which, in its largest majority, is informed by the theoretical understanding of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors within the sociological and psychological disciplines. It is a step away from the practice of crafting messages that are conducive to behavioral change and a step forward toward dealing with any health endeavor as something to be created, negotiated, and recreated within its environment. Among the research's most significant findings is that the respondents' assessment of the health risks of some of their behaviors had little to do with their knowledge of such risk, and more with their education level and the amount of time they spent watching television. Depending on whether the respondents were defined as “oral”, “literate”, “television viewer”, or “light-to-non viewer”, their responses to identical health information took different turns which reflected various ways of dealing with the issue at hand. The research also showed that the link between the educational level of the mothers and her position on some life threatening health risks weakened significantly when they had already undertaken such health risk, like in the case of smoking. Instead, a strong positive link proved to exist between television viewing and the inclination to admit to the presence of a personal risk due to smoking. The research proved however that underneath such positive health responses among the television viewers, was a reactive language that intended to conform yet remained optimistic about any personal repercussions.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1992. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: William Sayres. Dissertation Committee: Maryalice Mazzara. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 328-245).

Thesis (MPA.) -University of Limpopo, 2010 / The focus of the study was on the contribution of media exposure towards the functionality of dysfunctional schools in Limpopo Province: Capricorn District. The study was qualitative in nature and concentrated on the schools in Capricorn District that were affected by the media industry. Seven schools were selected as follows: one from Mankweng Circuit, two from Nokotlou Circuit, One from Sepitsi Circuit, One from Seshego Circuit, One from Pietersburg Circuit and one from Mogodumo Circuit. According to the research findings, the majority of the schools which were exposed by the media improved their functions. A positive impact of media exposure has also been identified through research findings in terms of the Department of Education’s involvement in the schools which were affected by the media.