Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Communications, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-55).

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2006 / "Publication number AAT 3241859."

Thesis (M.A.)--Kent State University, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Oct. 26, 2009). Advisor: Max Grubb. Keywords: African-Americans; framing; media; newspapers; representation; agenda setting. Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-77).

Title from title page of source document. Dissertation no. 3333. Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-232) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006 / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

My research investigated the extent to which the Nigerian media have alerted the public and key opinion formers to risk-related issues/conflict in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region in order to shape the Nigerian public policy sphere as a response to the reoccurring [1958-2009] conflict between the government, oil host communities and independent multinational oil companies operating in the Nigeria’s Niger Delta region over economic embarrassment due to underdevelopment and environmental degradation. Drawing on the recent academic literature on policy agenda-setting, risk communication and trust communication, my research explored Research Questions on risk communication and risk perception linking policy agenda-setting that would be of great benefit for the Nigerian policy-makers, and indeed oil companies to understand. The researcher addressed these Research Questions through a survey [1,200 questionnaires] of Nigerians and interviews [10] with key people in Nigeria. These Research Questions are very timely and penetrating, in what has been, to date, a very under-researched area – namely, investigating the flows and impacts of trust-risk communication in agenda setting in a less-developed country. The researcher used three states in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region namely, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers for the purpose of this research because conflict and risk issues is most pronounced in the aforementioned states due to oil exploration/exploitation and underdevelopment. Findings from this research revealed that the Nigerian media-policy-public agendas face specific problems in influencing one another on environmental risk issues and other facet of the conflict in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. These specific problems which reflect gaps in knowledge in the Niger Delta conflict have now been outlined, so needing further attention and work by stakeholders in the public policy field with regards to the Niger Delta conflict. To this end, areas in need of research focus were outlined and several recommendations were made by the researcher which if adopted by the Nigerian government/policy makers, the media, oil companies and other stakeholders will help douse Nigeria’s Niger Delta conflict.

Very little academic work has focused upon the British monarchy/Royal Family and its significance for the people of Britain. However, of the more recent pieces of work on the subject, several have emphasized the ideological impact of the institution (Coward, 1984; Williamson, 1986; Billig, 1990). This is an emphasis which similarly characterizes the present study. Indeed a substantial part of this thesis is taken up with a theoretical discussion about the nature of ideology itself. Following Barthes (1982), I argue that the relationship between a culture/ideology and its practitioners is paradoxical. Each is simultaneously the master and slave of the other. There are four empirical chapters contained within this volume, the first of which is a quantitative account of popular press representations of monarchy. The other three empirical chapters are, in part, an investigation and illustration of the paradoxical nature of culture/ideology. Drawing predominantly from a three-month sample of Royal-related newspaper items (29th Nov. 1987–29th Feb. 1988) the first shows how various cultural/ideological themes or discourses determine or give form to the texts. In the second I examine the ways in which similar themes are used constructively in the production of accounts which accomplish a variety of rhetorical, political and ideological 'moves'. These themes are also present within the fourth empirical chapter in which I examine some of the ideological work done via the representation of the Royals as ordinary, extraordinary and 'superordinary' beings. Chapters 6 and 7 also serve to reveal something of the nature of two subject matter categories as defined in Chapter 4. In the final chapter I take issue with certain aspects of the present study's own theoretical and methodological bases.

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