This thesis is a study of the boria, a popular form of Malay theatrical entertainment. In it I attempt to distinguish significant elements in the boria and analyse them in the context of modern Malaysia. Central to the study is a description and analysis of the boria as a drama form today, with particular concentration on characters, stories, songs and music, together with the mechanics of performance. An attempt is made by considering the themes, performers and audience, to investigate boria in the society where it is best developed, that is, in the Malay society of Penang. This involves setting the boria in its historical, political and socio-cultural context. It further requires placing it in the wider perspectives of Malaysian national policies for cultural development and the scholarly study of the performing arts of South-East Asia.

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<p>This research aimed to give an account of the development of concepts of text and discourse and the various approaches to analysis of texts and discourses, as this is reflected in core linguistic literature since the late 1960s. The idea was to focus specifically on literature that notes the development stimulated by a proliferation of electronic media. Secondly, this research aimed to describe the nature of electronic news texts found on the internet in comparison to an equivalent printed version, namely texts printed in newspapers and simultaneously on the newspaper website.</p>

Women's magazines have been accused of using their power of reaching millions of audiences to influence ideas such as the perceived role of a woman in the society; how she must behave, what she must do to win the attention of men as well as inform her of her limitations (Marshment, 1997). Women's magazines do this through the advertisements and stories that they publish. Ballaster et al. (1991) posit that the media has very powerful means of influencing and persuading audiences to think, act and behave in a particular may. The media has the power to shape and direct the way in which audiences perceive themselves. Evidently, it creates a desire in people to improve themselves by purchasing a certain product. Following a critique of seven women's magazines, this study acknowledges the power of the media to influence its audience and analyses the use of the theme of Valentine's Day in stories and advertisements of the selected magazines. The analysis explores how such influence can result in the promotion of gender stereotypes in society. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

This thesis has replicated a content analysis study conducted by G. Ray Funkhouser in the 1960s. This study concurs with the Funkhouser assertion that some prominent issues in the news do not necessarily merit the attention from the media at the times they receive it. The findings in this study appear to also indicate a "sampling bias" in the media, whereby the amount of news coverage deviates in a systematic way from the actual flow of events. Additionally, this study indicates a strong relationship between the amount of media attention an issue receives and whether or not that issue was noted as the most important problem by respondents to the Gallup Poll. / Department of Journalism

The Internet is changing the way people obtain their information, growing at a faster rate than any previous media outlet. Experts fully expect this growth to continue. The power of the Internet as a new media source has led to research concerning its effect on traditional media (newspaper, television, radio, and magazines) for certain tasks. However, research has yet to focus solely on sports information gathering, which has been identified as the number one reason men between eighteen and thirty-four years of age access the Internet. The purpose of this study was to examine where students get their sports information, to determine whether gathering sports information through the Internet leads to a decrease in gathering sports information through traditional media. / Department of Journalism

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M.A. (Communication & Media Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A., Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, 1983