This project seeks to trace the power of social media in serving as a virtual civil society in the Arab world, focusing on Egypt as a case study. This study aims to explore the role of social media in mobilising Egyptian activists across generations, and particularly in reaching out to people under the age of 35 who constitute around 50 per cent of the population. Studies preceding the 2011 uprising reported that young Egyptians were politically apathetic and were perceived as incapable of bringing about genuine political changes. Drawing on a range of methods and data collected from focus groups of young people under the age of 35, interviews with activists (across generations and gender), and via a descriptive web feature analysis, it is argued that online action has not been translated into offline activism. The role of trust in forming online networks is demonstrated, and how strong ties can play a pivotal role in spreading messages via social media sites. Activists relied on social media as a medium of visibility; for those who were not active in the political sphere, social media have been instrumental in raising their awareness about diverse political movements and educating them about the political process, after decades of political apathy under Mubarak’s regime. The most important benefit of using social media is the increased political knowledge and information available regarding the political situation in Egypt, despite many young people still confining their political activities to passive acts of ‘share’, ‘like’ or ‘post’ on social media. Activists have used social media to ensure visibility of their actions, not only nationally, but also regionally and internationally. There remains a strong need for offline organization and activism by using social media as a communication avenue, not necessarily as a catalyst for changing the political process. A number of problems associated with the use of such media in political deliberations concerning Egypt are highlighted, notwithstanding the positive effects of social media on the political socialisation of young Egyptians. One such problem is the lack of sustainability in online campaigns which should ideally convert into offline collective action. It can be argued that a sustainable civil society and a truly diverse public sphere rests on more sustainable, offline action, which can indeed bring about significant changes in the Egyptian political sphere.

This thesis studies the West Indian press from three perspectives. The fIrst examines newspapers as economic entities, and involves an analysis of capital, equipment, patterns of ownership, and workforce. This section concludes with an examination of the social and economic standing of colonial editors. The second approach concentrates on the political role of the press during a period of tension. The relationships between the press and the component parts of colonial society are discussed seperately. The complex relationship between whiteowned newspapers and the non-white sectors of the populace is considered. Much of this section is devoted to the free coloured press. The volatile relationship between newspapers of all political persuasions and the various branches of colonial Government is examined. The third facet of the thesis grows naturally from the previous two modes of analysis, and is more implicit than explicit. It acknowledges the dangers in crudely identifying editorial columns as public opinion, but suggests that events involving the press constitute a series of snapshots exposing details of colonial life largely absent from official correspondence. The conclusion of the thesis attempts to chart some aspects of the political culture of the colonies. It argues that participatory impulses, long present in white society, received a series of stimuli during the 1820's and 1830's which greatly increased colonial political activity. For the press this led to the development of politically-motivated free coloured newspapers and a defensive invigoration of planter newspapers. Thus, there was a broadening of colonial political culture, but in ways which reflected the different priorities of the white and free coloured groups. In slavebased societies these differences generated irreconcilable conflicts, many of whIch were both revealed and sharpened by the involvement of the press.

Journalism's role in the “Twitter age” is becoming an increasingly hot topic in media studies. This thesis was aimed at analyzing the media portrayal, with special emphasis on the difference between traditional and citizen journalism, in one of the UK’s most talked about recent short films on the media topic, Black Mirror – The National Anthem, and how this could affect the public. Qualitative methods were used to examine the portrayal of both traditional journalism and citizen journalism in the film and the effects aspect was researched through focus group interviews. The results of the content analysis showed that the film depicts traditional journalism as seriously challenged by the speed and extent that citizen journalism can reach through social media – but it also shows a dark side of citizen journalism. My content analysis came to support the idea that the negative portrayal of journalism in the film can affect the public opinion on journalism, in an indirect and complex way.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-157). Also available via the World Wide Web.

The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive and focused reflection with regard to role of mass media in selected dystopian films, respectively in movies where some significant dystopian elements do appear. This thesis is based on themes that have been the content of bachelor thesis written by the same author and expands on it - however, the bachelor thesis analysed exclusively three novels (Brave New World, 1984 and Fahrenheit 451). Nevertheless this thesis does not include any film adaptation of these novels. Within this work a wider range of resources was employed as it allows highlighting multiple topics associated with the mass media. The main theme is therefore related to the use of mass media and their impact on society. The thesis contains interpretation (from media studies perspective) of a total of 12 films, which are then divided into three categories based on the prevailing perception of the role of mass media. The first part is focused on the mass media as a constitutive element of dystopian regimes. In this case the mass media affect the society as a whole. The second part deals with the films, in which, in which the media significantly influence the lives of specific individuals (although the whole society may not be affected). Finally, the third part includes movies, in...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:30:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Rita Teixeira Afonso.pdf: 670423 bytes, checksum: e009c1c4a49e6420ff4f188e4d0705a5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-04-23 / The research is a study about output and reception of the radio Heliópolis FM, by his public, Heliópolis s inhabitants. The objective was understand how radio is perceived by his public. The study was divide in two phases. The first is based in bibliographical research. In the following phase, rescues-itself the transcript of the sender and verifies-itself the appropriation of the Heliópolis FM by inhabitants and itself to communal paper perform sender, investigating itself as to radio is appropriated by his assiduous listeners. The approach to the reception was deed having for base the theoretical-methodological slope of the social use of the means, of Jesús Martín-Barbero. This kind of study consists of the displacement of the space of interest of the means for the place where is produced his sense social movements and, of a special way, of those that start from the neighborhood (1997). To technical it used was the interview is structured. I concluded that to radio is perceived as communal by his receivers mainly because opens space for the local population produce programs, choose the song that will be touched, present his works and utilize his service like the of location of persons and documents lost freely.(AU) / O trabalho é um estudo sobre produção e recepção da rádio Heliópolis FM, por seu público alvo, moradores de Heliópolis. O objetivo foi compreender como a rádio é percebida por seus ouvintes. Metodologicamente, o estudo foi divido em duas etapas. A primeira é mais conceitual e baseada em pesquisa bibliográfica. Na etapa seguinte, resgata-se o histórico da emissora e verifica-se a apropriação da Heliópolis FM por moradores e se a emissora desempenha papel comunitário, investigando-se como a rádio é apropriada por seus ouvintes assíduos. A aproximação à recepção foi feita tendo por base a vertente teórico-metodológica do uso social dos meios, de Jesús Martín-Barbero, segundo o qual este tipo de estudo consiste no deslocamento do espaço de interesse dos meios para o lugar onde é produzido o seu sentido movimentos sociais e, de um modo especial, daqueles que partem do bairro (1997). A técnica usada foi a entrevista semi-estruturada. Conclui-se que a rádio é percebida como comunitária por seus receptores principalmente porque abre espaço para a população local produzir programas, escolher as músicas que serão tocadas, apresentar seus trabalhos e utilizar seus serviços como o de localização de pessoas e documentos perdidos gratuitamente.(AU)

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The graduation thesis Development of the Radio Broadcasting as a Cultural Change is designed as a cultural comparative study of the development of the radio in Czechoslovakia and the United States of America as a cultural change (the origin and transformation of the cultural element). The thesis is divided into two parts, a theoretical part and an analytical part. The theoritical part defines basic problems and deals with history of mediae in the world. The focus of this part is characterization of Czechoslovakian and American radio broadcasting. The analytical part is devoted to analysis of empirical data, predominantly to secondary analysis of accessible data regarding radio development. This part also focuses on culturological interpretation or reintepretation of results of the analysis. The concluding chapter deals with comparison of the development of the radio in Czechoslovakia and the USA.

Female and male managers in crisis - A qualitative study of how daily and evening newspapers produce female and male managers in crisis The purpose of this studie was to investigate how female and male managers are produced in daily and evening newspapers. The newspapers that has been used in this study is Dagens Nyheter, as a representation for daily newspapers, and Aftonbladet, as an representation for evening tabloids. To answer the purpose three issues has been formulated: what are the female and male managers importance in emergency situations in the articles? How are power attributed to women and men in the articles? What similarities and differences are there between the representations from Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet? The theories that has been used in this studie are mainly gender theory, critical discourse analysis (CDA). The results of the analysis showed that female managers in subjectivily presented articles reports are produced in a more negative way than male managers. Further could the male managers be interpreted to be attributed more power in the articles than the female managers.

The role of the new media in young people’s lives has led to a debate about the potential of the internet as a means of influencing identity formation and youth participation. A growing body of academic research has shown an interest in understanding this influence. This thesis sets out to study political participation as a form of online engagement through the use of the various new media platforms and how it may affect the process of identity development of Arab youth in Britain. Prior to the recent political developments in the Middle East and the so-called ‘Arab Spring’, British Arab youth were suffering identity uncertainty and had expressed little interest in political participation. During the early stages of the Arab Spring, British Arab youth became involved, in one way or another, in political activities, mainly online. This research combines quantitative and qualitative methodologies in order to achieve accurate results. The targeted group for this study is those between 18 and 25 years old, who were born in Britain or have been living continuously in Britain for at least 10 years. Data collected includes a total of 178 questionnaire samples, and forty individual semi-structured interviews. The core argument of this study is that British Arab youth are willing to participate in politics as long as it is meaningful to them and to the people of their countries of origin. This engagement helps them to balance their cultural identity (Arab) with the host culture (British). That may not contradict with the fact that British Arab youth describe Britain as ‘home’ with confidence. In fact, the balance between Arab and British cultures serves as a stabiliser in the process of identity formation and reformation. The thesis also explores how this active political engagement is reflected, in general, on their own identity construction and development. The evidences of this study suggest that, while online media has a role in providing British Arab youth with accessible and effective online tools, the mechanism of participating and debating all issues without reservation, may contradict the cultural heritage of stepping back from political participation. Therefore, this research affirms the importance of online media tools for British Arab youth reaching new horizons. Participating in political activities is one form of negotiating identity formation or reformation, that in one way or another can contribute to a more effective role of the British Arab community in the public, political and cultural spheres of multicultural Britain.