This creative research project explored the relative values of the use of aural and visual elements in the production of a television program produced by the writer for the Public Affairs Department of WANE-TV, Channel 15, Fort Wayne, Indiana. The program dealt with the migrant farm and factory workers mho move into the community each year, work for a few months, and then move on again. The project utilized both aural and visual elements in the production of the program, and then sought to measure the relative value of those elements through a test designed specifically for that purpose. The test attempted to measure the degree of change in attitudes and knowledge levels of a select audience over against the living and working conditions of the migrant workers.The results of that test were then evaluated through the aid of an IBM 1130 Computing System. The mean, standard deviation, and t-test scores were employed in an effort to extrapolate, to some limited degree, for general principles of mass communication.

Human trafficking is an international crisis which has emerged as a human rights issue of the highest priority for many nations. This is not a new occurrence, although the onset of globalization has provoked increased intensity in this international crime. Recent studies, including the U.S. State Department’s 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report have predicted that the recent global economic crisis will inflate these numbers to an even larger number of victims. This thesis will investigate these phenomena ultimately asking: Do immigration policies and economic conditions contribute to the recent proliferation in cases of human trafficking for labor purposes? Moreover with the recent global economic crisis, has consumer demand affected an increase in cheap migrant labor furthering vulnerabilities that create prime situations for human trafficking and forced labor? This thesis will investigate these questions by focusing on the geographic parameters of the United States and Mexico due to their physical proximity and the history of immigration between these neighboring countries.