Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (July 11, 2006) Includes bibliographical references.

During the past ten years public relations becomes very important for an university. The recent rapid development of the Internet has change the relations berween the universities and the publics. Among many applications of Internet, the World Wide Web has become a new medium for universities. The study conducted a content analysis of Taiwan 142 university websites,in order to know how universities use websites to prove the relations brtween the universities and the publics. After studied many researches, we find ¡§target publics¡¨ and ¡§interactivity¡¨ and ¡§public relations communication information¡¨ to approach the content of websites.The results indicated that in terms of the design of target public category,¡¨admission student¡¨ and ¡§alumni¡¨ were more adopted by universities. The results also indicated that in terms of the design of interactivity category ,¡¨personal-choice¡¨ and ¡§user support¡¨ were more adopted by universities. According to the research, comparison with different types of university, the results indicate that national universities more adopted ¡§Office of research¡¨ categories than other typies of university.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Feb. 08, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-58).

This dissertation presents research into the public relations field in Australia, including its background, design, results and recommendations. Research investigated areas of convergence and divergence of ideas about public relations practice between Australian practitioners and academics. The project was inspired by a significant gap in the Australia-specific public relations literature, as there is limited or no in-depth empirical investigation into notions of meaning, dimensions of practice, professionalism, organisational power, and education, in the public relations field in Australia. While research has been conducted into how those outside the profession view public relations, few have asked those within the industry (practitioners and academics) about their understanding of public relations in Australia, nor compared these findings to locate and analyse spaces of convergence and divergence of meaning. Inquiry was facilitated through the administration of two online questionnaires; one targeted to those identifying as public relations practitioners, and the other for those who identified as public relations academics. Each questionnaire comprised six sections, and sought a mixture of in-depth qualitative and quantitative data on the following areas: o Meaning, scope and agreement of the term 'public relations' o The dimensions of public relations o Perceptions of public relations practice o Perceptions of public relations scholarship o Perceptions of public relations education o Respondent demographics As non-probability sampling was applied to this study, it is not possible to report a response rate. That said, a total of 40 academic and 107 practitioner responses were received and comprise the data set. Administration of the questionnaires generated a significant amount of both qualitative and quantitative data. The results were diverse and intriguing, leading to a number of specific recommendations and suggestions for further research. For example, the study found that: o There exists a gap between respondent definitions of the term 'public relations' and respondent reports of public relations practice; o Both public relations academics and practitioners underestimate the professional practice of their practitioner colleagues; o While most practitioners see academics as adding value to the public relations field, a considerable proportion do not, yet findings indicate that academics may not be as out of touch as practitioners imagine; o Both public relations academics and practitioners conceive notions of professionalism in the same manner; and o Both groups identify writing and interpersonal skills as the most valuable skills for a public relations practitioner to possess, and both groups also prioritise knowledge of public relations specific theory and principles. Practitioners also prioritise the need for greater attention to general business practices in public relations education, while academics determine a need for greater emphasis of ethical standards and research competence. This research project closes with a number of direct recommendations and areas for further inquiry. Among these, it is suggested, for example, that academics become mindful of underestimating professional practice as doing so may perpetuate negative images of the field. Rather, academics should be encouraged to seek out opportunities for collaboration with practitioners. Dialogue between academics and practitioners can enhance accurate understanding of, not only the dimensions of practice, but also the value of academia, in the field. Via these, and the other key lessons and recommendations, the findings and results of this research project have dramatically furthered efforts to map the landscape of public relations in Australia.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MTech (Public Relations Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / Communication plays a vital role in the everyday lives of individuals, societies, organisations and the world at large. Without communication it would be very difficult to understand each other and to carry out daily activities that make up human life. Communication can come in many forms and shapes. Signs and symbols were used by our ancestors to communicate long before sound and speech technology was discovered (Mersham and Skinner, 1999). Notwithstanding the importance of communication for any form of human interaction, it is taken so much for granted. As pointed out by Mersham and Skinner (1999: 2), "until someone misunderstands us and the misunderstanding causes a problem, only then do we pause to think about what went wrong." Macnamara (2006: 3) points out that communication is complex even at family level, because often what we try to communicate to those closest to us is not received the way we intended or meant. This shows that communication is beyond talking and far more complex than it seems. In an organisational setting it is even more complex because the organisation is made up of different units or departments with different responsibilities, all working towards the attainment of the same organisational goals and objectives.

The goal of the study was to advance a participatory development communication perspective for South Africa and suggest how the government can facilitate the country's democratisation by using government PR as a strategic planning tool and developing a government communication framework for nation-building by integrating PR approaches into the communication component of constructing national identity, social cohesion and Nation-building programmes. The primary orientation of this study is interdisciplinary combining a theoretical framework of the concept of the 'nation', the discursive construction of national identity and major debates surrounding the practice of nation-building. In addition to the background on South Africa's history and the current social, political and economic climate, this study applies critical discourse analysis to the role that PR contributes to the advancement of government communication programmes in South Africa. The aim was to explore the role played by PR within the democratic nation-building processes in South Africa and identify which discourses have been and are being mobilised in constructing South African national identity in the context of the young South African democracy and the nation as a whole. The final analysis demonstrates that while Presidential speeches promote hope, unity and citizen participation, they also portray South African citizens as united but diverse individuals whose primary responsibility is to celebrate the country's political transformation and demonstrate loyalty to the post-apartheid goals of nation-building. Furthermore, critical events like the 1994 general elections and major sporting events like the 1995 Rugby World Cup, as well as the 2010 FIFA soccer World Cup are seen as milestone moments in the history of the nation. A mixed-methods approach was used in the study, with qualitative and quantitative research methodologies complementing each other. Various domains of enquiry were used in the research. On the one hand there was a theoretical analysis and appraisal of the PR role in nation-building and Critical discourse analysis of Presidential speeches as a possible instrument for the facilitation of direct democracy. These were complemented by empirical evidence obtained from research participants with a view to reaching conclusions about the research problem. The study analysed interview variation in the constructions of themes according to the different positions people were responding from and also examined the meanings given in relation to Nation-building, national identity and social cohesion. The findings provide examples of an emphasis on the civic dimension of national identity, with speakers emphasising the rights and duties of South African citizenship. But more prominent was a discourse that goes beyond a formal, legalistic civic identity to include a more emotional, semi-cultural bond such as 'unity in diversity' and the 'Rainbow Nation' discourse. The study concludes by recommending that in order to anchor the democratic Nation-building with in the country, the government: should use PR to communicate with the citizenry and keep them in the loop about these adjustments; promote the country's Nation-building process by acknowledging that PR has a critical strategic planning function to cement national unity and develop a shared democratic national identity for South Africa. / Thesis (PhD.(Communication) North-West University, Mafikkeng Campus, 2011

Purpose:       The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that affect PR in multinational corporations (MNCs) today, and to explore how the factors affect PR management in the selected MNCs. Method:       A qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with PR managers at three multinational corporations. In addition to the primary data, a secondary data search was conducted. Conclusion: Both internal and external factors affect the PR management in large multinational corporations. The internal factors being sector, size, stage of organizational development and culture (Tench & Yeomans, 2009, pp. 24-25). The external factors, largely made up of the public also contain different sources of media. The participating companies all claimed to be largely affected by both internal and external factors; although different factors were more or less forth standing for the companies. The public was also identified as an external factor that plays a very important role as “the other party” in the two-way communication in PR programs, the companies clarified that the public affected both what and how the PR departments communicate.