In recent years, the media have publicized the social problem of physical child abuse. This study examined three artifacts of physical abuse: the children's book Robin's Story, the popular song "Luka," and the television documentary Scared Silent: Exposing and Ending Child Abuse. Chapter One described each artifact and provided a literature review which detailed the writings about physical child abuse and artifacts discussing this topic. The chapter then posed research questions about how the artifacts viewed abused children and their abusers, the causes of abuse, and the solutions proposed for ending physical abuse.Chapter One finally discussed the narrative framework of rhetorical analysis used to examine the three artifacts. The narrative method used in this analysis employed three steps: 1) An examination of narrative structure, which discussed the plot of the story, the crucial points of the story and the events which supplemented those points, and the steps of breach, crisis, redress, and reintegration in the narrative; 2) An examination of narrative rationality, which talked about the completeness and true to life quality of the story and evaluated the reasons the rhetors gave for following the course of action endorsed by the story; and 3) An examination of narrative standards, including truth standard or how the narrative compares with what the audience believes is true; aesthetic standard or the grammar, setting, and characterization within the story, and ethical standard or the values expressed within the narrative. Chapter Two applied this framework to the children's book Robin's Story. Chapter Three viewed the popular song "Luka" through the narrative framework. Chapter Four discussed the documentary Scared Silent in terms of narrative analysis.Chapter Five then discussed the conclusions of the analysis for each artifact, artifacts discussing physical abuse, and for rhetoric. Some of the conclusions reached were that artifacts discussing physical child abuse should attempt to make their stories universal, that such artifacts need to distinguish between abuse and physical punishment, and that artifacts dealing with this problem must provide concrete courses of action to end physical abuse. This analysis concluded that, while narrative analysis provided the answers to the research questions, this framework needs to be made into a concrete method of rhetorical analysis to ensure that narratives are effectively evaluated. Narrative analysis was positive in this analysis, however, in that it supported the definitions of rhetoric as value, epistemology, motive, drama, meaning, and argument. This analysis found that, to end the problem of physical child abuse, rhetors must work with experts in this field and tailor artifacts from different perspectives to various audiences using different forms of media. / Department of Speech Communication

M.A. (Communication Studies) / This dissertation will concentrate on the manner in which the signification system of popular culture in advertising texts operate within the context of changing South African or post apartheid society. Social and political changes have taken place virtually overnight and it is therefore not surprising that the effects of these transformations have not yet filtered through to all layers of society. Furthermore, such quick changes cannot take place without causing at least some ripples of dissent and upheaval within certain sectors of society which may include cultural groups or even business. The author will consequently examine the effect which social changes have had on the perceptions of advertisers in the marketplace and the manner in which their brands are portrayed within advertising texts. More specifically, an investigation will be undertaken into the manner in which Popular Culture, whiph is inherently South African, has been incorporated within the contents of those texts. Popular Culture, it will be argued, has moved away from being a term used by classical Marxists to describe a so-called mass culture. In fact, within the context of a postmodern society, in other words, one which is essentially multi-faceted, the . concept Popular Culture-encapsulates that which is used within the day-to-day living experience to make a statement of dissent with the mainstream. Therefore the task set by this dissertation is manifold. the first instance we will place the South African market within a historic, cultural and economic context. In other words, we will attempt to trace the life-world of the South

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication

Not available / text

Thesis (MPhil)-- Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Pornography in South Africa has only been legal for a mere 16 years, but is preceded by a 126-year history of inutile South African government attempts to suppress and curb it at its borders. To date, pornography as a research field has been largely overlooked by South African researchers, who have either mostly opted to choose fields that are socially more acceptable, or assumed that pornography was not present in the country before the 1980s and 1990s. This research, however, prefers to differ. The study investigates a minute part of a broader scope of pornography history in South Africa, by studying what international and domestic pornographic magazines were first seized and thereafter banned in the country between 1939 and 1989. By theoretically implementing an authoritative theoretical framework, the Annales’s functional structural approach, and applying the historical methodology to unearth unobtrusive historical data, the study compiles a narrative of events that ties a 50-year history of the pornographic magazine in South Africa together. The study eventually identifies 1 033 individual volumes, editions and issues of various pornographic magazine genres, including, among others, pulp and pin-up, naturist and nudist, soft-core, hard-core, male and female homosexual, bisexual, bondage, Asian, female impersonation and biker magazines, of which some, of course, are local South African pornographic magazines. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Pornografie is nog net 16 jaar wettig in Suid-Afrika en word voorafgegaan deur ’n geskiedenis van 126 jaar se sensuur wat deur die regering afgekondig is om pornografie buite die land se grense te hou. Tot op hede is pornografie as ’n navorsingsveld deur Suid-Afrikaanse navorsers oorgesien omdat hulle óf studies aanpak wat sosiaal meer aanvaarbaar is, óf aanneem dat daar voor die 1980’s en 1990’s geen pornografie in die land was nie. In dié verband wil hierdie studie met dié aannames verskil. Die navorsing ondersoek ’n klein deeltjie van ’n groter geskiedenis van pornografie in Suid-Afrika deur te kyk na watter buitelandse en binnelandse pornografiese tydskrifte tussen 1939 en 1989 in die land gevind en kort daarna verban is. Teoreties is die outoritêre en die Annales se funksionalisties-strukturalistiese raamwerk ingespan, en die historiese metodologie is gebruik om historiese data na te vors om ’n narratief saam te stel wat 50 jaar se pornografiese tydskrifte in Suid-Afrika saamsnoer. Die studie identifiseer uiteindelik 1 033 uitgawes van verskeie porno-grafiese tydskrifte, wat, onder meer, pulp- en prikkelpop-, nudistiese, sagte, harde, manlike en vroulike homoseksuele, biseksuele, knegskap-, Asiër-, fopdosser- en motorfietstydskrifte insluit; sommige van dié genres is, natuurlik, ook plaaslik in Suid-Afrika gepubliseer.

Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished