Thesis (M.A.)-- Brigham Young University. Dept of Communications. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-79).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 335-352). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1995. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2710. Abstract precedes thesis as [2] preliminary leaves. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-97).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed May 5, 2009). PDF text: iv, 194 p. ; 459 K. UMI publication number: AAT 3344727. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographic references (leaves [301]-314).

This thesis analyses the content of three Arab satellite television talk shows and their reception by women in Jordan. It aims to assess the role of talk shows in the Arab public sphere by engaging with different conceptualisations and criticisms of the public sphere theory, starting with Habermas (1989) influential work. The thesis argues that once the criticisms of the criteria that underpin Habermas original theory are taken into consideration, and alternative conceptualisations by different traditions of democratic theory are considered, contemporary popular media genres like talk shows can be re-evaluated for their role in the public sphere. The thesis aligns itself with conceptualisations of the public sphere as an on-going and continuous process, rather than a concluded state, and argues through the analysis that this process transpires and continues in different contexts, within and beyond the media. Through its theoretical and empirical engagement, the thesis hopes to contribute to research on Arab television genres and its audiences, and their implications for investigations of the Arab public sphere. The thesis employs a multi-method approach to analyse the three talk shows Kalam Nawaem [Soft talk], Ahmar Bel Khat Al Areed [In Bold Red] and Sireh Winfatahet [An Open Case] and their audiences as two contexts where engagements with the public sphere continually take place. First, it uses thematic analysis to examine the content of the talk shows in terms of the issues they discuss and their relation to the Arab public sphere. Second, it also uses formal analysis to examine the structural features of the shows in order to demonstrate how these aspects collaborate to further shape the function of these shows in the public sphere. Third, the thesis analyses the audience research conducted through focus groups with women in Jordan, in order to study audiences perceptions of these shows and their role in the public sphere. The thesis proposes different ways in which these shows discussions can be consequential to the Arab public sphere, and the ways in which these transnational shows and discussions are watched and deciphered by audiences at a national level. Finally, the thesis reflects back on what it has achieved, its methodological limitations and alternatives, as well as future work that can be pursued on this topic.

This research addresses the relationship between television programming and body image. It specifically investigates what the Music Television network's (MTV) dance show, "The Grind," communicates about female body image. Two studies were conducted. Study one used seven coders from a western United States high school to record female body images using E. Collins (1991) seven female figure drawings. From the 2,367 female body images recorded, the dominant female image portrayed on "The Grind" emphasizes thinness. The research discovered that female images were slightly thinner than the perceived average female. Furthermore, the perceived White female images were slightly thinner than the Black or Hispanic perceived body images. Compatibility of the body image figures developed by E. Collins were also recorded. The study revealed the scale to be somewhat compatible, but not a perfect fit for White, Black, and Hispanic female images. The second study showed an episode of "The Grind" to twenty three students in a high school sociology class and had the students respond to a pre and post-show questionnaire. The students felt more body image conscious after watching "The Grind." Females felt less attractive, less self assured, and less in shape after watching "The Grind." No males desired to lose weight before or after watching the show. Fifty eight percent of females desired to lose weight before watching the show and one female changed to not wanting to lose weight after watching "The Grind." The responses to the open-ended questions in study two related to sexual dancing, body image, attractiveness, and music. Overall students responded that the message "The Grind" sends to teenagers is that you have be "in shape" and "look good." While this study had examined female body images, it relates to a larger issue of the messages MTV and music video programming sends and the meanings viewers create. This research provides application for use for teachers, parents, and teenagers. Further research relating to body image and the media is recommended. / Graduation date: 1997

Thesis (Ph.D.). / Written for the Graduate Program in Communications. Includes bibliographical references.

Mass produced narratives that have been designed and targeted for predominantly female audiences have been marginalized by dominant culture. Throughout the history of art and English literature, women have been both objectified and misrepresented. All that has been deemed domestic, emotional and of the personal sphere has been declared valueless by patriarchy. The soap opera genre reverses this negative valorization. It is one that perpetuates the feminine tradition of creating communities through words---talk, gossip, testimony. In this work, the American soap opera is discussed as a venue for the exploration of issues that concern women's lives, as a site for the generation of female pleasure, and as the mother of subcultural networks that inform a female community. While the narratives address women's concerns, the soap opera fan magazines and fan clubs celebrate a form that highlights orality, emotion and empathy in a culture that often depreciates them.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-272). Also available on the Internet.