Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 253-277). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Arthur A. Raney, Florida State University, College of Communication. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 1, 2003). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (M. Journ.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [44-46]).

This qualitative study investigated Chinese ESL students’ use of host mass media and how such use enabled them to acquire host communication competence and acculturation from their perspective. It was grounded on Kim’s theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation and the uses and gratifications theory, and employed a phenomenography approach. Nine participants at a university in Ontario were involved in this study. Data obtained from media use logs, think-aloud protocols, and follow-up interviews provided a fairly far-reaching and detailed description of the participants’ uses, reasoning, and effects of using host mass media. The analysis of data illustrated that these students used a variety of media as sources of information, language acquisition, culture learning, entertainment, and communication. Findings suggest that host mass media were the major influence on these students’ acquisition of host communication competence, perceptions of and acculturation to Canada. Their reliance on mass communication went into the later years of their acculturation process, and complemented their language and culture learning, which was somewhat limited through insufficient or reluctant participation in host interpersonal communication. Host communication competence was a primary factor that influenced their selection and use of host mass media, but it was not the only decisive factor relevant to their degree of acculturation. Individual characteristics, the social and cultural environment in Canada were also found to have significant impact on their acculturation process and outcomes. It is expected that the findings can assist colleges and universities in designing effective programs based on these students’ needs and characteristics, thus enabling them to achieve their academic and professional goals. / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2009-08-11 04:01:28.763

This thesis is an anthropological exploration of the contemporary role and use of radio sound in the home in Bristol, a city in the south west of England. Based on qualitative research, and taking an ethnographic approach, this study contributes to a growing field within social anthropology: the study of mass media. After establishing the ways in which the radio industry in the UK researches and constructs radio audiences, this thesis examines how academic research on audiences has operated in Britain. It is demonstrated how this thesis relates to, and is different from both of these perspectives. Radio sound is approached as a part of the material culture of the home. It is seen to contribute to domestic soundscapes. The medium of sound is investigated, and it is shown that radio sound has particular qualities that make it well suited to domestic, everyday life. It is revealed as aiding in the creative constitution of affective dimensions of the self in society. Domestic relationships, and the role of radio sound and affect are explored. Notions of intimacy and the role of fantasy in domestic relationships are investigated. Radio sound's role in mood creation for individuals in the home is then examined, and the notion of affective rhythms established. Radio sound's connecting powers are then given some attention; how radio sound helps to make links across time and space. Memories and nostalgia are shown to operate in creative and integrated ways in domestic contexts through the medium of sound. Finally, it is concluded that cultural knowledge and experience take place in large part in the sensory and affective dimensions of everyday life.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2001

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Despite the consistency and regularity of Bachmann’s critique of journalists and journalistic content, there has been to date no dedicated study of her portrayal of the journalistic media in individual works or her work as a whole. This dissertation addresses this gap in Bachmann studies by undertaking a detailed and comprehensive analysis of Bachmann’s literary portrayal of the journalistic media from the time she first came into the literary spotlight in the early 1950s until her 1972 Simultan collection, the last work to be published in her lifetime. The primary focus of this dissertation is a close textual analysis of literary works in which Bachmann makes significant references to journalists and journalism, examining these references closely in the context of existing scholarly analyses. In a systematic analysis of each literary genre that Bachmann tackled—poetry, radio plays, short prose and novels—this study demonstrates that Bachmann’s critique of journalists and journalism recurs with notable frequency and consistency throughout her work from 1952 onwards. The detailed analyses show that Bachmann’s critique of the “fourth estate” ranges from the mildly critical to the vitriolic, and constantly returns to a core set of concerns about the misrepresentations perpetrated by the journalistic media. The negativity of Bachmann’s critique is, however, almost always offset (and even undercut) by evidence that the journalistic media are not always successful in their (according to Bachmann’s portrayal) deceitful and destructive practices. This results in the oxymoron encapsulated in a literal interpretation of Ich’s declaration in Malina that the press is “ein unglaublicher Betrug”: while Bachmann does her utmost to depict the press as “Betrug”, she simultaneously reveals to us that it is also “unglaublich” in the sense of “unglaubhaft”. What also emerges from this study is that Bachmann’s literary critique of the journalistic media as both deceptive and inherently destructive is often counterbalanced by a more positive and contrary element that points towards where and how we might find the truth that the journalistic media do not and cannot convey.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. / As with most non-traditional PhD dissertations, this work comprises two parts: a professional creative component, in this case of literary journalism; and an exegetical research component. Part one, Speaking Secrets, is a non-fiction manuscript which explores voicelessness and the media. It focuses on sexuality secrets and explores what happens when these secrets become public property. Each chapter is written in a literary journalistic style. The genre is used here to intimately explore stories which have – for various reasons – fallen below the radar of mainstream journalism, despite some prior media exposure. The manuscript sets out to re-tell the subjects’ stories, and in that re-telling, determines to give each a voice. Taken together, these stories – written in the literary journalism genre, in accord with the subjects – amount to a form of advocacy journalism. As such, the manuscript also considers what motivates each subject to speak, and the costs associated with telling their secrets. Part two of this dissertation, The Literary Journalist and Degrees of Detachment – an ethical investigation, investigates the complexities of the relationship between the writer and the subject. It also does so in the context of the literary journalism genre, examining the role and influence of the narrator in the telling of a subject’s story. Further, it considers the various methods of maintaining differing degrees of detachment within the writer/subject relationship and against other factors such as ethical journalistic practice and the journalist’s role in upholding notions such as public interest and the public’s right to know. Within this investigation of ethical imperatives, the notion of ‘objectivity’ as it pertains to literary journalism, is examined. This dissertation argues that aiming for accuracy, balance and fairness, in the name of public interest and the public’s right to know, is a credo all journalists should aspire to. To position these terms within the umbrella meaning of the word ‘objectivity’ must not be regarded as antithetical to journalism practice, but something worth practising and teaching. This dissertation argues that rigid adherence to the literal meaning of the word ‘objectivity’ is the downfall of the practice. It is argued that there must be a loosening of the semantics surrounding the debate. The dissertation considers three texts/case studies to demonstrate the spectrum of degrees of detachment writers can maintain. Each text clearly falls at differing points along this spectrum, as do the stories in the manuscript Speaking Secrets. Empathy of the journalist plays a crucial role in the collecting and telling of these stories. Empathy as a notion is almost regarded as anathema to the journalistic industry. This dissertation argues, and exhibits through the execution of the text Speaking Secrets, that empathy is an effective and valid tool of the trade. Indeed, in some instances, it makes for better, more thorough and honest journalism.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Despite the consistency and regularity of Bachmann’s critique of journalists and journalistic content, there has been to date no dedicated study of her portrayal of the journalistic media in individual works or her work as a whole. This dissertation addresses this gap in Bachmann studies by undertaking a detailed and comprehensive analysis of Bachmann’s literary portrayal of the journalistic media from the time she first came into the literary spotlight in the early 1950s until her 1972 Simultan collection, the last work to be published in her lifetime. The primary focus of this dissertation is a close textual analysis of literary works in which Bachmann makes significant references to journalists and journalism, examining these references closely in the context of existing scholarly analyses. In a systematic analysis of each literary genre that Bachmann tackled—poetry, radio plays, short prose and novels—this study demonstrates that Bachmann’s critique of journalists and journalism recurs with notable frequency and consistency throughout her work from 1952 onwards. The detailed analyses show that Bachmann’s critique of the “fourth estate” ranges from the mildly critical to the vitriolic, and constantly returns to a core set of concerns about the misrepresentations perpetrated by the journalistic media. The negativity of Bachmann’s critique is, however, almost always offset (and even undercut) by evidence that the journalistic media are not always successful in their (according to Bachmann’s portrayal) deceitful and destructive practices. This results in the oxymoron encapsulated in a literal interpretation of Ich’s declaration in Malina that the press is “ein unglaublicher Betrug”: while Bachmann does her utmost to depict the press as “Betrug”, she simultaneously reveals to us that it is also “unglaublich” in the sense of “unglaubhaft”. What also emerges from this study is that Bachmann’s literary critique of the journalistic media as both deceptive and inherently destructive is often counterbalanced by a more positive and contrary element that points towards where and how we might find the truth that the journalistic media do not and cannot convey.