M.A. / While linguistic theorists have been grappling with the intricacies of language for many years and a myriad of theories on the production of speech has graced the intellectual world, most theorists over this time have come to agree on one thing, and that is that language is inextricably linked to culture (esp. Sapir Whorf; Halliday). One of the implications herein is that if language and culture are linked, then as society changes, so too does language change with it. The changes can be as severe as a complete language system or changes to vocabulary, so that what is true for a language at one point in time may differ with changes to that society over time. The relationship between language and culture is a two-way one: language is affected by the culture of a society (in such a way that it is possible to see how changes in that society have affected language), and it is also possible to make deductions about the culture of the society by looking at the changes in the language it speaks. . Inferences about the readership can be made from clues that the writer unwittingly provides in the form of cultural conventions. These conventions (which are evident in the text) are used by the writer knowingly or unknowingly because the writer writes in a specific sociocultural context and therefore shares the cultural conventions with the readers. Different reading types- i.e. point-driven or information driven- are also indicative of the readership, and the features common to each are exclusive and are exploited by the writer for relating to his/her specific readership.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology - Public Relations Management in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / This dissertation is a qualitative analysis of the print media in South Africa. The print media as a form of mass communication, functions in various ways. One of the main functions is to supply news, information and entertainment through magazine content on worldwide aspects. Through various attention grabbing tactics magazine content is able to alter our ideology and thinking. However, through attractive and entertaining topics the public can be affected negatively by the content utilised in magazines, which affects the ideologies and thinking of readers. This effect is mainly evident in younger women and can in turn result in readers unwarily turning to the media to shape their identities. This study examines numerous South African women’s magazines with the main objective of determining the role of magazine content in the creation of young women’s identities in South Africa. These magazines were selected on the basis of their content, structure, target markets and their editor’s willingness to participate in the study. The ten magazines researched for the study are ‘O Magazine’, ‘Marie Claire’, ‘Cosmopolitan’, ‘True Love’, ‘Move’, ‘Glamour’, ‘Grazia’, ‘Fairlady’, ‘Seventeen’ and ‘You’ magazine. The study provides a literature review on various normative theories of the press and also discusses the psychological effects of numerous persuasion theories. Some of these theories are the Feminist Media theory, Identity theory, Agenda Setting theory and the Uses and Gratifications theory. The study also analyses selected magazine covers with the aim of determining the ways in which readers are influenced by magazine content. The methodology for the study used content analysis and surveys in the form of telephonic interviews and questionnaires which were conducted with the magazine editors. The main results of the study indicated that magazine content is primarily aimed at uplifting women and creating awareness within readers to embrace their personalities and attributes. Consequently readers are encouraged not to conform to the current trends in society thereby supporting the theoretical underpinning of the normative theories of the press.

This study, which aims to portray the circumstances of Ottoman women&rsquo / s movement during the first years of Second Constitutional Era from the eyes of the writers of Kadinlar D&uuml / nyasi Periodical, makes an analysis of the meanings ascribed to the efforts for the restoration of women&rsquo / s position in social life and the roles claimed for women during Ottoman modernization period. This research intends to confirm the fact that the basis for the mentality of defenders voicing women&rsquo / s rights was the progressive outlook which chose the &ldquo / women question&rdquo / as the focus on the way of securing not only social progress but also social integration, solidarity, national consciousness and progressiveness. Thus, the ideas expressed in the articles all written by women writers of Kadinlar D&uuml / nyasi are evaluated with the question in mind that whether the boundaries of Ottoman women&rsquo / s movement and the social role granted for them in the modernization process were wholly determined by the women themselves or theorized predominantly by the policymakers of the state who were all men. Deducing from the self-evaluation of women in Kadinlar D&uuml / nyasi of 1913, this thesis consequently underlines the fact that the struggle for women rights, which were carried out on behalf of patriotic and nationalist claims in accordance with the socio-political conditions of the time, could not overcome their invariable position of being &ldquo / historical objects&rdquo / despite of the fact that women held a considerable progress in their status during the Second Constitutional Era which laid the parameters of the &ldquo / women question&rdquo / during the early Republican Era.