Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Menstruation can be defined as the cyclic shedding of the uterine wall in response to the production of hormones from the ovaries. Although menstruation is experienced as both a positive and negative phenomenon, the dominant view remains a negative one. Menstruation has been stigmatised across most cultures, and culturally constructed as something that needs to be hidden, and hygienically managed, and a source of shame and embarrassment. It is also seen as a dirty process and a source of discomfort, illness and emotional instability. Dominant cultural constructions of menstruation in advertisements convey the message that through the purchase of particular menstrual products, women will be “protected”, “fresh”, and thus the cultural beliefs of a hygiene crisis, concealment and secrecy are perpetuated. This study explored isi-Xhosa speaking women’s experiences and meaning-making related to the portrayal of menstruation and menstrual products in television advertisements. Active audience theory, a branch of media theory, formed the theoretical framework for this study. This research adopted a qualitative approach, and made use of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore participants’ personal experiences. Three focus groups were conducted in English, consisting of 5 participants per focus group. Research began with two focus groups until saturation was reached. Participants were shown two television advertisements of two major South African companies (Kotex and Always) who sell menstrual products, as a means of stimulating discussion. The findings indicated that there were major discrepancies between what was portrayed in menstrual product advertisements and the reality of participants’ experiences; there was an exaggerated emphasis on checking behaviours; menstrual product advertisements avoided displaying the discomfort associated with menstruation; advertisements heightened the fear around leaking and emphasised hygiene and remaining clean. The positive finding to emerge was participants’ view that menstrual product advertisements served as a means of education, in the context where they were often misinformed about menstruation or provided with minimal or no information. This study extended on a previous study conducted at a different South African university, and contributed to the literature in this area within the South African context. All ethical guidelines stipulated by the University of the Western Cape were strictly adhered to.

Research Problem: The pressure for brands to stand out and at the same contribute to a better world is a constant battle in a competing digital media landscape. Advertising campaigns are ways for brands to separate themselves from their competition. In a recent campaign launched by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) their advertising campaign What is truly Scandinavian? backfired and caused an active media audience to engage. SAS feared that their campaign got hijacked which resulted in a temporary withdrawal of their film. In light of the rise of online counterpublics and the upswing of so-called cancel culture this essay draws upon these concepts to analyse the reactions to SAS advertising campaign on the Swedish discussion forum Flashback. Aim: The study intends to examine how the reactions to SAS advertising campaign, What is truly Scandinavian?, can be understood as part of a counterpublic and a cancel culture on Flashback. Questions: (1) Which most prominent themes and reading positions can be distinguished among the reactions to SAS's advertising campaign in the selected Flashback thread? (2) How can the studied part of the Flashback thread be understood as a counterpublic? (3) How can the studied part of the Flashback thread be understood as part of a cancel culture? Theories: Active audience theory, counterpublics, cancel culture The empirical material: A specific Flashback thread with a selection of the first 96 posts. Methods: A combination of netnography, qualitative content analysis and reception analysis. Results: Primary themes identified in the thread are Culture and identity, Boycott and other consequences and Negative reactions and emotions. The majority of the Flashback posts are considered to be cynical readings of SAS advertising campaign. Sympathetic and skeptical readings were not as prominent. The reactions in the Flashback thread can be considered a counterpublic where a cancel culture takes place. Significance: Further understanding of an audience reaction and response to a specific advertising campaign in relation to counterpublics and cancel culture. Results on a current case.

This thesis attempts to contribute to the general recognition of the phenomenon known as active audience that is generated by technical possibilities of contemporary digitalized media world collectively known as the era of Web 2.0. In this respect, the thesis follows the specific aspects, which accompany the transition from traditional ways of communication and methods of spreading information in the new and constantly evolving world of cyberspace. The thesis is based on the current general principles and theories, which are applied and compared in a relevant form at the Fan community site Slavistickenoviny.cz. The thesis follows two main directions. The first one focuses on the Web site as a product of citizen journalism. It deals with a comparison of the efforts of its authors with professional media outcomes. It also observes the rules, that are taken from the media and on the contrary evaluates differences. At the same time, the thesis deals with professional media taking over the amateur content. The second main aim focuses on a virtual community formed around the web itself. With application of qualitative research and discourse analyses, the thesis focuses on the search of internal mechanisms and the principles of the virtual community functioning. It reveals its overt and covert manifestations and...

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本研究從「使用與滿足」理論，以警察廣播電臺為探討的對象，研究聽眾願意主動提供路況資訊的使用動機與滿足程度。 警察廣播電臺為公營廣播媒體，節目內容以治安交通等公共服務為主。警廣自1971年設立第一座交通專業電臺臺北臺，以電話接收聽眾提供路況；於1996年率先啟用智慧型電話系統，將全省免付費路況提供專線統一為0800000123，受理來自全省各地聽眾提供即時路況。近年來，路況報導為廣播閱聽眾收聽廣播的重要因素之一，且從幾次重大的意外災害發生後，警廣很快的從聽眾提供的資訊掌握災情，聽眾主動提供的資訊發揮了功能。 本研究以量化研究方式，採用問卷調查法。研究結果發現，聽眾願意主動提供路況的動機，分別為「分享參與」、「資訊守望」、「人際連絡」、「尋求解決困難的方法」以及「個人化需求」等五個構面。並且想知道即時的路況是聽眾收聽警廣最主要的動機。 關鍵詞：使用與滿足、主動的閱聽人、廣播、路況報導 / Radio Listener’s Media Use and Gratification－ Example of the Police Broadcasting Service Abstract This study employs 「uses and gratifications」theory to investigate motivations for actively providing road condition information and resulting gratification among listeners of Police Broadcasting Service. Police Broadcasting Service is a public radio station with program content chiefly comprising public service matters connected with law and order and transportation. Since it established Taiwan's first specialized traffic station—Taipei Station—in 1971, Police Broadcasting Service has received telephone reports of road conditions from listeners. The station launched the 0800000123 smart phone system—Taiwan's first—in 1996, to provide a Taiwan-wide toll-free road condition hotline to accept real-time road condition reports from listeners throughout Taiwan. In recent years, the station's road reports have become one of the most important factors causing the public to listen to the station. Furthermore, after several major accidents that occurred in the past, Police Broadcasting Service quickly gained a picture of the situation from information provided by listeners, showing that the voluntary provision of information by listeners is very effective. This study employed a quantitative research approach and used the questionnaire survey method. The study's findings indicated that listeners' motivations for actively providing road information included the five aspects of 「shared participation」, 「information watchman」, 「interpersonal contact」,「looking for means of solving problems」, and 「individual needs」. Furthermore, wishing to hear real-time road conditions constitutes listeners' chief motivation for listening to Police Broadcasting Service. Keywords: uses and gratifications、active audience、listeners、radio station、road condition report

Dating online applications have fundamentally changed the form of online dating. They are available on a mobile phone and are based on spatial proximity of users and ease of use. This diploma thesis focuses on users of these applications. This thesis is based on the assumptions of the uses and gratifications theory, which assumes that the media audience is active and uses the media to satisfy its needs. The aim of this thesis is to find out how individuals use the dating applications and what their reasons for using are. To collect data, I chose a combination of quantitative and qualitative approach. First, an on-line questionnaire survey was conducted, followed by semi- structured interviews with applications users. Research has shown that the reason for using and the attitude of users varies with each individual and can change during use. Keywords dating applications, Tinder, online dating, uses and gratifications theory, active audience, mixed methods research

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在昔日資訊缺乏的年代裡，政令宣導刊物曾經是民眾獲得有關政府訊息的 重要管道。但隨著時代的演進及傳播媒介的多樣化，閱聽眾獲得資訊的管 道及種類亦隨之增加。以往以消息來源為主、採單向傳播、未能確實了解 閱聽眾需求及掌握閱聽眾特性的政令宣導刊物，面對重視行銷策略的的各 型雜誌，因應之道即是找出目標閱聽眾，然後根據其需要重新加以設計訊 息內容，並形成獨特的風格。本研究以高雄市政府新聞處發行之「高雄畫 刊」主動索閱者為研究對象，以郵寄問卷的方式收集資料，然後以單因子 變異數分析、T 考驗、相關等統計方法，分析主動索閱者的人口變項、接 觸「高雄畫刊」行為、親身傳播行為及政治心理取向的不同是否對閱讀 「高雄畫刊」的動機與閱讀後的滿意程度有顯著差異。