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While varies of supply chains are working on moving products towardsthe end consumers, there is also an increasing amount of productsbeing sent back. This has meant an increasing importance of the returnmanagement process. As many businesses have realized that the returnprocess has little connection with their core value, the idea ofoutsourcing return management crossed the mind of many companies.Third-party logistics (3PL) provider have also sensed the opportunityand begun to explore the possibility of providing such services forcompanies in need.

This study examines the experiences of young adult women raised in non-resident father households in Tlokwe Local Municipality, North West. Focus groups and face-to-face interviews were conducted with 34 young women between the ages 18-25. Five important, nuanced themes emerged, these are: a) fathers who are physically present but emotionally absent, b) fathers who are physically present but uninvolved, c) fathers who are physically absent but involved, d) fathers who are physically present and involved and e) fathers who are absent and uninvolved. Non-resident fatherhood remains a challenge in the Tlokwe Municipality, most of the participants had never met their biological fathers. The study revealed the frustration young women feel towards their mothers and maternal grandparents for caring more about maintenance than they do about a healthy father-daughter relationship. The study further revealed a deep-seated need for close proximity and an involved type of fathering among the young women. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology)

Master Thesis "Criteria for selection of news from the European Parliament into the Czech media" deals with the factors that affect the classification of reports about events in the European Parliament in the Czech print and online journals as well as defining characteristics that are typical for these reports. In the theoretical part presents political and media communication and logic and goes to the main concepts of news production, such as agenda setting, framing and priming. This Thesis is also about media and intermedia agenda and presents the information already known concerning the relationship between the European Union and the media. Research is a part of practical section. It's aim is to map by content analysis the characteristics typical for reporting about the European Parliament as a specific institution of the European Union. Further aim is the verification of assumptions based on previously conducted research abroad focusing on the theme of the EU. Trying to better determine what characters show mass media content which is to the Czech public the main source of information about European structures by large extends. The Thesis also tries to answer the question often discussed the lack of presentation of the European agenda in news media agendas, the communities of the European Union...

This Master's thesis entitled "The Influence of Web Analytics on Journalism" examines the impact of web analytics on journalistic routines in the Czech Republic. The theoretical frame focuses on history of origin and development of czech online news media as well as the change of journalistic work in the environment of online media. An inseparable part of the theoretical section is also an introduction to the topic of editorial analytics. The theory of gatekeeping frames our research and helps us define specific research questions. Qualitative research was conducted using semi-structured in-depth interviews with ten journalists to answer the research questions. Results showed who is in charge of editorial analytics in newsrooms and how often are analytical tools used. Then the purpose of usage of editorial analytics was found and described in the interpretative part. In conclusion the results provided us with detailed information about the specific impact of analytics on journalistic routines including appearance of home pages, headlines and photos, selection of topics, links to other articles etc. The key findigs of this research were enriched by conclusions of similar foreign studies.

This master thesis explores the dynamics of information flows between the hacktivist group Guacamaya, media outlets and social media users. The study aims to understand the role of various social actors within the digital space such as media outlets, journalists, bots, and trolls, in shaping public opinion and the overall effectiveness of the group's communication activities. A netnographic methodology was employed to observe the journey and transformation of information as it travelled from the hacktivist group to journalists and eventually to social media users. Tweets were obtained purposefully, to build a media ecology with sentiments, topics and where different actors interact with the information and with each other, modifying and reinterpreting the purpose of Guacamaya. The theoretical framework draws on the concepts of technopolitics, hacktivism, information flows, the network society and gatekeeping. My findings show how the Internet is a contested territory where attention and power are disputed. They also provide evidence on the complexity of the communication process in the digital space as all interactions from all actors influence the information flow. The conclusions highlight the new media ecology environment and the multidisciplinary role of actors in the digital realm. Furthermore, they argue that hacktivism as counterpower involves more than technical skills for uncovering hidden information and demanding accountability, but also strategic reappropriation for reducing inequalities and promoting just and inclusive societies. Hopefully, this thesis contributes to understanding the potential of hacktivists groups to drive political and social change through the understanding of a new communication environment.

Past research shows that journalists are gatekeepers to information the public seeks. Using the gatekeeping and agenda-setting theory, this study used a content analysis of tweets from political journalists during the final 2016 presidential debate to examine social media usage in efforts to convey information to followers and whether social media has allowed for journalists to present a more transparent view of candidates to the public. This study used feminist political theory to further analyze whether the tweets from political journalists portrayed Hillary Clinton, the female candidate, with stereotypical “female” traits, such as more emotional and more trustworthy. Applying these theories, this study found that political journalists use social media for personal uses and when discussing politics are still gatekeepers of information. When the debates were discussed, the study demonstrates there was little discussion via tweets of gendered traits and issues in regards to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

This dissertation examines the impact of trauma on information-seeking behaviors and decision-making processes. Essay 1 includes a qualitative analysis of the transcripts obtained from interviews with four military service members diagnosed with PTSD. The results showed that 75% of this small sample population exhibited addictive behavior that was presented in their information behaviors. All four members indicated that the excessive extent to which they seek information is related to the perceived importance of the information and their level of trust in the sources. Low trust in information sources increases the number of sources searched for validation in this population. Essay 2 involved the collection and analysis of survey data. The results of the stepwise backward regression show that two trauma variables (adult sexual assault, sudden fear) have a significant combined negative effect on decision-making in this population. The analysis and results of a different survey are presented in Essay 3. The stepwise logistic regression analysis results conducted on the summated scales developed showed a strong positive link between trust in scientific experts for scientific information and the dichotomous dependent variable trust in social media for news. The research conducted in this dissertation extends the understanding of how trauma affects people's information-seeking habits and decision-making processes. The findings have implications for how to communicate, policies relevant to information dissemination, and mental health measures. Future research is suggested to understand these behaviors and potential treatments better.

Research has revealed that more Americans than ever are turning to the World Wide Web as their primary source for news and information instead of legacy media outlets such as printed newspapers and magazines and broadcast news. As more and more people rely on the Internet as a primary source for news, it is important to analyze the characteristics and content of online news to expose and correct problems associated with the practices that inform its production and presentation. There are several longstanding practices in the American journalistic tradition that have been adapted to the online news environment. The practices of market segmentation and gatekeeping are two such practices. To date, few studies have explored how internet news coverage differs when the same story is altered to address the perceived interests of specific target audiences. This goal of this study was to collect and examine the characteristics of news stories presented on the homepages of three news websites—the Huffington Post, Huffington Post Black Voices and News One—to arrive at conclusions about the similarities and differences in how news content is reported to a general audience and to an African-American audience. This exploratory study used both Web sphere analysis and qualitative analysis to examine the collected homepage news stories. It used the results of the analyses to explore the possible effects continued market segmentation and selective exposure online could have on discourse in the public sphere. The study found that the legacy media practice of market segmentation was evident when online news reporting on targeted and untargeted news website homepages was compared. The study also revealed that the traditional role of the Black Press in legacy media has been resurrected in new media and is evident on news websites produced by African-Americans, for an African-American audience. Additionally, a qualitative examination of online news coverage of President Barack Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address and the death of Trayvon Martin revealed that the targeted audience influences the editorial slant through which news websites report stories.

The diploma thesis " The transformation of the press releases into the media texts" deals with criteria according to what journalists make decisions, what press release should be included into the news and what should not. Since the present media studies perceive gatekeeping as a broader process of information control involving all aspects of message encoding, therefore not just a selection but also a compilation, a transmition, a formation and the timing of information transmition from a supplier to a recipient, the diploma thesis also pursues the transformation process of a press release into a media text itself. The diploma thesis is divided into a theoretical and a practical part. The theoretical part includes the gatekeeping process analysis, the pseudoevent problems analysis and news production routinization analysis. This chapter summarizes the knowledge to the topic from scholarly literature. The second and the principal part of the diploma thesis is the practical and application part. This part argues a personal and a creative approach to a chosen problem solution. The premediate defined hypothesis are being disproved or approved on the basis of a practical research. The background material for this diploma thesis are the press releases of three private companies (G-PROJECT, s.r.o., The Hlubocko -...