This thesis examines the use of media and journalistic practice for development. The study concentrates on Africa and argues that development strategies are dependent on a clear understanding of the contexts and constraints of a situation. It is argued that Africa's history and present political and socio-economic situations have contributed to the instability and poverty facing many of its nation states. It is also argued that continued dependency by African nations on richer Western nations is a problem originating from colonial imperialism and the failed dominant paradigm, recently reinvented as globalisation and global economic rationalisation. The work presents a view of communication for development which can only be achieved with an understanding of the relations between media, culture, dependency and the making of meaning.Solutions to Africa's problems may require Africans themselves undertaking development in a concept of their own 'voice' and self-representation. With this view, a model for how journalists, using media, should actively engage in development is suggested. Two case studies are presented : a study of communication dysfunction at Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya and a study of the concept of Edutainment by South Africa's Soul City's organisation. Further, selections of media programs are presented as part of the dissertation's proposed body of work. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The thesis begins by acknowledging the writer's status as a fan. The stimulus for the enquiry emerges from the discrepancy the writer encounters between his fan experience and the ways in which the academy conceptualises fandom. Such theories serve to position the fan at extremes of the field of reader response: as either a passive, cultural dupe or as a radical, textual freedom fighter. By contrast, this thesis aims to take the diversity of fan response into consideration, and situate its analysis in very real concepts of people's lives. In the first of three parts, a typology is developed that examines the contested and disputed nature of fandom. Reference points are drawn from academic writing, popular media and a focus group session with fans of diverse interests. The second part is devoted to fieldwork. Fan conversations, observations and reflections are combined to create six intimate pen-portraits that convey differing ideas of fandom. Topics covered include fans of Doctor Who, The Adventure Game, Sheffield Wednesday football club; the users of archive TV website The Mausoleum Club; attendees at a Kirsty MacColl get-together;Panopticon( a Doctor Who convention); Forbidden Planet (a collector's shop). The final part, `Fandom and Modem Life', draws together the ideas of the thesis to propose a series of maxims on how fandom operates that emphasise complexity, diversity, the significance of emotional attachment, and fandom's interrelation to capitalism (of it, but not about it). Fandom's role is considered in relation to notions of religiosity and sexuality. Fandom is defined ultimately as a form of social identity possible in contemporary western society. The thesis concludes by speculating on how fandom may evolve in the future.

This thesis focuses on the ways of depicting female beauty in ELLE magazine. In the theoretical part, the concept of beauty is defined and the development of the ideal of beauty and the influence of the media on people are described. The attitudes and research on beauty in the media are mentioned and primarily the emphasis is put on depiction of female beauty in the media. The reasons for women accepting the ideal of beauty presented by the media, the real nature of beauty in the media and the possible influence on women's self-esteem are dealt with, as well. The thesis also introduces the development of female magazines and their current role on the Czech market. At the end of the thesis, the campaigns aiming at unreal ideal of beauty in the media are critically evaluated. Mixed research method is used in the thesis; by means of the content analysis the photos of women (in advertisements as well as other pictures) are investigated with emphasis on their characteristics and in connection with the topic of the articles. The semiotic analysis examines the front pages and the message they convey. The aim of the analysis was to determine the most frequent depiction of women and to establish the proportion of articles dealing with appearance.

Since the wave of civil violence in the USA in the 1960s, many social theorists have tried to explain why riots occur. Despite at least 50 years of research since then, there is still not enough insight to anticipate large events like the 2011 Arab Spring and London riots. The main goal of this thesis is therefore to improve understanding about how underlying conditions influence and drive riot dynamics, such as the intensity, spread, and duration. I develop a new mechanistic and stochastic agent-based model for riots. Previous models have either only targeted general phenomena associated with riots, or aimed at behaviour specific to a single event. In this thesis I combine both approaches: I demonstrate how the model in which the motivation of the agents is based on general concepts, can be applied to the specific situation of the 2011 London riots. The model reproduces the majority of the behaviour observed in the London riots (r = 0.4-0.8). One of the key factors under investigation is the relationship between protests and outbursts of civil violence. Riots are often preceded by protests, such that a large pool of potential rioters is directly available. I find that the number of times a protest is repeated has greater influence on riot dynamics than the protest crowd size. The support shown during demonstrations might incite false confidence in individuals, potentially leading to quicker escalation. Another question is how contact networks and collective identity influence the spread of violence between different locations. The role of online social media (e.g. Twitter) has been a major focus in trying to explain why the violence in the 2011 Arab spring spread so quickly and so far. I investigate the role of social similarity as another factor that might have contributed to the diffusion of unrest, and demonstrate the existence of a critical transition in riot activity when increasing the density of the contact network in the model. Such increases in density beyond the critical thresholds might have been introduced by online social networks. Finally, I explore the sensitivity to cooperation of different potential riot groups. In some cases, mixed populations with different collective identities can form coalitions within neighbourhoods based on shared grievances, which could lead to increases in riot size and riot probability. I examine the influence of the social structure and spread of these populations over different neighbourhoods, as well as the overlap in grievances and different demographic structures.

This thesis deals with the negative influence of media on children, youth and their free time. The paper is divided into theoretical and practical parts. The theoretical part treats mass media and how children and youth spend their free time. The basic characteristics of media, their functions, relationship to society and different negative impacts on individuals are described. The practical part is composed of a research investigation that was carried out at two primary schools, including 125 pupils. This survey tries to find out the relationship of pupils to media and get some information about the activities in their free time. All results of this research are graphically depicted and evaluated.

Abstract Media and their content have been subject to research since the time of their origin. A lot of scientists deal with their influence on formation of a human and the society. The term media is being discussed very frequently nowadays. Sociologists, psychologists, politicians as well as journalists often write and speak about media in various contexts. Mass media play a unique and irreplaceable role in providing social coherence in the modern society; they support power allocation and social communication. Evaluation of mass media roles differ according to what these roles bring to individuals and to the society, because what we can evaluate from one view as desirable may be seen undesirable from another view. Mass media serve to maintenance and stability of democratic society and they support the existing power allocation. Most of everyday communication is interpersonal or in a group, which means that it is tightly fixed in the situational and cultural context. Our existence in the society is not only determined geographically, but mainly in the sense of cultural behaviour patterns and conventions and certain social relations. The aim of my thesis was: ``To analyze the influence of media and the Internet on formation of healthy lifestyle among secondary and tertiary students and to analyze all differences between secondary and tertiary students.{\crqq} The aim of the thesis has been met. Hypothesis 1: Media have stronger influence on secondary students than on tertiary students has not been confirmed. Hypothesis 2: Media have stronger influence on weight reduction in women at secondary schools than those at tertiary schools has been confirmed. Hypothesis 3: Secondary students read lifestyle magazines more than tertiary students has not been confirmed.

The diploma thesis deals with intermedia relations and agenda-setting in the case of the purchase of one-crown bonds of the company Agrofert by its owner Andrej Babiš. The news story took place in the first half of 2017 and its research was ended on the date of filing of a motion to remove Andrej Babiš from the position of Minister of Finance in the then government of Bohuslav Sobotka. The subject of quantitative analysis of media content is the determination of the influence in intermedia relations, the development of the story coverage over time and the degree of use of links to social networks in news articles. The case study then uses the grounded theory method to identify the variables that represented the media inputs, political context, and political outputs that occurred during the development of the story, and also to look for relationships between the phenomena observed. The work is based on the theory of agenda-setting and a model of contingency of the mass media's political agenda-setting power. The thesis is divided into four parts. The first chapter contains a summary of theoretical concepts and results of empirical studies related to the media agenda building and agenda- setting and the relationship between the media and political agenda. The second chapter focuses on the research...

The Thesis "Media and their impact on delinquent behaviour of children and youth" studies possible effects of media on children and youth who have committed an offence. The influence of media on modern societies is substantial and still increasing, which is why its affect on a human is being more and more discussed. The influence of media on children and youth seems to be particularly important. High degree of influence by external factors, including that of media belongs to the basic factors of delinquent behaviour among children and youth. This is why the Thesis tries to link these two specific areas laying in the focus of professionals as well as general public. The theoretical part first deals with the basic terms related to the influence of media on delinquent behaviour among children and youth. It also describes development and functions of media, the basic attributes of media content and media influence. There is also an insight into the legislation and authorities dealing with media activity as well as the media educational conception. The author then analyses delinquency of children and youth including the activities of a custodian. The aim of the work was to gain more detailed information on the possible impact of media on delinquent behaviour of children and youth, which is why qualitative research was chosen. Questioning methods implemented by the technique of semi-standardized interviews was used for data collection in May and June 2010. The research sample consisted of two groups of respondents. The first group consisted of seven children and young people registered by a social office and the other one of five professionals working with young people who committed offences. A case report supporting the issues in question was moreover prepared from documents conducted by a custodian. The qualitative research showed that the direct influence of media on delinquent behaviour of youth seems to be questionable, but the image shown in media might support delinquent behaviour in persons with higher risk of such behaviour. The Thesis should particularly contribute to accessibility or also extension of the information on the possible influence of media on individuals or the society as a whole in relation to young people who have committed an offence. The research results may also serve as a base for further wider research.

The thesis "The Influence of Media on Body Image with Emphasis on the Issue of Eating Disorders" deals with the impact of media on body perception regarding the current beauty ideal, the cult of slenderness as well as the causes of eating disorder spreading in today's world. This thesis aims to determine how media influences body image of the current society and what part it has in the origin of eating disorders. In terms of this aim, the thesis is divided into theoretical background, a part about body image, followed by the part about beauty ideal, then eating disorders and research. The theoretical part discusses the theory of social and media reality, expected media impacts on people as well as selected theories concerning the media impact on body image. The next part deals with the term body image. The third part involves discussion about the ideal of beauty and introduces three current theories about direct impact of media on body image. It also shows some examples from today's media concerning the topic. The fourth part deals with the eating disorders and their media discourse, followed by few examples of their spreading trend and also campaigns against them. The quantitative analysis aims to find out about today's population body image, the importance of appearance and connection between media...

This graduation thesis, entitled "Results of libel in press in the relation to the relevant moral rights especially in the area of private law in the Czech Republic" examines press interference into relevant moral rights. The first chapter describes the historical foundations of personal rights protection, as well as their international and European connections. The second chapter discusses the power of media, and the means used for its maintenance and strengthening. In the third chapter, an outline of motivations for publication of news press, which balance between righteousness and libel. In the fourth chapter, an assessment of the clash between freedom of speech and protection of privacy, which are categories guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The content of the fifth chapter is fundamental because it provides a thorough analysis of the law which governs personal rights, with a focus on the civil code, press law and procedural rules. The sixth chapter brings sight of rules established by autoregulation. It deals with self- censorship, the journalist's code of ethics, self-controlling authorities and so on. In the seventh chapter, the author examines the motivation behind submitting an accusation for the breach of personal rights. The motivation can be a real and legitimate defence...