Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 343-374). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

The media, which help define what we think and our roles in the society, have a crucial role to project both men and women’s issues so as to change people’s perceptions and stereotypes about the role men and women play in the society. There is need, therefore, to ensure gender equality in the operations of the media so that issues to do with both men and women get adequate and equal coverage. This study on the reportage of the land redistribution exercise in Zimbabwe has, however, exposed the gendered nature of the operations of the media, particularly in the news production process. It provides that, overally, the news discourse is a masculine narrative whose androcentric form is a result of, and is protected by, claims to ‘objectivity,’ ‘professionalism’, ‘impartiality’ and the pursuit of a journalistic routine system that hegemonically prioritises men’s issues over those of women. The situation, as the research shows, has not been helped by journalists’ incapacity to do thematic appreciation of issues and their over-inclination towards a simplistic event-based journalism that fails to question policies as they are enacted and implemented in gender-skewed processes. The lack of gender policies, the operations of patriarchy and the pursuit of a journalistic routine system that sees nothing wrong with the ostracisation of women issues are very fundamental findings that the research uses in its attempts to explain why the gender equality discourse was left out of the news reports about the land reform exercise in Zimbabwe.

An increasing number of individuals are looking for health information, interacting with health care providers, and participating in health-related online support groups The virtual landscape of the internet offers the opportunity for individuals to establish contact and relationships with persons having similar health concerns anywhere, anytime The phenomenon of health-related social media use generated an interest in why persons in the transplant journey chose to participate in an online support community, how they interacted and made use of the online community, and how this knowledge could assist nursing in improving care for this growing population A six month sample of internet postings from an international transplant-related social media site was analyzed using an inductive qualitative content analysis adapted from Graneheim and Lundman (2003) within the theoretical lens of Unitary Caring Science (Smith, 1999) The study provided a unique perspective of how members used the social media support group The synthesis of four pandimensional interconnected patterns, expressing emotions, sharing experiences, exchanging information, and offering reciprocal support lead to a theme of being known and understood Healing transcendence emerged as a unitary transformative metatheme that reflected the holistic nature of the member interaction in the online support experience / Includes bibliography / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This project researches on the efficient use of social media for start-ups. Despite the fact that start-ups are considered to be an important part of the business world, social media strategies for start-ups is an area that has not been widely researched. Therefore, this project focuses on developing and presenting social media strategies and guidelines that can enable the businessgrowth of a start-up through networking. This thesis researches on the efficient use of social media for start-ups through the case studyof Sharplet, a start-up which operates in the e-learning industry. It should be noted that thedata are collected through qualitative interviews and benchmarking. The key findings of this research show that the efficient management of social media for startupsinvolves a strategizing procedure. Based on the analysis of the results of this research, asocial media strategy model is developed, consisting of four simple steps: researching,developing the strategy, realizing it, and evaluating the social media efforts. Since this model is simplified and it includes the most important steps of the strategizing procedure, it isconsidered to be appropriate and useful for start-ups that are willing to use social media,because it will enable them to be more effective on managing their social media accounts. Furthermore, this research provides some guidelines to start-ups. It is argued that start-upsshould use social media in order to network, and more specifically to build and maintainrelationships with various types of stakeholders that can enable the business growth. In termsof networking, the results suggest that Twitter is an appropriate social medium for start-ups tofocus their efforts on, because it is easy to connect with other users - while other social mediabuild on pre-existing relationships. In addition, according to the analysis of the resultsFacebook and LinkedIn could also be appropriate networking tools for start-ups. Moreover,the results suggest that start-ups can use social media tools that are available for free on theweb and that can enable the specific company to be more effective when managing their socialmedia accounts. Last but not least, the key findings of this research suggest that postingrelevant comments, engaging in discussions, and trying to build and maintain relationshipswith stakeholders that are important for the business development of the company are amongthe efficient social media practices for start-ups. In summary, based on the findings of this research a social media strategy model andguidelines for start-ups are proposed in order to enable start-ups to efficiently use social media. / Det här arbetet undersöker hur nystartade företag kan använda sociala medier på ett effektivtsätt. Trots att nystartade företag anses vara en viktig del av näringslivet så är sociala medierstrategier för nystartade företag ett relativt outforskat område. Det är därför detta projektfokuserar på att presentera sociala medier strategier och riktlinjer som kan hjälpa nystartadeföretag att skapa nya kontakter, expandera sina sociala nätverk och på detta sätt göraföretagstillväxt möjligt. Det här projektet använder fallstudie som forskingsmetod för att undersöka effektivaanvändningar av sociala medier för nystartade företag. Det bör noteras att Sharplet användtssom fallstudie och att Sharplet har med e-learning industrin att göra. Uppgifter samlats in ochanalyserats genom kvalitativa intervjuer och benchmarking/ prestandajämförelse. De viktigaste resultaten av denna forskning visar att en av de effektivaste användningen avsociala medier för nystartade företag innebär att formulera en strategi. Den socialamediestrategi modellen för nystartade företag som har utvecklats i denna projekt, är baseratpå resultatens analys. Modellen består av fyra enkla steg: forskning, strategiens formulering,att realisera den strategien, och att utvärdera den. Modellen har förenklats och den innehållerde viktigaste stegen i den strategiska processen. Eftersom modellen är simplicierad, så är detenkelt för nystartade företag att bli mer effektiva när de använder sociala medier. Det är därförmodellen anses vara passande och användbar för nystartade företag. Analysen av de viktigaste resultaten från denna forskning tyder på att nystartade företag skaanvända sociala medier för att utveckla och expandera deras nätverk, dvs att bygga ochuppehålla relationer med olika typer av intressenter som kan göra det möjligt för företagenstillväxt. När det gäller nätverk tyder resultaten på att nystartade företag ska fokusera på attanvända Twitter, eftersom på Twitter är det lätt att få kontakt med andra användare. Enligtanalysen av resultaten så kan Facebook och Linkedin också vara lämpliga verktyg förnystartade företag. När det gäller effektiva sociala mediemetoder för nystartade företag såtyder resultaten på att nystartade företag ska använda sociala medieverktyg som är passandeför det specifika företaget. Avslutningsvis, de viktigaste resultaten av denna forskning medavseende på de effektivaste metoderna tyder på att nystartade företag ska publicera intressantakommentarer, ska delta i diskussioner och ska försöka att bygga och underhålla relationer medintressenter som är viktiga för affärsutvecklingen. Sammanfattningsvis, en sociala mediestrategi modell och några riktlinjer för nystartadeföretag föreslås i denna uppsats, som kan göra det möjligt för nystartade företag att användasociala medier på ett effektivt sätt.

This thesis examines how the construction of news stories reveals relationships among groups of stakeholders and how their views unfold within environmental conflict coverage. This study uses a content analysis of 161 newspaper articles concerning the sea lion and salmon controversy at the Bonneville Dam, focusing on source use and blame and solution frames in environmental conflict coverage. This analysis of articles published between January 2003 and June 2010 in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, and Montana contributes to research concerning journalistic norms (i.e., balance and objectivity) and news production routines, specifically within the field of environmental reporting. The findings indicate governmental sources were most frequently quoted and presented the most successful solution frames; while advocacy/non-profit sources were quoted less frequently (in addition to tribal sources) and presented the most blame and failed solution frames. Additionally, this research reflects on the role of news filters, including journalistic norms and legal issues, and explores the relationship between blame frames and failed solution frames, which is perhaps a reflection of the role of spokespeople and media jargon.

This study examines the news media's construction of protests. Previous research has found that the news media demonizes and marginalizes protests. Protesters are framed in a highly negative fashion and primarily categorized as "violent." This study employed focus groups, agenda setting and framing theories to analyze this phenomenon. Previous research has been primarily quantitative in nature and thus qualitative research will provide a more in-depth understanding of this phenomenon. This study supports the findings of prior research but offers new insights. The implications of this study suggests that the news media can influence what people think about and how they think about it. Additionally, the news media frame protesters in a negative manner. Protesters are framed as violent and deviant. This negative framing both helps and hurts the protesters' cause. Lastly, this study found the news media to maintain the status quo in this society

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree Master of Arts (Media Studies) Department of Media Studies School of Literature, Language and Media Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand / This research project studies the consumption of ‘self-help’ media texts with respect to black South African audiences. The core objective of this project is to contribute to expanding debates on race, class, identity, and media consumption. Based on in-depth interviews with 10 avid self-help consumers, the paper develops an argument for the role of self-management in race and other social identities. The deployment of the qualitative methodology of a thematic discourse analysis of over seven hours of interview transcripts assists this paper in providing an account of where, when and how self-help media manifests in the lives of the chosen participants. The paper finds that participants are motivated to consume self-help media texts by a need to ‘know’ and ‘understand’ themselves and others in order for these participants to acquire what they express to be an atmosphere of inter-relational harmony. A growth of media texts forming part of a genre related to the practice of therapy in South Africa is owed to what I argue as a deep-rooted culture of ‘reconciliation’ and a preoccupation with emotions which stems from a particularly murky socio-political past still in a constant state of reparation (prevalent in discourses about reconciliation and forgiveness) in the democratic dispensation. As a key inspiration, the once-off yet pertinent process of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of South Africa has noticeably inspired a genre which supplies its audience with an array of self-help, therapy-inspired media texts thriving on the practice of public confession and testimony (key principles of the TRC). This has paved the way for a culture of ‘treatment’ and ‘remedy’ becoming what this paper refers to as a ‘public affair’. Active participants on these self-help, often therapeutic, media texts on mass media platforms regularly do so at the expense of exposing deeply personal issues to ‘experts’ entrusted to assist with ‘healing’ what are deemed to be problem areas in people’s lives. Referred to by some of the interviewees as ‘brave hearts’, these participants (‘public confessors’) hold a complex position in the minds of the interviewed individuals who, ironically, express admiration and respect to the individuals who publicly testify and confess as they are a valued reference of ‘learning’ but at the same time, an expression of disappointment and shame is bestowed upon these ‘public confessors’ for allowing their argued exploitation by the media. Amidst all this, it is apparent that consumption of self-help media texts have particularly intricate influences on the patterns of self-identity as constructed by the participants of this research project. / GR2017

Untersuchungen zeigen, dass Social-Media-Plattformen, wie Instagram, für die Bevölkerung immer wichtiger werden. Vor dem Hintergrund vielschichtiger Herausforderungen im Ernäh- rungssektor, welche sowohl die Gesellschaft als auch Einzelne betreffen, sollte die Ernäh- rungskommunikation innovativ mit dem Zeitenwandel gehen und Social-Media-Plattformen ak- tiv einbinden, um alle Bevölkerungsgruppen anzusprechen. Es existieren jedoch bislang keine empirischen Studien darüber, wie und durch wen Inhalte der Ernährungskommunikation, speziell auf Instagram, gestaltet sein sollten, um möglichst viele Nutzer:innen zu erreichen. Dieser Fragestellung wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit auf Basis erhobener Querschnittsdaten von Instagram-Nutzer:innen, welche im Rahmen einer quantita- tiven online-Befragung generiert werden, nachgegangen. Zentrale Ergebnisse sind, dass sowohl visuelle Gestaltungselemente als auch adäquate Kom- munikationsstrategien bei Instagram-Beiträgen, welche bestenfalls durch verifizierte Fachleute oder Institutionen hochgeladen werden, für eine weitreichende und glaubwürdige Ernährungs- kommunikation auf Instagram entscheidend sind. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass Instagram für die Ernährungskommunikation großes Potenzial bietet, dieses bislang aber noch zu wenig eingebunden wird. Ein insgesamt stär- keres Engagement von Akteur:innen aus dem Ernährungssektor, zusammen mit zielgruppen- spezifischen Kommunikationsstrategien, ist für die zukünftige Ernährungskommunikation auf Instagram erstrebenswert, um die Aufmerksamkeit vieler Nutzer:innen zu erlangen.

Title: How companies handle eCRM via social media depending on company size Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Din Jahic & Robin Issa Supervisor: Michelle Rydback Date: 2022 - May 25th Aim: The aim is to increase understanding of how companies handle e-customer relationship management (eCRM) via social media, and to investigate whether size affects companies' strategies. Method: In this essay, a qualitative research approach is applied where the empirical material is collected through a multiple-case study. This multiple case study consisted of six companies where half of them were counted as large companies and the other half as small companies. A total of six semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents in three different industries; the retail industry, the restaurant industry and the grocery industry. Results & Conclusions: The results of the study shows that the most used marketing strategies were "Social Content" and "Social Monitoring". The smaller companies mostly used "Social Content", as it was the most suitable option in terms of resource capacity. Furthermore, it is concluded that larger companies dominate "Social Monitoring". The final result shows that larger companies with more resources have a more systematic customer relationship management. Contributions of the thesis: This thesis has contributed to companies being able to obtain information regarding marketing strategies and customer relationship management via social media, as well as the implementation of concepts that are suitable for the company's size and resources. Suggestions for future research: A future area of research may be to carry out similar studies with other criterias. For example, only interviewing digital stores, as the approaches are different in comparison with physical stores. The interesting contribution would then be to investigate how digital stores proceed with marketing activities and customer relationship management, as opposed to physical stores. Key words: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) · electronic Customer Relationship Management (eCRM) · Social media · Social Media Marketing Strategy · Marketing Strategy

In recent years, there has been extended research on the Big Five and social media, especially Facebook. Snapchat, a fast-growing photo-sharing app, has however not been thoroughly researched yet. This paper aimed at closing this research gap and at investigating the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and Snapchat users and nonusers. Additionally, it researched the potential of the app to advertise new music published by music labels. The sample consisted of 124 self-selected Snapchat users and non-users (94 Snapchat users and 30 Snapchat non-users), between the ages of 18 and 55. Approximately 53% of the participants were from Sweden, 24% from Germany and the rest from other countries. Participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire comprising the Big Five Inventory and demographic questions. Snapchat users also completed a Snapchat usage questionnaire. Additionally, a short interview about Snapchat was held with a representative of a music label. The results showed that there are only minor differences between Snapchat users and non-users regarding the Big Five personality traits. However, male Snapchat users tend to be more open to new experiences. The usage of specific Snapchat features could be connected to more extraverted, neurotic and conscientious individuals. The overall interest for musicrelated content on Snapchat was rather low. Therefore, Snapchat can be used as a complementary marketing action to raise awareness, but cannot stand alone. / Under de senaste åren har det gjorts utökad forskning om Big Five och sociala medier, särskilt Facebook. Snapchat, en snabb växande bilddelning app, har dock inte undersökts noggrant. Detta examensarbete syftade till att undersöka det outforskade området kring förhållandet mellan Big Five personlighetsdrag och Snapchat-användare och icke- användare. Dessutom undersökte den möjligheten för skivbolag att annonsera ny musik i appen. Urvalet bestod av 124 självvalda Snapchat-användare och icke-användare (94 Snapchat-användare och 30 Snapchat-icke-användare), mellan 18 och 55 år. Ungefär 53% av deltagarna var från Sverige, 24% från Tyskland och resten från andra länder. Deltagarna blev ombedda att fylla i ett online frågeformulär som omfattade Big Five Inventory och demografiska frågor. Snapchat-användare slutförde också ett Snapchat-användningsformulär. Dessutom hölls en kort intervju om Snapchat med en representant från ett skivbolag. Resultaten visade att det endast finns mindre skillnader mellan Snapchatanvändare och icke-användare angående Big Five-personlighetsdragen. Manliga Snapchat-användare tenderar att vara mer öppna för nya upplevelser. Användningen av specifika Snapchat-funktioner kan kopplas till mer extravert, neurotiska och samvetsgranna individer. Det övergripande intresset för musikrelaterat innehåll på Snapchat var ganska lågt. Därför kan Snapchat användas som en kompletterande marknadsföringsåtgärd för att öka medvetenheten, men inte som enda marknadsföringsåtgärd.