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Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / William J. Adams / The study found, based on a focus group with professionals and secondary research conducted in 2007, that public relations (PR) graduates are not prepared for the job market and that nothing has changed in 15 years to improve this situation. Why? Because there has been no feedback from the professionals, PR students who are hired in PR positions, and PR Students who are not hired in PR positions, to the educators and universities on what is working and what is not working for PR graduates to obtain a position in the PR field. Basically, there is no follow-up after students graduate. This study did preliminary research and developed a survey of PR professionals, PR students and educators so that they can provide feedback. This study made recommendations based on the main points from the focus group, which centered on educational programs, PR students' curriculum, the importance of developing good writing skills, taking business courses, taking several PR internships, being involved in extracurricular activities, and the importance of learning how to prepare a resume. In turn, the follow up survey should help provide security for the PR industry to keep PR alive, by increasing the number of graduates due to their success as a PR professional based on their education.

M.Ed. (Education Management) / Research has undoubtedly shown that negative perceptions exist among a broad spectrum of the population concerning the provision of meaningful education by the Department of Education and Training (DET). This is largely due to boycott actions on the part of teachers and students/pupils as well as vandalism of school property and disruption of schools which started in 1976 and reached a climax in the mid eighties. It is imperative that this view of the so-called "gutter education" which the DET provides, be rectified. The Directorate of Liaison Services of the DET is directly responsible for the establishment of a positive image and therefore should be responsible for resolving issues which pertain to this negative image of the DET. The purpose of this study is to investigate the management skills of the Directorate Liaison Services of the DET in order to devise a structurally justified system of management for the optimal use and development of the existing human and financial resources of the Directorate. Through sound management profound images of one of the largest Departments of Education in the RSA can be established. This should ultimately encourage students to adopt a more positive view towards education and establish a pedagogic climate in schools. Although it might not be apparent (at present) what the long term effect of educated youths will be, serving as a catalyst for political, social and economic stability in the RSA, every possible means should be investigated to equip the youth for the challenges of the future. From the study it is clear that: * Liaison Services of the play in the establishment the broad public of the provides. DET has an important role to of positive perceptions among type of education which it provides. * A great variety of media are at the disposal of the DET to convey a more acceptable image. * I Liaison Services of the DET should have as its first priority the abolition of negative perceptions and the establishment of positive ones. * The DET receives the largest portion of the annual educational budget and is thus in a favourable position to provide more educational resources to pupils under its jursidiction. * All the necessary structures for effective management have already been established within the Directorate : Liaison Services in the DET. These structures have merely to be streamlined and used optimally in formulating the correct messages for the public which indicate the DET's positive commitment towards education. * Strategies for the advancement of communication skills have been suggested. It is evident that an approach concentrating on continuous contact and feedback with the emphasis on pro-active rather than reactive action is essential for effective communication.

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This study explored the guidelines advocated by selected media content analysis with the aim of identifying effective approaches to evaluate audience responses to promotional messages. Drawing from literature and documented deliberations by industry professionals, content-specific analysis protocols were applied and tested using a case study representing topic-specific responses to the Two Oceans Quay 5 product launch. In doing so, a logical observation of the communication in unpaid media placements and relevant discussions distributed in public media channels was completed. It is in this sense that this research enriches the study of public relations with a particular focus on output-driven evaluation. It provides insights into qualitative and quantitative publicity measurement and suggests how these methods can be useful to explicate the impact of media coverage as a public relations element. While it largely focused on discovering improved media content analysis solutions, this study revealed that content-driven analysis can only be useful when its protocols are aligned with the context of the data and if communication practitioners remain aware and transparent of its subjectivity. In this regard, this study helps to generate an understanding of the subjective dynamic of public relations and the importance of in-depth and adaptable publicity assessments to help distinguish public relations as a purposeful branding function next to advertising and marketing.

This is the report of four social work students engaged in the process of developing a longitudinal study. The original concerns guiding the enquiry involved two general concepts: (I) non-utilization of agency services and (II) lack of awareness re such services. It was felt that a large risk population are not aware of the services available to them and thus they were unable to utilize community resources. The public relations program has also felt to be a factor which should be examined. In order to study this problem in an actual setting, the Family and Children's Service's Fernwood-GIadstone neighbourhood team was chosen as the vehicle for the research project. This study is an attempt to design a data collection instrument which will measure the level of awareness about a particular agency team and Its program in a specific community. The instrument developed was a questionnaire designed to elicit responses concerning: (I) what people know about a particular agency team and its program. (II) what people know about the general services of an agency. (III) what people think of the method of publicity used by the agency. The questionnaire was administered to a population selected through utilizing the multiple phase sampling of the random sampling techniques. The responses to the questionnaire are precoded to facilitate the use of the MVTAB computer program in the analysis of the data obtained. The material obtained from the pretest sample indicates that the instrument will obtain the desired Information. The highly tentative findings (due to the small sample size) suggest that the members of the community studied have a general knowledge about the Family and Children's Service agency but are not as aware of the agency team operating out of an office in their community. The respondents stated a general willingness to utilize the services of this team when needed. This suggests that advertising is important that methods utilized thus far have not been too successful. Based on the findings of the pretest it is recommended that the data collection instrument be refined and a full study be conducted. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / [co-authors, John Farr, Robert Leach, George Phillon] / Graduate

Toyota faced a massive international recall crisis in 2009 that threatened to destroy its image in relation to the quality and safety of its vehicles. The majority of Toyota’s recalls were issued in the United States, where Toyota was heavily scrutinized in media coverage. This exploratory study examines media and public relations content to examine how the media framed the crisis, and how Toyota framed image repair efforts during the crisis. It explores the foundations of image and communication, drawing upon William James and Jürgen Habermas, in addition to the theoretical underpinnings of impression management and framing analysis (e.g., Goffman, 1959; 1974), source selection (e.g. Hall et al., 1978), and image repair and crisis communication (e.g., Benoit, 1997; Coombs, 2007). Qualitative framing analysis is employed to code and analyze data sourced from three American newspapers, as well as Toyota U.S.A.’s press releases during the crisis period. The framing analysis revealed the fundamental role of customers and industry experts in defining a crisis when an organization’s credibility is diminished in the media, as well as the strong presence of culturally embedded themes in media framing. Toyota’s recovery was strongly linked to its actions to communicate transparently, remedy the situation, and demonstrate cultural sensitivity to its American customers. Drawing upon the findings, this study provides general recommendations for corporate crisis communication at the various stages of issue management, the crisis, and post-crisis.

M.Ed. / In this research project, attempts have been made to find ways and means to address the financial needs of Kathorus schools. The concept of financing schools through establishment of sound external relations has been discussed as one possible mechanism to give broad access to education opportunities. Such mechanisms will enable students to participate actively in their educational careers. Funding of schools through establishing of a sound external relation will not be successful if developed in a vacuum. Therefore, the process will require a new and intelligent approach to private sector with the development of new kinds of skills and knowledge. Reorientation courses for school principals should be pursued so that a paradigm shift can be achieyed in relation to a sound external relation aimed at financing of education. In conclusion, the following statements describe some of the principles discussed in this project document: • • Private sector should form an integral part of educational funding system . School governance should be 'in conjunction with the community (partnership) structures and stakeholders in the institutions, while conforming to the national policy framework.

M.A. (Communications) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The thesis is focused on the research of PR strategies of non-profit organizations in Slovakia. Thesis defines the area of PR and the non-profit sector separately and then connects and examines them. Research applied methods of questionnaire construction and in-depth interviews. Based on research results PR recommendations for non-profit organizations and recommendations for systemic changes within nonprofit sector in Slovakia are drawn up.