Class of 2012 Abstract / Specific Aims: To assess the accuracy of the presenting signs and symptoms, diagnostic procedures, and treatments presented in the last twelve episodes of season five of the popular medical drama, House, MD. Methods: A descriptive retrospective evaluation of the accuracy and inaccuracies of episodes 13 to 24 in season five of the television series House, MD. The accuracy of the presenting signs and symptoms, diagnostic procedures, and treatment in each episode was rated on a scale of one to four. A rating of one described a correct and usual representation. A rating of two described a correct but somewhat unusual representation. A rating of three described a correct but extremely unusual representation. A rating of four described an incorrect representation. Each researcher independently rated the episodes, and then a collaborative rating was agreed upon by both researchers. Main Results: Results of the ANOVA test demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the three dependent variables (p=0.002). The Tukey HSD post-hoc test confirmed a significant difference between the accuracy of treatment when compared with signs and symptoms (p=0.012), and with diagnostic procedures (p=0.002). The average rating for the treatment variable was 1.58 (0.9), whereas the average ratings for the signs and symptoms and diagnosis variables were 2.75 ( 0.754), and 3 (1.128), respectively. Conclusions: The treatments presented in the last twelve episode of season five of House, MD were more accurate than both the presenting signs and symptoms and the diagnosis.

The internet and social media have had a significant impact on recipients’ media consumption. As the converging media environment recipients face today offers not only more media products but also new practices of using certain media products, this study focuses on how the social micro-blogging service Twitter impacts the watching of television series. The presented study aims at explaining a new form of media reception by employing a multi-method approach. A content analysis case study of tweets about the US-American series “Homeland” and the German series “Tatort” will give insight into the Twitter content on two different series. Further, qualitative semi-standardized interviews and a survey will shed light on the situational aspects and motivational factors to use Twitter while watching television series. The uses and gratification theory is used as a backdrop to study the motivations to use Twitter while watching television series. The results of the content analysis on the two series indicate that there is a strong focus on the series itself within the tweets. Nevertheless, both series provide somewhat differing Twitter content. While tweets on “Tatort” are more critical and realistic towards the series, tweets about “Homeland” are more likely to be referential. The situation of tweeting while watching television series seems to be characterized by the usage of a second screen. The major motivational factors identified in this study are socializing at a distance and exchanging social information. All in all this study presents a fascinating new form of media reception and furthermore offers description and explanation of its application. Additionally it provides suggestions as to how to approach such a fast-changing, new media environment.

Film tourism is a widely growing phenomenon with various benefits the filmed location can take advantage of. This study examines the impacts of a Turkish television series named Kavak Yelleri on its screened location, a Turkish Aegean Seaside town named Seferihisar. Besides the impacts of the series, the relationship between the screened location and the film crew is studied. This case includes a further particular feature; the screened location in Kavak Yelleri is named after another existing town, Urla, in the storyline, while it is actually filmed in Seferihisar. A qualitative case study approach has been implemented in order to scrutinize the subject. The empirical data was conducted through interviews with the municipality of Seferihisar and its local people, local people of Urla, and an interview with a member from the film crew of Kavak Yelleri. a) It becomes evident that the television series has positive social and economical impacts on Seferihisar. The power of media and the presence of the film crew are the main contributors. b) The discrepancy of location name between reality and storyline has affected the path of the film tourists. c) A well handled relationship between the screened location and film crew can have valuable implications for tourism.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation investigates the medical drama series as a television phenomenon which foregrounds the body as central narrative device. By considering House M.D. and Jozi H as global and local manifestations of this genre, transnational, spatial and metafictional categorisations of the body are traced to reveal its nature as social spectacle, and meaningbearing corporeal text. The body and its concomitant identities are exposed as continually and continuously screened inside, outside and, moreover, in relation to the hospital. As an institutional space, the hospital is (re)positioned in national and transnational discourses as nexus for personal and public, individual and societal, as well as local and global truths about the body (politic). Michel Foucault’s understanding of the human body, its position as part of the larger body politic, and its control by the state is employed to foreground the bio-political classification of the (ab)normal body. Both the hospital, as space for healing, controlling and containing the body, as well as the body, as a corporeal and a psychic space itself, are signified as heterotopic spaces: part of, but also outside other places and bodies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie verhandeling ondersoek die mediese dramareeks as televisie-fenomeen wat die liggaam as sentrale narratiewe middel aanwend. Deur House M.D. en Jozi H as globale en plaaslike uitbeeldings van hierdie genre in oënskou te neem, word transnasionale, ruimtelike en metafiksionele kategoriserings van die liggaam nagespoor om die aard daarvan as sosiale verskynsel en betekenisdraende liggaamlike teks te onthul. Die liggaam en sy verwante identiteite word aaneenlopend en aanhoudend beskou binne, buite en, verder, in verhouding tot die hospitaal. Die hospitaal as institisionele ruimte word (her)posisioneer in nasionale en transnasionale diskoerse as skakel tussen persoonlike en openbare, individuele en sosiale, asook plaaslike- en globale waarhede oor die (staats)liggaam. Michel Foucault se beskouing van die liggaam en die groter staatsliggaam, asook die staat se beheer daaroor beklemtoon die bio-politiese klassifisering van die (ab)normale liggaam. Sowel hospitaal, as helingsruimte, ruimte van beheer en inperkende ruimte, as die liggaam, as ’n materiële en ’n psigiese ruimte, word voorgestel as heterotopias: deel van, maar ook verwyder van, ander ruimtes, plekke en liggame.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

This work is dedicated to exploring television series Okres na severu written by Jaroslav Dietl and directed by Evžen Sokolovský. The series was filmed in 1980 in the Czechoslovak television and falls into the normalization period (1968-1989) in Czechoslovakia. The aim of this study was to conduct a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of series Okres na severu, with special emphasis on the political power of Communism (Marxist-Leninist ideology) and its use of propaganda through the mass media (television). The text analyzed the discourse of the concept of a propaganda series and tried to answer the question of to what extent and whether the strip Okres na severu is a part of the propaganda. The main concept of this text was a discourse that we can define as a set of codes and rules used in producing the meanings related to any topic. Fairclough concept of critical discourse was chosen for its clear division of the so-called three-dimensional discourse (the text, discursive practice and social practice), which focuses on the interconnection of all three relationships (communication events) and the rules of discourse to explore the relationship to society and social conditions. We address the exploration of the concept of normalization, which is used for the second half (1968-1989) of the existence of the...

The diploma thesis deals with the image and reflection of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq in the American television series. It looks at how and if the American television series reflect the wars, in which the United States of America participate. It analyzes the role of television series in the life of the individual and examines their potential impact on society. It pays attention to the TV series as a means of propaganda and summarizes the development of war entertainment production. The diploma thesis documents various genres of television series, in which the war in Afghanistan or in Iraq is reflected. Master thesis on the basis of observations of different genres evaluates how the war is seen. Among the genres include war series or crime and medical drama. It notes which war is devoted more attention or which war is seen more critical. Diploma thesis watch in episodes the presentation of the war, the location of the storyline and the main protagonist, it is also interested in military terminology and displaying military equipment. It also compares fictional stories or motives to the events that really happened in these wars. The conclusion summarizes the most common themes and elements of war, puts them in context and compares with reality.

This diploma thesis primarily deals with the reviews of Czechoslovak television series in the weekly print Tvorba, central press organ of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in the normalisation period of 70's and 80's. In the second place, it also deals with other relevant articles that are somehow related to the television series issues in general. Additionally, it pays attention to formal aspects of the reviews studied in the thesis (language specifics, form, space and development of the television reviews section etc.) The thesis is divided into two main parts: theoretical and analytical. The theoretical part brings information about the cultural-political weekly print Tvorba, it outlines social and historical context of the period traditionally called normalisation and last but not least gives theoretical background about the phenomenon of Czechoslovak television series. The analytical part works directly with the reviews found and also other relevant articles from Tvorba. On the basis of these particular reviews and articles, the main aim is to describe ideas and opinions of cultural editors and reviewers on the form, art rendering and role of television series as a specific genre of television production and, at the same time, to bring an overview of what aspects were on the reviewed series...

Dans les années 2000, les séries télévisées rencontrent un engouement sans précédent. Ce qui ne constituait qu’une « sous-culture » pour quelques passionnés, devient un genre de plus en plus légitime. Ce succès, attribué par les journalistes au renouveau créatif des séries américaines, est largement alimenté par la programmation des chaînes françaises. La télévision n’est cependant plus leur seul diffuseur : DVD, streaming et échange de fichiers sur Internet ont largement pris le relais. Ces médias participent désormais à la configuration des séries, incitent à de nouvelles stratégies et invitent les spectateurs à des usages diversifiés.Les chercheurs montrent eux aussi un intérêt croissant pour les séries, les considèrent comme un terrain propice à l’étude des représentations sociales (sociologie), des « objets narratifs » (narratologique) ou encore des « programmes télévisés » (sémio-pragmatique).Alors, qu’est-ce qu’une série ? Dans le but de répondre à cette question, nous avons adopté une conception élargie des séries comme objets culturels médiatiques, configurés par l’ensemble complexe des médiations socio-techniques qui leur donnent forme. C’est alors par l’étude compréhensive du point de vue et des pratiques des acteurs de leur communication (professionnels, médias, spectateurs) que nous entendons appréhender les séries et la manière dont se construit leur culture. A la croisée de différentes méthodes (analyse de discours, entretiens compréhensifs, portraits), se dessinent les contours des séries au regard de leurs médiations, se laisse découvrir la complexité de l’objet et entrevoir la nécessité d’une réflexion sur les méthodes à engager dans leur analyse. / During the 2000s, television series met with an unprecedented public infatuation. What had previously constituted but a small "subculture" was rising to become a legitimate genre in its own right. This success, that journalists attribute to a creative renewal in American series, is largely fed by French television network programming. Television, however, is no longer the sole broadcaster : DVD and streaming and sharing online are now heavily present. Henceforth, these media will now participate in the configuration of series, incite new strategies and invite audiences to diversify their usages.Researchers themselves show an increasing interest in series, considering them a rich field for the study of social representations (sociology), "narrative objects" (narratology) or also "televised programs" (semio-pragmatics).So, what is a series ? In order to answer this question we have adopted a broad conception, regarding them as being objects of media culture configured by a complex ensemble of socio-technical mediations which give them form. To understand series how they construct their culture, we implement a comprehensive study of the practices and points of view of their communication actors (professionals, media and audiences). Through the use of different methods (discourse analysis, comprehensive interviews, portraits and transversal analysis) we outline series, with regard to their mediations, allowing us to discover the complexity of the object and the necessity of reflection upon the methods to employ in their analysis.

Este estudo aborda o enlace que se dá entre os sujeitos da adolescência e as novas séries audiovisuais. Os questionamentos levantados acerca da temática partiram da escuta realizada a jovens estudantes que buscaram atendimento psicológico em um setor de Assistência Estudantil de um Instituto Federal de Educação. E a pesquisa que aqui se configura apoia-se na aposta de que o estudo dessas produções culturais possa permitir saber um pouco mais sobre os sujeitos que as acessam. Para delimitação do objeto de pesquisa, optou-se por apenas uma dessas séries: Breaking Bad. Esta chamou a atenção pelo apelo que exerce junto ao público, bem como por trazer uma trama que remete a certo mal-estar, incomum às séries habitualmente acessadas pelos adolescentes até pouco tempo. Devido a isso, além do trabalho com o conceito de Adolescência (entendida aqui, de acordo com os pressupostos da teoria psicanalítica, como operação psíquica, um período de recapitulação, um só-depois do estádio do espelho), realiza-se também a articulação teórica com o conceito freudiano de Mal-estar na Cultura. Ainda, como referencial metodológico para análise da obra, utilizam-se os estudos que estabelecem diálogos entre Psicanálise e Cinema, concebendo o Cinema como linguagem e tomando a obra enquanto texto fílmico. Com isso, embora realizem-se algumas articulações acerca da narrativa, é priorizada a análise das operações por meio das quais signos fílmicos remetem uns aos outros, suscitando efeitos de sentido. Para tal análise utilizou-se de fragmentos do Episódio-piloto de Breaking Bad e suas possíveis associações a outras cenas de outros episódios. E, por fim, trata-se de elementos fílmicos que se destacaram durante a série e de como eles possibilitam tecer reflexões acerca do mal-estar na cultura e do sujeito da adolescência contemporânea. Destas reflexões, destacam-se as dimensões espacial e temporal, que são exploradas em profusão por meio de recursos formais presentes na obra e permitem pontos de diálogo diversos com a temática da adolescência. Observa-se ainda, que conforme a abordagem dada a algumas cenas, estes aparecem de forma propícia a evocar a questão do mal-estar (aqui entendido como topológico, marca de um lugar, de algo da ordem espacial), que já está amplamente presente em aspectos narrativos da série. Assim, trazemos uma discussão que revela alguns entrelaçamentos entre as Novas Séries Televisivas, Mal-Estar na Cultura e Adolescência. / This study addresses the link between adolescents and new audiovisual series. The questions raised about the theme came from listening to young students who sought psychological care in a student assistance sector of a Federal Institute of Education. This research is based on the bet that the study of these cultural productions may allow us to know a little more about these young people that access them. To delimit the research object, only one of these series was chosen: Breaking Bad. It drew attention because of its appeal to the public, as well as for its plot that points to a certain malaise, unusual for the series usually accessed by adolescents until recently. Due to this, alongside working with the concept of Adolescence (understood here, according to the presuppositions of psychoanalytic theory, as a psychic operation, a period of recapitulation, an afterwards the mirror stage), there is a theoretical articulation with the Freudian concept of Malaise in culture. Also, as a methodological reference for the analysis of the work, we use studies that establish dialogues between Psychoanalysis and Cinema, conceiving Cinema as language and taking the cinematographic work as filmic text. Thus, although some articulations about the narrative are made, we prioritized the analysis of the operations through which filmic signs refer to each other, provoking effects of meaning. For this analysis fragments of the Pilot Episode of Breaking Bad were used in its possible associations to other scenes from other episodes. Finally, this analysis looks at film elements that stood out during the series and how they make it possible to think about the malaise in the culture and the subject of the contemporary adolescence. Those reflections highlight the spatial and temporal dimensions, which are profusely explored through formal resources present in the work and allow various points of dialogue with the theme of adolescence. It is also observed that, according to the approach given to some scenes, these appear to be able to evoke the issue of malaise (here understood as topological, mark of a place, something of the spatial order), which is already widely present in narrative aspects of the series. Thus, we bring a discussion that reveals some interweaving between Breaking Bad, Malaise in Culture and Adolescence.