Department: Telecommunications (Communication) ![[clear]](close-x.png "Remove this limiter")
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1.
Akindes, Gerard A.
Transnational Television and Football in Francophone Africa: The Path to Electronic Colonization?.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2010, Ohio University
► Since the late 1990s, political democratization and new broadcasting technologies have transformed…
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▼ Since the late 1990s, political democratization and new broadcasting technologies have transformed African countries’ mediascapes. In addition to new private local television, broadcasters of transnational television officially gained access to African audiences. As such, transnational football (soccer) broadcasting became increasingly accessible to African football fans. This study aims to understand and to explain how television broadcasting’s political and technological changes in the late 1990s induced electronic colonialism in Francophone Africa. This qualitative study was conducted in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina, and Cameroon. It constituted at first the goal to achieve an understanding of the intricacies of football television broadcasting by public, private, and transnational television broadcasters. The in-depth interviews, documents analysis, and field observations provided required data to analyze transnational television broadcasting in Francophone Africa within the theoretical framework of Thomas McPhail’s (2006) electronic colonialism. Several significant findings emerged from this study. The main players in football television broadcasting are public and transnational television broadcasters. The newly installed private television broadcasters remain too economically fragile to compete for broadcasting rights. The economics of broadcasting rights (along with the access to satellite technology) give to European transnational television broadcasters – and media and marketing groups – a competitive advantage over local public television broadcasters. Consequently, media flows from Europe (and the one produced by Africans) are controlled by European media and marketing groups. What contributes to the control of the media broadcasting by European media and marketing corporations are the cultural and linguistic connections facilitated by African players in various French and European leagues, and the inherent cultural discount of football. The study demonstrated how CanaSat Horizons and Canal France International (by supplying African audiences with French football programs and live games packaged with bartering) contribute to a French electronic colonialism of the Francophone Africa audience. The findings also reveal that the sponsoring of leagues and national teams by cellular corporations from the core and the semi-periphery in football introduced an additional player to the electronic colonialism through football in Francophone Africa. Although electronic colonialism cannot only be imputable to transnational football broadcasting, the findings of this research demonstrate that football broadcasting in Francophone Africa represents a pertinent case study of electronic colonialism.
Advisors/Committee Members: Howard, Steve.
Subjects: Mass media; Political science; Sociology
Keywords: Football (soccer); Francophone Africa; Electronic Colonialism; Media; Modern World System; African Football; Football Broadcasting
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2.
Benítez, José Luis.
Communication and Collective Identities in the Transnational Social Space: A Media Ethnography of the Salvadorean Immigrant Community in the Washington D.C Metropolitan Area.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2005, Ohio University
► This dissertation explores the crucial relationship between contemporary processes of international migration…
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▼ This dissertation explores the crucial relationship between contemporary processes of international migration and mediated communication processes and practices across the transnational social space, specifically in the case of the Salvadoran immigrant community in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In this dissertation, I aim to articulate the theoretical frameworks of transnational studies, diasporic media studies and structuration theory for understanding the local and transnational dynamics of production, circulation and appropriation of mediated texts and the configuration of collective identity representations through local and transnational Spanish-language media. Based on a media ethnography approach, which includes seventy in-depth interviews, one focus group and participant observation developed during twelve weeks of fieldwork, I analyze a sample of Salvadoran radio and television transnational programs, discuss some alternatives forms of communication and cultural expression, evaluate the diasporic uses of the Internet and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and the formation of new hybrid identities among Salvadoran immigrants articulated through the sociocultural mediations of soccer, religion, popular music and the construct of an ethnic market. I conclude that structuration theory provides important sensitizing devices for mass communication research, especially for analyzing the dynamic of agents and structures in the practices of communication and the levels of signification, domination and legitimation in the structuration of communicative processes in society. Likewise, I emphasize the role of transnational media programs as a central mechanism of deterritorialization and reterritorialization for sociocultural ethnic roots, collective identity representations and mediated reunifications of transmigrant families. Similarly, I propose that the development of the Spanish-language media in the United States and the increasing transnational networks among contemporary immigrant communities not only challenges the traditional conceptualization of cultural assimilation but also suggests ground-breaking possibilities for linking second and third generations with new ethnic and collective identity expressions. Finally, I outline a preliminary agenda for designing and implementing media and cultural policies in El Salvador, which can seriously take into consideration Salvadoran transmigrants’ communication and information needs. This Salvadoran diaspora is sustaining the national economy of El Salvador and deserves new sociocultural and political rights, and participation in the transnational public sphere of a democratic society.
Advisors/Committee Members: Riggs, Karen.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Communication and diaspora; Salvadoran immigrants; Communication and transnational space; Transnational social space; Structuration theory; Collective identities and media
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3.
Bosch, Tanja.
Radio, community and identity in South Africa: A rhizomatic study of Bush Radio in Cape Town.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2003, Ohio University
► This dissertation deals with community radio in South Africa, before and after…
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▼ This dissertation deals with community radio in South Africa, before and after democratic elections in 1994. Adopting a case study approach and drawing on ethnographic methodology, the dissertation outlines the history of Bush Radio, the oldest community radio project in Africa. To demonstrate how Bush Radio creates community, this dissertation focuses on several cases within Bush Radio. The use of hip-hop for social change is explored. Framed within theories of entertainment-education and behavior change, the dissertation explores specific programs on-air and outreach programs offered by the station. This dissertation also looks at kwaito music, a new hybrid musical form that emerged in South Africa post-apartheid. In particularly, the dissertation argues that Bush Radio uses kwaito music in the consolidation of a black identity in South Africa. Programs targeting children and youth are also discussed, and the dissertation argues that Bush Radio offers a space for the creation of a generation consciousness in the post-apartheid era. Finally, the dissertation looks at how Bush Radio creates and maintains a gay community through its program In the Pink. Rooted in cultural studies, this dissertation draws on the theory of rhizomatics espoused by Giles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, arguing for new, creative theorizations of alternative media. Furthermore, this dissertation uses Victor Turner’s communitas and Pierre Bourdieu’s habitus to deconstruct the community in community radio. In particular, I argue that Bush Radio is not so much an organization as it is an organism, held together by a complex set of interlinked structures, with the concept of “community” pulsating as its central life-force. A kind of “body without organs” (Haraway, 1989), Bush Radio has no real essence – it is both the embodiment of community radio at its best - and its antithesis. Bush Radio is not a “bush” radio, geographically or figuratively. It sports state of the art digital equipment and a relatively sophisticated organizational structure, yet it is still deeply connected to the various communities it serves.
Advisors/Committee Members: Nelson, Jenny.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Community Radio; Ethnography; Rhizomatic; Identity - South Africa; Media - South Africa; Kwaito
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4.
Bratić, Vladimir.
In Search of Peace Media: Examining the Role of Media in Peace Developments of the Post-Cold War Conflicts.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2005, Ohio University
► This study analyzes media projects designed to contribute to the development of…
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▼ This study analyzes media projects designed to contribute to the development of peace. Therefore, it examines post-Cold War mass communication projects developed in direct response to violent conflicts initiated by a party that is not involved in the conflict. The practical effort is named “peace media.” The review of the literature from the fields of media effects, propaganda research, peace studies and communication for development offers a broad spectrum of studies pointing towards a common conclusion: mass media/communication indeed have the potential to affect populations in a variety of ways. The rhizomatic approach by Deleuze and Guattari was used as the theoretical foundation to the methods employed in the study. As a result, in-depth interviewing, text analysis and a quantitative effects assessment were used as the methods of inquiry. In order to fully understand the rhizomatic foundation of peace media, this study examined three kinds of data: interview transcripts, texts describing peace media projects and the quantitative data of audience effects conducted by practitioners. Thirteen conflict sites in 18 countries generated a total of nearly forty peace media projects. The analysis begins with the description of the actors and practitioners responsible for peace media projects (who). It continues with an examination of media approaches to peace development (what), followed by a description of the beneficiaries of peace media (whom). The last two segments discuss the means of communication (channels) and examine the effects of peace media and the most effective utilization of such practices (effects). The study concludes that the impact of media is both substantial and limited. Because action or behavior is dependent on many outside variables and because these variables contribute to the end result as much as any form of communication initiative, only the true integration of media within peacebuilding strategies can insure a significant move toward a peaceful society. In order for this to happen, the following four components need to be integrated in the media plan for conflict transformation: journalism, entertainment, advertising and regulation. The final chapter of the dissertation presents a set of recommendations for the future practice.
Advisors/Committee Members: Mould, David.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Peace; Media; Conflict; Communication; War
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5.
Chen, Yachuan.
Episodic Perspectives of Wireless Network Dependability.
Degree: MS, Telecommunications (Communication), 2006, Ohio University
► Wireless networks have become critical telecommunication infrastructure as millions of people depend…
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▼ Wireless networks have become critical telecommunication infrastructure as millions of people depend on these networks for daily communication. Additionally, thousands of new customers are subscribing to wireless service every day. In order to obtain larger market share, wireless carriers are expanding their networks to accommodate more customers. As networks grow, carriers face tremendous challenges to not compromise network dependability. How the dependability of a wireless network might change as it expands over time becomes an important issue. The dependability we are discussing in this thesis includes network reliability, availability, maintainability and survivability. This thesis addresses the dependability of a wireless infrastructure capable of serving 100,000 to 1,000,000 customers. A discrete time-event driven simulation is used to investigate a network’s dependability as a function of network size, component Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) and component Mean Time to Restore (MTR). As the network expands in size, the number of concurrent outages can also be expected to grow. In order to assess this phenomenon, the notion of a disturbance called an “impact episode” is introduced in this thesis. Impact episodes are defined here to be either single or concurrent outages, resulting in new assessment parameters, namely, Mean Time To Episode (MTTE), Mean Time to Restore Network (MTRN), Quiescent Availability (AQ), Peak Customer Impacted (PCI), and Wireless Prime Lost Line Hours (WPLLH). The latter parameter uses a time based traffic profile, derived from empirical wireless traffic statistics, to assess unmet demand because of episodes. The purpose of this research is to understand the characteristics of concurrent network outages and how they provide perspectives on network dependability useful to network operators of large network infrastructures. Such understanding offers network operators valuable insights about predicting the frequency with which network episodes exceed severity thresholds and how often episodes consist of numerous nearly simultaneous outages occur.
Advisors/Committee Members: Andrew, Snow P.
Subjects: Engineering, System Science
Keywords: Impact Episode; Mean Time To Episode (MTTE); Mean Time to Repair Network (MTRN); Quiescent Availability (QA); Peak Customer Impacted (PCI); Wireless Prime Lost Line Hour (WPLLH); Wireless Infrastructure Block (WIB)
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6.
Chitnis, Ketan S.
Communication for Empowerment and Participatory Development: A Social Model of Health in Jamkhed, India.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2005, Ohio University
► This research sets out to understand how communication can facilitate participatory development…
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▼ This research sets out to understand how communication can facilitate participatory development to improve poor people’s lives using the Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) in Jamkhed, India as a case study. For three and a half decades, CRHP has been using a holistic development approach for enhancing people’s health and well-being. CRHP helps poor families improve health through promotion and diffusion of new information, and through different communication practices empowers communities. Thus, communication is used at two levels: to provide new information and to engage people in a dialogue that leads to positive community action. The research used theoretical constructs guiding participatory communication such as critical thinking and problematization as a means for empowerment (Freire, 1970, 1973), the role of the communicator as a facilitator in orchestrating social change (White, 1999) and the role of para-professional aides and change agents in fostering the diffusion of new information and ideas for social change (Rogers, 2003). Two-months of fieldwork, conducted in six villages in the Jamkhed region, used multiple ethnographic methods. The research concludes that communication processes using Freirean principles can contribute towards empowering poor people if conducted over a long period. Participatory communication and collective action can be successful if change agents act as facilitators and are sensitive to people’s needs. Furthermore, the research indicates that genuine participation is slow and social change is even slower. It also concludes that participatory development and empowerment are dialectical processes that rely on dissemination of expert knowledge and an open dialogue between experts and local people. CRHP shows that empowerment is possible if the project staff, change agents and community members are motivated and willing to continuously change and adapt to the environment, and also challenge oppressive social and political practices. The research concludes that communication practices are important in organizing people to come together and to seek social change, but larger political and structural changes are also necessary to complement individual and community-level actions.
Advisors/Committee Members: Mould, David H.
Keywords: Communication; Participation; Communication and Development; Empowerment; India; Primary health care
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7.
Dutton, Nathan T.
PARTICIPATORY QUITTING: QUITTING TEXTS AND WORLD OF WARCRAFT PLAYER CULTURE.
Degree: MA, Telecommunications (Communication), 2007, Ohio University
► In over a decade of scholarship on the subject scholars have focused…
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▼ In over a decade of scholarship on the subject scholars have focused on the creation and circulation of various kinds of fan-made texts as a central component of participatory culture. Scholars such as Henry Jenkins, T.L. Taylor, Nancy Baym, and Mia Consalvo have studied everything from fanfic, FILK, slash fiction, and fanzines to online forums, walkthroughs, machinima, and web comics – among many others – as evidence that media fans are both critical consumers and active producers of media content. In all of this work on participatory culture, however, quitting has so far been ignored. This project is a qualitative textual analysis of quitting in World of Warcraft player culture, specifically of the quitting texts that players create when they stop playing the game. My analysis reveals that quitting texts contain richness, depth, and diversity; they come in multiple forms, contain varied themes and practices, and are meaningful to the players that make and view them. As such, like other kinds of an/player made texts quitting texts are an important element of participatory culture, and are key to understanding both media fandom and the player culture that gave rise to them.
Advisors/Committee Members: Consalvo, Mia L.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: World of Warcraft; Quitting; MMOG; Participatory Culture; Online Games; Player Culture
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8.
Evusa, Juliet E.
Information Communication Technologies as Tools for Socio-economic and Political Development: The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) Huruma Community Telecenter as a Case Study.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2005, Ohio University
► While Africa is confronted with the urgency to provide its citizens with…
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▼ While Africa is confronted with the urgency to provide its citizens with the basic requirements of life, the rest of the world is heading towards a ‘globally-networked’ information economy. Many communication scholars believe that without access to information resources and telecommunication services, an understanding of its significance, and the ability to use it for social and economic growth, Africa is facing an unavoidable predicament. This dissertation presents a case study of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) Huruma Community Telecentre as an arena where governmental, non-governmental and other private organizations are collaborating to test the contribution that a Community Telecentre can make towards providing universal access to telephony and other telecommunications and information services to a disadvantaged community. While the theoretical starting point for this dissertation is grounded within communication and development theories, it employs Bijker, Hughes, and Trevor’s (1987) Social Construction of Technology concept of ‘interpretive flexibility.’ This constructivist approach offers the possibility of looking at the technological process and empowerment as a dynamic process where the ICT users are actively involved in its integration within their existing environment. The study reveals that, while a number of factors have acted as barriers to communication access to information technology, the biggest hindrances are the lack of sound telecommunication regulations and clear government policies as well as the absence of an environment conducive to ICT development due to an inadequate telecommunication infrastructure. This dissertation employs the case study as an overall strategy and also draws upon multiple data sources to develop a triangulation of methods ranging from in-depth interviewing, participant observation, historical and document analysis as well as analysis of telecommunication debates in local newspapers over the last 4 years. The study concludes that, although the telecommunication is beginning to show some impact due to the partial privatization of the sector, it is too early to assess the overall impact of new media technologies on Africa’s development. This calls for a more realistic approach that incorporates the need to harness the potential of ICTs for purposes of addressing locally relevant problems in innovative and cost-effective ways.
Advisors/Committee Members: Pecora, Norma.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Information Communication Technology; Sio-economics development; Kenya
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9.
Foo, Tee-Tuan.
Managing the Content of Malaysian Television Drama: Producers, Gatekeepers and the Barisan Nasional Government.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2004, Ohio University
► The purpose of this dissertation is to describe and analyze how drama…
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▼ The purpose of this dissertation is to describe and analyze how drama television content is managed in Malaysia. By looking at the production process of local drama television programming, this study examines the interactions among the three major players - the Barisan Nasional regime, the major television networks and independent producers - who are responsible for shaping its content. Three research methods are used for this study: in-depth interviewing, the informal conversational interview and documentary research. Between June 2001 and November 2002, 32 interviewees participated in this research. The research finds that the Malaysian drama television producer's ability to generate program content is constrained by the Barisan Nasional regime. Three observations are made to outline the power relationship between the government and the television industry. First, the government often encourages television producers to make drama programs with the theme of friendship and goodwill ( muhibah ) among different ethnic communities in order to nurture racial harmony. However, as the racial interactions portrayed on television fail to reflect the reality in Malaysian society, it makes the viewers even more racially conscious. The implied message of social polarization, however, is an advantage to the government, as it reminds viewers that without the regime's firm hand, Malaysia might slip into racial conflict. Second, as government officials can ignore established rules when it is convenient, and reinterpret existing rules in distorted ways to force producers to create the kind of content they desire, it renders useless the censorship guidelines issued by the Malaysian government. The guidelines, however, serve a different purpose. They are used to inform the public that the government is safeguarding the content of national television. Third, while some media producers might have been forced into compliance, many work for the government. The authority grants privileges to these producers; in return they ensure that the will of the regime is visualized on the small screen. In view of this, Malaysian television practitioners should not be seen merely as victims, they should also be understood as willing collaborators for the regime.
Advisors/Committee Members: McDaniel, Drew.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Television Drama; Censorship; Malaysia; Political Influence; Gate Keeper; Media Convention
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10.
Kaniganti, Madhuri Choudary.
FEASIBILITY OF NS-2 MODELS IN SIMULATING THE CUSTODY TRANSFER MECHANISM.
Degree: MS, Telecommunications (Communication), 2005, Ohio University
► The custody transfer mechanism is the main component of the Delay Tolerant…
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▼ The custody transfer mechanism is the main component of the Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) architecture, where the responsibility of the data transfer to the destination end node from the source node is handled by a custody node. This mechanism is proposed by DTN for the challenged networks with limited bandwidth, large propagation delays and high error rate. The custody-based data transfer mechanism proposed by DTN is modeled using ns-2 in this thesis. The simulation of the custody transfer mechanism is carried out in wired and IEEE 802.11 wireless network environments in ns-2 with TCP as the Transport mechanism. With the existing capability of ns-2, the environments are simulated with limited bandwidth and moderate delays. The end-to-end transfer mechanism with data transfer from the source node to the destination node is also modeled to compare the performance of the transfer mechanisms. The simulated transfer mechanisms in ns-2 show that the custody transfer mechanism works better than end-to-end transfer mechanism in some circumstances, and shows similar performance to end-to-end in other situations studied.
Advisors/Committee Members: Kruse, Hans.
Subjects: Information Science
Keywords: Custody Transfer Mechanism; Ns-2; TCP
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11.
Kennedy, Mary Catherine.
Facebook and Panopticism: Healthy Curiosity or Stalking?.
Degree: MA, Telecommunications (Communication), 2009, Ohio University
► This study deepens existing knowledge concerning social networking sites, with specific interest…
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▼ This study deepens existing knowledge concerning social networking sites, with specific interest in the social networking site Facebook and the phenomenon, “Facebook stalking”. By providing insights into lesser-known studies concerning user curiosity and surveillance online, the present research reveals that the terms ‘monitoring’ and ‘keeping up with’ or ‘keeping in touch with’ are most commonly used when referring to social searches within social networks; only when asked to think about surveillance in terms of stalking did interview participants refer to it as such.The present study aims to discover Facebook users’ perception of their friends’ disclosure while delving into the idea of “Facebook stalking”, specifically with regard to how users define it. Facebook’s evolution and prominence in the public sphere is dependent upon user satisfaction with and general understanding of the functionality of social networking websites. A discussion of these issues is beneficial to understanding how Facebook is used as a modern-day panopticon.
Advisors/Committee Members: Riggs, Karen.
Subjects: Communication; Mass media
Keywords: Facebook; panopticon; cyberstalking; Facebook stalking
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12.
Lee, Joon Seong.
Digital Spirituality and Governmentality: Contextualizing Cyber Memorial Zones in Korea.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2006, Ohio University
► This is an interdisciplinary study in which the fields of media studies,…
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▼ This is an interdisciplinary study in which the fields of media studies, religion, and political economy are integrated from the perspective of cultural studies. This study explores how shamanism, the indigenous belief system in Korea, has been revived as the dynamics of shamanic inheritance with the advancement of cybercultures in Korea. Cyber memorial zones, as an apparatus of Korean cybercultures, testify to the rebirth of shamanism in the form of digital spirituality. With the historical consideration of Korean shamanism, which has been oppressed and marginalized by the ruling classes, this study attempts to understand the rebirth of shamanism as the empowerment of the Korean populace. The notion of digital spirituality is significant as an instrumental tool to better understand the relations of Korean cybercultures and other cultural contexts. By examining the construction of digital spirituality in various cyber memorial zones, this study articulates the different power tensions lying within socio-political and cultural contexts in Korea. Cultural studies was adopted as the methodology of this research for contextualizing cyber memorial zones in the different contexts and articulating their power relations, especially between Korean cybercultures and the new culture of death. By doing so, this study explores the relations of technologies of the Korean people’s self and those of government domination. Textual analysis, online and in-depth interviews, and participant observation were selected as the methods and were used circumstantially. This research finds that cyber memorial zones are the outgrowth of the combination of the government-driven information policy and the rebirth of shamanism as inherited dynamics. Cyber memorial zones have multiple facets that reflect not only the technologies of the empowered Korean populace’s self but also the power of capital flow that deterritorializes the rite of death. Cyber memorial zones also mirror technologies of government domination that enhance capital flow. Technologies of the Korean populace’s self, although empowered through the cyber cultural contexts, do not seem to be counter-technologies in response to the power of capital flow and the technologies of government domination.
Advisors/Committee Members: Riggs, Karen.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Digital Spirituality; Cybercultures; Funeral Culture in Korea; Cultural Studies; Shamanic Inheritance
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13.
Legg, J. Robert Jr.
Job Satisfaction at University Licensed FM Public Radio Stations: An Application of Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2004, Ohio University
► Public radio represents a significant part of many universities. These same stations…
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▼ Public radio represents a significant part of many universities. These same stations continue to be underrated resources, subject to little scholarly research. This study evaluates the levels of satisfaction and dissatisfaction among student and staff employees for eighteen job-related factors as originally identified by Frederick Herzberg. Data was gathered via questionnaires developed by Frank Friedlander in conjunction with Herzberg. Statistical analysis was performed on the data. Qualitative interviews were conducted with members of management having supervisory duties. The study reveals general adherence to the theory and identifies areas of importance to staff and students. The study also identifies factors among student workers that differ from the theoretical expectations. Contrary to previous corporate studies, students in this investigation rated the hygiene issues of interpersonal relationships as significant elements of job satisfaction. The study concludes with a discussion of station manager realization and manipulation of these motivation-hygiene factors among his or her employees and suggestions for those in upper-administration and law-making positions.
Advisors/Committee Members: Clift, Charles.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Job Satisfaction; Motivation and Hygiene; Herzberg; Public Radio; University Radio; Radio Managment
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14.
Malik, Saadia I.
Exploring Aghani Al-Banat: A Postcolonial Ethnographic Approach to Sudanese Women’s Songs, Culture, and Performance.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2003, Ohio University
► This dissertation explores the musical and personal experiences of three Sudanese women…
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▼ This dissertation explores the musical and personal experiences of three Sudanese women performers and understanding the textual meanings of a particular type of women’s songs labeled as “aghani al-banat” that is usually performed at women’s gatherings in Central Sudan, specifically in Greater Khartoum. The study argues that because there are many discourses about “womanhood”, culture, and gender by the post-colonial state of Sudan, aghani al-banat could stand as another narrative or another discursive space for negotiating gender/power relations and identity formation by the Sudanese women. The postcolonial theoretical approach adopted in this research attempts to provide an alternative understanding and an alternative way of knowing, that challenges those provided by imperial and western discourses, about the “realities” of the “Other” (the “third world”). In addition, the research combines different methods of data collection and data analysis. First, the work here uses in-depth individual interviews with three women performers and group discussions with some audiences, especially living in the diaspora. The study also adopts historical-textual analysis to the lyrics of aghani al-banat and narrative analysis to the in-depth interviews with the performers. The in-depth interviews with the three women performers in Greater Khartoum demonstrated the way the performers are negotiating their subject positions as performers (the “other”) and resisting norms of patriarchy, tradition, and gender discourses that all work toward controlling Sudanese women’s positions and agencies. Moreover, the historical-textual analysis of the songs showed that despite being labeled as “loose” and “bad” singing, aghani al-banat provided a discursive space through which the Sudanese women voiced their alternative narratives of social and gender relations. The songs offered both a framework of negotiating the existing relations as well as a dream of improvement. The study concludes that Sudanese women, especially the pioneering performers of ex-slave descendent origin, created their own culture and popular literature in which they contextualize the past, the present, and the future of their varied realities and fantasies.
Advisors/Committee Members: Pecora, Norma.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Postcolonial; Feminist; Women's Songs; Sudan
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15.
Malone, Caitlin E.
Changing Definitions of 'Educational' in Children's Television from ABC/123 to I Love You/You Love Me: The Unintended Consequences of the Three-Hour Rule.
Degree: MA, Telecommunications (Communication), 2008, Ohio University
► This thesis examines the children's programming being aired by ABC, NBC, CBS,…
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▼ This thesis examines the children's programming being aired by ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX owned and operated stations in Manhattan, New York in compliance with the Three-Hour Rule during the first quarter of 2008. A case study of WABC, WNBC, WCBS, and WNYW comparing children's programming before the Children's Television Act, after the Children's Television Act, and after the Three-Hour Rule revealed that the Three-Hour Rule has not brought significant changes in the amount of programming for children, but that more prosocial programming was produced as a result of the regulation. In addition, this research examines the Form 398 filings from each of the Manhattan stations. The theme of each core program was coded as social, emotional, educational, or other. In sum, this research discovered that stations are meeting the minimum amount of hours required of them by the Three-Hour Rule, but that the expectations of educational programming as defined by Action for Children's Television, those dealing with academic topics of literacy and mathematics, are not being met and are instead replaced with prosocial programming dealing with issues of friendship, honesty, and self-esteem.
Advisors/Committee Members: Pecora, Norma.
Subjects: Communication; Mass media
Keywords: children's television; three-hour rule; Children's Television Act; educational television; Form 398
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16.
Matic, Igor.
Digital Divide in Istria.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2006, Ohio University
► This dissertation covers the Digital Divide phenomena in the Istrian region. Istria…
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▼ This dissertation covers the Digital Divide phenomena in the Istrian region. Istria is a Northern Adriatic peninsula that is administratively divided between three European countries: Croatia (which covers approximately 90% of the peninsula), Slovenia (app. 7%), and Italy (app. 3%). In this dissertation my goal was to articulate the most influential theoretical frameworks that are used to explain the Digital Divide today and I try to give an explanation of the issue through ethnographic procedures. The goals of this research include the examination of the current Digital Divide debate, extension of the theory toward the local understanding and perception of this global phenomenon. Additionally, I wanted to identify different interpretations of the Digital Divide in three countries within one region and compare the differences and similarities in new technology usage and perceptions. Also, I was interested to see how age - which is described as one of the major Digital Divide factors - influences the relationships between older and younger generations, specifically relationships between parents and children, instructors, students and co-workers. I conclude that in the researched region, age of the respondents makes an important distinction between computer and Internet users and that individuals shape their attitudes toward the ICTs in accordance with their perceived role in the society (primarily as parents and children). In order to give a more understandable picture of the Digital Divide phenomena, I use the Bourdieu’s “Theory of Practice” framework and his notions about the literacy to accentuate the importance of exchange between community members and their possible change of attitude toward the new technologies that can occur in that exchange process. I suggest three approaches toward the solution of the problem: education (which should involve the members of the community that are not currently involved in educational processes), family interaction (where younger family members have a possibility to influence the older members to change the approach toward the new technologies) and market changes (that should promote competition and more accessible services).
Advisors/Committee Members: Riggs, Karen E.
Keywords: Digital Divide; Istria; Croatia; Slovenia; Italy; parents; students; ICT
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17.
Nava, Karen E.
Life with Information and Communication Technologies in the DC Metropolitan Area’s Immigrant Bolivian Household.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2007, Ohio University
► This dissertation explores the intricate articulations of life with Information and Communication…
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▼ This dissertation explores the intricate articulations of life with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) inside a group of Bolivian households within the metropolitan area of Washington DC. In this study, I investigate the ways in which ICTs mediate Bolivian immigrants’ lives within the home and in relation to the outside or host culture. Through a qualitative ethnographic analysis, I explore twelve Bolivian families with different compositions and cultural competencies with the intention of unveiling the different ways in which they have used ICTs to learn to live, negotiate, survive and preserve their family, culture, identities and symbolic practices in everyday life in relation to the outside world or host culture. I present the context in which these households develop a sense of themselves,starting from the appropriation process, through objectification, incorporation and conversion moments of the “technology mediated consumption” process (Silverstone, Hirsh and Morley, 1992) articulated in the “circuit of culture” (Du Gay et al., 1997). In order to do this, I provide an interpretive model that organizes the production of meaning interlaced with a topology of an immigrant Bolivian household resulting in an analysis of the household’s territories. Further, I evaluate how ICTs have structured the immigrant home spaces in the center, margins and periphery, according to the families’ uses of shared and private places. Two thresholds will connect the home with the outside – both to the host culture, the Latino realm or the homeland. This conformation constitutes an important identity preservation mode and also a strategic means of survival inside the host culture. These schemes of interpretation of the families’ daily life within the home in relation to ICT consumption as the result of the articulation of main theoretical and methodological frameworks are the main contributions of this study to the field. I conclude that ICTs, when consumed in the families’ daily life inside the home, are essential instruments in the survival, assimilation and preservation of each family’s particular practices, rituals and values, which in turn conform their identity to the external world and their connections to the homeland.
Advisors/Committee Members: Riggs, Karen E.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies; ICTs; Families and technologies; Bolivian families; Bolivia; Immigrants and technologies; Religious homes; Ethnographic methods
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18.
Noorzai, Roshan.
Communication and Development in Afghanistan: A History of Reforms and Resistance.
Degree: MA, Telecommunications (Communication), 2006, Ohio University
► This thesis presents a recent history of development and communication in Afghanistan.…
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▼ This thesis presents a recent history of development and communication in Afghanistan. The reforms introduced by the state under different rulers and governments since the 1870s, and public reaction to these initiatives, are examined. Whether influenced by global events or socioeconomic and political developments domestically, those attempts at reform were often resisted by the local communities in Afghanistan. This study explores both external and internal factors contributing to the reforms and resistance to those reforms. This thesis seeks to uncover the possible causes of that resistance. Strategies related to media and communication in the country are explored in terms of the role they have played in attempts to develop the country. Discussed is the use of media, use of traditional communication channels and the use of interpersonal channels for introducing socioeconomic changes in the country. In modern history, all three of the main approaches to development and communication, modernization, dependency and liberation perspectives, have been used as strategies to bring about developmental change in Afghanistan. The paper describes the principal development events and tries to find out the causes of success or failure of these approaches. The paper concludes that the involvement an d participation of Afghan citizens in the development process is a key determinant in achieving the desired results. It also explains how the social system and values of the population, if taken into account, can support development activities they understand and have helped to bring about.
Advisors/Committee Members: Flournoy, Don M.
Keywords: Afghanistan; Communication; Development; Reforms; Resistance; Media; Modernization; Small Media
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19.
Park, Chun II.
A comparative analysis of the selection process and content of television international news in the United States and Korea: A case study of the U.S. CNN PrimeNews, Korean KBS 9 O’clock news and SBS 8 O’clock news programs.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 1994, Ohio University
► This research comparatively examined 1) The main factors influencing the international news…
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▼ This research comparatively examined 1) The main factors influencing the international news selection processes of television journalists, and newsroom editorial procedures and control mechanisms in the three television news organizations – Cable News Network (CNN), and Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), non-commercial network and Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), commercial network – through participant observation of each newsroom, and in-depth interviews and surveys of their news personnel; and 2) The main topics and actors of domestic and international news in the three main news programs – CNN “PrimeNews,” KBS “9 O’clock News” and SBS “8 O’clock News” – using content analysis. The key finding is that there are significant differences in the selection processes of international news and content between the U.S. CNN, and Korean KBS and SBS news networks. This result suggests that CNN is a more global-oriented news network and is mainly operated by the market-driven business control mechanism, whereas Korean news networks are more national-oriented organizations and thereby focus on maintaining a good relationship with the government, selecting and reporting of news stories. Another major finding is that there are high similarities in the international news selection processes and content between the KBS and SBS news networks. It arises from the homogeneous profiles of Korean television journalists and highly uniform newsroom editorial procedures and news sources.
Advisors/Committee Members: Clift, III, Charles E.
Keywords: television international news; United States; Korea; CNN PrimeNews; Korean KBS News; SBS 8 News
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20.
Peirce, L. Meghan.
Botswana's Makgabaneng: An Audience Reception Study of an Edutainment Drama.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2011, Ohio University
► Makgabaneng is a serial radio soap drama that addresses critical HIV/AIDS awareness…
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▼ Makgabaneng is a serial radio soap drama that addresses critical HIV/AIDS awareness and behavior change issues in Botswana. Based on the MARCH strategy (Modeling and Reinforcement to Combat HIV/AIDS), this drama aims to help change risky behaviors associated with HIV/AIDS through modeling and reinforcement. Specifically, Makgabaneng aims to provide listeners with higher levels of HIV knowledge that will lead towards prevention and less stigmatizing attitudes towards those affected by HIV/AIDS. This study serves as an audience reception analysis of Makgabaneng. Through triangulation methodologies, a better understanding is gained of how citizens of Botswana interpret and make sense of the edutainment series. A survey evaluation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and participant observations contribute to the final conclusions of this study. Accordingly, this audience reception study provides a deeper understanding of how listeners of Makgabaneng construct themselves and their environment through the edutainment media. Results from this analysis demonstrate some areas where the program could improve. Fans believe that the drama is targeted towards youth, excluding Makgabaneng's actual target audience of individuals' aged 10-49 years; participants expressed sentiments of tuning out any message that centers on HIV/AIDS due to message fatigue; the absence of church and religion proved troublesome to many; fidelity and the risks of multiple concurrent partnerships are talked about in the drama more often than the other five recommended PEPFAR themes. The most empowering messages were targeted towards females only, resulting in male fans only seeing negative behavior as the norm in society; discrepancies also exists between the ways in which traditional and modern fans interpret the same storylines. However, fans of the program express sentiments of being generally satisfied with the production of the program; they believe the drama is similar to what real-life is like in Botswana; and the most enthusiastic fans of the drama are using storylines to initiate conversations about the storyline in real-life situations. This demonstrates the potential of Makgabaneng as an HIV/AIDS public health development intervention to help facilitate social change.
Advisors/Committee Members: Obregon, Rafael.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: audience reception; entertainment-education; social change; HIV/AIDS; triangulation
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21.
Potratz, Rachel M.
When is Reality Real?: Youth Perceptions of MTV Reality Programs.
Degree: MA, Telecommunications (Communication), 2007, Ohio University
► This thesis examines how college freshmen relate to the personalities and content…
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▼ This thesis examines how college freshmen relate to the personalities and content on MTV reality programs. Drawing from current theories about how viewers relate to television such as realism perceptions, identification, wishful identification, and parasocial interaction, this project looks takes a qualitative approach to understanding the particular relationships that exist between young viewers and the content and young casts of MTV reality programs. Eight college freshmen at a Midwestern university were interviewed about their perceptions of MTV reality programs, particularly Real World, Laguna Beach and The Hills. Additionally, a survey of 78 students was conducted in an introductory telecommunications course. It was found that judgments about the realism were based primarily on the students’ use of comparisons with their own lives and experiences. Additionally, knowledge of production processes played a role in realism perceptions. It was also found that students engaged in parasocial interaction and used reality television to learn about the world. Real life experiences, however, were shown to override learning from television.
Advisors/Committee Members: Pecora, Norma.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: realism; identification; parasocial interaction; youth; college students; MTV; reality television
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22.
Rashid, Haroon.
A Broadcasting Model for Afghanistan Based on Its National Development Strategy.
Degree: MA, Telecommunications (Communication), 2008, Ohio University
► This research begins with the assumption that Afghanistan should have a system…
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▼ This research begins with the assumption that Afghanistan should have a system that is suitable for the current economic, political, social and technological conditions of the country. Afghanistan is a young democratic country with strong social, religious and cultural values. To complement a growing commercial broadcasting sector, Afghanistan needs a structure for content production and distribution that is better integrated into its social structure. In terms of content, structure, operations and mission, this thesis presumes that a media system that serves the development process of the country based on Afghanistan's National Development Strategy (ANDS) will be best for Afghanistan.A centralized radio and television network with the capacity to reach the marginalized rural population that constitutes 85 percent of the population is recommended. The goal is to make media outlets and production facilities available in every village. In these locations, people will be invited to watch and participate in programming in close coordination with the community leaders. Formal educational, capacity building and public awareness programs will be designed based on the expectations and cultural sensitivities of the public. Unlike commercial broadcasters, the system of public service broadcasting (PSB) will involve the general population in ways that accommodate to their religion and culture. The idea is to use modern telecommunications and media not to entertain the public but to involve and educate them in an entertaining and uplifting way. To address the shortage of human and financial resources in Afghanistan, social channels of communication will be formalized among media, community leaders, government agencies and the United Nations. This approach is recommended as a way to solve the country's problems collectively. The concepts of diffusion of innovation, with particular attention to the diffusion networks, social channels of communication and the use of human and financial resources, are introduced in this thesis to set the criteria and serve as a basis for its arguments.
Advisors/Committee Members: Flournoy, Don.
Subjects: Journalism; Mass media
Keywords: Afghanistan; Broadcasting; Programming; Development; Media; National Development Strategy; Communication; Diffusion of Innovation; Social Channels; Tribal System; Afghani Culture
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23.
Rastogi, Preeti.
Assessing Wireless Network Dependability Using Neural Networks.
Degree: MS, Telecommunications (Communication), 2005, Ohio University
► Critical infrastructures such as wireless network systems demand dependability. Dependability attributes addressed…
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▼ Critical infrastructures such as wireless network systems demand dependability. Dependability attributes addressed in this thesis include availability, reliability, maintainability and survivability (ARMS). This research uses computer simulation and artificial intelligence to introduce a new approach to measure dependability of wireless networks. The new approach is based on the development of a neural network, which is trained to investigate ARMS attributes of a wireless network capable of serving 100,000 subscribers. Given the reliability and maintainability of wireless infrastructure components, the resulting impact on network availability and survivability are determined. Component mean time to failure (MTTF) is used to model reliability, while mean time to restore (MTR) is used for maintainability. Here, unavailability, the complement of availability, is defined as the fraction of time the entire network system is down, while survivability is the fraction of network users who have service. Both availability and survivability can be instantaneous or averaged over some period. The simulation output is used to train the neural network, which is obtained from simulation experiments for a range of component’s MTTF and MTTR values. In turn, the NN is used to gain insights not easily apparent from simulation results. The NN also assists in estimating the number of FCC-Reportable outages of a wireless network. Lastly, a variety of reliability/maintainability growth and deterioration scenarios is analyzed with the NN. Besides focusing on questions regarding availability and survivability under reliability and maintainability growth/deterioration scenarios, this research also focuses on the relative performance of neural network modeling compared to analytical and simulation techniques.
Advisors/Committee Members: Snow, Andrew.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Survivability; FCC - Reportable Outage; Neural Networks Modeling; Simulation Modeling
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24.
Sadic, Adin.
History and Development of the Communication Regulatory Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1998-2005.
Degree: MA, Telecommunications (Communication), 2006, Ohio University
► During the war against Bosnia and Herzegovina (BandH) over 250,000 people were…
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▼ During the war against Bosnia and Herzegovina (BandH) over 250,000 people were killed, and countless others were injured and lost loved ones. Almost half of the BandH population was forced from their homes. The ethnic map of the country was changed drastically and overall damage was estimated at US $100 billion. Experts agree that misuse of the media was largely responsible for the events that triggered the war and kept it going despite all attempts at peace. This study examines and follows the efforts of the international community to regulate the broadcast media environment in postwar BandH. One of the greatest challenges for the international community in BandH was the elimination of hate language in the media. There was constant resistance from the local ethnocentric political parties in the establishment of the independent media regulatory body and implementation of new standards. The lack of a democratic heritage and the complex mix of cultures compounded the challenges facing the international community. This study uses internal documents, decisions and laws imposed by the OHR, first hand reports and communication from international experts who were involved in the establishment of the IMC and CRA. Evidence suggests the IMC was successful in the establishment of the fundamental principles for media regulation where previously no consistent principles existed. The IMC was also successful in licensing media outlets and in its transition to the CRA. The CRA achieved its goals of establishing the cooperation of broadcasters and the public. The CRA made significant progress in the protection of copyrights and creating a solid base for the development of a fair and competitive media environment. As a result, hate language has nearly vanished from the BandH media, although there still remains work to be done. Several questions remain, however. There needs to be a better understanding of the failure of the OBN to involve the BandH media experts in developing solutions to the media problem and the inconsistency in applying the same set of standards for media warmongers in BandH and Rwanda.
Advisors/Committee Members: Newton, Gregory.
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bosnia; Postwar Bosnia; Yugoslavia; The Balkans; Communication Regulatory Agency; Media; Electronic media; Media regulations; Media laws; International Intervention; Dayton Peace Accord; Transition
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25.
Smith, Jeffrey S.
Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material via Text-Based Virtual Reality.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2010, Ohio University
► This dissertation investigates the experiences of participants in a text-based virtual reality…
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▼ This dissertation investigates the experiences of participants in a text-based virtual reality known as a Multi-User Domain, or MUD. Through in-depth electronic interviews, staff members and players of Aurealan Realms MUD were queried regarding the impact of their participation in the MUD on their perceived sense of self, community, and culture.Second, the interviews were subjected to a qualitative thematic analysis through which the nature of the participant's phenomenological lived experience is explored with a specific eye toward any significant over or interconnection between each participant's virtual and material experiences. An extended analysis of the experiences of respondents, combined with supporting material from other academic investigators, provides a map with which to chart the synchronous and synonymous relationship between a participant's perceived sense of material identity, community, and culture, and her perceived sense of virtual identity, community, and culture. An original theoretical instrument, the Cyber-Synchronicity model, is used to further explicate the interconnectedness of participant's overall lived experience while engaged in play on Aurealan Realms. In sum, the research and analysis of respondent interviews demonstrates that there is significant synchronous and synonymous interconnection between a MUD participant's material and virtual lived experience. Further, the Cyber-Synchronicity model is demonstrated as appropriate to graphically represent the nature of the material-virtual interconnection, as well as providing labels for the different aspects of the overall experience, represented as disparate yet connected and interrelated categories.
Advisors/Committee Members: Slade, Dr. Joseph W.
Subjects: Communication
Keywords: mud; mudding; multi-user domain; aurealan realms; online identity; online community
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26.
Stern, Danielle M.
Women and Reality TV in Everyday Life: Toward a Political Economy of Bodies.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2007, Ohio University
► By moving beyond the representation of “women” in specific texts and locating…
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▼ By moving beyond the representation of “women” in specific texts and locating the body as a critical site of meaning in a hybrid televisual genre—narrative reality television—this dissertation challenges assumptions about production, text, audience, and researcher. Drawing from existing theories of the body and political economy in the feminist and critical rhetoric literature and using MTV’s popular long-running program The Real World as a case study, this dissertation examines the interrelationship of the construction and consumption of bodies in an increasingly surveillance-based, commercial, hybrid media culture. Twenty college-aged women viewers of The Real World wrote brief journal entries to episodes of the program prior to participating in individual interviews. Additionally, the researcher conducted interviews with four creative directors of the program. Finally, the interviews informed a rhetorical analysis of the 25 episodes of the seventeenth season of The Real World set in Key West, which aired from February to August 2006. Three general themes of women’s bodies on The Real World emerged from the concurrent methods: 1) the constructed nature of bodies in crisis, 2) the heteronormative double bind of college female bodies expected to party hard yet retain their dignity, and 3) the impact of these bodies and other Real World features on viewers’ daily lives whereby, despite their often fabricated nature, narrative bodies on The Real World are ostensibly real for viewers. The author positions a conception of material, commodity bodies in hybrid television within the profit-motivated, macro-institution of television production and celebrity worship, as well as the micro-structures of peer relationships and meaning negotiation. Representations and interpretations of bodies as conflicted and starved for attention move beyond theoretical assumptions of bodies as power to bodies as sites of learning for real world relational exchanges within popular culture. Because the macro-structures and micro-practices of production happen simultaneously within a larger schema of cultural production that goes beyond the daily routines of creating a reality TV program, scholars should continue to link the capital with the cultural and reevaluate our roles as critics and interpreters of meaning.
Advisors/Committee Members: Pecora, Norma.
Keywords: women; reality television; production research; audience studies; feminist theory; critical rhetoric
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27.
Undrahbuyan, Baasanjav.
INTERNET CONTENT AND USE BY CIVIL SOCIETY AND GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS IN MONGOLIA: THE SITUATION IN 2005.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2006, Ohio University
► This dissertation examines how governmental and civil society institutions in Mongolia use…
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▼ This dissertation examines how governmental and civil society institutions in Mongolia use the Internet, and whether or not these institutions benefit politically and socially from that use. This study draws its theoretical framework from three main perspectives: 1) digital divide; 2) digital democracy; and 3) post-communism. Prevalent patterns and common features of 157 web sites of Mongolian civil society and governmental organizations are analyzed according to the information traffic patterns of allocution, consultation, conversation and registration proposed by Bordewijk and Van Kaam (1984) and suggested by Van Dijk (2000). Furthermore, institutional use of the Internet, the issues of the digital divide and the post-communistic media characteristics are discussed based on data gathered from 23 qualitative in-depth interviews conducted in the Summer of 2005. The study finds that currently Mongolian institutions use the web mostly for information distribution purposes. Conversation and registration patterns involving greater interactivity occur less frequently than allocution and consultation patterns. Diaspora, interest groups, and to a certain extent media web sites show different typologies scoring higher on the conversation, and registration indexes than more traditional institutions like government, research and education institutions. This situation is also supported by interview data showing that less-established Mongolian institutions are gaining more prominence in policy making by using the Internet. The practice of Mongolian institutions shows little indication of rational discussion of policy issues on the Internet, especially when discussion is attempted on the web sites of government institutions. This situation appears to support Dean’s (2003) view of the Net as a “zero-institution” accommodating conflicting networks with no normative claim for democratic participation rather than a public sphere where the policy networks of government officials merge with the social spaces of ordinary people.
Advisors/Committee Members: Flournoy, Don.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Internet use; web content; Mongolia; information traffic pattern; interviews; post-communism; digital divide; digital democracy
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28.
Ward, Rachel Mendl.
PODCASTING IMPLEMENTATION IN PUBLIC RADIO.
Degree: MA, Telecommunications (Communication), 2007, Ohio University
► New technologies present both opportunities and challenges to public broadcasters. This thesis…
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▼ New technologies present both opportunities and challenges to public broadcasters. This thesis examines how one such technology, podcasting, is being broached by public radio broadcasters in the United States. An overview of public broadcasting and podcasting is provided. A survey was conducted to measure the perception of podcasting among public radio broadcasters, in keeping with diffusion of innovations theory. Three factors from diffusion theory, complexity, compatibility, and relative advantage were found to shape broadcasters' perceptions of podcasting. Two other attributes, social approval/communicability and cost are proposed for future research. A positive relationship between membership in the National Public Radio network and adoption of podcasting is found. Recommendations for implementing a pilot system of paid podcasting are shared.
Advisors/Committee Members: Newton, Gregory D.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: podcasting; public radio; MP3; diffusion of innovations; public broadcasting; new media; National Public Radio; information technology
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29.
Widjanarko, Putut.
Mapping Notions of Cyberspace: Optimism, Skepticism, and the Issues of Identity and Spirituality.
Degree: MA, Telecommunications (Communication), 2005, Ohio University
► This is a literature survey on concepts of the Internet and cyberspace…
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▼ This is a literature survey on concepts of the Internet and cyberspace and their influence, both on society at large and at the individual level. On society, it discusses the optimistic and skeptic views on the impact of the Internet. At the personal level, it discusses issues of self and identity, and spirituality and religiosity. Except for spirituality and religiosity issues of the Internet, this work chose one author to represent each category: Howard Rheingold for the optimistic view, Clifford Stoll for the skeptic view, and Sherry Turkle for the issues of self and identity. The author's critiques on those notions are offered in the last chapter. The author argues that the diversity of notions on the Internet can be put in a broader historical and social context. These notions reflect the ever-present questions about the relationship between human and its technologies.
Advisors/Committee Members: McDaniel, Drew.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Internet-Based Communications; Virtual Community; Cyberspirituality; Identity; Internet Technologies
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30.
Widjanarko, Putut.
HOMELAND, IDENTITY AND MEDIA: A STUDY OF INDONESIAN TRANSNATIONAL MUSLIMS IN NEW YORK CITY.
Degree: PhD, Telecommunications (Communication), 2007, Ohio University
► This dissertation describes an attempt to understand the complex process of how…
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▼ This dissertation describes an attempt to understand the complex process of how Indonesian Muslims in New York City negotiate their cultural identities. This dissertation gravitates around the concept of transnationalism, which perceives that contemporary immigrants form and maintain multi-stranded social and cultural transnational links to the societies of the country of origin, chiefly thanks to advancement of media, communication and transportation technologies. Applying the non-obvious multi-sited ethnography approach (Marcus, 1999), I explore the dynamic process of how the deterritorialized Indonesians strive to reterritorialize their culture in the new cultural context, such as manifested in the establishment of the Indonesian mosque with its various Islamic activities and the reenactment of Indonesian cultural practices. Subsequently I explain how various forms of media are produced, circulated, and consumed in the Indonesian Muslim community. The study concludes with several important points. First, media (ranging from the printed to electronic media to the Internet) have not played a central role, largely due to the small number of Indonesian Muslim community members. The negotiation of identity and transnational ties preservation take place in various forms of “smaller media,” such as personal videos and cassettes, photographs, the public gatherings of ethnic and religious associations. Second, instead of using Habermas’ (1989) unitary and singular public sphere, it is more useful to describe the sphere created by media and other venues as, following Gittlin (1989), multiple and fragmented public sphericules, in which the transnationals find their voice, maintain connection with the homelands, and express the struggle against marginalization. Third, the strength of the centripetal force of Indonesian and ethnic identities lead to my questioning of the heuristic ability of the widely used notion of hybridity. Lastly, I conclude that despite the centrality of ummah (the community of believers transcending nation-states and ethnicities) concept, currently it does not translate to a unified and solid sense of community among Muslims. Therefore I suggest that the possibility of the formation American Muslim identity depends on subsequent generations of Muslims.
Advisors/Committee Members: McDaniel, Drew.
Subjects: Mass Communications
Keywords: Transnationalism; Media and Identity; Multisited Ethnography; Indonesian Immigrants; Muslim Immigrants; New Your City
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