To investigate relative effectiveness of the dimensions of interactivity

This thesis is about interactivity. It is about the dimensions of interactive communication which have become a major element of contemporary marketing practice. The concept of interactivity has been explored in the fields of advertising research, and communication and media studies. However, there is an overall absence of any published work concerning research into the dimensions of interactivity, in the marketing domain. This thesis seeks to correct this situation and investigates the relative effectiveness of the dimensions of interactivity, set in the context of travel weblogs. The aim is to determine how three principal dimensions of interactivity namely, active control, two-way communication, and real-time communication, affects users‟ attitudes and usage intentions. This thesis also examines the effect of motive factors, such as social interaction, information of travel weblogs, and enjoyment, upon a user‟s attitudes and usage intentions. The relationships among these variables are examined within a research framework provided by this study. Data was collected through an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The findings verify that the dimensions of interactivity and motivation factors can have positive influence upon users‟ attitudes and usage intentions.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

“Out there”: British travel journalism and the negotiation of cultural difference

This chapter examines how British travel journalism provides its readership with cultural frames of reference for a specific touristic experience: safari holidays in Africa. It will focus on a selection of articles from British broadsheet newspapers, from The Sunday Times, and The Sunday Telegraph. The intention is to address two principal concerns. What representational strategies are deployed in travel journalism on this region and how are they constitutive of broader British imaginings of Africa? Secondly, it is important that these representational concerns are considered in terms of the commercial context in which they are produced. In addressing these concerns the intention is also to explore how this is indicative of the broader, cultural frames of reference through which travel journalism views its “others”