Doctoral Thesis
Communicating modern sex slavery in Thailand: Effective social media message construction for small-scale, cross-cultural NGOs
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Murdoch University
2024
Abstract
Modern-day sex slavery is a significant issue affecting millions of people globally, including those in Thailand. Small-scale, cross-cultural, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a critical role in addressing this problem. However, limited social media resources sometimes restrict their ability to communicate effectively with their target audience. Social media is a powerful tool for communication and outreach; however, developing and assessing the effectiveness of social media narratives remains challenging for such NGOs. This study recognises these challenges and investigates factors that determine effective communication. The COVID-19 pandemic further challenged NGOs in communicating with their audiences; thus, this study explores the communication strategies employed by NGOs and their effectiveness during the pandemic. Drawing on Stuart Hall's (1973, 1980) encoding and decoding model, this study analyses messages constructed by encoders from NGOs and their recipients’ decoding process. This study identifies communication strategies that engage and persuade the audience of such NGOs and explores the limitations social media page authors' work with to offer practical solutions to enhance messaging practices. A mixed-method approach comprising a thematic textual analysis of social media messages, semi-structured interviews with social media page authors (encoders) from selected NGOs, and an online survey with a sample of global social media audience members (decoders), was used to assess the effectiveness of messages. Key Windings specifically for NGO message encoders emphasise the importance of ethical storytelling, the need for trauma awareness, using appropriate persuasive techniques and signs suited to the message's intent, and selecting apposite communication platforms when crafting messages. Social media page authors also need to consider cross-cultural, intercultural, and monochronic or polychronic cultural differences among staff members and volunteers within their organisations and in the local communities so they may present non-exploitative narratives of the sexually exploited in Thailand. The study recommends best practices and guidelines to inform the development of effective social media narratives addressing modern sex slavery issues in Thailand.
Details
- Title
- Communicating modern sex slavery in Thailand: Effective social media message construction for small-scale, cross-cultural NGOs
- Authors/Creators
- Sheryl S Han
- Contributors
- Lauren O'Mahony (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, School of Media and CommunicationKathryn Trees (Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Murdoch University; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Identifiers
- 991005707251007891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Media and Communication
- Resource Type
- Doctoral Thesis
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