A Historical Analysis of Adventist World Radio's Impact in the East Central Africa Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: A Case Study of Tanzania.

摘要

This dissertation examines the impact of Adventist World Radio (AWR) within the East Central African nation of Tanzania. A historical systematic methodology was used to analyze a variety of primary, secondary and tertiary sources, available online as well as from the AWR headquarters, and the Seventh-day Adventist Office of Archives and Statistics located in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. The study utilized the Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003) and the Systematic Stage Model of Rambo (1993) to examine the conversion process as mediated through religious radio broadcasts. The findings reveal the regions from which listener correspondences originated, the radio programs popular among AWR listeners, and the number of baptisms occurring among the Maasai population as a result of the radio broadcasts.;The AWR broadcasts play an integral part in a multifaceted approach by the Seventh-day Adventist Church to spread the gospel of Jesus to all parts of the world. This instrumental case study examined the first 25 years of AWR-Africa's operations. Though limited in its generalizability, it offers much insight which can serve as a guide for other assessments of international religious broadcasters and their impact on local listeners.;Keywords: Adventist World Radio, Historical Systematic Methodology, Mass Communication, Media Studies, Religious Conversion, Seventh-day Adventist, Tanzania.