What makes news on the front page? : an investigation of conceptions of newsworthiness in the East African Standard
- Authors: Nzioka, Roseleen M
- Date: 2013-06-19
- Subjects: East African Standard (Nairobi, Kenya) Journalism -- Social aspects -- Kenya Journalism -- Editing -- Kenya Newspapers -- Sections, columns, etc -- Kenya Mass media -- Political aspects -- Kenya Newspapers -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3519 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008178
- Description: Determining what is newsworthy is a daily challenge even to the very people who source news, produce and disseminate it. This study is part an exposition and exploration of the different approaches that media researchers have used to explain and determine the value of news. Like similar research before it, this study more specifically delves into the news selection process of news of one particular newspaper with the goal of investigating why and how news is selected for publication in the front page. News is the 'result of many forces: ranging from source power, journalistic orientation, medium-preference and market model, news values and production routines and processes. The study briefly expounds on the different definitions of news as perceived in terms of the developed and developing world. Just as journalists do not operate in a vacuum, a close examination of the various definitions reveals that news cannot be defined in isolation. Its definition is intrinsically tied to that of news values. Also explored here are debates about news values and their Western rootedness. Here reference is made to literature regarding theories on the social construction of meanings and on the gatekeeping concept.The study is informed by similar research in gatekeeping studies and sociology of news studies. It is important to state at the outset that the study is not concerned with how news is produced but why there is a bias for certain kinds of news. I am interested in explaining why and how the writers and editors at the East African Standard make decisions about what is worthy of being published on the front page of the newspaper. This distinction is necessary because the theories that inform this study transcend news sourcing and production. This study takes cognizance ofthe fact that one cannot separate social processes from the individual and vice versa. For this reason, this study investigates and analyses the biases of individual gatekeepers at the East African Standard as well as their collective biases. In the concluding section, this study calls for an alternative paradigm for journalism and news. The foregoing discussions in the other sections prove that a universal definition of news and what is newsworthy will not suffice and there is need to contexualise it.
- Full Text:
Unstable ironies: narrative instability in Herman Charles Bosman's "Oom Schalk Lourens" series
- Authors: Davis, Rebecca
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Bosman, Herman Charles, 1905-1951 -- Criticism and interpretation , Irony in literature , Narration (Rhetoric)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2215 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002258 , Bosman, Herman Charles, 1905-1951 -- Criticism and interpretation , Irony in literature , Narration (Rhetoric)
- Description: This thesis examines the narrative situation within Herman Charles Bosman’s “Oom Schalk Lourens” series of stories, focussing on the nature of the relationship between author and narrator. In particular, it seeks to trace the source of the multiple ironies at work in the texts. It has been customary for critics in the past to claim that the irony within the stories stems from Bosman, operating authorially ‘above’ Oom Schalk. In terms of this theory, Oom Schalk is read as being largely unaware of the inconsistencies and contradictions within his narrative. It is the claim of this thesis, however, that Oom Schalk is the self-aware creator of the texts’ ironies much of the time. Chapter 1 commences with an attempt at defining irony, and provides a brief overview of the history of its deployment within South African literature before discussing the literary genre which Bosman was to exploit as his ironic vehicle: the “oral-style” short story. Chapter 2 examines Wayne C. Booth’s notions of “stable” and “unstable” irony: the irony of the Oom Schalk stories has, in the past, been classified as belonging to the former category, but this thesis attempts to show that its inconsistent deployment within the stories consigns it more accurately to the latter. Chapter 3 offers an assessment of the extrinsic contexts relevant to the analysis: the context of the stories’ publication, and the likely composition of Bosman’s reading public. Chapter 4 begins to examine the distance between implied author and implied narrator in the stories. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 subject stories dealing with the themes of art, race and land to detailed analysis in order to examine the shifting – and progressively, though unevenly, diminishing – distance between Bosman and Oom Schalk. The thesis concludes that the degree to which the ironic distance between author and narrator fluctuates within, and between, the stories, results in a narrative situation which must be classified as fundamentally unstable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Understanding educator-mediated conflict resolution in a preschool environment: the experiences and feelings of preschool educators
- Authors: Cakwe, Mandisa
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Education, Preschool , Early childhood education , Preschool children , Conflict management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2943 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002452 , Education, Preschool , Early childhood education , Preschool children , Conflict management
- Description: This thesis discusses the experiences and feelings of preschool educators when resolving situations of conflict between preschool children. Data was collected by means of semistructured individual interviews with preschool educators and a video recorder recording conflict situations among preschool children focusing on educator resolution strategies. Grounded theory was used as a data analysis technique to analyse the data collected. The analysis revealed that the preschool educators under study do not use mediation as a conflict resolution strategy but use various strategies that include, prevention, directive approach, arbitration, myths and threats and rules. Data analysis also revealed that these preschool educators encounter experiences and feelings before, while and after intervening in the conflict situations of children. These findings imply that preschool educators lack the professional skill of conflict resolution. This suggests an urgent need of restructuring of the preschool educator’s training to include conflict resolution training as one of their important component. Educators and parents also need to be consulted or involved in the process of restructuring the training.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Towards a post-sacrificial theory of identity formation
- Authors: Menezes, Natalie
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Sacrifice -- Philosophy , Violence -- Philosophy , Forgiveness -- Philosophy , Philosophy -- Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2862 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007626 , Sacrifice -- Philosophy , Violence -- Philosophy , Forgiveness -- Philosophy , Philosophy -- Africa
- Description: In this thesis I shall outline various modernist authors' arguments that collectivities (such as ethnic groups, nations, states and cultures) and subjectivities employ sacrificial violence to establish and assert their identity where identity is inescapably (?) understood in terms of the sovereignty of the collective or the post-Oedipal autonomy of the individual. To this end, violence has been posited as a historical and conceptual inevitability and is set as the default-state of human nature and politics. In recent times, protesting voices (from post-feminist, post-colonial, post-modern and the emerging human rights discourses) have begun to rigorously contest the notion of violence as the default-state. As a result, the legitimacy of sacrifice as the primary modus to an autonomous selfhood has been radically problematised. I believe that a comprehensive understanding of the nature of this crisis of identity formation , and the possibility of transcending it, is to be found in the paradigmatic shift away from Newtonian thought toward a post-Newtonian worldview. In seeking to challenge the assumption of violence-as-default, I shall translate the comprehensive sacrificial nature of collective identity and subjectivity into a complexity-based model that allowed me to make three crucial conceptual moves toward a comprehensive understanding of post-sacrificial identities that occupy an important place in a post-Newtonian world. First, it will allow me to challenge the assumptions that supported the Hobbesian myth of autonomy/sovereignty sacrificially achieved by charting the ontological shift that compels us to understand "entities" (be it a cell, an individual or a state) not in terms of autonomy but interdependence. Secondly, it provides the conceptual tools needed to understand the systemic nature of sacrificial violence by reading subjectivity violence and collectivity violence in terms of their organic self-similarity. This will equip me to comprehensively explore a postsacrificial epistemology valid for both collective identities and subjectivity. Thirdly, I propose a model of post-sacrificial identities that are created and sustained at the edge of chaos through the dynamic interplay of order and disorder that reconciles creative and destructive forces in a generative unity. I believe that this post-Newtonian reading will clear the conceptual space needed to suggest there might yet be hope for a future that does not embrace violence as default-state.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The utility of Weingarten's witness positions in the understanding of compassion fatigue in people who care for their own family members with AIDS
- Authors: Bambani, Nomfezeko
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- Patients AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects Home-based family services Community health services HIV-positive persons -- Social aspects Caregivers -- Attitudes Burn out (Psychology) Weingarten, Kathy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3103 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004465
- Description: This paper explores the utility of Weingarten's (2003) witness positions in the understanding of compassion fatigue in people who care for their own family members with AIDS. The research is embedded in Weingarten's theory of witnessing and narrative theory and practice. The literature review explores the shift from hospital-based care to community/home-based care which has led to family members assuming the role of caring for their family members with AIDS, an overview of the effects of caring for AIDS patients on caregivers and an overview of Weingarten's (2003) theory of witnessing with special emphasis on the witnessing positions and their consequences. Interviews, based on narrative theory and practice in which Weingarten's theory is rooted, gave access to the participants' experiences, which were then analysed and interpreted through a framework developed from the witnessing theory. This article demonstrates the utility of Weingarten's (2003) theory of witnessing to people who are caregivers to their own family members with AIDS. I argue that witness positions occupied by caregivers during witnessing determine whether the caregivers will experience compassion fatigue. The negative consequences related to compassion fatigue that will be reviewed could probably be prevented through active, intentional, compassionate witnessing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The puzzle of domination in society : seeking solutions in the African context
- Authors: Madonko, Thokozile
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Rosen, Michael. On voluntary servitude , Fanon, Frantz, 1925-1961 , Fanon, Frantz, 1925-1961 -- Political and social views , Biko, Steve, 1946-1977 , Ideology , Black people -- Race identity , Ideology -- Psychological aspects , Ideology -- Sociological aspects , Power (Social sciences) , Consciousness , Racism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2855 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007260 , Rosen, Michael. On voluntary servitude , Fanon, Frantz, 1925-1961 , Fanon, Frantz, 1925-1961 -- Political and social views , Biko, Steve, 1946-1977 , Ideology , Black people -- Race identity , Ideology -- Psychological aspects , Ideology -- Sociological aspects , Power (Social sciences) , Consciousness , Racism
- Description: The presence of human destitution, impoverishment and degradation in the midst of plenty has puzzled social thinkers for millennia. One of the oldest and grandest of theories: the theory of ideology attempts to provide an answer to the puzzle of domination in society. Michael Rosen, in his book On Voluntary Servitude (1996), argues that the solution provided by the theory of ideology is problematic. Furthermore, on the basis of his critique, Rosen argues that we should abandon the theory of ideology and consider alternatives to it. Even though many contemporary academics have turned away from the theory of ideology, because they view it as an imprisoning meta-theory, this study explores the possibility of there being a meta-theory that could help us to make sense of the world. Through an examination of Rosen's critique this thesis shows that Rosen is too quick in his dismissal of the theory of ideology because he fails to consider that a revised functionalist theory of ideology can be expanded to account for the mechanism(s) that ensure that, over time, the society in question acquires ideological consciousness to further its welfare. This thesis shows that Rosen is correct in his criticism of the theory of ideology's explanation of domination because the content, history and social effects of ideological consciousness cannot be fully explained in terms of their role in promoting or stabilising relations of domination. In light of Rosen's criticism the thesis shows that if one provides both an explanation of the psychological motivations of individuals and of the nature of the oppressive society in which they find themselves then what I call an integrated theory of ideology can be developed. In order to illustrate the importance of an integrated theory of ideology the study moves away from high-level theoretical abstraction to concrete social analyses, focusing on the work of Frantz Fanon and Steve Biko and their explanations of domination. The reason this study focuses on their work is because in their role as social scientists, Fanon and Biko provided a powerful critique of colonial, post-colonial and neo-colonial society. It will be argued that Fanon and Biko were able to provide a lasting critique of colonial reality because they offered their critique within the framework of such an integrated theory. Consequently, this study argues that, as Fanon and Biko's work illustrate, an integrated theory of ideology qua critical theory ought not to be abandoned because it is crucial for understanding and resisting forms of oppression that exist in the world today.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The power of hegemonic theory in Southern Africa: why Lesotho cannot develop an independent foreign policy
- Authors: Mahao, Lehloenya
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Hegemony -- South Africa , Lesotho -- Politics and government , Lesotho -- Foreign relations -- South Africa , South Africa -- Foreign relations -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2799 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003009 , Hegemony -- South Africa , Lesotho -- Politics and government , Lesotho -- Foreign relations -- South Africa , South Africa -- Foreign relations -- Lesotho
- Description: This thesis critiques hegemonic theory – especially the impact of a hegemonic state on the ability of small states to develop an independent foreign policy. The research uses Lesotho as a case study of a subordinate state in relation to the Republic of South Africa (RSA) as a hegemonic state. It draws on the history of Lesotho’s quest for sovereignty and argues that this sovereignty is constantly eroded to the advantage of its hegemonic neighbour. This constrains Lesotho’s ability to develop an independent foreign policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The politics in and around governance in the New Partnership for Africa's Development
- Authors: Roussel, Jean Thierry Kevin
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: New Partnership for Africa's Development , Sustainable development -- Africa , Economic development -- Africa , Africa -- Foreign economic relations , Africa -- Economic conditions , Africa -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2827 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003037 , New Partnership for Africa's Development , Sustainable development -- Africa , Economic development -- Africa , Africa -- Foreign economic relations , Africa -- Economic conditions , Africa -- Politics and government
- Description: This study examines the prominence of the term governance and its use in multilateral organisations, in particular the New Partnership for African Development. It argues that the term governance is contentious and needs to be reviewed. This is in light of the elevation of governance as a requisite for development, which has come about through the development of NEPAD. This is primarily a study on the position of the state in multilateral regimes and how governance will affect the state and non-state actors. The politics in and around governance are therefore important in any assessment of African development as governance becomes a developmental necessity. The African Rennaisance and African Union have become ‘beacons of hope’ for Africa and these have been discussed here. We can see NEPAD as a historical development that fits into the African Renaissance. This has been a mechanism to ensure state survival and the states that drive NEPAD have played a significant role in providing legitimacy to Africa’s calls for development. This thesis attempts to explain the shift in developmental policy in that NEPAD has seemingly become the first African development strategy that has the support of the West. Through this thesis, we will examine the role that the Post Washington consensus has played in getting this phase of African development started. What becomes significant here is the way in which governance has been accepted as the gauge for support in development. This study therefore aims to offer a means by which to analyse governance in multilateral organisations. As the term is contentious, three paradigms on governance will be provided in order to refine governance in such a way that it can be applied in analysis. This thesis shows that governance can be refined into corporatist, prebendal and conciliar forms. The form of governance that NEPAD will take has implications for the type of reconfiguration of the state brought about by governance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The dynamics of difference: oppression, cross-cultural liberation and the problems of imperialism and paternalism
- Authors: Oelofsen, Marianna Christina
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Oppression (Psychology) , Culture conflict , Multiculturalism , Political ethics , Imperialism , Paternalism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2716 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002846 , Oppression (Psychology) , Culture conflict , Multiculturalism , Political ethics , Imperialism , Paternalism
- Description: This dissertation defends an account of oppression and supports a specific means of engaging with oppression cross-culturally. The project examines whether it is defensible to interfere in other cultures at all. Both the cultural relativist and the neo-imperialist approaches are argued to be an inadequate response to the question of whether it is defensible to interfere in other cultures, as both these approaches neglect the autonomy of the agents concerned. This project has two related goals. It first advances an answer to the question ‘what is oppression?’ An account of oppression is developed which will enable oppression to be identified cross-culturally. In order to start constructing an approach which will be adequate to respond to the question of interference, it is necessary to consider a means of identifying oppression crossculturally. The second objective is to examine the possibility of non-imperialistic and nonpaternalistic cross-cultural liberation projects. The first aim (advancing an account of oppression), is executed through arguing for an ethical framework which will be helpful in this context, and arguing for an account of oppression derived from this framework. The second aim (examining the possibility of non-imperialistic and non-paternalistic liberation), is carried out in two parts. The first part responds to two standard objections from cultural relativism, which would accuse a universal account such as mine of imperialism and paternalism. The first objection claims that a universalist account neglects historical and cultural difference, while the second objection claims that it neglects autonomy. In responding to these objections, it is noted that while my responses prove, theoretically, that a universal account of oppression need not lead to imperialism or paternalism, there is a danger that the account could become imperialistic and paternalistic in its application. With the intention of dealing with this problem, I advance a methodology of cross-cultural understanding which would reduce the likelihood of imperialism and paternalism in liberation projects. This notion of cross-cultural understanding is the most important contribution of this project. The objective is not to give practical judgments on when a specific liberation project is in fact paternalistic or imperialistic, but rather to propose guidelines which would need to be applied to each particular instance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Teachers' talk regarding inclusion: a comparative discursive study
- Authors: Bomela, Yolisa Faith
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3123 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006135
- Description: Much research on the educators' perceptions of and attitudes towards inclusive education has been conducted both in South Africa and abroad. What is absent in this literature is an acknowledgement of the socially constructed nature of teachers' responses to inclusive education and its recipients. In this study, the talk of educators involved in piloting inclusive education is compared to that of educators who are not involved, in order to determine the discourses from which educators draw in their construction of inclusive education. It is a comparative study premised on the social constructionist perspective in which discourse analysis was employed. The sample was drawn from schools piloting inclusive education in the East London District of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and was compared with schools not involved in the pilot, but in the same area. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with eight educators spread across two piloting and two non piloting schools. The analysis revealed significant similarities and quite minimal differences in the manner in which educators across the two settings construct their experiences of inclusive education. Even though the educators draw on the rights driven anti-discriminatory discourse, they still embrace the special needs/medical/expertise and charity discourses. These discourses construct disability around notions of disputed degrees of impairment, feared status and perceptions of disability as a personal issue rather than a public responsibility, and they undermine the status of people with a disability while supporting notions of dependency. In this article, I will argue that the historical legacy within which these discourses were originally constructed, will essentially continue unless there is a change in how diversity is viewed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Stirring the hornet's nest: women's citizenship and childcare in post-apartheid South Africa
- Authors: Alfers, Laura Corrigall
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2757 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002967 , Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
- Description: It is a widely acknowledged fact that women’s access to the full rights of citizenship in the liberal state is restricted because of their unequal responsibility for childcare. The South African state, however, despite its theoretical commitment to gender equality, has failed substantially to engage with the issue of childcare and women’s citizenship. This is problematic because in failing to envisage a role for itself in supporting women with their responsibility for childcare, the state has not only neglected its Constitutional commitments to gender equality, but it has also failed to realise the benefits that could potentially accrue to children if women’s access to economic citizenship is not hampered by childcare. Recognising this problem, this thesis attempts to engender some debate as to how the South African state could feasibly correct this failure. In doing so, it uses feminist political theory as a basis and takes a critical view of the two childcare policies that have dominated the debate over women’s citizenship and childcare in Western liberal democracies – socialised care and the neofamilialist model. In concluding it attempts to provide an idea of what feasible, state-based childcare policies could look like in present-day South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Security community building? : an assessment of Southern African regional integration in the post-apartheid era
- Authors: Lekhooa, Tumo
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Africa, Southern -- Economic integration , National security -- Africa, Southern , Political stability -- Africa, Southern , Southern African Development Community
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2844 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005958 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Africa, Southern -- Economic integration , National security -- Africa, Southern , Political stability -- Africa, Southern , Southern African Development Community
- Description: The thesis traces Southern African security dimensions from the Cold War and the period of apartheid in South Africa to the post-apartheid era. It makes an attempt to investigate the prospects of Southern Africa becoming a security community and the processes and practices underlying these efforts. Using the constructivist theory approach to international relations, the thesis argues that the preoccupation with principles of sovereignty and non-interference, a lack of political will and the absence of common values that could help SADC institute binding rules and decision-making are the main blocks that prevent the region from asserting itself as a security community. All these militate against the idea of mutual accountability among SADC member states and have a negative impact on the institutional and functional capacity of SADC. This also prevents SADC from dealing with the emerging non-military human security threats in the region. In consideration of this, the thesis argues that the idea of security community building in Southern Africa remains not only a regional issue, but also requires the involvement of extra-regional actors.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Raging in service of the self: exploring a five-year old boy's aggression within his play therapy
- Authors: Smith, Austin
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Play therapy , Aggressiveness in children , Self-perception in children , Child development , Child psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3057 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002566 , Play therapy , Aggressiveness in children , Self-perception in children , Child development , Child psychology
- Description: This thesis takes the form of an in-depth case study within which the play therapy process of an aggressive 5-year-old boy was explored. The aim of the research was to examine the abundant expressions of aggression that were present within his therapy, and in so doing reflect their rich communicative content and their relevance and purpose in the development of his Self. Object relations theory formed the lens and theoretical context for this research with Winnicott’s contributions and Parens' model of aggression being considered in particular. A detailed data resource of the therapy process was compiled and transposed into narrative form. These narratives were reviewed with a reading guide as a means to facilitate a hermeneutic exploration of the data. The emergent themes were considered against the case data and the current theory, which allowed for their further analysis and development. From this the value of using Parens’ model was considered and deemed useful although limited in its contribution. The analysis and the themes which emerged conveyed how within this case the child’s aggression presented as: a significant feature of his ambivalence towards relationships; a powerful and pervasive protective fantasy of omnipotence; inherently linked to his sense of self and self expression; and as actively involved in his True Self’s hope-filled attempts for an alternative experience. This thesis provides a descriptive account of a challenging case, offering insights into the value and meaningful content of aggressive behaviours, with the intention being to reflect that which is often not easily appreciated or readily observable within such a therapy process, a trace of hope.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Preparing for the information society: a critical analysis of Uganda's broadcast policy in light of the principles of the WSIS
- Authors: Namusoga, Sara
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: World Summit on the Information Society , Broadcasting policy -- Uganda , Information society -- Uganda , Information technology -- Social aspects -- Uganda , Public broadcasting -- Uganda , Radio broadcasting policy -- Uganda , Radio -- Uganda , Mass media -- Uganda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3474 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002929 , World Summit on the Information Society , Broadcasting policy -- Uganda , Information society -- Uganda , Information technology -- Social aspects -- Uganda , Public broadcasting -- Uganda , Radio broadcasting policy -- Uganda , Radio -- Uganda , Mass media -- Uganda
- Description: This study analyses Uganda’s 2004 Broadcast Policy in light of the WSIS principles in order to establish whether the policy enables radio to build an inclusive and people-centred Information Society, and if so, in what ways it does this. The study specifically focuses on radio, which it views as the dominant medium in Uganda, and therefore the medium with the greatest potential to build a sustainable Information Society in the country. The study is informed by media policy theories as well as Information Society theories. It is argued that although most definitions of the Information Society consider the newer ICTs, especially the Internet, as the key drivers in the Information Society, most developing countries like Uganda are far from reaching the desired level of computer and Internet access as proposed by some Information Society theorists. Instead, most people in Uganda rely heavily on older ICTs, especially radio, for information about key issues in their daily lives. Inevitably, radio ends up being a key player in building the Information Society in these countries. The study, therefore, finds most of the common Information Society theories lacking and adopts the WSIS definition, which is more relevant to Uganda’s situation. This study also maintains that if radio is to be a key player in building an inclusive and people-centred Information Society in Uganda, the 2004 Broadcast Policy has to create that enabling environment, by, for example, promoting public service radio through local content programming, and diversifying radio ownership. The data for this study was obtained using the qualitative research approach, and specifically the research tools of document analysis and individual in-depth interviews. The findings indicate that the policy’s emphasis is on building a broadcast sector that addresses the public’s interests through local content programming and provision of diversified media services. However, the study also found that the policy is vague on some very crucial aspects, which would benefit the public, namely, local content quotas and the independence of the public service broadcaster.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Post-feminism in Cosmopolitan and For Him magazine (FHM) : a critical analysis
- Authors: Legge, Janet Helen
- Date: 2013-07-02
- Subjects: For Him Magazine (South Africa) Cosmopolitan (South Africa) Discourse analysis -- Social aspects Mass media and language Mass media criticism Women in mass media Sex role in mass media Women in popular culture Men in popular culture
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2375 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005956
- Description: Cosmopolitan and For Him Magazine (FHM) are, at present, both the most widely read and, therefore, the most popular "white" consumer magazines in South Africa. They both appeal to young audiences of between 18 and 34 years of age, approximately, and target middle-class, educated groups of readers. My interest in Cosmopolitan and FHM lies in their ability to influence and shape their readers' actions, values, identities and relationships, in particular with the other gender. My analysis is focused on the cover pages and the Editor's letters of six copies of each magazine, ranging from April to September 2003, providing me with a corpus of 12 cover pages and 12 Editor's letters. I adopt a critical perspective through the use of Fairclough's (1989) Critical Discourse Analysis, supported by Mills (1995) Feminist Stylistics, McLoughlin's (2000) textual analysis of cover pages and Kress & van Leeuwen's (1996) visual analysis tools. By combining these different methodologies my research falls into what is newly termed Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (Lazar 2005). The cover page analyses used primarily McLoughlin and Kress & van Leeuwen and provides an element of pure genre analysis, while the analysis of the Editor's letters were subject to Fairclough's three inter-related stages of analysis, namely: a Description of the formal textual elements of the letters, an Interpretation which analyses the processes of text production and interpretation, and lastly an Explanation of the socio-historical context. Through an analysis of these magazines, whose interests are being served and how the readers are shaped and positioned by the magazines can be identified. My analyses revealed conflicting discourses within each magazine, however it was Cosmopolitan that revealed more tension and conflict in terms of identifying and representing women, while FHM subscribed, for the most part, uniformly to the "new lad" ideology. However, while Cosmopolitan attempted to show a forward-thinking and emancipatory view of the roles of men and women in society, both magazines covertly sustain patriarchal dominance and hegemonic masculinity. In conclusion, I reveal the need for consumers of the mass media to become more critically aware of the ideologies that are promoted through the differing tools of the media and that only through this critical awareness can any further movement towards equal relations between men and women be made. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
Mapping Grahamstown's security governance network : prospects and problems for democratic policing
- Authors: Brereton, Catherine Margaret
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Democracy -- South Africa , Police -- South Africa , Police administration -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police-community relations -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police patrol -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Private security services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2851 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006323 , Democracy -- South Africa , Police -- South Africa , Police administration -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police-community relations -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police patrol -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Private security services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The security of its citizens is often regarded as the democratic state's primary raison d'etre. However, with increasing crime and perceptions of insecurity among citizens, along with actual and perceived state policing inadequacies, citizens around the world have sought to make alternative arrangements for their security. The explosion of private alternatives to state policing has resulted in the need for the replacement of former static definitions of policing by more fluid understandings of what policing entails. Policing is no longer an activity undertaken exclusively by the 'state police.' Policing needs to be understood within a framework which recognises the existence of a variety of state, commercial, community groups and individuals which exist within loose and sometimes informal, sometimes formal, networks to provide for the security of citizens. Preceding the country's transition to democracy in 1994 'state' policing in South Africa was aimed at monitoring and suppressing the black population and as a result it conducted itself in a largely militaristic way. When the government of national unity assumed power in 1994 it was indisputable that the South African Police had to undergo major reform if it was to play an effective, co-operative and accountable role in a democratic South Africa. While state policing has unquestionably undergone enormous changes since the advent of democracy in 1994, so too has non-state policing. It is widely accepted that the dividing line between state and non-state policing in South Africa is increasingly blurred. Policing, by its very nature, holds the potential to threaten democracy. Consequently it is important that policing is democratically controlled. According to the Law Commission of Canada four values and principles - justice, equality, accountability, and efficiency - should support policing in a democracy. This thesis is a case study of policing in Grahamstown, a small city in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. It will be shown that the policing problem that currently plagues Grahamstown, and by extension South Africa, is not simply the result of a shortage of providers but rather a problem of co-coordinating and monitoring security governance to ensure that the city does not further develop into a society where the wealthy have greater access to security than the poor.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Making sense of Men's Health: an investigation into the meanings men and women make of Men's Health
- Authors: McCance-Price, Maris
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Men's Health (South Africa) , Men's magazines -- South Africa , Men in mass media , Women in mass media , Sex role in mass media , Men in popular culture , Women in popular culture , Mass media -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3464 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002919 , Men's Health (South Africa) , Men's magazines -- South Africa , Men in mass media , Women in mass media , Sex role in mass media , Men in popular culture , Women in popular culture , Mass media -- Social aspects
- Description: This study investigates the popular pleasures produced by readers of men's magazines, focusing primarily on the publication, Men's Health, which represents a new type of magazine catering for men. Using qualitative research methods such as textual analysis and reception analysis, the study explores the pleasures produced by both men and women from the consumption of such texts. The theoretical perspective of cultural studies informs this project, an approach that focuses on the generation and circulation of meanings in society. Focusing on the notion of the active audience and Hall's encoding/decoding model, this study examines readers' interpretations of the Men's Health text, focusing on the moment of consumption in the circuit of culture. Reception theory proposes the existence of "clustered readings" produced by interpretive communities that are socially rather than individually constructed. As a critical ethnography, the study interrogates these meanings with particular reference to questions of gender relations and power in society. Access to different discourses is structured by the social position of readers within relations of power and this study takes gender as a structuring principle. Therefore, this study also explores the particular discursive practices through which masculine and feminine imagery is produced by the Men's Health text and by its readers. The research findings support the more limited notion of the active audience espoused by theorists such as Hall (1980) offering further evidence to suggest that readers produce readings other than those preferred by the text and that therein lies the pleasure of the text for male and female readers. The research concludes that the popularity of Men's Health derives from the capacity of its readers to make multiple meanings of the text.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Is land tenure a significant variable for promoting agricultural productivity in rural villages?: the case study of Nonkcampa Village in the Buffalo City Municipality, Province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Gqokoma, Daniel Atwell
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Buffalo City (South Africa) , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land use -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3313 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003101 , Buffalo City (South Africa) , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land use -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The research explored the causal relationship between the communal land tenure and the stagnant agricultural productivity in rural villages. It is assumed that there is covariance between the communal land tenure and the stagnant agricultural productivity. The communal land tenure deprived the villagers of the land ownership rights to mortgage their landholdings to secure agricultural credit from financial institutions, or to advance them as own contributions to obtain Government-provided grants under the ILRAD. Under such circumstances, the villagers could not raise the level of agricultural productivity. The Permit to Occupy (PTO) certificates, issued to the landholders, provided for usufruct rights only i.e. right to occupy and use an allotment. The related research was conducted at Nonkcampa village. The metatheory, “Positivism” and the quantitative paradigm were applied to collate and analyse the data. The research findings confirmed the correlation between the land tenure and the agricultural productivity, as the respondents claimed not to have had any access to agricultural inputs. Hence, the agricultural productivity on the arable land had stagnated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Investigating the effects of the proliferation of commercial broadcasting on public service broadcasting: the case of Rivers State of Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation
- Authors: Da-Wariboko, Biobele
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation , Broadcasting -- Social aspects -- Nigeria , Mass media -- Social aspects -- Nigeria , Radio Broadcasting -- Social aspects -- Nigeria , Radio in community development , Radio stations -- Nigeria , Radio broadcasting -- Rivers State (Nigeria) -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3423 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002876 , Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation , Broadcasting -- Social aspects -- Nigeria , Mass media -- Social aspects -- Nigeria , Radio Broadcasting -- Social aspects -- Nigeria , Radio in community development , Radio stations -- Nigeria , Radio broadcasting -- Rivers State (Nigeria) -- History
- Description: 1992 marked a turning point in Nigeria’s broadcasting history as the country formally deregulated her broadcast space. However, it was not until March 2002 that the first commercial radio station was established in Rivers State, a broadcast environment hitherto monopolised by Radio Rivers. The coming of the first independent radio station in Rivers State in March 2002 was followed by the establishment of two other stations in October 2003 and November 2003 respectively. As important as these events in broadcasting in Rivers State are, however, media scholars have argued that in most societies where such change has taken place, public service broadcasters have tampered with their values of being an open space where individuals and groups can come together to be educated, informed, and entertained. This study investigates the extent to which the proliferation of commercial broadcasting outlets has affected Radio Rivers’ public service programming and scheduling. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, through in-depth interviews and analysis of the mandate and programme schedules, the study established that while Radio Rivers still maintains some public service values, its current programming policy is driven by the need to compete with the commercial broadcasters. This is evidenced in the decrease in the programme space allocated to current affairs and educational programmes on the schedule, (the genre of public service broadcasting), and the increase in attention to advertisements and entertainment programmes, (the genre of commercial broadcasting). The study also confirms the adverse effects of dwindling financial resources as forcing public service radios to compromise on their public service values, as majority of programmes on Radio Rivers current programme schedules are now geared towards attracting advertisers rather than serving the public good and interests. However, the study proved that it is not in all cases that the entry of commercial broadcasters into Rivers State broadcast space has undermined Radio Rivers public service values. Indeed, in leading to the expansion of interactive, news, and the diversification of entertainment programmes spaces on Radio Rivers’ programming schedules, the proliferation of commercial broadcasters has yielded some positive effects on Radio Rivers public service values and contribution to the public sphere. The study further highlights the need for some policy reforms at Radio Rivers, such as the introduction of licence fees, increased government funding and loosening government’s current control over the station. In addition, there is the need for the edict establishing the station to be amended to reflect the current trends in broadcasting in Rivers State, and above all to reposition Radio Rivers to sustain public good and public interests in its programming.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Investigating a rural community's use of communication technology: a study of Nakaseke Community Multi-media centre in Uganda
- Authors: Tumusiime, James
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Information technology -- Uganda , Media programs (Education) -- Uganda , Communication in rural development -- Uganda , Communication -- Technological innovations -- Developing countries , Telecommuting centres -- Uganda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3489 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002944 , Information technology -- Uganda , Media programs (Education) -- Uganda , Communication in rural development -- Uganda , Communication -- Technological innovations -- Developing countries , Telecommuting centres -- Uganda
- Description: An assumption that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and economic development have an automatic linkage has gained wide acceptance over the last decade. As a result, developing countries are under pressure to apply this prescription as a solution to poverty. With the help of development partners in the developed world and the United Nations, developing countries have embraced this call to increase access to ICTs to bridge the ever-widening gap between the ‘information rich’ and ‘information poor’ (Castells, 2001). One of the strategies has been the establishment of telecentres where the least privileged people might access ICTs for their own development needs. However, this strategy has tended to overlook contextual factors and circumstances in developing countries. ICTs are thus being introduced in an environment of mass poverty, illiteracy and poor infrastructure, exacerbating existing inequalities in some cases. Much attention has been focussed on initiatives aimed at expanding the ICT infrastructure for wider population access without addressing what the users actually do with such access. This study aims to make a contribution in that direction. The study focuses on Nakaseke Community Multi-media Centre(CMC), the first telecentre introduced in Uganda in 1997. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research techniques, the study sets out to develop deeper insights into how the Nakaseke community uses, engages with and relates with communication technologies installed at the telecentre. It probes whether these practices advance the dominant view that ICTs are a panacea for rural development. The findings indicate that while access to communication technology has expanded, albeit at a slow pace, the benefits might take very long to have a significant effect as many targeted users do not make use of the facilities because they lack the human skills and financial resources to exploit the technologies. Other problems such as poor electricity supply and sustainability also actively militate against the potential of the project to deliver. Besides, people tend to appropriate technology in ways different from those intended by its promoters. As Burton (2002) explains through the concept of ‘affordances’ and ‘culture’, some users perceive technologies essentially as something that bestows the status of being modern or sophisticated on their community, rather than as a development tool. In conclusion, it is argued that if used for development, ICTs can indeed make a difference in the lives of rural people. However, besides investing in technology, there is need to invest more in empowering the people themselves with skills, particularly literacy, to enable them use ICTs productively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006