Masters Degrees (Centre for Communication, Media and Society)

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Advertising as culture : a study of how television advertisements represent work in South Africa.
(2004) Kankuzi, Sydney Friendly.; Caldwell, Marc Anthony.
The present study investigates how television advertising represents work in South Africa. It uses the 1998 Employment Equity Act as an index of analysis. Using the contructionist approach to media representations and a re-examination of George Gerbner's cultivation hypothesis as its point of departure the study examines fifty-four television advertisements that were randomly selected over a four week period SABC 1, 2 and 3, and e.tv. Overall the study points out that images of work that are portrayed by television adverting in South Africa tend to marginalise certain demographic groups in certain types of occupational categories and work roles. However, it hesitates to apply ideals of the 1998 Employment Equity Act on this observation to conclude that advertising representations discriminate against the respective demographic groups in the occupational categories and work roles. The study justifies this hesitation in two ways. Firstly, it raises theoretical problems that would arise if one applied ideals of the 1996 Employment Equity Act wholesale on advertising representations of work. Secondly, it points out important weaknesses of quantitative content analysis which incapacitates it from grasping subtle tendencies which may help give a more comprehensive picture of advertising representations.
African foreign students’ behavioral practices towards the University of KwaZulu-Natal HIV and AIDS support programme at Howard College Campus.
(2018) Smith, Isaiah Philip.; Dyll, Lauren Eva.
This study investigates African foreign students’ behavioural practices towards the University of KwaZulu-Natal HIV and AIDS support programme. The participants of the study consisted both male and female between the ages of 26- 30 students from college of humanities, college of Agricultural engineering and science and the college of Health science of the Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. The Health Belief Model was adopted in this study to explore the factors that influence African foreign students’ behavioural practices in response to HIV prevention at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The study is both quantitative and qualitative. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used in data collection. The study revealed that foreign students’ behavioural practices towards UKZN HIV and AIDS Support Programme is limited to HIV and AIDS testing, with very few students knowing about other activities of the programme. This implies that the programme needs to create more awareness regarding its activities and active participation of all students, especially international students who mostly feel disengaged within the school. The study also found out that the major barriers that hinder African foreign students from joining the HIV and AIDS support programme include: lack of adequate publicity about the programme, foreign students home country’s perception of HIV and AIDS and fear of hidden costs related to programme activities. When these things are taken into consideration, it will increase general awareness of UKZN African foreign students’ participation in the programme. It is indeed a fact that the way South African students see HIV and AIDS is quite different from how students from other countries view HIV and AIDS scourge. This study therefore aims to provide knowledge of the factors that influence African foreign students' behavioural practices towards HIV and AIDS support programme, so as to improve the implementation process of the program for better efficiency.
An examination of how Sowetan Live and Daily Sun reported on Operation Dudula and foreign nationals: January to June 2022.
(2023) Xulu, Luyanda Randy.; Dyll, Lauren Eva.
Abstract available in PDF.
Analysing audience reception on health reporting : an analysis of the eNCA news' coverage of the Ebola outbreak.
Moyo, Sibongile Hannah.; Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth Elizabeth.
BBC News reports, an estimation of 28 607 recorded cases and 11 314 deaths caused by the Ebola virus. The deaths swept across six countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria and the United States of America between the 23rd of March and the 1st of November 2015. This research sought to understand the encoding and decoding process of an audience watching the eNCA news. Specific news bulletins on the Ebola outbreak were selected by the researcher to give an effective investigation on how the eNCA covered the Ebola outbreak. Health experts were interviewed in regards to the media coverage of the Ebola outbreak. The reception theory was the main tool used for this research, complimented by the theory of representation and identity. The researcher also gives a hermeneutic understanding of the eNCA bulletins on Ebola, semiotically analysing images from the bulletins. By so doing, the researcher interrogates the use of the visual and verbal composition of the text in efforts to understand the reading deduced by the focus group participants involved in this study. The researcher also provides a contextual background of Ebola and the countries directly affected by it in an effort to paint a picture of the disastrous effects of the disease. The influence of social and cultural background in decoding media messages was evident when some of the audience obtained a negotiated and or oppositional reading from the messages the eNCA projected. This research illustrated how numerous factors influence how an audience internalises information and how African media should break from stereotypical images and employ the use of positive images when reporting on African issues.
Are we there yet : investigating the perceived causes of maternal mortalities in KwaNyuswa, Ezinqoleni Municipality.
(2016) Vilakazi, Mbali S.; Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth Elizabeth.
Are We There Yet: Investigating the perceived causes of maternal mortalities in KwaNyuswa, Ezinqoleni Municipality. Studies conducted within Southern African countries link causes to the absence of the provision of maternal healthcare through accessible healthcare structures. Other factors which perpetuate mortalities are infections deriving from HIV/AIDS, particularly in South Africa and more specifically, within the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Maternal mortalities are, by definition, the death of pregnant women at childbirth or during pregnancy due to various complications. With an annual record showing almost half a million pregnant women dying from causes, some known and others not, it is imperative to conduct this study, which is aimed at investigating causes of maternal mortality from perspectives of communication and culture, particularly within the rural community of KwaNyuswa. In conclusion, pertinent findings gathered through this study reveal that maternal health knowledge is lacking amongst pregnant women and women prior to falling pregnant. This included knowledge on prenatal and antenatal care. Additionally, the fear of HIV-testing acts as a barrier for mothers who seek maternal healthcare. The pregnant women fear testing positive, which then affects their agency meaning programmes such as the prevention from mother to child transfer (PMTCT), which are fully operational in KwaNyuswa. Additionally, traditional birth attendants (TBA) do not exist in this rural community; therefore they cannot be listed as contributing to maternal mortalities in this community. This study indicates that community caregivers act as a source of information and accountability for pregnant women, as they ensure attendance at necessary antenatal care appointments. This investigation revealed more than one child mortality case in the area and that a lack of transportation to healthcare facilities contributes to maternal mortalities. Lastly, inadequate service further disempowers pregnant women’s ability to secure maternal healthcare services. It is recommended that community perceptions around the PMTCT programme and the causes of child mortalities be considered for further investigation. Further, suggestions include a quantitative study which should be conducted in the KwaNyuswa rural area to determine the maternal mortality rate (MMR)
"As we are, so shall they..." : a re-articulation of the North-South vertical global green communications discourse.
Evans, Henri-Count.; Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth Elizabeth.
The emergence of a new global discourse on climate change, a discourse that has become both political and ideological, and the realisation that the global media are the dominant providers of global climate change information motivated this study to examine the manner in which climate change issues of the developing countries (global south) are dealt with in selected newspapers in developed countries (global north). The study sought to investigate the manner in which a sample of quality mainstream newspapers from the global north report on, and represent, issues concerning climate change in the global south. The study also explored, through the structural theory of imperialism, how the media, while covering global climate change, consciously or subconsciously can either reinforce or subvert structural inequalities between the global north and the global south, and investigated the flow of information around issues of climate change as they traverse the global north information economy. In order to achieve the above objectives, the study used four newspapers located in the Northern hemisphere, two from the East Coast of the United States (The Washington Post and The New York Times); and two from London in the United Kingdom (The Telegraph and The Guardian). The study took a qualitative methodological approach rooted in the interpretative research philosophy. The news stories for analysis were downloaded from the newspaper websites‘ archives using purposive sampling strategies. Twenty stories focussing on climate change issues in the global south (Southern hemisphere) were chosen for analysis with five stories from each newspaper. The newspaper articles analysed were collected from the newspaper websites through keyword searches. The study used news articles published between March 2014 and March 2015. The study found that the global south is represented in the global north mainstream newspapers as poor countries in need of climate change aid, as barriers to global climate change deals and agreements and also as selfish and insensitive to environmental concerns. The sourcing patterns across all the stories reveal bias towards global north political, scientific and business elites. The stories also sought to advance neo-capitalist interests in dealing with climate change portraying climate change as an opportunity for businesses to harness and not as a threat to humanity.
Assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices of KwaZulNatal health professionals towards men who have sex with men (MSM) : exploring access to mainstream public healthcare services.
Greehy, Precious S.; Dyll, Lauren Eva.
Background: Healthcare institutions tend to ignore the role healthcare workers (HCWs) play in shaping perceptions of and responses to service uptake. Lack of appropriate HCW skills and their perceived attitudes towards men who have sex with men (MSM) patients has been connected to “misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and delayed treatment, leading to poor health prognosis and higher risk of transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections to partners” (Smith, 2015). Research Aim: This study explores key factors at individual, group and societal levels which influence perceived HCWs attitudes towards MSM; and how this limits access to HIV prevention, treatment, and support and care services for the MSM population. A Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) study is conducted to evaluate the KAPs of HCWs and the ways in which these may affect service provision to MSM patients. The study aims to provide evidence-informed solutions required to equip HCWs with necessary skills to provide HIV/AIDS and quality healthcare services that are sensitive to the needs of MSM. Methods: The study employs qualitative methods and data will be collected through face-to-face interviews. The social ecology model informs this study. Prospective participants include various health professionals, such as the head of the provincial health department, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and technicians or medical students from two public healthcare facilities in Durban – King Edward VIII hospital and Imbalenhle clinic, in Pietermaritzburg. Methods used were structured interviews in the form of focus group discussions and self-administered questionnaires. These were conducted with various categories of HCWs in both healthcare facilities. Conclusions: HCWs play a huge role in influencing responses to HIV and AIDS interventions among key population groups, including the perpetuation of stereotyping and stigma. There is a need for a multi-faceted intervention that addresses perceived HCW attitudes towards MSM. Lessons learned from other studies about barriers to HIV prevention and management may have application in other populations.
Assessing teenagers' knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards teenage pregnancy. The case of a Durban High School.
(2013) Murima, Prestage.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.
Teenage childbearing is a global social and health concern. South Africa is not spared from the problems of teenage pregnancy be they related to health or to the social sphere. Researchers have been entreated to investigate teenagers’ sexual behaviour and the determinants to their behaviour especially in light of HIV/AIDS and other sexually related diseases. Various programmes and interventions have been developed and implemented in an effort to manage prevalence rates and address the challenges of teenage pregnancy. Inspite of these concerted efforts, pregnancy rates continue to increase. These efforts have been hampered by the absence of the voice of teenagers in research as interventions implemented do not adequately capture the complexity of teenage pregnancy. Research has also divorced teenagers from the environment within which teenage pregnancy takes place and as a result come up with interventions that are not pro teenagers. The absence of teenagers’ input in these interventions results in little uptake of interventions as teenagers feel no ownership or entitlement to these intervention. This study therefore seeks to bridge the gap by addressing teenage pregnancy from the perspective of teenagers themselves and locates teenage pregnancy within the lived experiences of teenagers. Guided by the Social Ecology Model and The Health Belief Model, this study seeks to analyse teenagers’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards teenage pregnancy. This study is qualitative in nature and is situated within the interpretive paradigm that enables the researcher to explore people’s lived experiences. Using the case study approach, the study employs focus group discussions to elicit information from participants on their knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards teenage pregnancy. The study concludes that knowledge; attitudes and perceptions are influenced and affected by various factors such as peer pressure, lack of adequate information and gender dynamics. To address teenage pregnancy challenges, there is a need for addressing the structural factors that influence teenagers’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions. Knowledge on safe sex and contraception abounds though this knowledge does not to translate to positive health affirming behaviour. This gap is attributed to the structural factors that influence and affect health behaviour. As such these factors, such as entrenched poverty and lack of proper sexual health communication need to be addressed if teenage pregnancy is to be managed.
An assessment of students' perceptions of the ABC prevention strategy : toward students' participation in HIV/AIDS message design at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
(2007) Moodley, Eliza Melissa.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.; Ronning, Helge.
In South Africa there are general studies that aim to understand HIV prevalence and specific surveys for target groups. However there is a gap in research that relates particularly to university students active participation in HIV/AIDS prevention messaging. This study explores the use of the Communication for Social Change (CFSC) theory with students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. The study takes the form of a survey, using researcher administered questions with 400 students at the Westville and Howard College campus to understand their perceptions of the 'Abstinence, Be faithful and Condomise' prevention strategy. Two focus groups were conducted at both campuses to further analyse the survey findings, with a particular reference to the use of dialogue to actively engage students in discussions about HIV/AIDS prevention messages. The study traces the origin of CFSC through a review of the development communication theories (which include modernization theory, dependency theory, development support communication and another development). The survey revealed that students were not supportive of programmes with a top-down flow of communication. Students at both campuses welcomed the role that dialogue could play to encourage student participation in the design of a new HIV/AIDS prevention message. Some of the findings from the survey showed that 91% of students at both campuses motivated in favour of students as active participants in HIV/AIDS communication processes. The findings from the focus group also revealed that students did not find the ABC message effective, and strongly promoted a revision of this message which should include 'accountability' and 'responsibility' as part of the HIV/AIDS prevention strategy.
Audience interpretation of the representation of violence and gangsterism in South African television: a case study of Uzalo.
(2018) Mpanza, Khethelihle Musa Brian.; Dyll, Lauren Eva.
Uzalo: Blood is Forever was launched in 2015 and by the end of September 2018 Uzalo became the most popular South African television production with 10.2 million viewers each night. Uzalo’s narrative is largely driven by gangsterism and as such relies on violence and crime to achieve its objective. A unique achievement of Uzalo is its portrayal of a gangster in a township setting on prime-time television, this study explores how this is not mutually exclusive from its dominance of television viewer ratings. This study was, therefore, conducted to ascertain why violent stories are popular with audiences and how the portrayal of violence, through Uzalo’s characters, resonates with its viewers in the township of KwaMashu and central Durban. Furthermore, the study investigates the audience’s interpretation of how accurate Uzalo is in its depiction of the township setting. Uzalo is considered to belong to the telenovela genre. This study outlined the construct of that genre but also drew on comparisons from outside the genre, both locally and internationally. A qualitative research methodology was adopted and data was collected through four focus groups, two in KwaMashu and two in central Durban. Thematic analysis organises the data which is then interpreted through the lens of narrative theory and the concepts related to ‘the active audience’. The study found that Uzalo is premised on binary oppositions which are expressed through the inner conflict of its characters who constantly grapple with the moral boundaries of good and bad. These individual accounts play out under the broader disequilibrium of two babies being swapped at birth and nurtured in obverse circumstances to their nature. Furthermore, this study considered whether the audience perceives the depicted violence as realistic or unrealistic and also highlighted similarities and differences of the audiences’ perception of violence in a township setting. These interpretations were varied and found to be informed by the audience’s location (township and/or CBD) and experience (cultural beliefs, age and past experiences).
Black and white in ink : discourses of resistance in South African cartooning, 1985-1994.
(2004) Mason, Andrew John.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.; Dalrymple, Lynn I.
In the last decade of apartheid (1985-1994), South African cartoonists demonstrated a range of responses to the political imperatives of the day. While some worked in support of the status quo, the cartoonists who are the subject of this study opposed it. Like practitioners in other areas of cultural activity during this period, oppositional cartoonists were passionately engaged with the political process and participated in the articulation and dissemination of discourses of resistance. This study situates South African cartooning both in the context of South African resistance discourse, and in the historical and discursive context of cartooning as a form of international popular culture. It presents an argument as to how cartooning should be defined and studied - as a cluster of signifying practices that produce a range of forms in a variety of media. In terms of this definition, anti-apartheid cartooning in South Africa is identified as a specific historical category, within which distinct streams of cartooning are identified. The study locates the various activities of South African cartooning within these streams, and examines the ideological and educational functions they performed during the 1985-1994 period. The study positions cartooning within the broad theoretical field of cultural and media studies, and examines some theoretical problems that are specific to the analysis of visual culture. A language of exposition appropriate to the study of cartooning is developed, borrowing terms from the sometimes widely variant traditions of art history, literary criticism and cultural studies. A methodology for the interpretation of symbolic forms is derived from the work of British cultural theorist, John B. Thompson (1990), whereby selected cartooning texts are subjected to a combination of textual interpretation, socio-historical analysis and discursive analysis, reinforced by insights derived from conversations with 15 selected South African cartoonists. Textual analysis of selected cartooning texts from the 1985-1994 period clearly demonstrates that oppositional cartoonists gave visual expression to discourses of resistance that existed in the anti-apartheid movement, and amongst the broader public, at that time. In so doing, they contributed to the disruption of the hegemony of the apartheid state, to the legitimation of the anti-apartheid struggle and to the provision of symbols and icons that ordinary South Africans were able to utilise in 'rethinking' their own lives in relation to the demands of a rapidly transforming society.
Blending deaf and hearing cultures.
(2015) Ebrahim, Sana.; McCracken, Donal Patrick.
Sign language practice is gaining prominence as inclusive eco-art interventions assist with integrating the Deaf into wider society in the City of Durban. Urban-nature adventures that attract both Deaf and hearing participants include Deaf Theatre, Silent Cinema, Skywriting Poetry and Board Gaming at pavement cafés and Deaf-friendly spaces in Durban. Skywriting is a term originated by the Green Heart Movement to illustrate the ‘mirroring of sign language to writing in the sky or Air’. The idea introduces an imaginative and accessible terminology to describe the term ‘sign language’ and encourages the hearing to become familiar with Deaf culture and its visual language. Eco-arts offer entry points into social solidarity and inclusiveness. The activations hone poetry skills and encourage interaction through sensitised socialisation. The self-generative poetry sessions assist multi-cultural groups from across the age spectrum to form a dynamic community of practice. Active citizenship showcases participants performing poetry in eco-cultural spaces across the City. The theoretical framework is informed by the Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication (Lester, 2006), Intergroup Contact Theory (Pettigrew, 1998) and Communities of Practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991). Central to the study are visual culture and two disparate social groupings. The research design incorporated ‘arts-based critical auto-ethnography’ (Taylor, 2014) as a focusing lens to achieve a holistic understanding of the complexity and convergences of Deaf and Hearing Worlds. Through action inquiry the researcher explored ways of facilitating interaction between Deaf and hearing participants. The study sample comprised eight Deaf and eight hearing respondents who participated in arts and ecology interventions that featured sign language. Data production tools included conversation notebooks that provide a record of written dialogue between Deaf and hearing participants, focus groups, interviews, participant observation, and a video titled ‘The Durban Deaf Room’. Narrative inquiry was employed to reflect on the data and represent the outcomes of the study. There is minimal literature associated with the South African experience of mixed media practice and its potential for value-added engagements that combine Deaf and hearing cultures. The study contributes to the literature by providing a lived ethnographic account of ways that Deaf culture and eco-arts act as progressive enablers in advancing mutually-beneficial social programmes for Deaf and hearing communities.
The bold and the beautiful.
(2009) Akal, Genevieve.; Wade, Jean-Philippe.
No abstract available.
Book hunger and the political economy of the South African booktrade : structural and policy constraints on the production and distribution of academic books.
(1994) Young, Dennis.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.
While 'book hunger' in Third World societies was regarded by a 'first generation' of theorists, working in the modernization/diffusion of innovation paradigm, as a cause of underdevelopment (and thus requiring the correction of problems relating to the undersupply of books to Third World countries by means of book aid policies, transfer of expertise and technology, and development of modern (western) publishing and distribution procedures and infrastructures), a 'second generation' of theorists working in the dependency/disassociation paradigm responded by insisting that 'book hunger' was an effect of the underdevelopment of peripheral economies, and a symptom of the debilitating cultural effects of the global economic order, with its skewed international distribution of knowledge, resources and capital. In recent approaches to the topic of 'book hunger' (which are wary of the sweeping dichotomies of dependency theory), 'book hunger' serves to describe a chronic shortage of books which results from complex structural inequities and antagonisms, from the distorting effects of global rationalization, as well as from local economic arrangements and policy mechanisms which do not adequately meet the knowledge and information needs of competing local cultural formations. 'Book hunger' is seen to derive from a range of causes, and to produce a range of effects, which correspond to the varying needs, resources, and conditions operative in - and the cultural media and knowledge infrastructures available within specific societies. Obviously, 'book hunger' is rooted to a considerable degree in the specific historical configurations and socioeconomic circumstances of specific countries. An understanding of complex, globally-interlinked socio-cultural, political and economic structures and practices is thus crucial to understanding 'book hunger' in South Africa. A survey of global and local environments within which scholarly books are produced and circulated - including South African distribution systems and knowledge dissemination networks - makes it possible to sketch an approach to South Africa's own 'book hunger:' which is sensitive to the complexity and the specificity of conditions in the local booktrade, and which is able to contribute to the complex debates on local knowledge infrastructures, strategies for book development and new forms of distribution which are now beginning to take place in South Africa.
Brand new : assessing the applicability of the recently published non-profit brand idea framework to the South African context : a case study of eight South African non-profit organisations.
Williams, Kristen.; Jones, Nicola-Jane.
The increasing pressures on the non-profit sector, in particular reference to funding, has meant that many non-profits in South Africa are having to adapt to compete in a global funding market and to professionalise to align with funders’ demands. Many non-profits view their brand in a commercial light, primarily as a fundraising and marketing tool, however the Non-Profit Brand IDEA Model is a recently developed model that proposes a specific communication plan for brands in the non-profit sector. This model suggests that a strong brand can assist in achieving organisation impact, the ultimate goal of most non-profits. In addition, it proposes that the brand can be used to harness partnerships which alleviate the pressure for funding. As South Africa has a growing non-profit sector, this study assesses the applicability of the Non-Profit Brand IDEA framework in the South African context as it could provide a solution to the pressures facing this vital sector.
Breaking free : exploring dialogue for collective action in the Footballers 4 Life Intervention at the Heidelberg Correctional Centre.
(2013) Sibisi, Wandile.; Govender, Eliza Melissa.; Roma-Reardon, Josianne.
Many community development initiatives place great emphasis on the need for the a participatory approach towards development. Here the beneficiaries are expected to engage in dialogue and collective action in order to be empowered and consequently developed. This study therefore seeks to explore the elements of dialogue and collective action in a crime prevention and health promotion intervention that was administered by a non-governmental organisation called Footballers for Life (F4L) at the Heidelberg Correctional Centre (Johannesburg, South Africa) from March to August 2011 amongst a group of 40 male offenders. Premised on the idea that true human development should be participatory and therefore dialogical, this study used Participatory Communication to explore dialogue for collective action within the mentioned intervention. Participatory Communication was applied through the use of the Communication for Participatory Development Model (CFPD), which was used as a guide through which dialogue for collective action was explored. Furthermore, F4L is an organisation that uses retired professional football stars who, acting as role models, offer a unique approach towards effecting behaviour change amongst the communities they work with. Hence in this regard this study used the Social Cognitive Theory to primarily explore the significance of role modelling towards behaviour change in the F4L programme at the Heidelberg Correctional Centre. Taking a qualitative research approach, this study used interviews, focus groups as well as a participant observation schedule to collect the relevant data. This data was analysed through a thematic analysis which was facilitated through the use of a data analysis software package called NVivo. The study reveals how the offenders were excluded from the initial dialogue that took place between F4L and the prison in the recognition of the problems facing the offenders and planning of the intervention. Upon invitation to join the F4L programme the offenders went into it without any sense of ownership or clear understanding of what the programme was about potentially threatening the envisaged purpose of the programme. However, the study also found that the democratic leadership style and genuine efforts of the F4L head Coach (Silver) were able to play a key role in fostering a sense of brotherhood and therefore ownership of the developmental process amongst the offenders leading to the attainment of certain individual as well as social outcomes, i.e. self-reliance, empathy, budgeting skills, collective efficacy as well as communal trust.
A case study on Brothers for Life campaign: demand creation for oral PrEP among AGYW through exploring the perceptions and acceptability of males on the implementation of Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Vulindlela, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2021) Ndlovu, Lungelo.; Govender, Eliza Melissa.
HIV prevalence in South Africa remains high among Adolescent girls and young women particularly in male counterparts in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Perpetuation of HIV in rural KZN is due to multiple factors including cultural beliefs, practices, and values. Nevertheless, the introduction of Pre– exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention has presented an opportunity not only for a decline in general HIV mortality but also a prevention method that is female - centred already existing HIV prevention methods. Previous case studies have demonstrated the efficacy of Oral PrEP, but it remains ineffective for AGYW because much of it relied on the negotiation with partners. Therefore, this study set out to explore male involvement in Oral PrEP mobilization by understanding the perceptions and support of men in heterosexual relationship and fathers of AGYW in Vulindlela. Using the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) within the Social Ecological Model, this study explored the relevance of a B4L poster approach with two specific groupings of males, firstly those who are in heterosexual relationships aged 24- 35 years and secondly male parents (also referred to as fathers in this study) who are aged 35 - 49 years in Vulindlela, South Africa. This study employed the qualitative approach, using focus groups and action media to gain an understanding of males’ perceptions and support of Oral PrEP uptake among young women. Findings reveal that even though Oral PrEP is a female centered prevention method and previous interventions were implemented to encourage women, male involvement is important. The support of male partners and fathers to daughters has the potential to promote acceptance of Oral PrEP. However, trust in heterosexual relationships remains an issue for acceptance of Oral PrEP among young women and fathers believe that promoting Oral PrEP to their daughters is encouraging promiscuous behaviour. Also, encouraging male partners to take Oral PrEP may assist in preventing female partners from contracting HIV because they are in multiple intimate relationships. Findings also presented that a poster can be an effective medium of communication if factors such as language, posters are displayed in relevant spaces to reach a wider audience, role modelling and poster is attractive. Key Words: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Brothers’ for Life, Adolescent Girls and Young Women, Male involvement, Participatory Action Research.
Centring development : education centres supporting rural development in KwaZulu-Natal.
(2006) Gush, Kathryn.; Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth Elizabeth.
Since the 1950s, various paradigms of development have aimed to achieve improvement in the living conditions in the developing world (Africa, Asia and Latin America). Today the effects of globalisation have increased the gap between the information and technology haves and have-nots and development practice (born out of the paradigms developed over the last fifty years) now seeks to address issues such as access to Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the need for developing countries to participate in the global economy. The practice of development has and continues to raise debate, as Friberg and Hettne (1985 in Melkote and Steeves, 2001:19) note "there is no universal path to development. Each society must find its own strategy". Thus development projects have ranged in approach and focus. This research project examines the first year of the joint venture between the Media in Education Trust (MiET) and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (KZNDE) to develop Education Centres Supporting Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal. These education centres aim to address a number of development issues for rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal. Through these centres access is provided for schools and communities in the area to Information Communication Technology, teacher development programmes, educational materials (including textbooks), library services, skills development programmes (including Adult Basic Education and Training), youth programmes and HIV/AIDS education and support. This research examines the Education Centres project in relation to Development Communication Theory and the local and global development context. The local context focuses on the challenges faced by South Africa as a developing nation and the urban-rural divide. The global perspective is gained through examining the centres project in relation to the Millennium Development Goals. In order to examine the Education Centres, this research project examines three centres in KwaZulu-Natal and their objectives in relation to the issues of participation, access, sustainability and the economic and socio-economic impact of the development project. These issues relate not only to the local and global context for development but to the relationship between technology, education and development. This Education Centres project is still in the early stages and thus the challenges faced could still be resolved during the course of the project. The key challenges identified when examining the three centres in relation to the issues of participation, access, sustainability and the economic and socio-economic impact of the development project are the lack of physical resources currently available in the centres and the lack of Internet connectivity in two of the centres. These two factors restrict the centres from fully achieving their objectives in the context of access, participation, sustainability and the socio-economic impact of the project. The Education Centres project is scheduled to establish these Education Centres over four years. This research presents an analysis of the first year of the project, thus there is opportunity for additional research as the project progresses and this future research can more accurately examine if the Education Centres project is meeting its objectives in relation to the issues outlined in this research - those of access, participation, sustainability and the socio-economic impact of the development project.
Close encounters with the first kind : what does development mean in the context of two Bushman communities in Ngwatle and the Northern Cape?
(2004) Dyll, Lauren Eva.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.
The aim of this research is to investigate the interaction between the ‘beneficiaries’ of development - the Ngwatle Bushmen in southern Botswana and the Khomani Bushmen in the Northern Cape of South Africa, and the agents of development – local NGOs (Non Government Organisations) and Trusts, whose development programmes are influenced by broader state policy. The development programmes implemented by these organisations affect Bushman rights with regards to public participation in the development process, land, hunting and access to resources and benefits. In discussing these issues this study draws on James Murombedzi’s (2001) proposition that community based natural resource management (CBNRM) programmes that supposedly devolve the management of natural resources to the local population, may be an extension of greater state control over resources. It will investigate the impact of what Steven Robins (2002: 835) calls “double donor vision” on the lives of the Ngwatle and Khomani Bushmen. Donors and NGOs view Bushmen as “both ‘First Peoples’ and modern citizen-in-the-making” (Robins, 2001: 833). He argues that this dual mandate to “promote the ‘cultural survival’ of indigenous people and to socialise them into becoming virtuous modern citizens” (Robins, 2001: 842) contributes to intra-community divisions and conflicts. An overview of the issue of identity as discussed by Anthea Simoes (2001) who tested Stuart Hall’s (1990, 1996, 1997) two models of identity in both communities, is necessary here to frame the discussion of development as being affected by differences in identity construction.This research therefore seeks to discuss perspectives of the process of development communication and implementation in the two Bushman communities. What type of development occurs and how does this interaction shape perceptions of development amongst the Bushmen? Different development communication paradigms adopt communication strategies and implementation programmes that best suit their goals. The modernization and dependency/dissociation development paradigms fail to offer mechanisms to facilitate negotiation, conflict resolution and community or individual empowerment (Servaes, 1999). The development support communication (DSC) paradigm and to a larger degree the ‘another development’ paradigm, in contrast, encourage local people to actively participate in the search for solutions to development problems as perceived and experienced by them (Ansah, 1992). This research aims to illustrate, however, that these different development paradigms exist alongside each other in the field – this adds to the ‘messiness’ of development in practice. The research frames the perceptions of and engagement with development via a comparative analysis of Ngwatle and the Northern Cape Bushman communities.
Commodification of tertiary institutions : a study of the University of Natal's corporate advertising campaign.
(2000) Oyedemi, Tokunbo.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.
Following the global 'capitalisation' of public institutions, academic institutions have embarked continuously on a drive towards 'marketisation' and commodification of their services. Tertiary institutions are utilising aggressive marketing strategies and media campaigns to attract students. This study examines the advertising campaign embarked on by the University of Natal in 1998/ 1999. This is a first stage of a two-tier marketing strategy, and it involves brand-building the University. This research assesses the University of Natal's advertising campaign both on radio and in print, it analyses the campaign from creative conceptualisation to media exposure, while giving a brief background to advertising and commodification trends among tertiary institutions in South Africa. Eric Michaels' (1990) proposal of a circular message transmission model called 'hermeneutic circle' (12-28) of a teleported text serves as the theoretical backdrop for the assessment of lhe conceptualisation process to the media exposure of the campaign. A semiotic analysis of the University of Natal's advertising campaign is also given and located within a particular context in the 'henneneutic circle'. Various focus group discussions were conducted : one comprising mainly white students from Pinetown Girls High School in Standard Nine; the second, mainly Indian students in their matric year at Queensburgh High School. The others comprised of black students from Ferndale Secondary School, Phoenix, but who reside in KwaMashu, and also black students from Amangwane High School in Bergeville, near Ladysmith. One on one interviews were also conducted with high school students. Most of these students were in Standard Nine with some completing their matric year. These discussions were conducted separately to avoid any kind of intimidation and domination of the discussions by students from the private schools who are more fluent in the command of the English language. The other group comprised of an alumnus, a parent, four students - two local and two international, and two staff members of the University. Their comments provide information in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the campaign as well as the evaluation of the campaign concepts and contents in correlation with the cultural contexts of the target groups. The group discussions also provide insight into the reception and perception of the campaign.

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