This study is a policy investigation of community radio broadcasting in Zambia. The emergence of this tier of broadcasting can be traced to the 1990s, following the country's policy of politico-economic liberalisation. The state broadcasting system had hitherto reigned supreme. Based upon a focused synthesis of a range of historical, political, policy, regulatory and other factors, within the context of participatory development communication, this study proposes a normative policy model for community radio broadcasting in Zambia. To begin with, the study focuses on the historical factors that have influenced the development of community radio broadcasting in the country, particularly in the period before and after 1991. This historical analysis establishes the fact that the shape that community radio broadcasting has assumed in Zambia is largely reflective of the state-centric policy-making regime. This policy-making regime is itself a legacy of British colonialism. Next, the study offers a conceptual framework of community radio broadcasting. It analyses several theoretical antecedents upon which the conceptual edifice of community radio broadcasting would seem to be built. In particular, the study explores the contributions of media effects and normative media theories towards the conceptual underpinnings of community radio broadcasting. Furthermore, as an attempt at establishing some empirical referents for developing a community radio broadcasting policy for Zambia, the study delves into a comparative analysis of trends in broadcast policy and regulatory practices throughout the world, with a special focus on Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Australia. This comparative policy analysis reveals differentiated levels of sophistication of policy-cum-regulatory models relating to community radio broadcasting. This provides a wealth of chequered experiences for Zambia to learn from. To further substantiate the case for a policy model, the study examines selected community radio initiatives in Zambia. Finally, based upon this focused synthesis, the study proposes a normative policy model for community radio broadcasting in Zambia. The policy proposal, informed by the assumptions of the group and organised anarchy models of policy-making, seeks to promote community radio broadcasting in terms of its vision, regulatory structures, funding, training, facilities, technology, production of local content and research. / Communication Science / D. Litt. et Phil.

The aim of this Bachelor thesis is to find keys to successful advocacy in a rural, Indian setting. The study is based on inductive, explorative research at a grassroots level, from a bottom-up perspective. Geographically, it takes place in the East Godavari District, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. At the centre of this study is the NGO:s Sujana and the Kadali Network, who are both advocating the rights of poor, marginalised and deprived people, as well as training people to carry out advocacy themselves. The theoretical framework for this thesis originates from theories within development communication, advocacy and Participatory Rural Appraisal. The research was carried out by making 16 individual interviews and 3 focus group interviews.  Findings from the interviews have been categorised into themes and analysed through meaning condensation. The result of this study shows that there are multiple ways in which grassroots movements in East Godavari conduct advocacy. The analysis states that advocacy can be successful in a short to medium time span; the most prominent keys to success being: having a driving spirit, being creative, developing networks and being knowledgeable about laws and rights. In a longer time span though, the advocacy and struggle for change is hampered by lack of, or conflicting, political interest from the local government and by conflicting economical interests from companies.

Social media is a collective name for the communication channels that allow users to communicate directly with each other in real time through text, image or sound. This study sets out to describe, analyze and draw conclusions on the use of social media in land conflicts in Cambodia. Experts debate on the importance of social media in social change, and aid institutions encourage social media presence for grass root organizations. With this study we want to add a grass root perspective from a development context, trying to see how the communication and information work with social media actually works. We decided to focus on social media’s agenda setting, advocacy and mobilizational possibilities, and interviewed eight organizations, three journalists/bloggers and one newspaper editor to get a broad perspective of social media’s usage in land conflicts, and we also conducted a small case study on the land conflict Boeung Kak lake’s presence on Youtube. The results showed that the organizations were using social media in many different ways, and on different levels in their communications work. We could however not see any clear interlinkage between the usage of social media and a success in neither agenda setting, social mobilization nor advocacy work; even though there are success stories we could not see consistent patterns in them. Our conclusion is therefore that a more objective and rational picture of social media is needed, that acknowledges the potentials but also shows the obstacles. Our hope is that this study can give a more balanced approach to social media’s place in developing countries in general and Cambodia in particular, helping actors to understand the different factors that need to be addressed to make it a successful tool of communication.

This study examines the party-controlled communication of the five most important political parties in the North West Province of South Africa during the 1999 general elections. The main assumption is that political parties in developing democracies have a normative obligation to do more than canvas for votes during an election campaign. Political parties should also be instrumental through their communication in fostering a democratic political culture. Central to this argument is the notion that a typical marketing approach is not suitable for an election campaign in a developing democracy. In accordance with the participatory approach to development, it is thus proposed that the two-way symmetrical model for public relations (as proposed by James Grunig) is a more appropriate approach to election campaigns. Especially relevant for this study is the two-way symmetrical model's emphasis on interaction and the establishment of long tern relationships with target publics. Through an extensive qualitative analysis of all relevant material (party manifests, newspaper advertisements, radio advertisements, pamphlets, posters and web pages), it was found that South African political parties placed much less emphasis on the "image" of the party or its leader compared to their American counterparts. However, that did not imply that the substance of the message was emphasised adequately. On the contrary, the political parties participating in the elections in the North-West province generally failed the normative criteria of informing voters and identifying democratic values adequately. Furthermore it was found that the cognitive and emotional campaign messages were not fully integrated. While the focus was on typical election issues (emotional message), these issues were not explained and contextualised within a developing democracy to the full extend (cognitive message). Therefore the emotional message was not utilised to focus the voter's attention on policy issues and democratic values. In conclusion it is argued that political parties should do much more than merely canvas for votes. They should also empower voters by informing them on their policy issues and highlighting democratic values in society. Only then the new South African democracy will be sustainable. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

This study examines the party-controlled communication of the five most important political parties in the North West Province of South Africa during the 1999 general elections. The main assumption is that political parties in developing democracies have a normative obligation to do more than canvas for votes during an election campaign. Political parties should also be instrumental through their communication in fostering a democratic political culture. Central to this argument is the notion that a typical marketing approach is not suitable for an election campaign in a developing democracy. In accordance with the participatory approach to development, it is thus proposed that the two-way symmetrical model for public relations (as proposed by James Grunig) is a more appropriate approach to election campaigns. Especially relevant for this study is the two-way symmetrical model's emphasis on interaction and the establishment of long tern relationships with target publics. Through an extensive qualitative analysis of all relevant material (party manifests, newspaper advertisements, radio advertisements, pamphlets, posters and web pages), it was found that South African political parties placed much less emphasis on the "image" of the party or its leader compared to their American counterparts. However, that did not imply that the substance of the message was emphasised adequately. On the contrary, the political parties participating in the elections in the North-West province generally failed the normative criteria of informing voters and identifying democratic values adequately. Furthermore it was found that the cognitive and emotional campaign messages were not fully integrated. While the focus was on typical election issues (emotional message), these issues were not explained and contextualised within a developing democracy to the full extend (cognitive message). Therefore the emotional message was not utilised to focus the voter's attention on policy issues and democratic values. In conclusion it is argued that political parties should do much more than merely canvas for votes. They should also empower voters by informing them on their policy issues and highlighting democratic values in society. Only then the new South African democracy will be sustainable. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

This study is a policy investigation of community radio broadcasting in Zambia. The emergence of this tier of broadcasting can be traced to the 1990s, following the country's policy of politico-economic liberalisation. The state broadcasting system had hitherto reigned supreme. Based upon a focused synthesis of a range of historical, political, policy, regulatory and other factors, within the context of participatory development communication, this study proposes a normative policy model for community radio broadcasting in Zambia. To begin with, the study focuses on the historical factors that have influenced the development of community radio broadcasting in the country, particularly in the period before and after 1991. This historical analysis establishes the fact that the shape that community radio broadcasting has assumed in Zambia is largely reflective of the state-centric policy-making regime. This policy-making regime is itself a legacy of British colonialism. Next, the study offers a conceptual framework of community radio broadcasting. It analyses several theoretical antecedents upon which the conceptual edifice of community radio broadcasting would seem to be built. In particular, the study explores the contributions of media effects and normative media theories towards the conceptual underpinnings of community radio broadcasting. Furthermore, as an attempt at establishing some empirical referents for developing a community radio broadcasting policy for Zambia, the study delves into a comparative analysis of trends in broadcast policy and regulatory practices throughout the world, with a special focus on Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Australia. This comparative policy analysis reveals differentiated levels of sophistication of policy-cum-regulatory models relating to community radio broadcasting. This provides a wealth of chequered experiences for Zambia to learn from. To further substantiate the case for a policy model, the study examines selected community radio initiatives in Zambia. Finally, based upon this focused synthesis, the study proposes a normative policy model for community radio broadcasting in Zambia. The policy proposal, informed by the assumptions of the group and organised anarchy models of policy-making, seeks to promote community radio broadcasting in terms of its vision, regulatory structures, funding, training, facilities, technology, production of local content and research. / Communication Science / D. Litt. et Phil.

Inclusive public dialogue about issues of concern to science and society can democratise and widen the knowledge base for decision-making so scientific research and developments are made accountable to citizens’ priorities. This participatory model of science communication is not yet widely practiced. More research is needed into how to make such communication effective. Formative audience research can inform a communication strategy’s design to meet its objectives effectively and enhance its relevance to participants’ needs and communication preferences. However, audience research designs based on transmission models are inadequate for the participatory objectives of public dialogue. They must therefore be adapted. This dissertation proposes how audience research should be designed and conducted when the objective of communication is public dialogue about science, such as biotechnology. The methodology involves building an evaluation framework from the literature and applying this to a case of applied research. Four sub-questions are addressed. First, audience research and participatory development communication literature is reviewed to propose how audience research should be designed and conducted for public dialogue broadly. Second, literature on public engagement about science is analysed for the challenges in public dialogue about science and the implications for audience research. Third, a set of guidelines is presented for evaluating the appropriateness of audience research for public dialogue about science. Finally, these guidelines are used to evaluate a case of qualitative audience research commissioned by the Public Understanding of Biotechnology (PUB) programme, judging the appropriateness of its design to the communication objectives and extracting further lessons for audience research. The findings present a “double-dialogical” approach to audience research, where the research methods and the information elicited reflect dialogical objectives. This approach emphasises listening over telling, building relationships over interrogating targets, and optimising inclusivity and diversity in identifying participants, framing issues, and selecting channels and spaces for deliberative dialogue, wherein participation and information dissemination play complementary roles. Following these principles, audience research can build democratic foundations for public dialogue about science while recognizing the following challenges: the specialized and technical nature of science, the complexity of issues, the power of commercial interests, the need for social accountability, low motivation and interest amongst publics, and the resistance of technical experts and decision-makers towards dialogue. A framework of guidelines is offered for designing and evaluating audience research for public dialogue about science, structured around 5 interrelated elements: WHY – clarifying the objectives of communication and audience research; GENERAL – overall research design considerations; WHO – conceptualizing and investigating dialogue participants; WHAT – framing issues from multiple perspectives; and HOW – identifying spaces and channels for public dialogue. Applying the framework to the case study demonstrates the guidelines’ usefulness for evaluation purposes, grounds the study in an actual case of audience research and extracts lessons for future applications. The framework succeeds in judging the appropriateness of the study’s design for its purpose. The study contributes to the search for effective means of public engagement by proposing practical guidelines for the first steps of such a process, a methodological praxis for audience research that can be useful in scholarly and practitioner communities and can be refined and adapted for various contexts. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Information Science / unrestricted

“What role did branding play in the social marketing processes of the three Schwab Foundation award winning social enterprises (SEs)?” The research problem, as well as the research questions, revolve around the issue of establishing how branding may be employed as part of the social marketing process in such a way as to increase the competitiveness of those organisations known as social enterprises (SEs). This study investigates three SEs whose Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have won The Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur (SFSE) of the Year Awards, to determine how branding was used as a communication tool to position their organisations as leaders and differentiators in the development sector. The three SEs that were chosen as case study organisations are: Soul City, Heartbeat and the Johannesburg Housing Company (JHC). The theoretical context focuses firstly on the non-profit sector in South Africa as the context and environment of this study, more specifically, the evolution of non-profit organisations (NPOs) into Social Enterprises (SEs). This is followed by defining communication principles and applications as they appear in both profit-driven and non-profit organisations/social enterprises (NPOs/SEs). This is applied in two different communication contexts: communication within corporate organisations and communication within development organisations. The last theoretical focus is placed on understanding what branding means, a description of the different branding categories, and a view of the evolution of branding to brand building and brand leadership. This is followed by a discussion on the importance of brand identity and equity in the process of brand development, brand management and measurement, including a presentation of the main role players in this brand-building process. Branding is then discussed as it is applied in SEs, outlining what a strong brand could do for the development sector. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches are utilised; more specifically a qualitative research approach, supported by a quantitative one, referred to as the “dominant less-dominant model”. This study is based on the grounded theory model supported by a collective case study approach, also referred to as “building theories from case study research”. The study further indicates the theory that was generated by this study, namely “The Social Enterprise (SE) branding layered grounded theory model”. Whereas the 1st layer displays the important role that the NPO/SE sector if fulfilling in modern society; the 2nd layer the specific space and linkages of SEs with the different other society sectors are explained; the 3rd layer positions/similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with the growth path of NPOs towards SEs and their own sustainability on the NPO/SE pyramid model; the 4th layer indicates the fact that the same corporate communication principles applies to the development sector; and the 5th layer stresses the important role that branding plays as the core element of a corporate communication strategy. In summary, the study found that a lack of implementation of corporate communication in NPOs and SEs, more specifically the absence of a corporate identity, image and a strategic brand management process, has a direct impact on the effectiveness of SEs’ communication and limits the achievement of their developmental objectives. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Information Science / unrestricted

This study comprised an information audit of certain micro enterprises of Umkhanyakude District Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The purpose of this study was to investigate the information needs, information resources available and the information gaps that exist in these enterprises. The Umkhanyakude District Municipality consists of five local municipalities, but this study focused mainly on two, Jozini and Mtubatuba, because of their large number of local economic activities compared with the other local municipalities. The study primarily used questionnaires to collect data. These questionnaires were administered in the two municipalities identified. The results of the study revealed that technical information relating to business and financial management were the highest ranking information needs indicated by the sampled enterprises. Legal and business management information was the second most-needed information for these enterprises. The study also revealed a correlation between the academic level of the entrepreneurs, the type of business that the entrepreneurs operate and the kind of information they needed. The information resources that these enterprises had and used included newspapers, business magazines, market research documents and government documents. Based on the responses of the respondents, a gap was identified. This includes the lack of relevant sources of information that meet the respondents' information needs. This study also revealed that there are a number of institutions that provide information for these enterprises, such as community libraries, government information centres, bookshops, government offices and so on. Although these information resource institutions exist within the district municipality, these enterprises also have other information needs. This therefore led the researcher to conclude that these information resource structures are not providing their services according to the needs of the community at large. Based on the identified gaps the researcher recommends a participatory proactive approach. This approach uses participatory development communication platforms for the district municipality, the information resource institutions and local enterprises. The district municipality needs to have a platform which will identify information needs, gaps and pportunities for local enterprises. The information resource institutions need to provide platforms where they can assess the information needs of their customers and also have a customer management feedback system where they can assess whether they are responding to the customer needs. Finally, the micro enterprises need to use existing platforms to make the municipality and information resource institutions aware of their information needs. These platforms could include local and presidential izimbizo where the government comes to the people to address their concerns and issues. The approach recommended by this study is part of a development communication approach where participatory two-way communication platforms are used to bring about development. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Information Science / unrestricted

In recent years the ideas of good governance and the responsibility of corporate South Africa to contribute to the society in which they operate have become an undeniable part of organisational conception. Indeed, South Africa is considered to be a leader in the field of corporate governance internationally. Forming part of governance practices is Corporate Social Investment (CSI) whereby corporate organisations contribute to causes and societal groupings in need of financial and other assistance. Among these societal groupings that receive support from CSI activities are non-profit organisations (NPOs) that rely on funding from their corporate donors for survival. Based on the exchange of funding and a shared attempt at social development, a relationship between the two parties emerges. From the perspective of the stakeholder theory, corporate organisations, through their CSI activities, and NPOs are stakeholders of each other and a positive relationship between them could strengthen their individual and collective goals. This study explored and described the relationship between corporate donors and recipient NPOs in order to understand the state of the relationship and to critically consider the way in which the relationship is defined, described and measured. First, the relationship was explored by means of partially structured interviews based on well-known relationship indicators where it appeared that the relationship is not only fraught with negative perceptions from both sides, but also where the relationship indicators used to explore the relationship were not entirely suited for the specific context of this relationship. The negative perceptions and inappropriate relationship indicators formed the basis of a theoretical inquiry of literature on CSI, stakeholder relationships and participatory development communication. Subsequently, the partially structured interviews and the literature review informed the design of two corresponding survey questionnaires that could test both findings quantitatively. The results of validity and reliability testing confirmed the qualitative finding that a contextualised measurement is suited for this relationship. A mix of existing and newly formulated items grouped in contextual elements and redefined relationship indicators was used to describe the relationship. A combined analysis of qualitative and quantitative results indicated that the relationship is not as negative as the qualitative research might have suggested (possibly a result of contextualised measurement); but that very specific relational challenges are present and it is suggested that these challenges need a realistic approach of which accurate description is a starting point. The research contributes twofold with the first contribution being a clearer understanding of the relationship between corporate donors and recipient NPOs and the second being a set of redefined and contextualised relationship indicators with which to define and measure this relationship. / PhD (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014