Within the field of development, participation has become the normative approach in the past two decades. For development projects to be sustainable, the communication must be participatory in nature. For development projects to be sustainable and to actually contribute to the development of communities, communication has to be based on the participatory approach of development communication. Dialogue, empowerment that leads to independence and cultural identity are some of the most important principles of the participatory approach. The importance of communication aimed at development first became apparent during the modernisation paradigm. Modernisation is considered an evolutionary shift from a traditional view to a modern society. Development is seen as synonymous with westernization, industrialization and economic growth. Universities are under pressure from both the government and the industry to help with economic development and deliver graduates that can make a positive difference in their field of expertise (Grimaldi & Grandi, 2005). A university business incubator (UBI) is a business incubator located within a university. University business incubators facilitate and develop conditions and support systems that ensure young entrepreneurs with new ventures will function successfully. Business incubators support these entrepreneurs by giving them access to affordable facilities and resources such as secretarial support and office furniture. The focus is on providing entrepreneurs with specialised support, training and assistance, including research and development, risk capital and networking opportunities (Lalkaka, 1990:25). A UBI uses the university‟s resources, personnel‟s time and knowledge toward economic development efforts, reaping the benefits from the commercialisation of the university‟s own research (Grimaldi & Grandi, 2005; Mian, 1997). The Netherlands Initiative for Capacity development in Higher Education (NICHE) launched a programme in South Africa in February 2009. BEEHIVE (Bridging Business and Education by Establishing a Hub of Innovative Ventures and Expertise) is the university incubator of the North-West University‟s (NWU) Vaal Triangle Campus, which started with the operational phase of the programme in May 2012. The name was changed in 2011 to Bhive for marketing purposes. Against this background, the following research question was investigated: to what extent is the communication between stakeholders of the Bhive UI participatory? The researcher used a qualitative research method in order to collect the data. A literature study was conducted to explore the premises of the nature of the participatory approach in development communication for social change. Interviews with different stakeholders were conducted to determine their perceptions regarding the Bhive UI. Lastly, the researcher observed the Bhive UI over a period of two years. The research findings reveal that within the larger paradigm of heteroglossia there is room for improvement. This study pointed out the various areas for improvement and offered theoretically grounded recommendations. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The overall aim of this research was to enhance the understanding of what affects the social impact of ICT in lifelong learning on disadvantaged women. In contributing to the field of social informatics, this research employs behavioural theories as strategy and analytic possibilities. This research mainly used the Kenyan digital villages as CRCs as settings but did also look beyond such establishments to provide a more solid picture. The studies were located in Kenya with complementary studies in Bolivia, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, and Sweden. The main strategies and methods used were case study, comparative education approaches, and observations and interviewing techniques. The findings suggest that ICT and CRCs have the potential to support disadvantaged women and their lifelong learning. However, the positive social impacts are limited because the arrangement of them generally does not favour vernacular languages, illiterate users, female owners and users, or non-students. In general, the use of ICT was sometimes perceived as forced, which is both a barrier and a stressor in the use of ICT in lifelong learning. It also emerged from the comparative studies that discussions among the participants in the CRCs largely covered issues in respect to 1) family and reproduction and 2) self-esteem, i.e. what settles the matter of the social impact of ICT in lifelong learning depends on change attitude among men and women. With minimal if not zero self-esteem a change that would make the difference or break a woman’s “legendary status quo” in order for a woman to feel that she can reach her goal or ambitions in lifelong learning would be difficult. Hence the lack of self-esteem is a stressor in itself. This research is valuable for stakeholders delving into issues of development and learning using ICTs, not only in Kenya but in a broader, global perspective. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 6: Submitted.</p>

Programs that utilize soccer as a tool for social change are steadily emerging throughout townships and rural areas in South Africa, the most economically disadvantaged areas of the country. In South Africa, grassroots sport-for-social-change organizations are compensating for failed government policies and programs that seek to help at-risk youth. As a result, program staff are often members of the community who are not versed in academic critiques of the use of sport in development initiatives. Additionally, much of the existing literature on sport-for-social-change champions the advancement of specific projects without asking critical research questions, which should include the appropriateness of the modality within a given context. In this case, the complexities of using soccer (e.g., its practices, historical significance, and gendered meanings) have not been thoroughly investigated. Soccer is not a "genderless" tool for social change. Participation in violent sports such as soccer has been used to bolster claims of a naturalized dominance of men over women. Although participation by girls and young women in soccer programs (professional and recreational) is increasing in urban townships and rural areas, soccer pitches remain largely "masculinized spaces." In this study, I use qualitative research methods to show how gendered discourses organize sport-for-social-change programs. Using Ashcraft and Mumby's theory of feminist communicology and Connell and Messerschmidt's reformulated theory of hegemonic masculinity, I examine three sport-for-social-change organizations in South Africa through an applied lens with a feminist standpoint. Semi-structured interviews with twelve key informants were conducted over a three-month period between May and August of 2009. All three organizations studied are grassroots organizations that work within a particular area of South Africa. They each target male children and youth between the ages of 6 and 19 from economically disadvantaged households and use soccer as a modality for social change, yet each organization operates within a different cultural context primarily based on participants' racial, regional, and ethnic identities. My research found that masculine discourses were constructed, maintained, and contested in sport-for-social-change organizations through: (a) (Not) Engaging in (Social) Fatherhood, (b) Challenging the Temptation to Lead a Gangster Life and Have a "Gangster" Attitude, and (c) Challenging Patriarchy, Physical Assault, and Cultural "Traditions." Discourses also created paradoxes that worked against the goal of contesting local hegemonic masculinities, although these paradoxes were not typically identified by organizational members. Although I found similarities in the influences of local discourses on organizations such as the lingering effects of The Group Areas Act on urban migration that influenced men's roles within their families; the desire to create positive male role models that rejected characteristics associated with exemplars of hegemonic masculinity identified in each case study; and concerns about stopping the pattern of domestic violence prevalent in some communities, an issue that is also related to spread of HIV, I also found differences. Differences were based primarily on racial, regional and ethnic signifiers and affected the goals of each organization as well as the design of programs aimed at achieving these goals. This study expands the literature on gender issues in sport-for-social-change programs, particularly the designation of public spaces such as soccer pitches as masculinized spaces where women take on the role of visitor rather than welcomed participants. The history of soccer in South Africa proves that changing the gender dynamics on the soccer pitch can lead to significant changes in people's attitudes. Although women in South Africa now also hold important seats in government, the "politics of the pitch" continues to reflect discriminatory practices based on gender. This study shows how Connell and Messerschmidt's (2005) reformulated theory of hegemonic masculinity can be used as a lens to examine the "gendering" (Ashcraft & Mumby, 2004) of organizations through discourse, and some of the repercussions of gendered organizing. Additionally, although this study identified exemplars of hegemonic masculinity that endorsed violent, sexist practices that worked to subordinate women and privilege men, the theory of hegemonic masculinity leaves open the possibility of identifying exemplars of masculinity that also endorse feminist ideals. For example, this study found that discourses surrounding soccer challenged the violent "Body as Weapon" mentality often endorsed by players during football matches. Participants also resisted deeply entrenched cultural beliefs about gender norms by endorsing an ethic of care. Therefore, future case studies of sport-for-social-change organizations may wish to focus on identifying discourses that reject patriarchal beliefs rather than endorse them.

The purpose of the study was to field test a unit of lessons in which students explore how a variety of social issues and value systems impact the meaning expressed in their artwork. By exposing students to different systems of belief, their historical contexts, and providing opportunities for students to discuss, research and symbolically express meaning I hope to develop critical thinking skills; promote increase in the social conscience of teenagers; help students develop critical thinking skills; promote student active involvement in their community at large; encourage social activism; and help students become part of the larger global community. The study utilized pre and post written tests, student artwork, student written responses and an auto-ethnographic approach to document student outcomes. Although evidence of progress was observed there is a need for additional research about ways art education might be used to assist students in the development of a social conscience and awareness of the global community.

In 2012, the Entertainment Software Association announced that 47% of all game players are women. Before this statistic came out, it wasn't a surprise that girl gamers existed but the fact that this supposed 'minority' almost shared equal parts with the majority was used as a catalyst for the types of gaming environments we have today where females are faced with sexism, patriarchy, and other various forms of prejudice. This, in turn has initiated both positive and negative discourse and has perpetuated social change in the video game community. This is my response...

Der vorliegende Band beschäftigt sich mit dem Verhältnis von Ordnung und Wandel mit Blick auf verschiedene der vorgenannten Facetten. Es nimmt damit ein Thema auf, das für Gert-Joachim Glaeßners wissenschaftliches Wirken prägend ist. Glaeßner hat sich immer wieder aus unterschiedlicher Perspektive mit der Frage beschäftigt, wie politische Ordnungen mit gesellschaftlichem Wandel umgehen, ob politische Systeme zu Reformen fähig sind, diese vielleicht sogar anstoßen können, oder ob sie Veränderungen behindern.

This thesis is the first dedicated sociological attempt to offer a critical response to cultural studies and allied discourses that concern themselves with the relationship between technology and violence. A critical reconstruction is necessary because these cultural theorists have failed to adequately contextualize their arguments in relation to both the globally ascendant neoliberal policy outlook and its associated social Darwinian technoculture: the combined pernicious effects of which could be described as the logic of ???social constructionism as social psychosis???. The most prominent manifestation of this theoretical psychosis has to do with an interest in biotechnology in particular. The problem I identify in the treatment of this theme is how easily it can be used to support a technologically determinist position. One undesirable side effect is that these determinists are able to project from present trends a dystopian exhaustion of all critique through their focus on violence. In the thesis of ???bioglobalism??? this state of affairs is also deployed to take sociologists to task for insufficient recognition of processual ???network??? forms of distributed agency in technological processes. At stake therefore is the recovery of sociological critique. It follows that the core of my thesis is the radical reworking of two related heuristic devices: seriality and contingency. Seriality is taken to refer to social practices as diverse as the possible relationships between the social problem of rationality, case studies of individuals who have run amok, and the functioning of network characteristics. I use contingency to eschew seriality???s deterministic accounting of the social. Here I propose a new conceptual relationship between creativity and action. Emphasis is accordingly placed upon two related normative projects: Raymond Williams???s cultural materialism, and three of the ???problematiques??? Peter Wagner has identified as inescapable for theorizing modernity: the continuity of the acting person, the certainty of knowledge, and the viability of the political order. I conclude with a renewed conception of the role of normative critique as a form of conceptual therapy for bioglobal projections of seriality.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 248-274). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.