Media promoting cultural tourism is argued to present specific romantic cultural attributes. In the case of Zulu cultural villages, the image offered is of militarism and bare-breasted maidens. The Western gaze offers the template within which such spectacle is constructed. PheZulu Safari Park is one such venture in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands that offers tourists a "uniquely African experience". Cell phones are rapidly proving to be a viable and accessible medium through which individuals can represent themselves. This dissertation evaluates the use of camera-enabled cell phones by Zulu cultural village performers. The subject-generated representation is analysed in order to assess the performers‘ view of the typical Zulu representation in the media, using a participatory video and participatory communication for development framework. A qualitative methodology was used to conduct focus groups, with field notes and unstructured interviews adding depth to the data. Thematic analysis was applied to the collected data, which included the cellphilms produced by the cultural performers. It was found that video enabled cell phones are indeed a viable technology to use in place of traditional digital video cameras in a participatory video project. The cellphilms that the participants produced negated the typical western media disseminated representation of Zulu culture, as is typified in the participants‘ performance at PheZulu Cultural Village. Although the cellphilms were not specifically targeted at promoting their cultural performance at PheZulu, significantly, it was not dismissing their performance‘s validity either. Instead, the participants used the cellphilms to express other, more personal, aspects of their culture. / M.Soc.Sc. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes are important in the promotion of intellectual development and school readiness in children. Equally important is the opportunity to learn in one‟s mother tongue. This study aimed to determine the value of using the multilingual television series Takalani Sesame as a Life Skills educational resource in specific South African schools, amongst Grade One learners. The focus lay on researching a possible mechanism for allowing children who had not attended quality ECD programmes to „catch up‟ in terms of knowledge they may be lacking, as well as providing a form of mother tongue instruction to African learners in schools where the language of instruction is English. A field experiment and a reception study were carried out at a primary school in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Two groups of twelve Grade One learners (from two different Grade One classes at the same school) were included in this research, which spanned a period of 6 months. The children in the test group watched a television series of Takalani Sesame (with guided viewing) and completed related activities including post viewing and homework activities. The children in the control group were not shown the series at school. Both groups were administered the same questionnaire both pre- and post-test in order to determine changes in Life Skills related learnt data. Other research methods included participant observation, focus group discussions, interviews with parents/caregivers and interviews with educators. These used Social Cognitive Theory as their basis, taking constructs that impact on behaviour change, such as modelling, outcome expectancies and behavioural capabilities into account. The research included a large focus on interpersonal communication between researcher and learner, and caregiver and learner, plus a concentration on the children‟s knowledge of and attitudes surrounding HIV/AIDS. Results showed satisfactory levels of attention to the series, as well as high levels of engagement with and enjoyment of the series. Levels of identification with characters were also noted to be high, increasing the possibilities of learning and behaviour change taking place. Decoding of messages was, for the most part, in line with the intentions of the producers, although oppositional readings, erroneous and creative decoding were also noted in some instances. The guided viewing component did well to increase levels of attention to the episode as well as allow for erroneously decoded messages to be corrected almost immediately. Positive changes in learnt data in the Life Skills areas of HIV/AIDS, Nutrition and Safety and Security were identified and these were noted to be impacted on by the homework activities which were included in the intervention to promote parent/caregiver-child communication. The research intervention was deemed to be a success in the selected school, and could possibly be recommended for use in similar South African primary schools where learners are taught in a language which is not their mother tongue. Possible areas for future related research were outlined. This research study contributes to the body of Entertainment Education (EE) research by identifying a new and valuable application for an EE intervention in the South African setting. This highlights the important aspects of localisation, in the South African context, promoting mother tongue learning and ECD. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

The modern world is more and more dependent on information. As grows its importance, so does its quantity. That is why the good communication, especially the visual one, is indispensable for the proper disclosure and addressing of potential recipients of information. Graphic design provides the form of visual communication. The interconnection of different cultures is linked with the quick pace of globalization - thus the communication with different cultures is important. Each culture is based on specific values that can vary and very often do to a great extent. These values are then reflected in all areas of human activity, graphic design included. At first, we define the term culture and have a look at the process by which we acquire it - to find out its influence on us. We use as a means the interdisciplinary approach which draws knowledge on cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology and anthropology. Next, we focus on the principles of visual perception and studies concerning the difference in behavior and visual perception in different cultures. We divide the world on the basis of culture-shape events into different cultural units and we analyze graphic design in different cultures by using the knowledge from the previous chapters. We point out the principles and potential pitfalls of symbols and colors in the communication with other cultures. We describe the way how the paradigm of cultural values is reflected in the graphic design and we try to capture the features of visual communication typical for each culture.

Universitätskultur kann als eines der Haupthindernisse für die Implementierung von strategischem Management an Universitäten angesehen werden. Vorhandene Ansätze der Organisationsforschung betrachten zwar Veränderungsprozesse, diskutieren die Rolle der Organisationskultur jedoch nur am Rande und fragen nicht nach dem Wie der Umsetzung einer solchen organisationalen Veränderung. Dieser Artikel betrachtet strategisches Management an Universitäten aus einer kulturtheoretischen Perspektive und überträgt das kohäsionsorientierte Organisationsmodell auf den Hochschulkontext. Es wird gezeigt, wie dieses Modell strategische Prozesse unterstützen kann, so dass es einen praktischen Nutzen für das Hochschulmanagement bietet. / University culture is seen as one of the main obstacles to the successful implementation of the process of strategic university management. Although existing organisational approaches of changing processes give theoretical insight, they fail to consider the cultural perspective and how change can be implemented successfully. This article focuses on a cultural approach and therefore introduces a cohesive cultural model to the Higher Education (HE) context. It will be shown how this paradigm can be used in strategic management processes at universities and how it can support them. It therefore offers an approach that is applicable to the practice of university management.

Master´s thesis focuses on analysis of changes connected to companies growth. Company growth typically results in creation of specific departments and tasks segmentation, which may lead to the occurrence of communication problems and the need of functional coordination. In accord with these changes new management roles appear and the company organization scheme becomes a matter of rearrangement.

University culture is seen as University culture is seen as one of the main obstacles to the successful implementation of the process of strategic university management. Although existing organisational approaches of changing processes give theoretical insight, they fail to consider the cultural perspective and how change can be implemented successfully. This article focuses on cultural approach and therefore introduces a cohesive cultural model to the Higher Education (HE) context. It will be shown how this paradigm can be used in strategic management processes at universities and how it can support them. It therefore offers an approach that is applicable to the practice of university management. / Universitätskultur kann als eines der Haupthindernisse für die Implementierung von strategischem Management an Universitäten angesehen werden. Vorhandene Ansätze der Organisationsforschung betrachten zwar Veränderungsprozesse, diskutieren die Rolle der Organisationskultur jedoch nur am Rande und fragen nicht nach dem Wie der Umsetzung einer solchen organisationalen Veränderung. Dieser Artikel betrachtet strategisches Management an Universitäten aus einer kulturtheoretischen Perspektive und überträgt das kohäsionsorientierte Organisationsmodell auf den Hochschulkontext. Es wird gezeigt, wie dieses Modell strategische Prozesse unterstützen kann, so dass es einen praktischen Nutzen für das Hochschulmanagement bietet.

The end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994 brought with it the task of redressing past discriminatory practices. The Employment Equity Act (No. 55 Of 1998) passed in 1998 stipulated that designated employers implement affirmative action in order to provide equal employment opportunities to all including the previously disadvantaged or designated groups who are primarily blacks, the disabled and women (Charlton and Niekerk, 1994:. xxii). Affirmative action is not something to be done for political expediency and fear of legislation alone. Shifting markets and consumer needs require demographic representation at all levels in the organization. Addressing the incredible shortage of available skills, compounded by the tendency not to grant equal employment to designated groups who already have skills, suggests the need for demographic considerations in terms of long-term employment needs. Bringing human resources up to world-class standards will mean addressing the deficiencies that have emanated from the apartheid system. This study focuses on the relationship between gender, equality and the concept of affirmative action. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of South African male broadcasters towards affirmative action especially where the policy is targeted towards women. Male broadcasters at SABC KwaZulu-Natal are used as case studies. South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) not only embraces affirmative action but also reports on it. Previous studies on affirmative action in media institutions tend to focus on women and thus this study uses men as case studies to make this area of research more complete. South African men are not a homogenous category. There are class, racial, religious, language, urban/rural, cultural and age lines of division among them (Nzimande and Sikhosana, 1996: 82). This being the case, the study investigates the different perceptions held by South African male broadcasters of different races concerning gender-based affirmative action. Issues discussed in this study include: • Understanding of the concept affirmative action • Need for the implementation of affirmative action • Perceptions ofmen towards work Men and power in organizations • Perceptions towards management • Perceptions towards female broadcasters • Perceived factors that hinder women from upward mobility • Possibilities for informal discrimination Studies on affirmative action have more frequently than not been examined in the context of feminist theories, for example, Susan Manhando's study (1994), 'Towards affirmative action: Issues of race, gender and equality at the SABC: Case studies of Natal women broadcasters' and Farhana Goga's (2000) 'Towards affirmative action issues of race and gender in media organizations: A study on South African media organizations,' to cite but two examples. This study moves beyond this rubric to include both patriarchy and masculinity theories as part of the theoretical framework upon which data analysis is interpreted and discussed. I see the findings of this research as the basis for further investigation into perceptions of South Africans from different races towards affirmative action policy. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

This phenomenological study discusses the problem of whether the agents or actors who design strategies take full account of the concepts that their plans are designed to change. Therefore, I critically assess DramAidE's methodology in order to show how efficient it is in the light of Freirean pedagogy. In that, the study investigates whether there is an analytically bulletproof communication form that necessarily achieves behaviour change, as has occasionally been attributed to Freire. The theoretical framework of this study includes development communication theories along with the Entertainment-Education approach (EE) used in health communication. More specifically, the study is informed by Freirean critical pedagogy and behaviour change theories. On the other hand, the Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977), the Fixation of Belief Model (Peirce, 1877) and the concepts of intimate and social realms (Arendt, 1958) are also used to explain the realities observed in DramAidE's programmes. The methodologies used, in addition to the literature review, consisted of semistructured in-depth interviews along with focus group discussions with DramAidE's staff, schoolchildren, teachers and caregivers. Among the results established by this study, it is worth mentioning the growing interest displayed by beneficiaries towards DramAidE's programmes. Life-skills claimed by learners included aspects such as self-confidence, assertiveness, decision making skills, informed sexuality, and improved communication. However, serious discrepancies were noticed between these life-skills, how well they were mastered and how effectively the learners put them into practice. Reasons for that proved to be rooted chiefly in peer pressures and cultural stumbling blocks, for example gender inequality and violence against females. This means that peer educators needed a more supportive environment to extend DramAidE's action. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

The aim of this study is to discover the relationship between health, media and gender, more specifically HIV and AIDS prevention, women’s magazines and women as readers. This research has been conducted within a Master’s dissertation at the Centre for Communication, Culture, Media & Society (CCMS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2012 and the primary emphasis is on media reception and the way in which women make sense of women’s magazines messages, particularly of HIV and AIDS messages. Therefore, the study’s focus is on media consumption, influences of women’s magazines and personal interpretation of embedded messages. The aim is to identify the role of women’s magazines as part of mass media within a particular field of communication rather than to identify the magazines’ impact on gender roles. My study will discover the reception of health messages on HIV and AIDS surrounded by controversial messages on femininity and gender stereotypes. The main research questions are: i) How, why and when are recipients using women’s magazines? ii) How are recipients perceiving and interpreting HIV and AIDS messages in women’s magazines, and specifically within the context of contradictory messages on sex, femininity and gender roles? iii) And, if and how are health messages in women’s magazines influencing recipients and their interaction with others? The interpretive qualitative research paradigm is applied and the method of qualitative interviews is used for collecting the data. The uses and gratification theory, social learning/social cognitive theory, the concept of entertainment education (EE), and the women-centred sense-making approach are consulted. As an overall result, the analysis reflects a positive picture and interpretation of women’s magazines by the participants, but it also shows the dual character of women’s magazines. Contradictions and critique on content were expressed, positive and negative features were identified, female stereotypes and at the same time the enjoyment of reading was noted, and with regards to health messages, the overall reception was predominantly positive and various content elements seemed to be relevant for the participants. In conclusion, the decisive factors for health messages on HIV and AIDS in women’s magazines, identified in my study are: motivation as an important stage, according to social learning/social cognitive theory in order 7 to enable behaviour modelling; relatedness, originally identified as a third human need within the self-determination theory, which helps to strengthen intrinsic motivation; the dual character of women’s magazines as an on-going conflict between the pleasure of reading a magazine and the consciousness of reprehensible stereotypes and female roles; the sense of female community and finally the role of readers as female opinion leaders. These results present women’s magazines as a multifaceted medium and might influence future research and programmes for health communication on HIV and AIDS prevention. Key words: Women, health, HIV and AIDS, women’s magazines, print media, reception analysis, HIV and AIDS communication, development communication, media usage, media consumption, health messages, relatedness, duality. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Education is considered as an essential tool for the long-term development of most countries. The provision of education to only part of a community or part of the world reinforces relative deprivation. To counteract such an effect, South Africa, a geographically large country, in which the population is scattered, where economic disparities are aligned to race, where qualified teachers and specialists in certain subject areas are scarce, and where there is an illiteracy rate of 29 percent, hope has been expressed that television broadcast based distance education may be a viable alternative to expanding formal education provision extensively and quickly. This study investigates the role of television broadcast-based distance education in South Africa as a possibility for extending the provision of formal education to large numbers of learners and how the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and the country 's Department of Education fulfils the promise of extending education. This objective was addressed by first giving a critique of conventional education systems and why distance education is an alternative option for provision of education. Further, the study traces a general picture of education in Africa and the educational situation in South Africa, highlighting the distance education scenario in South Africa , and investigates why distance education and particularly television broadcast-based distance education is crucial in the provision of education in developing countries in the face of the globalisation of mass communication and new information technologies. The study also investigates the complex issues involved in the production, distribution and consumption of Liberty Learning Channel Programme (a television programme which offers remedial support for matric (grade 12) and grade 10 to 11 students) by examining whether the producers and partners of the programme created a text which connects with the multi-cultural reality of teachers, learners and other viewers in South Africa; the role of the programme in the service of growth, reconstruction and development; why the programme is not popular among the youth; and what can be done to make it effective in enhancing teaching and learning; and the intertextuality, production and distribution of the programme. Information on the above aspects was gathered through the scannmg of relevant literature and by the use of ethnographic research procedures which included focus group interviews, in-depth interviews and participant observation. The study established that conventional systems of education and current educational practices have fallen short ofpreparing citizens with a strong foundation of general education. The study therefore offers distance education not only as an alternative to conventional education delivery at secondary and higher levels of education, but also as a low-cost alternative to expanding education. Constructivism is suggested as an alternative set of values that may significantly influence learning and that can help develop the kind of citizens who can be able to function successfully in real-word contexts. With regard to effectiveness of television broadcast-based distance education in teaching and learning, the study established that television is an effective means of achieving traditional educational goals, and that television broadcast-based distance education remains important especially in the developing countries in light of the need to increase access to education, redress the disparities caused by globalisation of mass communication and by lack of information and communication technologies. With regard to distance education in South Africa, the study found that there is both significant policy commitment and actual use of broadcast-based distance education in solving many of the country's education problems, but that there is an urgent need to improve the quality of that provision, particularly in formal education. On the complex issues involved in the production, distribution and the consumption of Liberty Learning Channel programme, the study found that the programme (aired live since 1993), is a production of Liberty Learning Channel, an independent company based in Johannesburg, in partnership with the Liberty Life Foundation, and that the SABC is not involved in the production but provided the airwaves. Each subject presenter prepares his or her own lessons, and therefore no services of producers, scriptwriters, or editors are employed in the production of the programme. The programme is then distributed through television, newspapers (the Sowetan), videocassettes, the Internet and in future through CD-ROMs. Additionally, the study found that Liberty Learning Channel relies on audience feedback from audience rating and occasional feedback from comments down the streets or letters from viewers thanking the presenters. This study argues that this kind of monitoring is not sufficient as rating only tells advertisers how many viewers were exposed to a specific programme content on a particular television channel in a certain time slot. Regarding the consumption of the programme, the great majority of the focus group participants liked the programme and used it during revision and in dealing with large numbers of students with different abilities and difficulties. A great majority of the students liked the programme because of the way the presenters explained clearly. However, a great majority of the participants watched the programme sparingly partly because the time slot was ' inappropriate ' and due to a lack of awareness about the programme. Several suggestions for the improvement of the programme were put forward, amongst them: to change the time slot; to have multi-racial presenters ; to give detailed timetables to schools in advance, and to advertise the programme more directly to schools. However, a reluctance or unwillingness to consider some of the audiences ' suggestions for the improvement of the programme, was shown by the manager of Liberty Learning Channel, William Smith. The above results are reported and discussed in detail in chapters 2 to 3, and general conclusions and recommendations presented in chapter 4. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.