Suchergebnisse

Immigration and emigration are inevitable however, some South Africans have shown a strong dislike of those coming from other countries, in the form of xenophobia. Several studies have attributed the prevalence of xenophobia in South African communities to socio-economic, sociopolitical and scapegoating issues, with some researchers highlighting the role of the media in perpetuating xenophobia-related violence. On the other hand, xenophobia in institutions of higher learning in South Africa, which are a microcosm of society, has been under-prioritised in exploring the prevalence of xenophobia. This article aims to explore students' perceptions on the influence of media stereotypes of foreign nationals on xenophobia-related behaviours in selected higher education institutions. In part, it aims to explore students' perceptions on the influence of media-perpetuated stereotypes that may be attributed to possible symbolic xenophobia among university students. Therefore, this article looked at three South African universities, namely the University of Fort Hare, Alice Campus in the Eastern Cape province; the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard Campus in KwaZulu-Natal province; and the University of Johannesburg, Soweto Campus in Gauteng province. To achieve the aims of this study, a qualitative case study approach, based on the interpretivist design, was adopted. A nonprobability sampling method, based on purposive sampling and the snowball sampling technique, was used to select participants in this study. Data were generated through focus group discussions and analysed through thematic analysis. The findings of this article revealed that xenophobic attitudes, behaviour and perceptions were prevalent among university students. The South African print media's perpetuated negative stereotypes and its adoption of derogatory names – amakwerekwere, amagrigamba, aliens, illegal immigrants, 'my friend' – to represent immigrants (especially from other African countries) were highlighted as some of the contributing factors toward ongoing xenophobic violence. As part of the recommendations of this study, the Student Representative Council (SRC) and other student communities, together with students in general, have a role to play in promoting xenophobia-free university campuses through antixenophobia campaigns.Transdisciplinarity Contribution: Most xenophobic-related studies show that media reportage has an influence on xenophobic violence in South Africa. This study therefore shifts its focus toward South African universities to investigate the prevalence of xenophobia among students and explores students' perceptions of the influence of media in perpetuating xenophobic-related violence

Political engagement through social media is not limited to adults, but there is evidence that young people increasingly use social media for online political participation (Yang & DeHart 2012). This article highlights some aspects of the role of social media in young people's political engagement during South Africa's 2014 general election. The uses and gratifications theory, as well as the information society theory, provides the theoretical framework against which the findings are analysed. Questionnaires were distributed to 200 students from the University of Fort Hare. The participants were selected systematically in order to present the University's population at the time of the study. The results of the study indicate that young people are not apathetic to politics and that the use of social media as part of a political campaign was considered to have a positive effect on young people's voting decisions.

Water scarcity is increasing in South Africa and communities need to be educated about water conservation practices. This article investigated the perceptions of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality's residents concerning the use of social media for water conservation education in their community. Through a quantitative methodology, a sample of 383 respondents answered a questionnaire and the main findings were that 75 per cent of respondents did not know about the municipality's social media platforms. This article recommends that the municipality creates awareness about its social media platforms, increases social media usage and employs persuasive strategies for participation.

This article reports on a study using the concept of accessibility and applicability of knowledge to analyse readers' perspectives on the influence of political news in Zimbabwe. A qualitative content analysis was applied to analyse political articles from two main newspapers, The Sunday Mail and The NewsDay. Focus group discussions were conducted in Harare to collect readers' perspectives on the effect of political news and print media. The findings revealed that readers choose what to believe as true or false determined by affiliation, knowledge and experience. Readers as individuals can block political messages dissonant to pre-conceived ideas and accept that which is consonant to pre- existing beliefs depending on personal experience, knowledge and affiliation.

This paper evaluates readers' perceptions of Idikelethu newspaper as a tool for community development, particularly in Alice, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Data was collected from two focus group discussions that were held in the areas where Idikelethu newspaper has high readership rates. The findings revealed that development-related issues such as health awareness, education and community safety, among others, are regularly addressed by this community newspaper. Based on the findings and analysis of data, this study concludes that Idikelethu newspaper contributes in many ways to the development of its readers and Alice community in general. It is anticipated that the findings of this paper will play an important role in assisting Idikelethu and other community newspapers to function better as agents of community development.

AbstractUsing the quantitative method, this paper examined barriers to water‐efficiency behaviour amongst rural and peri‐urban residents in Eastern Cape, South Africa and identify opportunities for promoting it. The result showed positive associations between water‐efficiency behaviour and income, personal capabilities and poor knowledge of efficient water conservation measures. Rural and peri‐urban households identified cost as the overarching barrier to installing water‐efficient appliances. Financial incentives emerged as a significant opportunity for promoting water‐efficient behaviour. The result suggests rural and peri‐urban residents are open to water efficiency behaviour where financial incentives are provided for the voluntary installation of efficient taps and other water‐saving devices. The findings underscore the need to educate the rural populace about the use and benefits of water‐efficient appliances. The study contributes to methodological approaches in household water behaviour studies and provides further insights on water efficiency behaviour within a specific African population often overlooked in mainstream academic endeavours of this kind.

There is a perception that soap operas are progressively infusing dominant social values and ideas while constructing and positioning indigenous cultures as peripheral and inconsistent with modernity. This article aims at ascertaining audience perceptions of and attitudes toward the construction and representation of indigenous cultures in Generations: The Legacy within the framework of indigeneity and audience reception theories. Using quantitative methodology, 350 questionnaires were distributed to a randomly selected sample. Findings showed the majority of the audience felt the soap represents indigenous cultures as the 'insignificant other' and perpetuates stereotypes about traditional indigenous groups. This process creates cultural tensions.

The study uses the framework for sustainability of community radio to investigate challenges that hinder M3O community radio from being an active agent in facilitating development. A qualitative research design was adopted: qualitative data were collected through structured interviews with key informants from the station. The findings revealed that the station fails to achieve financial, social, operational, technical and environmental sustainability and this hinders the station from achieving its broadcasting mandate. The study recommends the station to enhance their fiscal capacity through rigorous marketing to attract advertisers and from receiving funding from spheres of government within its radio frequency influence.

Critics of Nollywood especially gender activists, have challenged its predominant, if not exclusive portrayal of women for its narrowly traditional occupational and domestic roles and images. This paper seeks to examine various ways women are depicted in Nollywood films, including physical appearance, domestic and family life, occupational life and interpersonal relationships over a 20 year period spanning the video film era. The research employed a quantitative content method to analyse 10 films while the coding sheet that contained established content categories served as the data gathering instrument. A multistage sampling technique was used to draw the sample. The findings revealed that although there is a higher percentage of women than men in Nollywood films, women still play diminished central roles, and continue to be portrayed less frequently in roles that reflect current social realities than men, especially regarding the professions. Nollywood continues its penchant of depicting successful and powerful women in social and domestic settings as dangerous and doomed for destruction. This characterisation apart from the potential of discouraging females from creating a niche for themselves, simultaneously severely hampers the critical role of generating new cohorts of outstanding independent and powerful females in business, politics or the professions. It can be concluded that the representation of women in Nollywood has not witnessed any radical departure from the traditional preconception of women roles in societies over the two decades. Roles and contemporary treatment of women in Nollywood films should rather emphasise, current accomplishments or successes of women in several spheres of life and do away with negative representations which only help in accentuating and perpetuating stereotypes.