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07 April 2021 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo istock
Social media discussions have provided a lens on how people are dealing with and talking about COVID-19. This has given risk communication new insights into online audiences.

The lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on society presented the experts at the University of the Free State (UFS) with an opportunity – to conduct a scientific study by analysing our social media data in order to assist government health communicators to reflect on their communication strategies and, in turn, gain new perspectives from the general social media user (public). 

The study – led by Herkulaas Combrink, a data and medical scientist in the UFS initiative for Digital Futures, and Prof. Katinka de Wet, medical sociologist in both the UFS initiative for Digital Futures and the Department of Sociology at the UFS – uses “real-time snapshots of online interactions as a means to augment more traditional methods of conducting research on a given topic; in this case, responses to COVID-19”, said Combrink. 

The findings and ongoing work of the research project were presented to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications. “During this meeting, critical engagement took place around risk communication and areas where we can strengthen this research,” said Combrink. Several international influential risk communicators on the African continent were present. 

Digital science at the forefront 

The opportunity to pursue this study was the result of Herkulaas Combrink’s secondment to the Free State Department of Health (FSDOH), where he identified the need to develop additional analytics for the already existing processes in risk communication in order to assist various communication strategies linked to developments regarding COVID-19 infections.  

Combrink also said “because the analysis of social media data does not normally form part of the traditional toolbox of investigation for this type of work, this novel application serves as an addition to the already existing communication analytics”. This research project will strengthen the level of cooperation between the UFS, other institutions, and the FSDOH to “synergistically strengthen communication strategies in relation to COVID-19”. 

By looking at how new knowledge around COVID-19 is developing the method (of analysing social media data), is to stay abreast of trending and burning issues on open-source social media platforms. “It is important to conduct this work using well-defined scientific methodology to extract, explore, analyse, and report on the data,” Combrink says. 

Given the rapidity with which new knowledge around COVID-19 is developing all over the globe, this method lends itself to staying abreast of emergent and burning issues that are trending on open-source social media sites. 

Variety of stakeholders needed

The magnitude of the research study required the involvement of stakeholders from different institutions. “A variety of stakeholders from different institutions are needed not only to contextualise the data, but also to provide social and technical input to solve the problem,” Combrink said.  

Experts included in the project are Dr Vukosi Marivate from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Pretoria, Dr Ming-Han Mothloung from the Department of Community Health at the UFS and the FSDOH, and Dr Samuel Mokoena, Priscilla Monyobo, Mondli Mvambi, and Elke de Witt from the FSDOH. “Without this core team, the work would not have been contextually relevant,” Combrink said. 

News Archive

2014 Winter Graduation
2014-06-27

 
It is time for the 2014 Winter Graduation on our Bloemfontein Campus. From 2 – 4 July 2014 Masters and Doctoral degrees will be bestowed on graduates from across all seven faculties as well as the School of Open Learning. These include the conferral of Medicine degrees on the South African Cuban trainees.

Wednesday 2 July 2014 at 14:30: School of Open Learning
The School of Open Learning will confer a total of 609 degrees this year – almost double compared to the 320 of last year.

Thursday 3 July 2014 at 09:30: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Prof Magdalena Blum will receive an Honorary Doctorat, DPhil honoris causa, at this event. Prof Blum is an Extension Systems Officer in Rome. She works for a specialised agency of the United Nations called the Food and Agriculture Organization. This organisation’s mandate is:
• to improve nutrition,
• increase agricultural productivity,
• raise the standard of living in rural populations and
• contribute to global economic growth.

Her position serves to modernise and strengthen rural advisory services, their systems and networks worldwide. She has filled this position for almost nine years.

Prof Blum is driven by a passion for development, humanitarian work and female upliftment, but most of all, to enable people to help themselves.

Blum’s life has taken her from a small German village to Africa, Asia and Europe – and she has made an impact wherever she went.

Thursday 3 July 2014 at 14:30: Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, Humanities, Education, Health Sciences, Law and Theology
At this ceremony, Faculty of the Humanities will award an Honorary Doctorate, DPhil honoris causa, on Prof Laura Mulvey. She is a feminist film theorist and worked at the British Film Institute for many years. She is currently a professor at Film and Media Studies at Birkbeck, University of London.

Prof Mulvey was prominent as an avant-garde filmmaker in the 1970s and ‘80s. In collaboration with her husband, Peter Wollen, she co-wrote and co-directed:
• Penthesilea: Queen of the Amazons (1974),
• Riddles of the Sphinx (1977, perhaps their most influential film),
• AMY! (1980),
• Crystal Gazing (1982),
• Frida Kahlo and Tina Modotti (1982), and
• The Bad Sister.

In 1991, she returned to filmmaking with Disgraced Monuments, which she co-directed with Mark Lewis.

Friday 4 July 2014 at 10:30: Special Graduation Ceremony
Conferral of Medicine Degrees on the South African Cuban trainees at the UFS

Live streaming will be available on: http://www.ufs.ac.za/ufslivestreaming/

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