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02 February 2021 | Story Dr Willemien Marais | Photo Supplied
The current issue of Communitas, academic journal of the Department of Communication Science in the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS), features scholarly articles ranging from indigenous knowledge systems for science and health communication to online discourses about male rape and the use of social media to increase social capital.  

Communitas is a nationally accredited, open-access academic journal publishing scientific articles in the context of community communication, information impact and related disciplines, including corporate and marketing communication, development and health communication, media studies, and journalism.

These articles address real-world challenges in the field of communication, as well as the impact of communication and information in developing societies, including Southern African communities. While the articles range in focus from global participation to area-specific issues in remote rural areas, they all highlight areas or aspects that form part of or contribute to the rich tapestry of the Southern African communication landscape, thus contributing to African knowledge creation.

Interdisciplinary experts write on real-world issues 

In the latest issue of Communitas, Dr Anton Binneman and Dr Corne Davis write about the use of indigenous knowledge systems for science communication in the context of the Square Kilometre Array radio astronomy project, while Lesego Radebe et al. investigate how traditional folk media can be used to convey diabetes mellitus messages at public health-care services. 

In an article by Dr Tsitsi Mkomde and Dr Estelle de Beer, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) can benefit from their analysis of the communicative decision-making processes used by corporates to make decisions about funding NGOs and other donor recipients. In another NGO-related article, Prof Retha de la Harpe presents a conceptual model for NGOs and volunteer-based organisations to use data generated by an online platform to understand the invisible user.

For marketers and brand communicators, Dr Abyshey Nhedzi provides valuable insight into improving brand-linkage effectiveness for consumers from an African perspective, while Vuyelwa Constance Mashwa et al. focus on the consumer’s perspective in their article on the use of fictional spokes-characters in brand advertisements and communication. 

The increased focus on pro-environmental reputations by consumer brands and how this is reflected in South African print media, provides marketing-communication practitioners with guidelines to distinguish between types of green advertising, as identified by Prof Angelique van Niekerk and Dr Marthinus Conradie. Dr Patrick Mupambwa and Prof Norman Chiliya look at factors that influence the adoption of an e-marketing orientation among Zimbabwean churches. 

Heterosexual responses to lesbian and gay-themed advertisements are the focus of an article by Nkosiville Welcome Madigana et al., while Dr Karabo Sitto and Prof Elizabeth Lubinga analyse online discourses on gendered myths, risks, and the social amplification of male rape. 

With an increasing number of digital natives joining social media and the growing popularity of influencer culture, Dr Stenford Matenda et al. are looking at young people’s use of social media to increase social capital.  An article by Dr Mvuzo Ponono investigates the implications of current debates on fake news for South Africa and how we understand these insights in the context of histories of conflict and high inequality. Dr Ponono is a lecturer in Communication Science at the UFS. 

*Communitas uses a continuous publication (CP) model and authors are invited to submit manuscripts online or email the Editor-in-Chief, Dr Willemien Marais, at maraisw@ufs.ac.za for assistance. The journal is one of the accredited journals of the University of the Free State. Visit the Kovsie Journals webpage for more information. 

News Archive

Campus-wide poll to determine preferences among current staff and students for language models
2015-10-20

Language poll postponed until Thursday 22 October 2015

Due to the closing down of all UFS campuses on Wednesday 21 October 2015, the language poll has been postponed until Thursday 22 October 2015.

 

Invitation to take part in a campus-wide poll to determine preferences among current staff and students for language models.

As mandated by the Council on 5 June 2015, the senior leadership of the University of the Free State (UFS) has committed itself to a formal review process of the current language policy through a comprehensive process of consultation with all university stakeholders.

Since 19 August 2015, the following public sessions have taken place across all three campuses:

  • Public dialogue for staff and students, Qwaqwa Campus, 19 August 2015
  • Staff submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 20 August 2015
  • External stakeholder submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 24 August 2015
  • Public dialogue for staff and students, South Campus, 26 August 2015
  • Alumni submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 27 August 2015
  • Expert panel discussion for staff and students with Q&A, Bloemfontein Campus, 31 August 2015
  • Staff, students, and external stakeholder submissions, Qwaqwa Campus, 9 September 2015
  • Panel discussion and public dialogue for students, Bloemfontein Campus, 10 September 2015
  • Expert panel discussion for staff and students with Q&A, Bloemfontein Campus, 11 September 2015
  • Student submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 15 September 2015
  • Staff and student submissions, South Campus, 16 September 2015
  • Convocation submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 30 September 2015

Further, written and online submissions from the entire university community were put forward until 18 September 2015, while the Convocation had until 30 September 2015 to submit. During the process, the Language Committee has met weekly and discussed the viability, benefits and challenges of various language model options, taking into account institutional, regional, national and global concerns, documents and information.

Following the university’s commitment to open, democratic practice, the UFS calls upon all its current staff and students to participate in a campus-wide poll in order to assist the Language Committee in determining possible preferences among current staff and students for language models. The possible models have emerged from the broad consultation process.

Please note that the campus-wide poll is NOT a formal voting process or referendum and will form only one part of many deciding factors that will be referred to the UFS Council on 20 November 2015 for their deliberations regarding the future of the language policy at the UFS. The poll, conducted by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), will be indicative of the preferences of staff and students for possible language model options, with specific focus on language of instruction. 

The poll will take place at the following venues from 21-28 October 2015, 08:00-16:30, including the weekend:

Bloemfontein Campus: Kestell Residence Gazellie

Qwaqwa Campus: VIP Lounge

South Campus: Conference Hall

To take part in the polling, a valid staff or student card must be produced. Polling will take place on the basis of one poll per current staff member/student.

We look forward to your participation in the poll and hereby thank the entire university community for their ongoing interest and responsible engagement with the review process.

 The UFS Language Committee

 

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