Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research - Volume 31, Issue 2, January 2005
Volume 31, Issue 2, January 2005
Communication frightens me : Derrida on communication
Source: Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research 31, pp 155 –171 (2005)
In this tribute to Jacques Derrida my main aim is to emphasise the radical nature of his questioning of the assumptions of the Western philosophical tradition without ever turning his back on this very tradition. The focus is only on one aspect of his thinking, namely his views on the notion of communication. These views are interpreted as representative of his general approach, and certainly provide an excellent illustration of his broader intellectual work. Attention is given to his articulation of the traditionally accepted views on communication and his alternative to this tradition is explored in terms of his deconstructive approach. Reference is made to terms that feature in a prominent way in communication, namely <I>idealisation, intentionality, context, meaning, reading&lt;/I&gt; and <I>writing</I>, among other things. This enquiry leads in a spontaneous way, and as a natural consequence of his style of thinking, to an ethic of communication made very briefly explicit in the areas of thinking, theorising, reading and writing.
Yesterday, AIDS and structural violence in South Africa
Author Felicity June Horne
Source: Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research 31, pp 172 –197 (2005)
This article is based on a reading of the South African film <I>Yesterday</I>, which deals with the topic of AIDS. In the discourse analysis of the film text, the role of signs - verbal, visual and aural - in constructing meaning is examined, as well as the effect of different filming techniques. The film is then related to the broader South African socio-political context. The writer considers how representative &lt;I&gt;Yesterday&lt;/I&gt; is of the AIDS situation in South Africa, a question which necessitates going beyond the film text and considering actual events in South Africa, past and present, as well as referring to other relevant examples of AIDS-related discourse.
From nipples and nationalists to full frontal in the new South Africa : an abridged history of pornography and censorship in the old and new South Africa
Source: Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research 31, pp 198 –210 (2005)
Dié artikel bestudeer die wyses waarop die Suid-Afrikaanse apartheid regimes die kwessie van pornografie benader en gehanteer het sowel as hoe en hoekom hierdie maatreëls verander het ná die totstandkoming van die nuwe Suid-Afrika. Pornografie in al sy verskillende vorme, as uitdrukking van menslike seksualiteit, is gelyktydig direk en indirek gekoppel aan die vryheid van spraak en uitdrukking. Laasgenoemde is die kruks van demokrasie. Gedurende die apartheid era het die Nasionale Party-regerings die kwessies van pornografie, erotiek en inderdaad menslike seksualiteit gehanteer deur &apos;n besonderse konserwatiewe stelsel van regulasies en burokratiese strukture. In die nuwe Suid-Afrika is dit vervang met &apos;n besonders liberale stelsel. Die verskeidenheid redes, gelyktydig duidelik en totaal onduidelik, vir beide die bestaan van die ou stelsel en die instelling van die nuwe stelsel is gevestig in die hart van apartheid en in die kruks van die nuwe bestel waarmee dit vervang is. Die artikel ondersoek hoe en hoekom die apartheidregerings hierdie kwessie beskou en hanteer het soos dit het en verder hoekom dit dramaties verander het in die nuwe Suid-Afrika. Die artikel se tydspan strek, ongeveer, van die 1890s tot vandag. End
This article examines the ways in which the South African apartheid regimes approached and dealt with the question of pornography as well as how and why these measures changed after the birth of the new South Africa. Pornography in all its various forms, as an expression of human sexuality, is at once directly and indirectly attached to the freedom of speech and expression. This freedom lies at the very crux of democracy. During the apartheid era, the National Party governments dealt with the issues of pornography, erotica and indeed the expression of human sexuality through a particularly conservative system of regulations and bureaucratic structures. This was replaced, in the New South Africa, with a particularly liberal system. The varied reasons, at once apparent and totally obscure, for both the existence of the old and the creation of the new systems lay at the very heart of apartheid and at the crux of that which replaced it. This article examines how and why the apartheid governments viewed and handled this issue in the way they did and why it was dramatically changed in the new South Africa. The timeline of the article is from the 1890s to the current day. End
The ontic uniqueness and irreducibility of language and communicative actions
Source: Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research 31, pp 211 –227 (2005)
Die hooffokus van die argument wat in hierdie aanvangsartikel ontvou word is om ondersoek in te stel na die uniekheid en onherleibaarheid van talige kommunikasie. Dit geskied teen die agtergrond van die onderskeiding tussen wat &lt;I&gt;onties-gegewe&lt;/I&gt; is en wat teoreties geartikuleer kan word in &apos;n <I>ontologie</I>. Die argument ontvou met verwysing na die inherente anatomiese beperkinge van diere rakende die artikulering van &apos;n egte menslike taal en deur daarop te wys dat die mens streng gesproke glad nie oor &lt;I&gt;spraakorgane&lt;/I&gt; beskik nie. Dit verreken ook wat Plessner bestempel as die bemiddelde &lt;I&gt;onmiddellikheid&lt;/I&gt; van taal en die onvermydelikheid van &lt;I&gt;ambiguïteit&lt;/I&gt; en &lt;I&gt;keuse&lt;/I&gt; ten opsigte van linguale betekenis (Cassirer, Nida en De Klerk). Deur oorsigtelik die oorgang van die rasionalistiese kennisideaal van die Verligting na die historisme van die negentiende eeu en die <I>&apos;linguistic turn&apos;&lt;/I&gt; aan die einde van die negentiende eeu en die begin van die twintigste eeu te skets word die weg geopen om te verstaan waarom taal gedurende die twintigste eeu as &apos;n <I>nuwe horison&lt;/I&gt; na vore getree het (Heidegger - Gadamer). Melding word daarvan gemaak dat Hegel &apos;n vertrekpunt bied vir kommunikasieteorie en ook dat die dialogiese beginsel in die denke van Buber subjek-subjek relasies beoog met uitsluiting van subjek-objek relasies. Voorbeelde van primitiewe (ondefinieerbare) terme uit die wiskunde, kinematika en linguistiek word vermeld alvorens meersinnigheid aan die hand van die voorbeeld van kousaliteit en die analogiese benutting daarvan in frases soos kommunikatiewe kousaliteit en historiese kousaliteit beoordeel word. Die vlugtige waardering van die stellingnames van Jaspers en Habermas asook die beswaar teen (ongegronde) reduksionisme moet gesien word as &apos;n oorgang en inleiding tot die vervolg-artikel in &apos;n latere uitgawe van <I>Communicatio</I>, waarin gefokus sal word op die <I>ontiese samehang&lt;/I&gt; en &lt;I&gt;interafhanklikheid&lt;/I&gt; van taal en kommunikatiewe handelinge. End
&apos;Something nasty down below&apos; : the challenges facing cultural studies in English departments
Source: Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research 31, pp 228 –244 (2005)
This article examines the controversial impact that English literary studies is having upon cultural studies. Instead of reconstructing itself in the light of moving onto the terrain of cultural studies, English literary studies is in danger of over-textualising cultural studies, and remains captive to appropriating texts ethically to suit its historical mission as a &apos;surrogate religion&apos;. These prevent English literary studies from properly engaging with the recent shift within cultural studies to notions of the &apos;active audience&apos;. However, the preoccupation of English studies with postmodern textualist theories can enable cultural studies to break with the damaging opposition between &apos;text&apos; and &apos;social context&apos;.
The persuasive effect of Tsotsitaal in HIV / AIDS material
Authors: E.O. Saal and C.R. Fredericks
Source: Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research 31, pp 245 –272 (2005)
Volgens Statistics South Africa (2002) was HIV-infeksies die primêre oorsaak van sterftes onder vroue in die ouderdomsgroep 15 tot 39 vir die periode 1997 tot 2001. Die Departement van Gesondheid (Department of Health 2003) voer aan dat 3.1 miljoen vroue (in die ouderdomsgroep 1549) na beraming MIV-geïnfekteerd is in Suid-Afrika. Op sy beurt voer die Raad vir Geesteswetenskaplike Navorsing (HSRC 2002) aan dat 12 persent van die vroue en 6 persent van die mans in die ouderdomsgroep 15 tot 24 MIV-geïnfekteerd is. Die hoë prevalensie van MIV / VIGS het aanleiding gegee tot die ontstaan van verskeie veldtogte om veilige seks te bevorder. Na aanleiding van bogemelde resultate is dit duidelik dat jongmense &apos;n hoë risikogroep is. Van die veldtogte oor veilige seks, is dit egter slegs loveLife wat eksklusief fokus op jongmense. loveLife maak ekstensief gebruik van die gedrukte media in hul veldtog om hul boodskap van &apos;n positiewe leefstyl oor te dra. loveLife voer aan dat hulle in &apos;n taalvorm praat waarmee jongmense kan identifiseer. Weinig navorsing (indien enige) is egter gedoen om vas te stel of die taalvorm wat loveLife gebruik in sy gedrukte media effektief is om oorreding teweeg te bring. Saal (2003) het die effek van loveLife-tienersleng ondersoek onder leerders in die Wes-Kaap. Hierdie artikel is &apos;n uitbreiding van gemelde navorsing. In hierdie artikel word spesifiek gekyk na die oorredingseffek van Tsotsitaal onder leerders in Eersterust, in die Gauteng Provinsie. Tsotsitaal word ekstensief gebruik in die Eersterust-gebied. Twee brosjures, identies in vorm en inhoud, is geskep met as enigste verskil die betrokke taalvorm: die een brosjure is in Tsotsitaal, terwyl die ander weergawe in Standaard Afrikaans is. Die brosjures se effek op bron±ontvanger±ooreenkomste, bronattraksie, -geloofwaardigheid en oorreding is ondersoek. Die (ietwat verrassende) bevindinge van die studie toon aan dat die spreker van Standaard Afrikaans meer gunstig beoordeel word as die spreker van Tsotsitaal veral ten opsigte van bron-ontvanger-ooreenkomste en brongeloofwaardigheid. Die brosjure in Standaard Afrikaans het ook &apos;n statisties beduidende oorredingseffek gehad: die subjekte van Standaard Afrikaans is meer geneig om die boodskap te aanvaar as die subjekte van Tsotsitaal. End
According to Statistics South Africa (2002) HIV infections were the leading cause of death for females between 15 and 39 years of age for the period 1997 to 2001. The South African Department of Health (2003) estimates that 3.1 million women (15-49 years) in South Africa are HIV-infected. The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) (2002) claimed that in the 15- to 24-year age group, 12 per cent of the women and 6.1 per cent of the males are HIV-infected. The high incidence of HIV / AIDS has resulted in a number of campaigns that seek to promote safe sex. According to the results that have been published, young people are seen as a high-risk group. However, of the campaigns that seek to address the issue of HIV / AIDS, the loveLife project is the only campaign aimed exclusively at young people. loveLife makes extensive use of the printed media in their campaigns. They claim to speak in a language with which young people will identify. Very little research into the effectiveness of the language use in these campaigns has been undertaken. Saal (2003) examined the effect of teenager slang as used by loveLife among learners in the Western Cape. This research is an extension of the research conducted by Saal (2003), looking in particular at the effect of Tsotsitaal among learners in the Eersterust area. Tsotsitaal is widely used in Eersterust, Gauteng Province, and its persuasive effect in HIV / AIDS material will be examined. Two brochures (written in Standard Afrikaans and Tsotsitaal) were tested in terms of their effect on source-receiver-similarity, source attraction and credibility (source expertise and trustworthiness) as well as persuasiveness. The findings of the study suggested, somewhat surprisingly, that speakers of Standard Afrikaans are rated more favourably than Tsotsitaal speakers in terms of source-receiver-similarity and credibility. The participants also viewed the brochure in Standard Afrikaans as significantly more persuasive than the Tsotsitaal brochure. End
An inclusive and integrated approach to financial communication : a conceptual model
Authors: Norle Schoonraad, Anske F. Grobler and Daan G. Gouws
Source: Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research 31, pp 273 –294 (2005)
There seems to be confusion in theory and practice about the nature of financial communication, and specifically the management and organisation thereof. The first objective of this article is to describe the current approach to financial communication, first from an investor relations perspective and then from an accounting perspective. Based on a review of relevant literature and a short description of the findings of previous empirical studies conducted in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Europe and South Africa, shortcomings of both approaches are identified. The most important shortcomings are a lack of coordination and integration in financial communication efforts and a narrow focus on the financial community alone (an exclusive approach). The second objective of the article is to propose an inclusive and integrated approach to the management and organisation of financial communication. This is done in the form of a conceptual model, which is based on perspectives from the public relations, investor relations, accounting and general management literature.
ISPs as ESPs : different keyboard strokes for different Christian folks. A response to Britz and de Villiers on the Internet and Christian ethics
Source: Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research 31, pp 295 –305 (2005)
In an earlier &lt;I&gt;Communicatio&lt;/I&gt; (2002) article de Villiers (2002, 16-21) discussed the idea of moral responsibility and the Internet. A year later Britz and de Villiers (2003, 333-358) expanded on this article in another journal, <I>Verbum et Ecclesia&lt;/I&gt; (2003). The present article is a response to their ideas on Christian ethics and the Internet. A few reasons are presented why ethical deliberation on the Internet is important. The main points made by Britz and de Villiers are summarised. Interspersed throughout are alternative views on a broad framework on the matter of (Christian) ethics and the Internet.