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Item Open Access Poetry in the act of killing: the bloody origin of language and communication(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Sonderling, StefanThere is a common belief that war and violence hinder communication, and conversely, communication has the power to end wars and conflicts. This article challenges such logic and argues that human identity, language, meaning and communication have their origin in war, death and the spiritualisation of killing on the battlefield. Indeed, the assumption that acts of killing and warfare are formative of becoming human underlies much of the world’s cultures and the tradition of Western philosophical thought initiated by Heraclitus in ancient Greece. This article traces the way major Western social thinkers imagine war and killing as the foundation of poetic speech, and how face-to-face combat can be considered the primordial model for human dialogue, with death and killing the foundation for the construction of abstract concepts and meaning. The article also examines the way the ideas of war, killing and death are used in the broader discussion by Western social thinkers on the origin of language and meaning.Item Open Access Complexity and opportunity in science communication(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Caldwell, MarcScience communication is resurgent at this time, early in the 21st century, when signs abound of a return to Enlightenment and a change in structures of knowledge comparable to the 17th transition from feudalism to the early modern period. Fears that a return to Enlightenment renders critical theory and cultural studies irrelevant may be unfounded. Science today is not defined by the Newtonian physics up until the 1950s, but by complexity. Unlike earlier models of transmission that defined communication research into the 1960s, complexity theory in science makes a dialogue or interactive model so much more necessary. Complexity is infused into science communication, which as a hybrid field draws from many different disciplines external to its own cluster of subjects, and internally from different aspects of that cluster. The obvious subjects include mass communication, media studies, communication theory and new media studies.Item Open Access Information and communication(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Strauss, DanieAfter the Enlightenment of the 18th century concern for the lonesome individual and the need for communication gave birth to the academic disciplines of psychology and communication science. Positivism and the linguistic turn explored the distinction of what is observable and invisible. Information assumed a place alongside matter and energy in the classical formulation of Wiener: “Information is information.” The problem of information and body-plans appears to be a key element in the tradition of vitalism. Rainer Schubert-Soldern identifies form with the “order” of the cell and more recently the ID movement (Intelligent Design) addressed the problem of an increase in information presented by the Cambrian explosion. However, having assumed the current practice of viewing information as an object for natural scientific investigation is radically questioned by Peter Janich when he criticizes this Legend and its icons. The impasse involved in this Legend also entails a challenge to the status of natural laws. Physical laws as conditions for what is physical are not themselves physical in nature. Janich argues that we are inclined to use information in a metaphorical sense as if it is a natural scientific object of investigation. Alternatively one should commence with communication between more than one human actor because it is only within such a communicative context that one actor can inform another actor and that information becomes meaningful. Schuurman is therefore correct when he asserts that at bottom information is lingual.Item Open Access Considering Ubuntu for satirical (online) communication: comments on Jesus is a Shangaan(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Chasi, Colin; Lowane, NtsakoSatire is a genre of communication that enables people to say the unspeakable, often enabling powerful norms and powerful people to be questioned and challenged. As such, satire is a powerful weapon with which society may strike at and against oppression and other problematic orders. However, satire may also be misused to misrepresent and demean others. Meanwhile, in online encounters where people are not subject to a wide gamut of social controls and moral obligations are weakened by anonymity, people are liable to use satire in ways that are experienced by others as offensive and hurtful. This is arguably pointedly problematic in contexts where historical developments have marginalised and tribally positioned people to be the butt of jokes. This article examines these and related concerns in the light of the animated video Jesus is a Shangaan to argue that it is worthwhile to present a scholarly account of what the African moral philosophy of Ubuntu may say about how people should satirise. The conclusion is that there is a need for scholars to elaborate more systematically and adequately what Ubuntu requires of satirical communication – how African excellence can be understood when communication is satirical.Item Open Access A drought risk reduction message that sticks: a communication model for foundation phase children(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Greyling, Cinde; Terblanche, Lydie; Jordaan, Andries J.Too often, children’s communication needs are not considered when it comes to important messages – especially concerning disaster risk reduction. Drought has a significant impact on children both mentally and physically, however, they are rarely told how to make themselves more resilient. Messages aimed at drought resilience are mostly presented in a format that children will not understand, or care to understand. Children have quite unique communication needs with regard to message content, language, media and culture. These needs were researched and moulded into an existing cyclical communication model that may prove to be a useful guideline in constructing a message towards drought resilience for foundation phase children. The main aim of the adapted model is to offer messages containing the “stickiness” factor.Item Open Access A conceptual analysis of integrated communication(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Van Baalen, Annette; Mulder, DalmeIn a cut-throat market environment where providing the best product no longer safeguards the success of a company, the significance of having an appropriate Integrated Communication (IC) strategy in place has never been more important. In intimidating market circumstances, companies increasingly seek refuge in stakeholder relationships; in the process they began to focus on customer share rather than market share. Even though companies have realised the importance of IC, the proper implementation thereof can become a challenge if a clear vision or insight of what IC entails is found wanting. This article aims to demonstrate the importance for companies to follow an IC approach to engrave its corporate values and personality on the hearts of customers by shedding light on the essence of IC. A conceptual analysis was employed as research strategy while the concept under investigation was IC. The steps of conceptual analysis that were applied included an investigation of IC’s historic evolution, identifying terms similar to IC, defining IC’s attributes and antecedents, and also highlighting the consequences of IC implementation. The results not only provide companies with an understanding of this complex phenomenon, but also provide insight that might lead a company to implement IC with more confidence.Item Open Access Brand linkages: winners, losers and how to measure these(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Nhedzi, Abyshey; Overton-de Klerk, Nina; Bester, TimBrand owners constantly seek strategies to improve their brand’s popularity. One such strategy is to seek a co-operative relationship with another brand, termed a “brand linkage”. This study represents one of the first attempts at empirical and experimental research on brand linkages in a South African marketing communication environment. One such brand linkage between Engen (a fuel service station) and Woolworths (a speciality food retailer) is examined. Results showed that awareness of the brand linkage did have a marked effect on the overall rating of Engen. Implementing a pretest–posttest control group design, results also showed that there were statistically significant differences between pre- and post-intervention ratings of Engen (the host brand) for the groups that were exposed to a campaign depicting the brand linkage. The research provides practitioners with a measuring instrument that can be replicated easily and provides insight for marketers on leveraging the value of brand linkages.Item Open Access Sharing individual knowledge collectively: a theoretical framework for emerging knowledge organisations(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Barker, RachelScant attention has been paid to the role of individual employees in the knowledge management discourse, even though knowledge is recognised to be rooted in the individual. Where organisational theorists believe that the collective knowledge of individuals needs to be managed, it is only possible if knowledge leaders emerge as change agents to facilitate knowledge creation and sharing. Hence an excessive focus in the knowledge management literature recently acknowledged the appropriation of individual knowledge through participation as distinct from knowledge practice focusing on managers or leaders who choose how to manage knowledge. The commonality of most recent research indicates an emphasised focus on knowledge management and knowledge leaders to implement strategic integrated communication to assist with the creation of knowledge organisations. Where knowledge management focuses on human capital and knowledge based theory, strategic integrated communication emphasises that knowledge leaders should acknowledge the premises of the strategic intent of knowledge organisations through the management of information, innovation, creativity, cultural phenomena, participation and inputs from the environment based on trust, loyalty, integrity and credibility. This forms the basis to address the research problem that, despite the tremendous research opportunities to examine these constructs, limited research has been conducted from evolving organisational and knowledge leadership perspectives.Item Open Access Redefining the communication relationship between donors and non-profit organisations in the context of corporate social investment(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Van Dyk, Louise; Fourie, LynnetteThis article proposes redefined relationship indicators for the stakeholder relationship between corporate donors and the non-profit organisations (NPOs) they fund as part of their corporate social investment (CSI) activities. The study is based on exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis of data from two corresponding surveys, one conducted amongst CSI representatives of South African organisations and one amongst social development NPO managers. The analysis and interpretation of the survey results were supplemented by literature and the findings from partially structured interviews with six key informants. The redefined relationship indicators are based on two key findings from the survey results and subsequent interpretation. The first finding is that the relational indicators by theorists such as Hon and Grunig (1999) are not entirely suited to describe and measure the relationship between the private sector organisations and NPOs. The second key finding is that the relationship is viewed differently by the two parties and indicators used to describe and measure the relationship should reflect these differing views. The redefined relationship indicators reflect the specific context of the relationship between corporate donors and recipient NPOs and not only inform practitioners and future researchers on approaching corporate-NPO relations, but also illustrate the importance of context in stakeholder communication.Item Open Access The communication challenges of issue management in a postmodern world: a case study of the South Durban Industrial Basin(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Mersham, GaryThis article describes the failure of issue management communication in resolving an enduring pollution crisis stretching over two decades in South Africa’s South Durban Industrial Basin (SDIB). A crisis of responsibility has arisen from a postmodern, neoliberal order. Concerns of residents are overridden in favour of nationally significant economic growth objectives. As a result “local” issues are communicated by global coalitions seeking environmental justice through modernist notions of “science” communicated in a postmodern, global context. The lack of public confi dence, trust and the unmet expectations of participation in the environmental decision-making of government agencies and corporations is revealed. Local mobilisations look to broader spaces of engagement, including international activist organisations and international media as the unresolved crisis is deepened by state coercion and industry intransigence.Item Open Access Mapping the social media landscape: a profile of tools, applications and key features(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Coetzee, Mercia; Wilkinson, Annette; Krige, DaleenThis article is based on a 2014 explorative study investigating the use of social media applications in an educational context by means of a systematic analysis of internationally published and researched studies. The purpose of this article is to present a brief overview of the evolution of the Internet and the WWW in order to draw a “map” of the rapidly evolving and ever-changing social media landscape. The mapping exercise leads to an overview of the most prominent features of social media tools and applications. As a whole, the information presented in the article should be regarded as a glance at a vast, ever-changing terrain; a set of summarised “directions” intended for practitioners and researchers in the field of computer-mediated communication (CMC) who are less experienced or relatively new to the field. Based on the study, key features of social media are highlighted and the role of social media in communication, interaction and collaboration are highlighted. Furthermore, by highlighting the key features of social media, a profile of social media as a CMC tool is compiled, which must be considered when utilising social media in any context.Item Open Access Corporate social responsibility communication: a consumer survey at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2016) Van Heerden, Nicolene; De Beer, EstelleGlobalisation and increased stakeholder pressure have compelled companies to be more creative in their pursuit of legitimacy in contemporary society. Against this background, companies are expected to establish a reputation associated with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and good corporate citizenship. The purpose of this article is to determine whether there is a relationship between consumer perceptions of, and consumer attitudes toward, a corporate sponsor’s CSR activities and its resultant impact on consumer behaviour. By means of replication, the research focuses on consumer perceptions, attitudes and behaviour by testing the generalisability of an American study’s research instrument in the South African context. Survey data were collected from a target population of adult zoo visitors. Significant findings reveal a correlation between consumer recall of a corporate sponsor’s involvement with a prominent South African zoo (the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, or NZG) and positive consumer perceptions toward a corporate sponsor’s CSR activities; and regular consumer use of the corporate sponsor’s products and positive perceptions towards the corporate sponsor’s CSR activities. The findings also suggest that managers should be aware of consumer scepticism associated with CSR communication. A good corporate reputation is furthermore necessary to support successful CSR activities.