Vol 25, No 2 (2006)

‘Revolt’ is usually associated with ‘rebellion’, or ‘revolution’ in a political sense, and at an intuitive
level there is certainly a connection or similarity among these three concepts. The psychoanalytical
theorist and philosopher, Julia Kristeva, has however developed a notion of ‘revolt’ (and, related
to it, of ‘revolution’) that goes far beyond the common understanding of the term. Moreover, in her
understanding of the concept, ‘revolt’ may indeed be a ‘communicational’ prerequisite for contemporary
‘globalised’ society to break out of an invidious (and potentially violent) standoff between a dominant
world culture, subject to the logic of the market, on the one hand, and a fundamentalist ideological
reaction to it, on the other. Kristeva points the way to a creative enlivening of individuals’ lives, as
well as of society at large, through her passionate elaboration on the potential for ‘revolution’ in
language and communication, and also her development of the notion of ‘revolt’ as a legacy of
Western culture – a legacy which is under threat in the present ‘culture of the spectacle’.

The socio-cultural criticism of Jean Baudrillard (born 1929), spans from the political turmoil of
France in the late-1960s, to the mediatised world of the 1990s and early 21st century.1 In this
process his provocative work on the socio-political role of signs, symbolic exchange, simulation,
and hyperreality has important implications for communication studies – and more specifically
communication theory. The point is that with the “… greater mediatization of society … we are
witnessing the virtualization of our world.”2 This contribution briefly reconstructs, firstly, two phases
in Baudrillard’s intellectual career – phases that shifted from an early neo-Marxist critique of the
modern consumer society to a post-Marxist or postmodern view of society (which include
engagements with socio-anthropology; psychoanalysis, sociology, semiology and media theory),
and eventually ends in a kind of anti-theory with an extreme fatal vision of the world.3 In section
2 the implications of these two shifts in Baudrillard’s intellectual career are contextualized in the
field of media and communication studies – and specifically his concept of the “ecstasy of
communication”. Finally (in Section 3) some critical remarks are made on Baudrillard’s fascinating,
but problematic, project.

Power is an integral part of organisational life. Main schools of thought on the subject of power
in an organisational setting consider power to be either a resource held by individuals and
departments, or an inherent feature of organisational structure and society. While it is relatively
easy to identify surface manifestations of power, the deep structures of power are much more
difficult to analyse. Public relations literature focuses on power “held” by public relations practitioners
and the power of public relations departments in their relations with other departments in an
organisation, as well as the imbalances of power between the organisations and their respective
publics. In the context of the increasing complexity of the organisational environment, this article
suggests the application of organisational cybernetics to public relations theory, and it considers
the role that organisational communication plays in releasing the productive power of employees
and in designing effective organisations through the introduction of recursive organisational
structures.

This study is an exploration of how the quantum self, the quintessence of the individual, draws
on archetypal symbols and mythologems during the process of intrapsychic communication. The
process relates to the confluence of a subjective, inner experiential reality and reality as a social
construct during transcendent cycles of the unique individual. The Jungian constructs of archetypal
images, symbols, myths and mythologems are considered as the derivatives of this subjective,
inner reality reflected in the text of a narrative and the dreams of an individual.
An archetypal and mythical semiotic textual analysis of ‘The Alchemist’ by Paolo Coehlo, and an
individual case analysis of dream symbols and a self-report based on the interpretation of a dream
theme by using active imagination indicate that an inner, subjective transcendental reality is
imminent in the individual. An intrinsic need for and representation of equanimity and unity are
reflected in the images, symbols and myths of the self as archetype of meaning nested in the
collective unconscious.

This article investigates the problems experienced by academics and higher education adult
learners when required to conduct research in real-life situations, namely to find a logical link or
bridge between theory and research methodology or practice. It is argued that a chasm is found
to exist, due to factors such as alienation between theory and research/practice, the role of
language, culture, and, the quest for objectivity. This is a reflective scrutiny addressing the utility
criterion of theory- building, dialectical and relativist thinking, plus dispositions and skills that adult
learners have to develop to promote creative and critical thinking. Thereafter, five generic dimensions
of metatheoretical perspectives are offered as a possible means of bridging this chasm. The article
concludes with specific recommendations, which future Communication curricula in higher education
should address in order to facilitate bridging the divide between theory and research/practice.

This article explores the motivating factors for viewer participation in the reality television programme,
Project Fame. It looks at the interactive component of reality television, arguing that viewers are
active in their media consumption. The theoretical foundation of this study is based on the uses
and gratifications theory as well as the cultural studies approach to reception theory.
On a methodological level, this study applies qualitative research methods in order to determine
what factors motivate viewers to participate interactively in the television programme. Supported
by the categories of need gratifications, this study concludes that cognitive, affective and personal
integrative needs motivate viewers to utilise the various interactive opportunities and that
viewers expect gratifications from participating interactively. In addition, reception theory is used
to further explain viewers’ active participation and interpretation of media messages in a social
and cultural context.

In 2001, the South African government adopted an imbizo (plural: izimbizo) as a model of
communication. Imbizo is a Zulu word for a traditional community gathering called by the chief to
solve pertinent community issues. The word imbizo has its variants in many African languages
in South Africa, e.g. pit o in Sepedi, kgotla in Setswana and Sesotho. In African indigenous
communities, imbizo is used as a platform to resolve pertinent community challenges through
honest engagement between the subjects and leadership. In this article, the ideological nuances
of the government’s decision in 2001 to appropriate imbizo as a model of communication and
governance are explored. It is argued that, at face value, imbizo is presented by government as
a communication and governance model to deepen participatory democracy and public participation
especially for the poor. It is argued in this article that the government’s appropriated imbizo appears
to be used to deepen the ideological positions of the government and ruling party, the African
National Congress (ANC) amongst the masses. It is further argued in this article that an imbizo
is used by government of South Africa for the attainment of four interrelated ideological objectives.
• It is a vehicle to advance the political strategy of the ANC.
• It is used as an expression of the African Renaissance paradigm.
• Imbizo expresses the ideology of African unity.
• It is used as a manifestation of participatory democracy

As an organisational anthropologist I was very enthusiastic about the philosophy of the ubuntu
concept when I heard and read about it a couple of years ago. It gave words and meaning to many
of my experiences during long stays in different parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. The concept has a
strong metaphoric power for African-based organisational and management theories, as opposed
to Eurocentric and Americacentric ones: ‘We Africans will develop our own theories, based on our
typical African authenticity and you, westerners can learn from us’. Instead of thinking in dichotomies,
as we so typically do, it is possible and more fruitful to stress togetherness and the Rainbow
Nation: instead of ‘or – or’ ‘and – and’; taking the African Renaissance as a starting point.