Vol 24, No 1 (2005)

This study partially replicated similar research conducted by Yrle, Hartman & Galle
(2002:262) and Yrle, Hartman & Galle (2003:95-96) in the United States (US), which
examined the correlations between communication style and leader-member exchange
(LMX) in the South African context. It also took into consideration the potential impact
of aspects such as gender, demographics and diversity on supervisor-subordinate LMX
and communication considering the uniqueness of the South African environment.
The research was conducted among supervisors and their subordinates at a South African
government department. Forty-nine supervisors and subordinates, effectively representing
27 organisational dyads, were able to participate in this study. It yielded some interesting
results, the most important of which is that the Pearson correlation coefficient statistical
analysis supported the proposition that there is a correlation between LMX and
communication in dyadic relationships.

Organisations know that the Internet could or should play an important role in goal
achievement, but are uncertain about its strategic application. It can therefore be said
that the Internet remains largely ‘a technology in search of a strategy’.
This article explores ‘Internet strategy’ from the perspective of the corporate
communication domain, specifically within the framework of two meta-theoretical
approaches: the Excellence approach and the two-way symmetrical approach to public
relations and communication management. ‘Internet strategy’ is conceptualised based
on the following theories: information theory, the communication process, mass
communication theory, strategic management theory, corporate communication roles
theory, and the models for developing corporate communication strategy and
communication plans.
The most important findings indicate that, with regard to the corporate communication
process, the Internet is regarded as a medium or channel and, as such, it can make a
contribution on all strategy levels. The concept of ‘Internet strategy’ is specifically seen
to be part of operational strategy at the micro organisational level. However, considering
the use of the Internet already at the functional strategy level ensures that its use is not
decided upon in isolation, but forms part of corporate communication goal achievement.

In an over-saturated market, advertisements have become more risqué as companies vie
for consumer attention and lesbian content in advertising seems to be on the increase
in mainstream media. This article attempts to discover whether lesbian content in
advertising elicits positive or negative consumer attitudes towards the advertisement
and the brand, and to link these attitudes with the intention to purchase the product.
By doing so, marketers will be able to ascertain whether this type of advertising appeal
is effective or whether it offends consumers and therefore decreases product sales.
The study was quantitative in nature and used descriptive research in a field setting. It
was found that there is a significant correlation between tolerance of homosexuality and
acceptance of lesbian content in advertising. In addition, these advertisements attracted
attention and interest and were not perceived as particularly immoral, exploitive or
offensive by most of the sample population. In terms of attracting attention and interest,
and being memorable to consumers, advertisements containing clear lesbian interaction
are more effective than those with lower levels of homoerotic t

There is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the practice of public relations (PR)
in Africa, which prohibits the continent to fulfil its responsibility towards the global PR
society as well as other developing countries. Based on the findings of a master’s
dissertation on the practice of PR in Africa, this article focuses on one of the concepts
that were measured, namely PR roles.
The article discusses current literature in the field of roles research and describes the
empirical verification of two PR roles in Africa. Although the three roles of the PR
strategist, manager and technician were measured, only two roles emerged during the
factor analysis: the role of the strategist (Factor 1), and the combined roles of the
technician/manager (Factor 2).
The data was collected by means of a self-administered electronic questionnaire. Data
analysis consisted of both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Common Factor Analysis
(CFA) where the underlying dimensions were extracted, indicating the items used to define
the PR roles.

In this article the spotlight falls on the challenge to public relations practitioners to
achieve a ‘less is more’ approach – not less communication, but less ambiguity. This
article focuses on the way in which Cognitive Linguistics tools can facilitate clarity in
public relations messages, as illustrated in the analysis of a slogan.The relationship
between assumptions within this framework and issues in public relations is pointed out
and illustrated. Within the Cognitive Linguistic analysis presented here, it is argued that
public relations messages can be analysed in terms of specific conceptual metaphors,
and that ambiguity can be limited by proposed mental mechanisms. The analysis ties in
with the claim that much of our conceptualisation of experience is metaphorical, which
both motivates and constrains our creativity.The advantages of an analysis within Cognitive
Grammar are shown to reside in its potential to interpret linguistic expressions
metaphorically and to account for stylistic phenomena.

Organizations of all shapes and sizes have to embrace information technology to survive
and thrive in an increasingly competitive environment. Consequently, the level of
penetration and sophistication of information technology is growing rapidly, and with
it a concomitant increase in the level of organizational impact. In this article the authors
investigate the impact of an Intranet on organizational issues, such as communication.
The research study shows that technology like an Intranet, if used correctly, can have
a very positive impact on an organization’s communication culture and as such on various
other important organizational issues. The research was conducted in an insurance
company in South Africa (“The Insurance Company”).

The effects of wireless communication on society emphasise one of the discrepancies
that exists between developed and developing countries like South Africa. Mobile commerce
is experiencing a growth rate in the developed world unlike in South Africa. Wireless
communication in the form of mobile communication is being adopted at a significant
pace, especially among urban emerging youth markets in South Africa. This market’s
connectivity is mainly via SMS. The most pertinent finding of the research is that the role
of cellular phones as an m-commerce application in the emerging youth market is one
of connectivity, lifestyle and usage convention.

The theme of this article is investigative journalism and the importance of this particular
type of journalism for upholding democratic practices. By giving a theoretical foundation
and by using a case study, the author shows that investigative journalism plays an
important role in furthering democratic ideals and in bringing about change in society

WHERE DO WE STAND WITH THE “AFRICANISATION” OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES?
As academics and lecturers we are well aware of the demands of transformation. Many
of us have been and are going through the demanding, time-consuming and bureaucratic
exercises of SAQAtising our syllabi. In the process, meaningless and unimaginative
templates tend to dictate the academic activity, leaving little to the creative intellectual
mind. We have been and are going through the processes of adapting our syllabi to
outcome-based education and teaching, now to be turned into problem-solving education
and teaching; of turning year courses into semester courses, and probably now converting
them back to year courses; and of merging institutions and, in so doing, trying to marry
different educational philosophies, practices, attitudes and organisational cultures.
At Unisa, the above have been and are taxing experiences. Distance education demands
that every word you utter has to go through a rigorous process of educational planning
and design, writing, evaluation by critical readers, re-writting, re-evaluation, and
proofreading over and again, before it goes through the processes of production and
despatch. Now, a new phase of transformation has entered: the Africanisation of our
courses. But what is Africanisation?
The purpose of what follows is not to problematise and intellectualise the concept. That
is done, more than often, in a stream of academic articles and in discussions among
academics. The discussions usually begin with: “What the hell is Africanisation?” Neither
is the purpose to deconstruct related concepts such as “conceptual engineering”,
“cultural revolution”, “power”, “ideology”, “hegemony” and so on. Somewhere in the
debate, they all feature.
In the following paragraphs I prefer to quote verbatim, and in a paraphrased way, from
two presentations given by two Unisa scholars at a seminar held on 3 March 2005 at Unisa
on the topic of Africanisation. They are Prof. T.S. Maluleke, the Deputy Executive Dean
of Unisa’s College of Human Sciences, and Prof. A.M.B. Mangu of Unisa’s Department of
Constitutional, International and Indigenous Law. The purpose is not to comment on their
presentations, but rather to uphold them as possible yardsticks against which to measure
the resistance to, and/or progress or lack of progress in, the Africanisation of South
African communication studies.