Vol 3, No 1 (1982)

This article provides information on the background to and the manage- ment of the HSRC Investigation into Intergroup Relations. At the ame time it is also an invitation to the research community to participate in the programme by applying for financial assistance. Communication scientists in particular and social scientists in general are invited to participate in the HSRC Investigation into Intergroup Rela- tions. A budget independent of the usual financing of research at universities is available for research into the most pressing aspects of the relationships between the major groups in South Africa.

The principal goals of the study are to implement an adjusted.ersion of the well known Bogardus scale of social distance and also to orientate senior undergraduates regarding research techniques. The scope of the project is limited and stress is laid on the qualitative aspects of the sample. In discussing the results certain comparisons are made with the work of Lever (1968; 1979) and the most important variable correlated with interethnic attitude is the respondent's school. The results of the study indicate that Afrikaans respondents are the most exclusive group, whilst Coloured respondents are the most inclusive in attitude. In comparing the material with that of Lever, a tendency to narrow their distance regarding other population groups is indicated for the former group Differences between the attitudes of English speaking and Afrikaans speaking respondents indicate the exclusion of a simple relationship between inter-ethnic communication on the one hand and pronounced attitudes on the other hand

Should public relations officers tend to neglect the importance of their internal publics for the success of their organisations, the literature is explicit on the dangers of such negligence. In this article the nature of public relations as the important institutional communication function of organisations is explored with special reference to the importance of the attitudes and opinions of those who constitute an organisation's internal publics, as seen by various authors. The potential influence of employees, investors or other important groups as well as management itself on the public relations programme and the organisation itself is described and it is concluded that organisations with informed and motivating managements, devoted, motivated and loyal employees and supportive investors, will probably achieve greater overall success as those without these attributes. The public relations function should be encouraged by management to help achieve this through all the available communicative techniques.

The study comprised an analysis of the portrayal of sex rôles in South African television advertisements against the background of findings from similar studies in other societies. General results of these studies indicated a somewhat stereotyped and partly inferior social portrayal of women in advertising. The results of the present study indicated a similar pattern of female advertising roles to those found in studies of other societies. Women were predominantly depicted in a housewife/mother role, which is contrary to actual female contributions in the field of human resources.

The South African Institute for Communication Research at the Human Sciences Research Council started its research programme on possible social effects of television in 1974, two years before the inception of this medium in South Africa. One of the major studies involves the effect of television on the general behaviour of school-going children. The present article comprises some of the most important results obtained so far in this research project.

The influence of communication apprehension on an individual's academic achievement and social behaviour has not been investigated until quite recently. The present article presents a review of existing literature on this important phenomenon.

This paper focuses on only three of the many aspects of intercultural communication which are relevant to pictorial communication. (i) Stereotyping and the one-sided view which is created by one cultural and/or ethnic group of another; (ii) the misconception of the picture as universal language; (iii) the acknowledge ment of heterogeneity within a specific cultural and/or ethnic group and the consequent necessity to plan the media supply in accordance with the variety of different cultural tastes within a society. What is said, is that this paper must be seen as an introduction. Neither time nor space allows for a more intensive look at the theoretical principles on which the study of these three aspects or problems are based. Before these three aspects are discussed, a synopsis is given of the status of entertainment in the mass media and the model function of film through which it becomes a socialising and ideologizing instrument.