1,720,966 research outputs found
The usability and effectiveness of a printed information booklet : a survey amongst small-scale rural farmers
Get PDFDissertation (MA(Development Communication))--University of Pretoria, 2005.The study attempts to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of an agricultural information booklet known as Sunflower production: A concise guide targeted at small-scale rural farmers in a South African developmental context. The main objectives are to establish the target audience’s current knowledge of printed information as well as to examine the elements of the text such as appreciation, comprehension, and acceptance. This study also attempts to explore demographics and socio-economic factors as possible barriers to the effectiveness of communication in a developmental context. The argument is that the viability of, and prospects for effective communication with the small-scale rural farmers depend on two interrelated aspects vis-à-vis usability and effectiveness. Firstly, usability is the extent to which a communication ‘product’ such as the information booklet can be used by specific users to achieve specific goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context such as agricultural development. Secondly, effectiveness is the completeness and the accuracy with which users achieve specified goals. It often relies on the presentation of information in a way that is understandable to the users. Doak and Doak (1996: 73) argue that although many types of material are suitable, most current information documents have shortcomings that make them difficult to understand. A serious shortcoming includes too much information in the document, which discourages poor readers and tends to obscure the priority of information for all readers. Sometimes the readability levels become too high for the average person. The reader is not asked to interact with the material, so the opportunity for learning and recall is lost. In most instances, difficult, uncommon words are seldom explained through examples. This is an empirical study that attempts to approach the world of research subjects, in this case small-scale rural farmers, with the minimum of preconceived ideas and to look at the phenomenon under discussion, namely usability and effectiveness. It has a predominantly descriptive nature and is focused on the distinguishing characteristics of text focus, expert judgement and reader/user focus. These issues were investigated during the research conducted among small-scale rural farmers in the North West province of South Africa. The booklet was also evaluated with the intention to establish which meaning the receivers find in the booklet on sunflower production and whether these messages really communicate the desired information. The research established that the material is not suitable for the target audience. The findings of the study provided valuable information for development communication message design. It is clear that the dissemination of development information in the rural context must be revised to ensure effectiveness. This study supports the hypothesis that if the presentation of information is not appropriate for a specific target audience, the communication will not be effective.Information Scienceunrestricte
Business people cannot not communicate
Get PDFWhether it's a face-to-face meeting or an overseas transmission, communication is a complex process that requires constant attention so that the intended messages are sent and received. Inadequate communication is the source of conflict and misunderstanding. It interferes with productivity and profitability. Virtually everyone in business has experienced times when they were frustrated because they just couldn't "get through" to someone. They felt as if they were speaking an unknown language or were on a different "wave length." Communicating effectively is much more than just saying or writing the correct words. How we communicate is affected by frame of reference, emotional states, the situation, and preferred styles of communication
The experiences of out-of-school youth in the Orhovelani Education Centre in Vosloorus : guidelines for programme managers
Get PDFM.Ed.The study explored the experiences of out-of-school youth at the Orhovelani Education Centre. Its main aim was to find out whether the programme offered by the Orhovelani Education Centre is addressing the youths' needs. The ultimate aim is to develop guidelines from an educational psychological perspective for educators and policy makers on how to improve the effectiveness of the programme. Research Method A qualitative research method that aimed at the exploration and description, and reconstruction of meaning was employed. The research was conducted in two phases. Phase one consisted of the exploration and description of the experiences expressed by the youths, as well as educators with regard to the programme offered at the Orhovelani Education Centre. In Phase two guidelines for education centres such as the Orhovelani Education Centre were developed. The research was conducted against the background of a conceptual framework that explained the parameters for conducting the research. Research Design In this study, a qualitative approach was deemed most suitable, as it provides the youth and educators with an opportunity of narrating their own perceptions and experiences. The research was designed to be exploratory and descriptive and thus no attempts were made to establish cause and effect relationships. Data in this research was collected by means of observation, as well as through individual and focus group interviews to understand the experience of the youths with regard to the programme. The aim of observation was to obtain a general feel of the school climate and classroom interaction. Individual interviews were conducted with educators at the Centre, and focus group interviews were conducted with the youths. Focus group interviews with the youths were used because they are specially suited to exploring the experiences and attitudes of the youths. A pilot study was conducted in order to identify any problems prior to going into the field, so that they could be eliminated. The data analysed in this study consist of six sets of transcribed interviews as well as the field journal of observation and informal conversations. Tape recordings of the interviews, which were conducted in the respondents' home language, were transcribed and translated. The themes and categories identified through data analysis formed the basis for the development of guidelines
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Public speech as a tool for nation-building: An analysis of Thabo Mbeki’s speeches
Get PDFThis study investigated the discursive strategies used in major speeches in South Africa with distinct socio-political systems, which put nation-building in a central place, making the nation both the context and an analytical unit for the study of nation-building. The research question that needed to be answered was: to what extent does a presidential speech, as a tool, reflect South Africa’s nation-building objectives? This study specifically examined various discursive techniques used in the political language of former President Thabo Mbeki. Two speeches by former President Thabo Mbeki were collected from the GCIS website. A general textual description of the speeches is made in terms of lexis and syntax to uncover the underlying ideology in the speeches. Thematic content analysis was adopted. The analysis was predominantly qualitative, supported by some statistical data, on the assumption that a purely qualitative analysis would not necessarily yield reliable results. The occurrence of linguistic features was presented; each text was transcribed and marked for relevant linguistic features. The critical discourse analysis revealed that, on a macro-level, the text of the speeches can be viewed as a manifestation of larger socio-political processes within the country. The texts illustrate a type of political speech positioned in a society in transition, as there are references to building a cohesive society, policy implementation, new programs of government, job creation, and poverty alleviation. The speeches did serve as a nation-building tool, as they conveyed the steps undertaken by the South African government to strive towards an inclusive and all-encompassing approach in an effort to achieve nation-building
The role of national unity in nation-building: A participatory communication approach
Get PDFJournal Article, Faculty of humanities, North--West UniversityThe nation-building project, which depends on national unity for national development, has always been linked to the question of national identity. The questions that keep coming up are: What is national identity, and why is it such a powerful force? Is a social community of people always better off for having a concept of national identity? This study used the lens of participatory communication to examine nation-building in a development context, where local people—who are considered the nation in this study—are typically given the chance to actively participate in identifying and expressing their needs, potential, and goals. The campaign on nation-building, national unity, and social cohesion should be issue-driven and convey clear messages, according to the content analysis. In order to bring South Africans together, the campaigns should incorporate a variety of voices, including those of experts, social commentators, and the general public. The theoretical approach offers details of the communication approach as it is operationalised in its primary aspect of relationship building for nation-building and national unity in a diverse democratic country. The study came to the
conclusion that the development of participatory approaches to development communication is strongly aided by a focus on participatory development concepts and community facilitation processes
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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