School of Communication
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Miller, Ann Neville; Kinnally, William; Maleche, Hellen; Booker, Nancy Achieng’ (African Journal of AIDS Research, June , 2017)[more][less]
Abstract: Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk for contracting HIV. Although media campaigns have educated the population as a whole, few studies are available about the time sub-Saharan African youth spend listening to and viewing sexual messages via the entertainment and informational media. The goals of this project were: 1) to investigate what programming Nairobi adolescents access; and 2) to investigate the association between frequency of access and level of focus on physical relationships with adolescents’ perceptions of descriptive norms of peer sexual behaviour, and their attitudes regarding men as sex driven, women as sex objects, and dating as a sport. A total of 464 students from 6 Nairobi secondary schools were surveyed. When students’ favourite musicians had a strong focus on physical relationships in their songs, those students estimated the prevalence of risky sexual behaviours among their peers higher. These students also endorsed gender stereotypical and casual attitudes about sex. Large amounts of time spend on the Internet was predictive of all sexual attitude variables. Students whose favourite TV programmes had a strong focus on physical relationships also estimated prevalence of peer sexual behaviour as high. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/4122 Files in this item: 1
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Wekesa, Allan Siangu; Aswani, Daniel Robert (International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, June , 2015)[more][less]
Abstract: Rural communities in coastal areas depend on mangroves as their primary source of income generation, fuel, medicine and other basic necessities such as timber for housing. The wanton depletion of mangroves is a cause of serious environmental and economic concern. Wise management of these resource is therefore essential for the sustainable use and for the cultural and socio-economic welfare of the coastal inhabitants. In this connection, awareness raising through information to all relevant stakeholders is decisive in order to save the mangrove forests. The aim of this paper is to analyze the contribution of the different forms of communication in the dissemination of information. The findings of this study indicate the use of face to face communication through village meetings and seminars were found to be more effective communication channels as opposed to mass media tools like radio and TV due to the high levels of interaction and feedback opportunities. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/4121 Files in this item: 1
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Aswani, Daniel Robert (Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies, October , 2017)[more][less]
Abstract: A number of terror attacks have furthered the notoriety of terrorists. Such attacks include the ones in Bali, London, Nairobi, Kikambala, Dar-el-salaam, Kampala, New York, the fortune spent to bring down Osama bin Laden and more recently the sporadic terror attacks in different towns in Kenya culminating in the Westgate attack. Immediately after the 9/11 bombings, the then US President, George W. Bush declared that — in the war against terror — countries were either with the USA or with the terrorists. This declaration created an equal and opposite assumption that ‘those’ fighting terror were thereby justified in the manner they terror suspects. As a result, dangerous escapades have been reported in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Simultaneously, tales of torture have surrounded the debate on the rationale of holding suspects at Guantanamo Bay. In a nutshell, the role of interrogators has come under sharp focus particularly in the inhumane manner that terrorism suspects have been handled. Complaints have ranged from rendition to torture. The role of the investigator in torturing a suspect, or what has been called interrogational torture, has been a topic of discussion in many civil society engagements around the globe. Description: Book Review URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/4120 Files in this item: 1
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Aswani, Daniel Robert (Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies (, October , 2021)[more][less]
Abstract: Kenya, like most countries in the world, continues to battle with the effects of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) popularly known as COVID-19. The rise in infections cannot be compared with a paltry 3% of the population that is fully vaccinated – a concern that puts the blame squarely on the way government has communicated on vaccine uptake. While there is an appreciation of constraining factors such as vaccine nationality ‘wars’, it is disturbing that where vaccines are availed, there remains anecdotal evidence on what spurs the hesitancy to take up vaccine in Kenya. This study sought to establish what drives the hesitancy in vaccine uptake by exploring the perceptions of COVID-19 survivors towards the communication strategies utilized by government to urge Kenyans to get vaccinated. The social influence theory provided a lens for understanding this phenomenon. Government communication strategies are competing with many voices that either deny the form of existence of the virus and hence refute the place of vaccines, or speak of the inefficiency of the vaccine, or create conspiracies around the use of vaccines. Good communication strategies seem to be the missing link in spurring the take up of COVID-19 vaccines and pushing the population to herd immunity. Only then, can the country encourage socio-economic development. This study answered research questions that explore problems, prospects, and perspectives that COVID-19 survivors (n=10) had towards the government communication strategies. The study took a phenomenological approach utilizing lived experiences of the survivors (5 now fully vaccinated and 5 are yet vaccinated). Explicated data was presented in themes. Participants noted use of different government communication strategies such as publicized vaccination of senior government officials; use of influencers; and use of media briefings. Based on findings and personal reflections, government communication strategies used by the government were reactive, pompous (or ignorant), and/or contradictory. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/4119 Files in this item: 1
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Obonyo, Levi; Fackler, P. Mark (Wiley-Blackwell, March 28, 2014)[more][less]
Abstract: This chapter focuses on common play, the first public activity most humans learn and practice. The authors use play theory to explain the significance of editorial cartooning in Kenya. They suggest that, in developing democracies that cannot assume universal literacy, media users concerned about public life receive initial and meaningful information on politics through conventions associated with the editorial cartoon. They argue that cartoon viewers learn through this play mode rather than from public debate or through a rational articulation of issues. The five cartoonists interviewed here describe their work in ways uncommon for the press establishment, and they evince values like courage, criticism of entrenched power, and passion for justice – values that the press establishment reveres, yet practices much more conservatively. Description: Book Chapter URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/4118 Files in this item: 1
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Lando, Agnes Lucy (IGI Global., 2016)[more][less]
Abstract: Due to varied reasons, all nations host people of diverse cultural backgrounds. Kenya, a nation of 40 million people with over 40 tribes, is not exempt. Further, Kenya, like any other nation, suffers ethnic conflicts. The most pronounced ethnic conflicts have been the 2007-2008 Post Election Violence and the 1990s land clashes. These clashes were visible to the local and international community because people were killed, displaced and properties destroyed. However, there is a covert ethnic conflict in Kenya. This is the subtle plight of the Somalis of Kenya origin who find themselves in constant conflict with the “other” Kenyans. Based on 2014 research findings, this chapter exposes the ethnic conflicts Somalis of Kenyan origin endure. From the findings, it is apparent that the ethnic plights of Somalis of Kenyan origin are media engendered and can, to a great extent, be resolved by media. Description: Book Chapter URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/4029 Files in this item: 1
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Musa, Bala A.; Lando, Agnes Lucy (Oxford University Press, October , 2022)[more][less]
Abstract: Spirituality and religion define the African worldview and lifeworld. From time immemorial, community and religion have been the driving forces that have shaped African culture. This chapter looks at how new media communications interface with religion and community. The chapter examines how cybermedia both strengthens and threatens these critical foundations of Africa’s communal religions and religious communalism. It critiques technological and cultural determinism and indeterminism in relation to religion and online community in Africa. The questions that emerge include who sets the agenda and ethos for the online faith community or communities, when interactions, leadership structures and focal points are diffused and decentered? Others include what elements of religion in the online environment are liberating, empowering, helpful, or detrimental to the mission of faith communities. The chapter proposes ways to balance enduring core values of community with the instrumentality and novelty of worshipping under the “glocal” electronic tent. Description: Book Chapter URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/4028 Files in this item: 1
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Gitau, Julie Gathoni; Chebii, Stella Jerop (Journal of Development and Communication Studies, January 1, 2020)[more][less]
Abstract: Although employees are the most critical of organisation publics, it is unclear whether employee-organisation relationships (EORs) in non-profit organisations (NPOs) in Kenya are prioritised. To investigate this question further, the study explored relationship antecedents in two non-profit organisations. The study was informed by relationship management theory and the symmetrical communication framework. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were carried out among 24 purposively sampled management and non-management employees. The data was manually analysed and requisite a priori and in vivo codes and themes identified. The study findings suggest a lack of understanding about the strategic role of public relations in the organisation. Further, technician oriented PR departments mediate the perceptions of and effort expended on internal relationships. Managing employee-organisation relationships was perceived more as a human resource rather than a PR function which precludes more robust forms of PR practice. The researchers recommend a clear demarcation between the public relations and human resource function and to build strategic PR departments that embrace internal relationship management. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/4012 Files in this item: 1
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Wamunyu, Wambui; Wahutu, j. Siguru (Daystar University, School of Communication, June 18, 2019)[more][less]
Abstract: This article addresses digital cultures within the context of the fluid association between the media and the state in the African postcolony. Based on the premise that news organisations construct and disseminate knowledge, the article applies field theory in analysing observed and inferred practices at a radio station and journalism school in Kenya. The article finds that journalism curricula rely on predefined, non-contextualised norms and are yet to fully incorporate digital technologies. Additionally, there is a hybridisation of traditional and newer approaches in training, organisational structures and narrative forms in the Kenyan media landscape. But traditional sourcing cultures are retained, as is the engagement with audiences as consumers, rather than coproducers, of news. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/4008 Files in this item: 1
Old Habits, New Realities.pdf (1.553Mb) -
Wamunyu, Wambui (Daystar University, School of Communication, February 17, 2022)[more][less]
Abstract: The entry of non-traditional actors into aspects of journalistic practice has been widely explored in scholarship, as have expressions of the public’s trust in journalistic work. However, there is a scarcity of research addressing the construct of trust in relation to the interactions among traditional and non-traditional journalism actors engaged in news production. Through the use of actor-network theory and by applying qualitative case study design, this study focused on the nature of journalistic practice in a digitally disrupted Kenyan newsroom, and how trust/mistrust manifested itself within the actor-network of journalistic practice. Theoretical and thematic analyses established the social and technological actors that had joined the process of journalistic practice while four findings emerged addressing notions of trust/ mistrust within the actor-network. These findings were as follows: trust occurs within an established routinized process; trust is enacted within a particular news media environment; new entrants in journalistic practice need to demonstrate value to gain trusted entry in the actor-network; and trust is engendered at institutional level but needs acceptance at individual level. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3980 Files in this item: 1
Exploring Trust.pdf (2.145Mb) -
Wamunyu, Wambui; Siguru, Wahutu, J. (Daystar University, School of Communication, June 18, 2019)[more][less]
Abstract: This article addresses digital cultures within the context of the fluid association between the media and the state in the African postcolony. Based on the premise that news organisations construct and disseminate knowledge, the article applies field theory in analysing observed and inferred practices at a radio station and journalism school in Kenya. The article finds that journalism curricula rely on predefined, non-contextualised norms and are yet to fully incorporate digital technologies. Additionally, there is a hybridisation of traditional and newer approaches in training, organisational structures and narrative forms in the Kenyan media landscape. But traditional sourcing cultures are retained, as is the engagement with audiences as consumers, rather than coproducers, of news. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3979 Files in this item: 1
Old Habits, New Realities.pdf (1.553Mb) -
Lando, Agnes Lucy; Kochomay, Samuel (In book, January , 2016)[more][less]
Abstract: Cattle rustling among Kenyan and non-Kenyan pastoralists remains the oldest, persistent, and most complex conflict. It is a violent, intermittent and often unpredictable warfare where communities raid each other for livestock. These raids cause human and material loss, displacement of families, fleeing teachers, school closures and student dropouts. Attempts to solve this problem either exacerbate the conflict or just produce short-term peace. The perpetual failure of successive governments and other actors to bring about conflict resolution for cattle rustling point to a missing link. This chapter explores the embeddedness of cattle rustling in the deep roots of pastoralists' traditional culture and communication. The chapter examines selected cattle rustling interventions in northern Kenya in the last three decades. This analysis has been synthesized with ethnographic research findings and Social Penetration Theory to explain the persistence of cattle rustling. Finally, the chapter proposes a culturally appropriate model to address cattle rustling. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3967 Files in this item: 1
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Lando, Agnes Lucy (Taylor and francis group, January 15, 2015)[more][less]
Abstract: Workplaces present divergent cultural conventions for engaging in work- and nonwork-related activities. However, when cultures in workplaces are mentioned, most people tend to think of cultures in the narrow sense of behavioral interaction, yet culture also includes variables of faith or religions. Therefore, just as people of different cultures may have the potential to clash when they come in contact, so would people of different faiths. Just like culture, diverse faiths have the potential of either enhancing or jeopardizing organizational cohesiveness and achievement of organizational goals. Interfaith dialog as practiced in some banking institutions in Kenya is a case in point. Diamond Trust Bank and Co-operative Bank of Kenya's workforce constitute Christians, Muslims, and Hindus, and as a practice, this workforce meets once a week to pray. This study assesses the effects of interfaith dialog in the workplace in achieving organizational goals. This research presents alternative frameworks for analyzing intercultural communication in the workplace based on the principles of faith. By providing a critique of existing models of language and intercultural communication in the workplace from an interfaith perspective, the aforementioned case could lead to presenting a scenario for the formulation/shaping of a theory of interfaith relations in intercultural workplaces. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3966 Files in this item: 1
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Lando, Agnes Lucy (In book, January , 2017)[more][less]
Abstract: Several authors have researched on diverse challenges affecting media practice in different parts of the world: the growing influence of bribery (Dirbaba, 2010), one-sided and distorted reporting (Mfumbusa, 2008), pornographic and oversexed content, an inclination to acceptance of the brown envelope (Kasoma, 2010; Skjerdal, 2010; White, 2011; Nwabueze, 2010), and the disconnect between media training and practice (Lando, 2013). But with ICT, contemporary challenges include sources of news. With the aid of modern technology, a story that has appeared in one media house or platform can be reproduce in another without the reproducing journalist citing the previous source, and without disclosing to audiences that the story being presented is not original. Further, some journalists have presented stories that only exist in their fantasy. All these are cases of media lies. This chapter examines select cases of media lies and the ethical and credibility threat they pose to journalism. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3965 Files in this item: 1
Media-Invented Stories.pdf (131.5Kb) -
Njoya, Wandia (eScholarship, 2018)[more][less]
Abstract: The government seeks to replace the current system, in which children spend 8 years in primary school, 4 years in secondary school, and 4 years in university, with a new system in which chil dren spend 6 years in primary school, 3 years in junior secondary, 3 years in senior secondary and 3 years at university. So the gov ernment is misleading people by calling this a curriculum reform, when it is a much bigger and more radical change going on Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3964 Files in this item: 1
Curriculum reforms in Kenya.pdf (132.4Kb) -
Lando, Agnes Lucy (Daystar University, June , 2014)[more][less]
Abstract: Many corporations have a Crisis Management Plan (CMP), which is designed to handle crises. These plans may include crisis response drills, evacuation plans, and standby machines/generators. However, when it comes to communication during a crisis, many organizations are ill-prepared because they lack a Crisis Communication Plan (CCP). Following the September 21, 2013 attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, the public’s praises for the security forces swiftly degenerated into blame, insults, and expressions of betrayal. The government seemed unprepared. There was no clearly spelt out CCP detailing what and when to release information, as well as who and how to make the release. Hence, every step the government took to give updates about the attack and what it was doing to secure the mall and save people was challenged by the media and the public. The lack of a CCP was evident in the presentation of several spokespersons by the authorities, double talk, conflicting messages, and uncertainty on the matter. This paper thus argues that while corporations strive for a variety of strategies for crisis management, there is need to also enshrine CCP in their CMP. It utilizes Coombs’ (2012) three-stage crisis management model that carefully considers the pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis stages. Focusing on selected corporations in Kenya that suffered crises between June 1, 2012 and October 30, 2013, this research holds that the crises duration and negative impact could have been lessened if the organizations integrated effective CCP in their CMP Description: Journal article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3961 Files in this item: 1
CritialRoleofCrisisComPlan.pdf (157.7Kb) -
Croucher, Stephen M.; Kelly, Stephanie; Rahmani, Diyako (Taylor and francis group, March 6, 2019)[more][less]
Abstract: The self-perceived communication competence (SPCC) measure has been used in over 50 published studies since 2000. McCroskey and McCroskey (1988. Self-report as an approach to measuring communication competence. Communication Research Reports, 5, 108–113. doi: 10.1080/08824098809359810) developed the measure to be used within the US college/university classroom. Despite its intended use, the measure is frequently used outside of the US and outside of the college/university setting without tests of measurement invariance. In fact, only four studies have performed tests of internal consistency on the measure since 2000, and each has found poor fit. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the utility of the measure outside of its intended population. The measure was utilized to survey respondents from 12 countries and failed to yield acceptable fit statistics in all samples, showing poor evidence of construct validity. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3959 Files in this item: 1
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Neville, Ann Miller; Mwithia, Jesica; Kizito, Mary; Njoroge, Lucy (African Journal of AIDS Research, September , 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: The article presents an analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 leaders of Christian churches in Nairobi, Kenya, regarding the content and context of messages they disseminate to their congregations about sexual behaviour and HIV. The content of messages was nearly consistent across the different denominations. However, three sorts of tensions were identified within pastoral communication about these topics: the need to discuss sex and HIV versus societal taboos against speaking about those issues from the pulpit; traditional cultural norms versus current lifestyles; and the ideals of abstinence and fidelity versus the reality of congregants’ sexual behaviour. Although some of the religious leaders accepted the idea of condom use, no denominational patterns were noted on that subject, except with respect to Catholic priests. Pentecostal leaders were notable for describing proactive strategies to address both the ideal/real dilemma and the tension between church norms and current media content about sexuality and HIV. Description: journal article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3955 Files in this item: 1
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Njoya, Wandia Mwende (CreateSpace Independent, May , 2007)[more][less]
Abstract: Literary criticism of recent novels about the theme of migration to France often fails to take into account both the reality and experiences of migrants. Worse, critics tend to minimize both the role of French imperialism and the strength of African cultures as they read these works. Their analyses raise the broad question of just how African migration literature can be interpreted to reflect the social realities which frame the action of the protagonists who are most vulnerable to France's contradictory immigration policies. Drawing on the concept of tragedy as both a genre and as a philosophical framework, I analyze four novels that convey the stories of francophone African immigrants to Europe. These are Fatou Diome’s Le Ventre de l’Atlantique, Alain Mabanckou’s Bleu Blanc Rouge, Bessora’s 53 cm and Nathalie Etoké’s Un amour sans papiers. The study reveals that the novels’ characters, style and narrative progression indicate the authors’ attempt to simultaneously articulate the suffering of poorer African migrants and appeal to the Republic to redress it. The search for a middle ground between Africa and France minimizes the Republic’s pursuit of power at the cost of African lives. This result contradicts the tragic imperative that the powerful actors receive blame for the suffering of the most vulnerable members of society. The unsuccessful attempt at neutrality also reflects the paradoxical situation of Africans who use the French language to articulate the dilemmas in which the Republic is heavily implicated. This study thus proposes a model of criticism that acknowledges the role of migrant experiences, African traditions and critics’ personal inclinations in the experience of and narratives about migration to France. It complements works by Jean-Paul Sartre, Frantz Fanon and Lewis Gordon that call on intellectuals to accept their implication in pressing social issues and to situate events on a global stage. The study also emphasizes the need to include a range of social, historical and environmental factors in determining the causes of injustice. Above all, it presents reality based criticism as an alternative to literary criticism dominated by theoretical concerns that often minimize the challenges of every day life. Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3954 Files in this item: 1
In search of El Dorado.pdf (299.2Kb) -
Obonyo, Levi (Communicatio: South African Journal for Communication Theory and Research, April 11, 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: While the scholarship on communication theory has evolved over many years in Africa it is still work in progress. This discourse has been anchored in society’s cultural milieu. The import of this is that the debate has evolved without incorporating the realities of Africa. Consequently, theories of communication and of the mass media are an ill fit on the continent. As communication scholarship in Africa matures, it requires examining how the realities of the continent can contribute to the development of a theory that best matches this environment. Some of these realities include the evolution of African governance, its culture, and the progression of communication as a discipline. While this article does not make the leap to propose what such a theory would look like, it seeks to raise some of these realities as a starting point for further discussion Description: Journal Article URI: http://repository.daystar.ac.ke/xmlui/handle/123456789/3951 Files in this item: 1