School of Communication

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What can Christian Higher educations do to promote educational well-being in Africa
(School of Communication- Daystar Uniiversity, 2006) Nguru, Faith
Entrepreneurial Characteristics among Micro Small Scale Women owned enterprises in North and Central Meru District, Kenya
(Gender Inequalities in Kenya, 2006) Kaimenyi, Bertha; Naituli, Gitile
The role of the micro and small-scale enterprises (MSEs) sector in the development process has been at the center of development debate for the last three decades in Kenya and elsewhere in the developing world. Economic hardships experienced in the formal sector in Kenya and indeed in other developing countries have contributed to the enthusiasm now associated with the MSEs sector. Increasingly, the sector is perceived as a critical component in the creation of much needed skills, employment, and generation of livelihoods for a growing number of people within the urban as well as the rural sector. This paper seeks to contribute to this effort through examining entrepreneurial characteristics of women owned enterprises in Meru North and Meru Central districts in Kenya, and how these impact on the growth of these enterprises. The paper is based on an empirical survey conducted in randomly selected divisions of Meru North and Meru Central districts, which targeted 1,024 respondents, also randomly selected. In addition, key informants were purposively selected and interviewed to provide insights to the research problem. The data were analyzed to yield descriptive and inferential descriptors. Findings from this study show that entrepreneurial characteristics such as age, education, attitudes and perception have a significant relationship on the growth of micro and small-scale enterprises in the study area. Other characteristics that are critical to the growth of MSEs include start up capital, environment, both business and regulatory. The paper suggests that future development of MSEs especially those owned by women should be deliberately targeted and guided by clear policies, which are broad and holistic in their content and approach.
Thinking Scholarship: A reflection of faith and Intergration
(Schoool of Communication, Daystar University, 2006) Obonyo, Levi
A Christian Approach to the Study of Language
(School of Communication, Daystar University, 2006) Oladipo, Rebecca
On Mariama Bâ's novels, stereotypes, and silence
(Duke University Press, 2007) Njoya, Wandia Mwende
The title of this article is borrowed from Trudier Harris’s essay that analyzes the reception of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Harris argues that Walker had been chosen by the one-track-minded American media, which, “by its very racist nature, seems able to focus on only one black writer at a time.” The publicity had in turn created “a cadre of spectator readers . . . who do not identify with the characters and who do not feel the intensity of their pain, [but] stand back and view the events of the novel as a circus of black human interactions.” Harris suggests that the acclaim Walker’s novel received had discouraged critics from writing critical reviews, even though the characters appeared implausible against the historical background and experience of black Americans. I raise similar concerns about the increasing critical focus on Mariama Bâ’s novels, particularly Une si longue lettre (So Long a Letter). Bâ’s fi rst of two novels is currently about the most popular African woman-authored novel in the United States and is featured in reading lists of courses that range from French to African and women’s studies. However, there is little or uneasy acknowledgment that Bâ and her characters represent a small and privileged section of African societies or that her women have condescending views of African traditions consistent with colonial ideologies. The few critics who have been categorical about this reality have been criticized for ignoring the colonial masculine privilege. Between them and those who read Bâ’s work as an expression of a feminist consciousness, the intricacies and the human complexities in the narrative are minimized, while the biases and assumptions behind the popularity of the work remain unquestioned. In this article, I argue that the popularity of Bâ’s novel rides on stereotypes of African cultures as inimical to love, individual fulfillment, and monogamy. I trace these images to the imperial framework and locate them in the criticism of her work.
In search of El Dorado? The experience of migration to France in contemporary African novels
(CreateSpace Independent, 2007-05) Njoya, Wandia Mwende
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.
Couples' Communication on Sexual and Relational Issues among the Akamba in Kenya
(African Journal of AIDS Research, 2009-11) Miller, Ann Neville; Golding, Lenette; wa Ngula, Kyalo; Wambua, MaryAnne; Mutua, Evans; Kizito, Mary N.; Teti, Caroline; Booker, Nancy Achieng’ ; Mwithia, Kinya Jesica ; Rubin, Donald L
A large portion of HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa occurs among married couples, yet the majority of research on safer-sex communication has focused on communication between couples in casual relationships. This paper explores how committed Kamba couples in Machakos District, Kenya, communicate about sensitive relational issues. The findings from focus group discussions with five groups of males and five groups of females are presented. The couples freely shared their thoughts about daily and economic issues and certain aspects of family planning and sexuality. Methods for raising sensitive issues with partners included monitoring the spouse’s mood, gradual or indirect revelation, mentioning topics during sex, and use of third-party intermediaries. Interference by extended family members, especially husbands’ mothers, and male authoritarian roles emerged as hindrances to effective communication between couples. The implications for HIV prevention regarding gender differences and the role of families in couples’ communication are discussed
Kenyan Patients’ Attitudes Regarding Doctor Ethnicity and Doctor–Patient Ethnic Discordance
(Patient Education and Counseling, 2010) Miller, Ann Neville; Mwithia, Kinya Jesica ; Booker, Nancy Achieng’ ; Kizito, Mary N.; wa Ngula, Kyalo
Objective: This study explored Kenyan patients’ perspectives on the role of ethnicity in the doctor– patient relationship. Methods: 221 participants completed questionnaires on ethnicity in doctor–patient relationships; eight focus groups were held with low- and middle-income urban and rural women. Results: About half of participants expressed no preference for doctor ethnicity. Participants rated demographic factors as less important than factors related to the doctor’s qualifications, communication skills, and cost of service. Those who did indicate a preference were more likely to prefer Indian doctors for eye problems and Europeans for major surgery, cancer, and heart problems. With less severe medical issues participants were more likely to prefer a doctor who was ethnically concordant with them. Reasons for this centered around communication issues. In contrast, several focus group participants did not want to be treated by doctors from their own ethnic group because of concerns about confidentiality. Conclusion: Additional research is needed on negative implications of patient–provider concordance. Practice implications: Medical service providers must be aware of concerns about ethnic concordance. Alternatively medical centers that deal with sensitive medical information need to consider hiring staff who are not of the majority ethnic group in their region.
Modelling a Catholic University to Meet the 21st Century Challenges
(CUEA Press, 2011) Lando, Agnes Lucy; Gichure, Peter Ignatius; Kanakulya, Jim B.
The State of Media Freedom in Africa
(Faculty of Social Sciences and Communications at St. Augustine University of Tanzania, 2011) African Communication Research
In the view of the authors in this issue of African Communication Research the media are expected to set the agenda for debating the national development goals. These authors assume that editorial and journalistic freedom is essential for such agenda setting. This presupposes that the media have the editorial capacity and leadership to set such an agenda—a very big “if” indeed. This also presupposes that there is the “vision”, “the will” and “the unity” in the civil society to push national political, economic and other forms of leadership toward goals such as those enunciated in the Millenium Development Goals. If the media would open a forum for coming to some form of consensus regarding national goals, would there be articulate leadership to point out clearly where the nation should go? And would this leadership be able to persuade or apply sufficient persuasive coercion to bring those controlling the political, economic and other sources of power to cooperate. In virtually all African countries a fundamental problem is the self-serving political leadership that places its own enrichment and the enrichment of their friends above the national welfare. Have the media been able to bring this political leadership to a sense of responsibility? There have been rare moments of unity and new vision in the civil society—the liberalization coalitions in the early 1990s, the occasional movements to throw off intolerable dictatorships, the outcry in the face of insane genocides. There have been rare moments when the political leadership has steered a nation toward consensus that there should be universal, free, high-quality primary and secondary education with easy access to technical or professional education—and that those with the resources should pay for it! Can we say that the media utilized the their freedom of expression to set the agenda to build this consensus?
The Handbook of Global Communication and Media Ethics
(Wiley Blackwell, 2011) Fortner, Robert S. (Ed); Fackler, P. Mark
Despite having 60 stellar authors, there are topics that even they could not cover. There are simply too many problems that, unless you sit down and try to imagine creatively what they could be, would probably never be considered. There were also topics that we could not get an author to address and others that, because of pregnancies, new responsibilities or preexisting commitments, appropriate authors could not commit to write about. We could easily have filled a third volume in this handbook if everyone we contacted had been able to write. Instead of 49 essays, we might have been able to tackle as many as 100. However, this is academe in the age of publish or perish. What these two volumes did do – and we trust will do for a reader – is expand our collective understanding of ethics in the new global environment. Globalism does not merely make problems more complicated than they were in the days of isolated political ideologies, more restricted technologies, or independent media practices, it also introduces entirely new issues. The nations of the world have been committed for several decades now to the idea of communication as a human right. It is clear that these same nations do not necessarily practice what they preach. Sovereignty interferes with the ability of collectivities of nations to demand adherence to international agreements. What, then, is the most ethical position to take in this matter? Is it more ethical to demand that a right to communicate be practiced despite changes in political climates, the rise of hate parties, and the development of indigenous frameworks for ethics? Or must the principles developed during the Enlightenment and beyond within Western political traditions grounded in a Judeo-Christian ethic be applied universally? Does ethics trump faith, or is the other way around? Within a given nation, even when demographics change, there are usually ethical, political, or legal traditions that survive. But not always. The demand of Muslims for the application of Sharia in their communities, for instance, has upset traditions within nonreligious regimes. Does Sharia put non-Muslims at risk when their ethical practices may not accord with it? What happens, too, when globalization makes multinational corporations more significant in many people’s lives than their own domestic governments? What are the ethics that should be applied in a situation where financial institutions in one country have made commitments in another that they suffer a monetary meltdown? Does the recipient nation “owe” protection to institutions outside its own borders? Is it ethical that the citizens of one rich nation live lifestyles that are dependent on the underpaid labor of another – even if the labor now has work and more income than it ever had before? What are the ethics that should apply to the public discourse about global warming when it is clearly a few nations that are the primary culprits in the phenomenon? What are the ethics that should apply in the information distribution arena where some intelligence is provided by news organizations exercising editorial discretion (or even bias) and some provided by entrepreneurial bloggers or “citizen journalists?” Do the ethics of a profession prevail, must different ethical standards be accepted due to the differential status of these new competitors, or is ethics out the window entirely? Do both types of news gathering and dissemination “owe” the public that access their material the same standards? Where does the so-called “public’s right to know” begin and end in such an environment? We could go on for pages with sets of these questions. Rather than do that, however, we took on the task of recruiting the best minds that we could find – and we are sure there are many others out there that we did not locate – to tackle many of the significant issues raised by the new international context within which ethics must be practiced – insofar as it applies to the activities that collectively make up communication work. Our hope is that each reader will find the essays we have collected here to be enlightening and challenging.
The Anatomy of Animation Films in Kenya
(2011) Ogutu, Raphael Nakhumbi; Mugubi, John Geofrey
This study dissects animation films in Kenya mainly in terms of manner. The study focuses on the substance of animation films and communicative strategies employed in 2D and 3Danimation films in Kenya. The study examines the techniques employed by selected Kenyan animators and the nexus between technique and message. Films selected for this study are: The legends of Ngong hills film (Bunitv 2011), films sampled from Tinga Tinga tales series: why lion roars, why chicken pecks the ground and why lizard hides under the rocks (Homeboyz Animation- first episode 2011), Greedy lords of the Jungle, Africa’s next top poet, Shadowboxing, Driving test, Miss match, Lunchtime woes, Savannah drama, Two olds (RECON-Digital 2009-2012), and Wageuzi Battle 2012 (Afrikana Digital 2011). The study employed a qualitative study design that comprised: library research, thematic content analysis of selected films, focus group discussions and interviews with various respondents. The triangulation approach guided data collection for focus group discussions, interviews as well as content analysis of the selected films. Three theoretical perspectives employed include: Social Cognitive Theory, the Conventionalist theory of pictorial representation, and the Neo-representation theory that guided the analysis of this study
Journalists and the rule of law
( International Commission of Jurists, 2011) Obonyo, Levi; Nyamboga, Erneo Nyakundi
Journalism in Kenya is probably as old as the history of the nation itself and precedes many of the professions in the country. Indeed, there is a rich history of the media in the country. What has not kept pace with the development of the field is the equivalent development of resources to enable the field to be more effective. For instance, it was not until after independence, with the establishment of the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication that training of journalists started in Kenya in earnest. Even then, that training was terminated at the diploma level meaning that thought was still focused on producing mid-level industry personnel. It was a decade later when further training beyond the diploma qualification was offered in Kenya. But even more challenging for the field is that while the training was being offered there was never a concurrent development of resources to facilitate the training and adapt it to the Kenyan context. Technical training was a turn key technology with buttons being pointed to trainees who often only knew how to switch on and off the equipment they operated. But even more serious was the lack of efforts by those in the field to contextualize training by producing training material relevant to the nation’s needs. Textbooks were still imported with examples used in class remaining largely incidents that took place in far flu
The state of media freedom in Tanzania
(African Communication Research, 2011) Matumaini, Joseph
Although the constitution of Tanzania provides a foundation for the protection of freedom of expression in the media, in fact, Tanzania has a series of laws that are continually invoked to punish critics of the fifty-year-old hegemony of the CCM government. The courts and parliament are fundamentally hostile to journalistic freedom. Although institutions such as the Media Institute of Southern Africa in Tanzania are monitoring these violations of media freedom and making some efforts to enable journalists and media houses to defend themselves against the corruption spreading out of governmental circles, what is needed is a coordinated, consistent, long-term effort to monitor the deeper causes of the violations of media freedom. The present article proposes that there must be a coherent, agreed-upon set of concepts and concrete guidelines for improving media freedom, involving the legal profession and institutions doing research on the development of democratic governmental institutions. The present article reports a base-line study measuring the present state of media freedom and recommends that this monitoring be repeated to measure the progress and problems of media freedom in Tanzania
Implications of High-/Low-Context Communication for Target Audience Member Interpretation of Messages in the Nimechill Abstinence Campaign in Nairobi, Kenya
(Health Communication, 2011-04) Muraya, Julie Gathoni; Miller, Ann Neville; Mjomba, Leonard Majalia
Although it ran on multiple mass media for the better part of a year, end line evaluation of the Nimechill youth abstinence campaign in Kenya indicated that exposure to the campaign had no relationship to youth decisions to defer sexual debut. One possible explanation of this lack of association could be that target audience members derived inconsistent and confusing meanings from visuals as opposed to text in the campaign. Employing Hall’s concept of high- and low-context communication, we assessed target population interpretation of four campaign posters via twelve focus groups discussions and four individual in-depth interviews with Nairobi youth. We found that although participants endorsed and recognized campaign objectives, contextual cues in some campaign visuals were interpreted by participants as being contradictory to the abstinence message in the poster texts. In addition noticeable differences arose between the lowincome and middle-/high-income groups in interpretation of one of the posters. We conclude with recommendations regarding use of visuals in high-context cultures and involvement of youth from various socio-economic strata in campaign planning.
Towards a theory of communication for Africa: The challenges for emerging democracies
(Communicatio: South African Journal for Communication Theory and Research, 2011-04-11) Obonyo, Levi
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
Kenyan Pastors’ Perspectives on Communicating about Sexual Behaviour and HIV
(African Journal of AIDS Research, 2011-09) Miller, Ann Neville; Mwithia, Kinya Jesica; Kizito, Mary N.; Njoroge, Lucy
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.
Secondary breakthrough workbook English, form 3
(Moran Publishers LTD, 2012) Wamulama, O; Wambua, Brenda Mueni; Akombo, A.S
Breakthrough Workbook English Form 3 is specifically developed to meet not only the needs of students and teachers but also give parents a chance to stay involved in their children’s education. The benefits of Breakthrough Workbooks are: • Helps the student in understanding the concepts learnt in class by answering the numerous challenging questions under self-check quiz section. • Encourage independent evaluation: students can do exercises alone thus promoting skill development and retention. • The jog your mind section encourages deeper thinking by the student. • Model exam papers covering the whole syllabus help the student prepare for KCSE and other exams. • Comprehensively cover the syllabus content, level by level: guaranteeing success in KCSE. • Contain sufficient objective to objective revision and self-assessment exercises. • Effective tools for Continuous Assessment Tests (CATs) on opening/entry, mid and end of term exams to boost value added progress (VAP) • Offer students a unique opportunity to work independently at home and in school. • Contain answers to enable students evaluate themselves. • Written by experienced practicing teachers and examiners.
Postcolonial Francophone Autobiographies: From Africa to the Antilles
(Charlottesville, University of Virginia Press, 2012) Njoya, Wandia Mwende
One of the postcolonial issues that cannot be skirted is that of the readership of writings by Africans in colonial languages. Ngugi wa Thiong’o famously addressed this issue in 1987, after which he shifted to writing in Gikuyu. Ngugi’s view on language created discomfort among many writers and critics and attracted accusations of isolationism. However, others have since adopted his view; for example, Boubacar Boris Diop turned to writing in Wolof. Edgar Sankara plunges into these choppy linguistic waters with his analysis of autobiographies written in French after the 1960s by writers from Africa and the Antilles. His book exhibits a transnational and transcontinental character in that it studies an impressive and diverse array of writers including Hampâté Bâ, the Malian who spent the latter part of his life in Côte d’Ivoire; Valentin Mudimbé, a Congolese professor resident in the United States; Kesso Barry, a woman born in Guinea Conakry and residing in France; the Martinicans Patrick Chamoiseau and Raphaël Confiant; and, lastly, Maryse Condé, the female Guadeloupian novelist now residing in the United States.
Media ethics in the Kenyan media?: Understanding the disconnect between the classroom and practice
(The East African Communication Association, 2013) Lando, Agnes Lucy
The media in Kenya are increasingly criticised for their one-sided reporting, sleasy tabloid style of pornographic content, and control by the businessinterests of proprietors and advertisers. Yet nearly all of the staff of Kenyan media are now graduates of university programmes stressing media ethics and a large percentage are graduates of media degrees from confessional, Christian universities which place a high priority on forming professionals of personal integrity and ethical practice. To discoverthe causes of this disconnect between strong ethical formation and weak ethical practice, this study interviewed 85 graduates of Christian universities working in the Kenyan media. These graduates report that they appreciate the attempts to give them a solid ethical foundation but that in the pressures to get and maintain employment in the Kenyan media it is often impossible to carry out the ethical principles they learned in the classroom. This article makes recommedations for improved teaching of ethics, especially in confessional, Christian media training programmes.

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