School of Communication

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Social Media and Democracy: How Social Media Use among Youth in Tanzania Influences their Offline Civic and Political Participation Outside of Electioneering Period
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2020-11-03) Britto, John R.
Stigma Management Communication _ A Case of Tungiasis in Murang'a County
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2014-04-17) Kimotho, Stephen Gichuhi
Interpretation Of Meaning In Sexual And Reproductive Health Messages By Young Women In Kenya
(School of Communication, Daystar University, 2023-10) Oby Obyer Odhyambo
ABSTRACT Global sexual and reproductive health (SRH) indicators reveal a consistent deterioration of reproductive health indicators especially among young women (YW). YW engage in complex interpretational processes in which various factors intersect to influence the emerging meaning of the SRH messages. However, this interpretational processes and factors influencing the meaning of SRH messages have not received adequate research attention. This study explored the process of interpretation of meaning, the situational and dispositional factors that influence that interpretation and explored structures for YW to actively engage in SRH message conceptualization and communication. The study adopted a qualitative design using constructivist grounded theory approach and drew from participatory action research (PAR). The main method used in the study was in-depth interviews with groups and key informants and this was complimented with participant as observer and non-participant observer methods. The study conducted a total of 16 focus group discussions in four counties: Homa Bay, Kisumu, Migori, and Siaya interviewing 126 YW ranging from 18-24 years of age who were identified as the sample for this study. The study interrogated and tabulated the process of interpretation of meaning by YW. The hybrid methodological innovation used in the study extends the application of Stuart Hall’s encoding/ decoding (1973) into health communication interpretation of meaning making. The study found that the YW’s definition of SRH was very fluid and this malleability impacted the way that the messages were interpreted. The source and place of receipt of the message have a significant impact on how the messages are interpreted. The interplay between the situational and dispositional factors create interpretational frameworks that determine the meaning ascribed to messages. The study found that the interpretation of SRH messages is dominated by a sense of besiegement. Notably, poverty or economic vulnerability was the biggest factor in interpreting SRH messages. This study developed a grounded theory of SRH Communication, siege mentality theory, 2023 that provides insight on the role of feelings (of besiegement) in the interpretation of meaning of SRH messages by YW. This study provides a platform for YW to methodically challenge the hegemony of culture, faith, government policy, and the health infrastructure that unilaterally encodes SRH messages.
Evaluating Participatory Communication In Sustaining Development Projects: The Daraja Project In Kibera
(School of Communication of Daystar University, 2023-10) Beth Gathoni
ABSTRACT This study investigated the extent of participatory communication within the DARAJA project and its implications for the project's long-term sustainability post-funding. The objectives of the study were to: To identify participatory communication levels employed by Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) during the implementation of the DARAJA initiative in Kibera; to gauge the perception of the community on the role of participatory communication in the project's success; and, to assess the community's perspective on the significance of participatory communication for ensuring the project's sustainability. This qualitative study used Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and engaged 70 participants, who comprised of 67 community members from four villages in Kibera and three Weather Mtaani leaders. The researcher offers recommendations to project implementers, development organizations, donors, community leaders/residents, and scholars. The researcher encourages project implementers to prioritize empowerment participation and strengthen collaboration and consultation; development organizations to tailor projects to community needs, leverage local leadership, and encourage consortium building; donors to incorporate income-generating aspects and education within projects; community leaders/residents to share best practices, and advocate for participatory communication; and, scholars to explore participatory communication in structural construction projects and the community's role in sustaining initiatives beyond initial funding.
A Constitutive Communication Approach to Corporate Reputation Management of Global Logistics Corporations in Kenya: A Case Study of DHL Worldwide Express, Kenya Limited
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2023-01) Omondi, Daniel Onyango
The study explored how organizational reputation is created, developed, and maintained as a result of interaction between employees and external stakeholders in the context of global logistics corporations in Kenya, with a focus on DHL Express Kenya. The study objectives are concerned with analysing how communication between employees and external stakeholders on DHL’s identity creates and maintains the organization’s reputation; examining how communication and employee engagement create and maintains DHL’s reputation; assessing how communication spurs employee behaviour that creates and maintains DHL’s reputation. DHL was studied because, despite its existential crisis, it has remained one of the most reputable companies in the world. The study’s theoretical framework was drawn from the constitutive communication model, and specifically, the Four Flows theory of Robert McPhee. The research privileged a qualitative approach that emphasised a single case study research method. In addition to using multiple data generation techniques, data were analysed thematically. The study findings revealed that i) member identification is promoted by management policies and strategies, ii) collective communication and collaboration spurs organizational reputation, iii) technology assisted communication improves processes in an organization and iv) corporate identity management strategies such as compliance and customer centric culture were at play. Based on the findings, the study concludes that communication is constituted in the activities and operations of DHL Express, and this enables it to create and maintain good rapport with internal and external stakeholders. Furthermore, the assumption that membership negotiation is a permanent feature of DHL Express as it reduces the intention to leave can be challenged in the realities of life. The study recommends that organizations need to prioritise communicative connection in everything they do and communicate effectively to ensure employees are coordinated to attain organizational goals. Moreover, organisations should not allow their hierarchical structure to asphyxiate communication. Future studies should emphasise a quantitative research design as well as explore perspectives of external stakeholders on the phenomena investigated in the present study.
Appropriation of Information and Communication Technologies in Enhancing Community Access and Participation in Select Community Radio Stations in Kenya
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2021-11) Mwangi, Susan Wanja
This study focused on community radio in Kenya with an emphasis on the changing nature of community access and participation due to the integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in community radio broadcasting. The objectives of the study were to determine how the internet and mobile phones are incorporated into community radio stations, examine the role of ICTs in promoting community participation through the decision making and content production in community radio, and investigate the extent to which ICTs enhance community access to community radio stations. This study was premised upon the domestication theory, the participatory culture model, and Fraser’s (1990) notion of alternative public sphere. It adopted a multiple case study design with the use of in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, document review, and observation for data collection. The findings showed that the radio stations under study, that is, Amani FM, Bus Radio FM, and Kangema RANET FM, demonstrated that they had adapted digital technologies, although the community members did not fully participate in the decision-making process of the stations. The ICTs helped them improve the quality of the radio stations’ programmes, gather news and information, interact with their audiences, and communicate with their sponsors and donors at a greater scale. However, most of the participants still preferred to listen to radio programmes through traditional radio instead of using the internet, social media, or mobile phones. This study recommends that when integrating community radio with ICTs, the needs, perceptions, and expectations of the community radio station and potential challenges that this integration may bring to the community around it should be considered. The access of the community to the ICTs and their level of digital literacy should also be considered.
Narratives of migration and development as discourses in transnational digital migrant media: the case of Kenyan migration to Europe
(BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, 2019-01) Radoli, Lydia Ouma
This dissertation examines how migration and development narratives are (re)produced in transnational digital migrant media using an example of Kenyan migration to Europe, as its main sociological question. It also raises questions about existing gaps in the literature on the role of the media specifically, transnational digital migrant media in constructing influential discourses. It achieves this quest by submitting to an objective to examine the contribution of migrant media discourses to development in migration-sending countries (De Haas, 2007). Using postcolonial-discourse theoretic approach, the thesis analyses the criteria for selection of texts on migration and development, and how the texts inform the discourse. It establishes that postcolonialism is prevalent in European social research, but limited to justifying historical occurrences and re-writing wrongs done to Africans and others formerly colonized. The theoretical concepts of development in this thesis follow Arturo Escobar’s (1995) deconstruction of conventional development theory. It includes an appreciation of multi-faceted theoretic dynamics, especially historical effects on development and creation of hegemonic disparities causing migration of Kenyans to Europe. The dissertation explores the relation of liberal development narratives to Postcolonial perspectives of Edward Said (1977), Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (1986) and Homi Bhabha (1983), whose writings expose stereotypes like those found in development constructs. This dissertation highlights similar aspects of representations of migration and development in the media. It does not only expose migrant’s contribution to development but accentuates the discourse forming function of migrant media in the production of heterogeneous narratives on migration and development. This reflection is an attempt to look at possibilities of alternative development trajectories in migrant media and Postcolonial texts, that resist neo-colonial economic narratives forced on people of African descent. The findings for this thesis show that migrant media provides hegemonic ideas on development, as well as alternative counterhegemonic views. Hence, development in modern Africa since self-determination in the 1950s and 1960s continues to furnish the media’s socio-economic and political discourse. Even though poverty and political instability of Africa characterize narratives in the mainstream media, migrant media utilizes new media platforms for “subalterns” to be heard. Migrants’ inputs on development (re)produced in migrant media, inform a discourse that champions initiatives aimed at improving livelihoods in migration-sending countries. To answer the main sociological question on (re)production of narratives this dissertation learns from Norman Fairclough’s (1995, 2012) guidelines to discourse analysis, as informed from Michel Foucault’s (1980) theoretic approach. As a qualitative research strategy, the dissertation explores Texts from transnational digital migrant media for Kenyans in Europe (Germany and UK) and expert interviews with Kenyan media producers in Germany and in Britain. On this basis, the thesis argues that not only are media expert’s contributors to development but are also important creators of a discourse that qualifies migration as a reality in Kenya’s development.
Mobile Assemblages and Maendeleo in rural Kenya: the case of Marakwet
(University of East London, 2014) Komen, Leah Jerop
Research on Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Development involves assumptions about the potential of such technologies to engender social transformations and development. Corporate organisations have financed studies that seek to understand the impact of such technologies in a bid to push for their business agenda (Castells et al., 2007; Vodafone, 2005; ITU, 2004) and also act as a means of helping developing nations eradicate poverty levels in the wake of the millennium development goals (MDGs). This kind of development is seen as synchronic, without considering the target populations’ involvement in decision making, and also tends to dictate what development should look like in the eyes of most development economies where such ICTs like mobile telephones have come from. Such development is also considered as being linear in nature (Melkote and Steeves, 2003; Donovan, 2011). This thesis is an attempt to advance the second kind of development that is diachronic in nature, which pays attention to the interrelationships of human technology rather than the former that privileges technology as engendering social transformations and development. This kind of development has been conceptualised as maendeleo, a Swahili term that denotes process, participation, progress and growth. Unlike the first perspective of development that views technology as causing changes, maendeleo sees social transformations and development as an interaction between mobile telephony users and their specific contexts. It is a localised understanding of development from the participants’ encounters with mobile telephony in their everyday life. This thesis thus examines the role of mobile telephony in the social transformation and development of the Marakwet people of rural Kenya, using ethnographic methods of data collection and assemblage theory as theoretical framework. Historically the Marakwet community of Kenya suffered from decades of insecurity due to cattle-rustling with their neighbours. Since its advent in Marakwet a decade ago, mobile telephony still remains complex. On one hand, it is seen as answering the insecurity question by allowing users to alert each other in case of an invasion, but at the same time is seen as the source of more insecurity, especially since mobile phones can also aid the enemies to cattle-rustle. Physical meetings that are the domain of most Marakwets are also affected by the technology, with it being seen as reducing the need 9 for social gatherings, yet enhancing it at the same time. Mobile money transfers, discussed as M-PESA, have not been spared either regarding services deemed to boost development and bring about social cohesion, on one hand, while still believed to cause disharmony within households and also be a ‘risky’ endeavour with lack of sufficient money deposit security, on the other. Twenty-five ethnographic interviews were conducted with 12 households, taking into account age, gender, literacy levels and the length of time the device had been accessed by users. The interviews were complemented with data obtained from 5 focus group discussions among homogeneous groups (women, men, clan elders, girls and boys). The findings show that mobile phone is implicated in everyday life of the people of Marakwet, challenging concepts such as co-presence, power and gender relationships, interpersonal networks and also the idea that the use of mobile telephony in the region incorporates older modes of communication models such as the community horn. Mobile telephony influences and is influenced by all areas of community life: health, education, and agriculture, religion forming assemblages of people (users), financial institutions, government and mobile phone service providers. This thesis challenges the dichotomisation of society into micro (individual or household) and macro (national or societal) that ignores the intermediate or meso levels. The boundaries suggested by such categorisation are blurred by communication technologies that re-define terms, such as time and space, public or private places, here and there. In a way, macro and micro distinctions also assign power to macro forces to determine the micro, which in the advent of technologies, the micro can only be changed if they so wish and not necessarily because change has been decided, packaged and delivered to them via mobile telephony or any other communication technologies. Instead, it is how they negotiate power, gender relations, cultural inclinations and socio-economic dispositions in their domesticated use of mobile telephony that facilitates social change and development.
A Study Of Issues And Problems Women Face In Attempting To Pursue Careers In Educational Administration In Kenya
(Andrews University, 1991) Mutai, Bertha Kirigo
In Kenya, the majority of women in education occupy classroom teaching positions. Educational officers, in their hiring practices, appear to overlook women as resources, thereby depriving the schools of the skills and talents of potentially capable leaders. Students are also denied the role models of female leaders. This study investigates how difficult it is for women to secure professional careers in educational administration in Kenya.The population consisted of all the female teachers employed by the Ministry of Education in Kenya, and female Kenyan students in North American universities. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the women teachers selected from five educational levels, namely, university, commercial and technical colleges, secondary and primary schools, and Kenyan students in North American universities. The data collected were analyzed and tested for significant differences related to the women's marital status, age, education, and experience. All 52 items were tested by Chi-square and the alpha level was .05 for all tests. The conclusions are given in the order presented in the Purpose of the Study. 1. A majority of women teachers strongly agreed that advanced degrees were the key to administrative positions. 2. It appears that self-confidence to become school administrators was lacking as portrayed in the women's responses. 3. Women teachers believed they would gain selfsatisfaction in school administration positions. 4. Culture was recognized as the major barrier as compared to all other factors. 5. Family pressures were also a deterrent to women teachers aspiring to become educational administrators. Reproduced with6. Kenyan women teachers showed little interest in and commitment to educational administration as a career. 7. Lack of role-models was yet another factor preventing women from pursuing careers in educational administration.
The Effectiveness of Interpersonal Communication on Adherence to The Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of Hiv Cascade a Case of Homa Bay and Kisumu Counties Kenya
(Daystar University School of Communication, 2021-10) Kiptinness, Evonne Mwangale
Interpersonal communication, and in particular provider-patient communication, is integral to health communication and benefits patient satisfaction, retention, and overall health outcomes. Kenya is one of six HIV/AIDS ‘high burden’ countries in Africa, with about 1.5 million people reported to be living with HIV at the end of 2019 and 6800 new infections among children. A contributing factor to these infections is the mother-to-child transmission of HIV (MTCT) during pregnancy, labour, delivery, or breastfeeding. Anchored on the convergence theory and social influence theory, a pre-post survey (N = 161), interviews (N = 2) and focus group discussions (N = 11) were employed to identify differences and determine challenges between mothers who receive support through the mentor mother program and their counterparts who do not have access to such support. The study also established the perceptions of mentor mothers on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme in Homa Bay, Kenya. Study participants were selected using convenient sampling at Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital and Kandege Health Centre. Qualitative data was analysed using a Welch t-test, while thematic analysis using Dedoose was used for qualitative data. Findings showed that post-natal participants had significantly greater PMTCT knowledge (sig = 0.02) than post-intervention participants who had access to a mentor mother. No significant differences were found between the groups in terms of attitudes, PMTCT practices, interpersonal communication, mutual understanding, compliance, identification, and internalization. The study recommends provision of interpersonal communication skills training for mentor mothers to better improve their impact in communities.
Victims’ Perceptions Towards Government Communication on Terror the Case of Garissa University College Attack
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2021-06) Aswani, Daniel Robert
In this study, I explored the phenomenological question on what perceptions terror victims had towards government communication on terror (GCT) during the Garissa University College terror attack. During the attack, anxious citizens yearned for government communication to enable them to make decisions on their safety. A review of relevant literature revealed that GCT had not been problematized from the perspective of the terror victims. Through the study’s research questions, I sought to understand the expectations terror victims had of government communication, how terror victims experienced and understood the government based on its communication on terror, what terror victims perceived as the message typologies in GCT, and what individual and shared terror victims’ perceptions were constructed towards GCT. I targeted students and staff who survived the attack and their families, as well as the families of the 147 students and staff who died during the attack. Over a period of four months, I used the snowball sampling technique to conduct ten in-depth interviews. The study findings revealed the need for a comprehensive GCT. Further, the findings revealed a high ranking for action every time the government communicates on terror; and that GCT is at its optimum when it is considered in a continuum where communication punctuates messages on policies, precepts and procedures, interventions, relationships, and ultimately, the actions taken by the government. The study also established that the terror victims’ perceptions had sprung from their expectations of GCT. Several recommendations were drawn from the study findings and discussions, key among them, the urgent need to form a fully-fledged GCT unit to enable the government to deal with issues arising from terror activities. Finally, the government should make every effort to remain agile on matters communication.
A Phenomenological Enquiry on Journalistic Experiences and Structural Influences in the Coverage of Terrorism in Kenya
(Daystar University, School of Communication. Nairobi, 2021-10) Mutie, Benjamin Muindi
Since 2011, the impact and frequency of terrorism in Kenya have soared consistently. Consequently, terrorism reporting is today a major recurring news item in various media outlets. This research employed a phenomenological inquiry based on 28 in-depth interviews with journalists who have covered terrorism in Kenya between 2011 and 2019. Specifically, it first explored the lived experiences of journalists involved in this coverage and, secondly, examined the structures that influence their work when reporting on this beat. Third, it investigated ways in which structures influence the freedoms of journalists who have reported on terrorism. Last, the study explored the implications that the structural influences have on the journalistic freedoms of those covering the news topic. Within the context of lived experiences, findings indicate three major themes: fear of surveillance, the safety of journalists at risk, and nationalistic reportage. The fear of surveillance is characterized by worries about surveillance by state security agents and terrorists, while the safety of journalists at risk comprises psychological and physical safety. Nationalistic coverage is highly associated with Kenya-born reporters – an outright biased in favor of their nation. Legal and policy and organization structures influence those covering terrorism. The ways in which the structures influence journalistic freedoms comprise two themes: constraints in accessing information, resulting in journalists exploring alternative avenues for news; and the violation of tenets of professional journalism, such as impartiality, objectivity, and journalistic ethics. Under the fourth line of investigation, journalistic autonomy is the single major implication related to the coverage of terrorism, featuring low journalistic independence, self-censorship, and biased reporting.
Conceptualizing Professional Journalism Practice: Valence of News Frames and Source Diversity in Kenya
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2021-10) Onyalla, Don Bosco
Journalism scholars argue that professional news journalism is in crisis. To establish the extent of such crisis, context- and culture-based research has been recommended. Some scholars have identified news negativity and source bias among the problems of professional news journalism, aspects that combine to show a disregard for public interest. Employing mixed methods research design, this study sought to gain insight into professional news journalism practice in Kenya from three perspectives: news valence, the diversity of news sourcing channels, and the diversity of news actors. Quantitative data was collected through quantitative content analysis of headlines and stories (n = 1,132) from seven major news-making events in a six-year period (2015-2020) across four Kenyan national newspapers. Qualitative data was generated through in-depth interviews with 25 journalists involved in the coverage of the seven events. The findings showed an overall bias toward negative valence and a strong portrayal of conflict-driven journalism; limited sourcing, characterized by an overwhelming dominance of journalists’ analyses; a heavy reliance on official sources; a journalism practice that leans toward news-for-profit rather than news-for-information through low-cost and easy-to-access strategies; and a systemic bias toward the elites, and against ordinary citizens. This evidence-based position regarding news valence and source diversity in Kenyan mainstream newspapers can facilitate precise responses to the concerns about news negativity and source bias. This can serve the interests of Kenya’s professional news journalists, media managers, institutions of journalism, media scholars, and policymakers within the context of the news media industry. Based on this study’s findings, policies in the news media industry can be updated in view of fostering the interests of 21st century audiences.
Organisation as Communication: An Exploration of the Communicative Constitution of Chamas in Kenya
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2018-05) Gakari, Beatrice Wairimu
This is a study in Organisational Communication, which explores how communication constitutes the Chama, a popular form of organising in Kenya, and in many African countries. In Kenya, figures suggest that up to one in three Kenyans belong to at least one Chama. Despite this prevalence of Chamas in society, they have not been studied as organisations, and more specifically, they have not been studied from a communication perspective. The problem explored in this study was how communication constitutes the Chama, a non-formal organisation. This was an interpretive study using a case study design, and a comparative case study type. Four purposively selected Chamas were studied between May 2017 and November 2017. This involved two in-depth interviews with two leaders from each Chama and four focus group discussions. In addition, I wrote extensive reflections on a blog, based on observations of three Chama meetings for each Chama. This study used McPhee and Zaug’s Four Flows, a theory of communicative constitution, as a theoretical framework to explore how communication constitutes the Chama. The findings hold the theory of communicative constitution as explicated in FF, but demonstrates specifics of how it applies to Chamas. This study adds to the body of knowledge the Intangible Social Fabric, which emerged from the findings as a special flow. It facilitates the Four Flows discussed in theory in order to weave a firm Chama. The study concluded that not only are Chamas organisations, which are constituted through communication, but that they also present a surface for theorising the Communicative Constitution of African organisation. The study recommended that the intangible social fabric be identified and cultivated in any organisation, as it proves the fecundity of communication in birthing strong organisation. Key words: Chamas, organisations, Communicative Constitution, Four Flows, Intangible Social Fabric.
Strategic Responses to Digital Disruption: The Case of Kenyan Media
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2020-10) Chege, Evalyne Njoki
The purpose of this study was to investigate how three Kenyan newspapers are managing the digital disruption, and sought to answer three research questions; 1) What is the impact of the mobile phone and Internet technologies on Kenyan daily newspapers? 2) What strategic responses are being executed by Kenyan daily newspapers in response to the digital disruption occasioned by the internet and the mobile phone? 3) What are the key influences behind these strategic responses, business models and proposed revenue streams? A qualitative approach was employed to conduct this research through a multiple case study research method. A multiple case study was used with the intention of testing the same research questions within different contexts while applying the same data generation techniques and analysis for each context. Three Kenyan dailies were studied in this research. The data generation tools included; in-depth interviews with 23 senior executives and senior editors, document reviews and participant observations. This inquiry found that the Kenyan newspapers under study are currently executing four main strategies in response to the digital disruption: protecting the old business, alternative sources of revenue, pivot to digital and culture change. Based on the findings, this study concludes that the Kenyan newspaper industry has yet to disrupt itself in the wake of increasing digitisation, and instead continues to grapple with challenges of digital disruption. Several recommendations are presented in this study, including the suggestion to normalise research to allow newspapers to understand their audiences. Areas for further research include a study on media consumption habits of Kenyan audiences
Interrogating Youth’s Mobile Phone Approbation in the Construction of Family Communication in Mvita Sub County
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2020-11) Mwaringa, Daniel Katama
This study investigated the youth’s uses of mobile phones and how this use impacted on communication in the family. As an agent of socialization, the family is the custodian of values, beliefs and practices. The study examined the technology’s impact on youth’s everyday communication with their parents and the relationship between the use of mobile phones in the sustenance of family values and relationships in the family. Guided by the Symbolic Interactionism Theory which emphasizes that people’s behavior is based on personal social constructs, the study examined how selected individuals in Mvita Sub County in Mombasa County responded to the meanings they constructed as they interacted using mobile phones. Using the Phenomenology research design, the study purposively sampled 12 households comprising of 13 youth respondents and 15 parental figures who were subjected to in-depth interviews whose data was analyzed qualitatively. The findings revealed that most youth preferred mobile phone communication with their families demonstrating decreased desire for the face to face interaction. Most youth in this study revealed that they were freer in communicating with their parents on phone as opposed to face to face. A majority of the parents stated that mobile phones had a deleterious effect on family ways of life. The youth conveniently and deceptively used technology to an extent of generating certain negative interactive behaviors. The study diagnosed such negative behaviors from this disruptive technology as symptomatic of ‘Mobileosis’ which is characterized by a layered dialectical tension among the users-the entrapped enamored youths and their almost clueless parents who were silenced in expressing their disapproval of the impact of the phone usage practices.
A Critical Analysis Of The Strategic And Political Dimensions Of Central National Government Communication In Kenya
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2020-05) Owino, Ruth
This study sought to critically analyse the strategic and political dimensions of government communication by focusing on PSCU, OGS, and Ministry of ICT. The objectives were to; Determine the structures and processes of communication, Investigate whether communication is strategically managed; Examine the role of the political system on the operations of communication; and, the extent to which government communication facilitates citizen participation. The study was grounded on excellence and deliberative democracy theories. A single-case (embedded) design was adopted and the target population was the communication professionals working at PSCU, OGS, and Ministry of ICT. Data was collected through interviews, questionnaires and document analysis. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS, and qualitative data was thematically analysed. The study found out that government communication was transitional, its structures were defined by the existing political power and governance structure. The structures and processes were decentralized, fragmented and tactical. The findings indicated that government communication lacked the overarching strategy, was poorly coordinated and had short-term plans hence contradicting messages. The findings also indicated that there were two cadres of professionals: political appointees and civil servants, however the two cadres were not well managed and coordinated. Further the study found out that the internet provided new possibilities for transparency and citizen engagement, it provided new ways and channels of information dissemination and interaction. Government communication should be professionalised, be based on frameworks and policies that are encultured on the precept of strategic communication.
An Actor-Network Analysis of the Use of the World Wide Web in a Kenyan Newsroom’s Journalistic Practice: A Case Of Capital Fm
(Daystar University, School of Communication, 2017-11) Wamunyu, Irene Wambui
The incorporation of digital technologies in for-profit newsrooms has led to disruptions in journalism hierarchies, business models, norms, and practices across the world. In African newsrooms, these disruptions have received a paucity of scholarly attention, and even those have tended towards policy and regulatory matters, or normative analyses founded on the Western liberal democratic model. This study interrogated the incorporation of the web in Kenyan journalistic practice by following the process as undertaken at Capital FM, the country’s pioneer commercial radio station. The study set out to establish the human and technological actors engaged in journalistic practice at Capital FM, as well as determine the nature of interaction among those actors, and the outcomes of those interactions. The research used a socio-technical theoretical lens and applied case study research design with four data collection tools, namely observation, interviews, netnography, and document review. The study used a six-step framework to reduce, organise and evaluate the data. Actor-network theory informed the identification of the actors, their interactions, and the outcomes of those interactions. A thematic analysis was also applied to more deeply interrogate and interpret the data. The two analytical approaches established that Capital FM practiced a networked journalism enacted by multiple human, technological and corporate actants, resulting in modifications and disruptions that were manifested in various efforts of labour, controversies, movement among actors, new roles, and spatial location. New roles were enrolled into journalistic practice, and new practices had become routinised. Audiences had acquired a powerful role through web metrics which informed journalists’ routines and sense of self-identity. Journalistic practice had a new definition, and the blurring of lines between editorial and promotional content had opened new lines of revenue generation even while disrupting the normative values underlying news production. Globalised practices, such as the use of open-source applications, had standardised aspects of the journalism enacted in geographically diverse networked newsrooms. The study also held that actor-network theory was useful in interrogating power dynamics within a networked newsroom context. The study further posited that a new type of commercial news media company had emerged in the Kenyan context, and was defined under the following thematic categories: organisational culture, key decision makers, content, revenue, and infrastructure. The study recommended greater collaboration and interaction between personnel in the two spatial locations to promote greater innovation around content development and an increased understanding among all of the web’s potential as a news platform. It also posited that the web was treated as an online version of a newspaper. This frequently limited the news content to two-dimensional presentations of news yet human actants in the news production process could make greater use of the web’s multimediality, hypertextuality, and interactivity. The study also called for greater reflection among media houses about the implications of the new revenue generation opportunities vis-à-vis journalistic practice.
Transformative Communicative Acts: A Reflection of Lived Experiences of Select Kenyans that Met their Community Developmental Needs
(School of communication, Daystar University, 2017-05) Ng’ang’a, Rebecca
The core of all development is communication that gives people ability to conceive of desired change, imagine how to change it and make a choice to change. This study aimed to establish what motivated some people to communicate in a way that influenced others to engage in beneficial and developmental actions. It also sought to establish what the people understood as development, how it would be realized, how they engaged with the people and got people involved in their transformation. The study used a qualitative research design to select ten Kenyans to share their life stories. In-depth interviews were used to collect data. Analysis focused on participants’ narratives, and especially those parts of their stories that responded to the research question- what motivated the participants to act for the benefit of others? From the findings, the participants were continually critical of their lives and that led them to searching for solutions. That left them with a sense of inner security that could have given the freedom to be authentic and ready to learn and share in the on-going social construction of reality that resulted in transformation. The study showed that a sense of self, curiosity, questioning, and trusting, caring and seeing new possibilities as necessary to positively influence other people leading to both personal and national development. The study concluded that communicative development is a combination of several factors including; family background, love of God and people, and interpersonal communication skills including speaking more than one language. The study recommends promotion of economic equity, strengthening family ties that incorporate ideals and aspirations which would inculcate in people unique, curious, and continuous learning with deep love for God and people. The study also recommends development of an African Communication Theory on what motivates communicative acts that lead to societal transformation.
Exploring Ethical Frameworks of Practice in Kenya’s Alternative Online Media Platforms: A Case of Kenyan News Bloggers who are not Mainstream Journalists
(School of communication, Daystar University, 2017-10) Muthoni, King’ori Esther
The growth of social media in Kenya has given rise to the phenomenon of blogging, an avenue of information dissemination from a personal perspective. Its spread has focused attention on various ethical issues that arise in relation to bloggers. These include the trustworthiness of blogs, the accuracy and fairness of their reports, and the appropriateness of allowing mainstream journalists to write personal opinions on their blogs. This study investigated blogging in Kenya with the hindsight of concerns that have been expressed in the media industry regarding the status of blogging and its ethical practice. The focus of the study was on bloggers who posted news on their blogs but not as part of mainstream media. The study explored the ethical frameworks used by Kenyan news bloggers who were not mainstream journalists, the ethical values that guided their work, their motivation for blogging, and whether they perceived their practice as unethical. The study used the exploratory research design because blogging is a fairly new phenomenon. Using a qualitative research approach to interrogate a purposively constructed sample, data was collected through in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion. Data analysis was done through thematic analysis of transcribed data. The key findings indicated that a likely normative ethical framework for news bloggers would intersperse libertarianism, social responsibility and democratic-participation. Findings further suggested that the Kenyan bloggers studied were not opposed to ethical standards for their practice, but that they would like to lead debate on the same. Bloggers who participated in the research also felt that claims that they were unethical were unfounded, suggesting that the accusations were an attempt to introduce censorship into the practice. A key recommendation that emerged from the study is the need for a multi-stakeholder forum comprising bloggers, the bloggers’ association, representatives from communication regulatory bodies, representatives from the media industry, experts from the communication sector, and communication scholars, to further debate the issue of standards for the blogging practice.

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