http://hdl.handle.net/11189/1914 2026-08-12T17:19:07Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/9944 Title: A proposed transformation service design research framework for underserved settings Authors: De la Harpe, Retha; Ogundaini, Oluwamayowa Abstract: Service forms one of the major interventions to maintain and positively transform populations or an individual’s well-being. Yet, there is a limited access to essential services such as clean drinking water, food security, safe healthcare, stable electricity, and education, in underserved settings of sub-Saharan Africa. The current situation defeats the efforts toward realizing the sustainable development goals. We argue that this gap can be addressed with a transformation service design framework which sets a guideline on how to understand the issues that inhibit services or technology products required to transform people’s lives positively. We propose the addition of an introductory diamond to the original service design Double Diamond framework by the UK design council. The findings of the work are expected to improve how service designers and policy makers focus on situational inquiry process unique to the nature of service and relevant stakeholders in underserved settings of sub-Saharan Africa. The proposed framework with suggested methods is specific to underserved settings and informed by existing studies; hence, it needs to be evaluated deductively through other case studies in sub-Saharan Africa. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/9941 Title: Social media applications and the changing newsroom cultures in Africa: a case study of Lesotho Authors: Matsilele, Trust; Makwambeni, Blessing; Mugari, Shakeman Abstract: Social media has been widely adopted into journalistic ecologies, as it provides instant and widespread access to several contents about breaking news events, while also serving to disseminate reporting on those events (Heravi & Harrower, Twitter Journalism in Ireland: Sourcing and Trust in the Age of Social Media. Information, Communication & Society, 19(9), 1194–1213, 2016). This view is bolstered by Alejandro (Journalism in the Age of Social Media. Reuters Institute Fellowship Paper, 5, 1–47, 2010) observing that what makes social media of interest to journalism is how it has become influential as a communication and news-breaking tool. Writing on the same topic, Van Dijck and Poell (Social Media and the Transformation of Public Space. Social Media+ Society, 1(2), 2056305115622482, 2015) observed that the first decade of social media gave rise to an online infrastructure that profoundly shaped the way in which societies are organised and publics are shaped. This phenomenon of social media use in journalistic workflows has been on an upward trend in the global South considering that this affordance has reconfigured the political economy of news gathering, making previously inaccessible sources to be available at a lower cost (Mabweazara, Introduction: ‘Digital technologies and the evolving African newsroom’: Towards an African digital journalism epistemology. Digital Journalism, 2(1), 2–11, 2014a; Bosch, Social media and community radio journalism in South Africa. Digital Journalism, 2(1), 29–43, 2014; Mwongela, New media technologies and hate messages: Investigating the role of social Media in Propagation of hate messages in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi, 2015). However, social media content poses several challenges for journalists; as Heravi and Harrower (2016) argue, it arrives unfiltered, full of noise and at an alarming velocity. This chapter investigates the adoption of social media into journalistic ecologies and attitudes towards various aspects of social media into journalistic practices in Lesotho’s media markets. It particularly investigates how Twitter and Facebook shape the sourcing, production and dissemination practices. Theoretically, the chapter employs the sociology of news production lens with semi-structured interviews informing the methodological approach. The interviews are conducted with editors and journalists from The Post, News Day and Lesotho Times newspapers. This qualitative study confirms seminal findings of Heravi and Harrower (2016) who established that the relationship between trust, sourcing and verification reveals broader patterns about journalistic values, and how these values and practices may operate in the field of journalism. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/9926 Title: Getting the balance right: reflecting on the study pack as a pedagogic tool for self-directed learning in an Extended Curriculum Programme during the Covid-19 pandemic Authors: Alexander, Megan Abstract: Reflective practice has gained considerable momentum as discourse central to meaningful pedagogy and professional development. Critical reflection, as an arm of reflective practice, illuminates the importance of interrogating one’s practice with the view to contributing to transformative teaching and learning. Since transitioning to remote teaching and learning in 2020, I have been forced to step outside my comfort zone of almost three decades of in-person, student-teacher interaction. The time had arrived for a shit in pedagogy and the need to address the “disorientating dilemma” (Mezirow, 1991) of getting the balance right between providing enough pedagogic tools for students to succeed, but also to ensure student self-directedness is fostered for the same purpose. Ater recurriculation of my subject in a Foundation Year programme in 2018, with more in-person contact time having been built in, I find myself only two years later ater implementation of the new programme, having to ‘recurriculate’ yet again. This chapter shares a critical reflection, based on Mezirow’s (1978) Transformative Learning Theory, of my experience when examining one of the pedagogic tools, namely the use of study packs, adopted over twelve months of remote teaching and learning brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown in South Africa. This reflective journey has impacted my practice positively, specifically in the realisation that self-directedness is a pedagogical imperative, forming part of the pedagogic toolkit for transformative teaching and learning. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/9923 Title: Domestic leisure tourism: lessons learnt from township business operators during the COVID-19 pandemic era Authors: Dube, Cynthia Nokubonga; Muresherwa, Gift; Makuzva, Washington Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected tourism businesses across the globe. The burden on tourism operators to survive was exacerbated by the emergence of new variants, which threatened an already troubled industry. Since its detection in South Africa in early 2020, the pandemic has relentlessly impacted the tourism industry, especially causing a reduction in the number of visitors. Several strategies had to be adopted to rescue the industry from the devastating effects of the pandemic. Amongst these interventions was the focus on domestic leisure travel. This study examines the factors that restrict township residents’ participation in domestic leisure tourism to find the best ways to promote domestic leisure tourism post the COVID-19 pandemic era. To achieve this, qualitative research was undertaken through a focus group discussion with eight members of a selected township community tourism forum in Cape Town. Through a thematic analysis, the study revealed a lack of travel interest among locals due to affordability and perception of travel and cost. The study highlights strategies that could be used to encourage greater participation in domestic tourism. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z