The aim is to understand the presence and access of targeted community voices in the dialogue against HIV/AIDS. South Africa is said to have recognized the need for effective HIV/AIDS communication in the early 1990s.
Introduction
Understanding the situational problem
The importance of the public sphere lies in its potential as a way of social integration. This study examines the opening of X-K FM as a notional public sphere that allows public discourse and participation on HIV/AIDS communication by a beneficiary community.
Objectives of the study
The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere was chosen to understand access and participation about HIV/AIDS communication at X-K FM.
Introduction
In 1990, about 4,500 !Xun and Khwe soldiers and their dependents arrived at Schmidtsdrift, 74 km west of the Northern Cape provincial capital of Kimberley (cf. Robins et al., 2001). In the center of the settlement there is a school (which is both a primary school and a secondary school), a community clinic, a community center (which has a social worker's office and an outlet for purchasing electricity), a Birrre and Sana Hall of South Africa. Offices of the Institute (SASI).
X-K FM: HIV/AIDS communication tool for Platfontein
Hart reported that in June 2009, the radio station's topic for the month was HIV/AIDS. Bosch (2003) writes that Bush Radio, among other initiatives, has long helped with HIV/AIDS education.
Conclusion
This study assessed the practice of beneficiary community participation in HIV/AIDS in Platfontein in relation to these programs, as well as the communities' views on the station's role in HIV/AIDS communication. This fact is especially evident when you hear the announcer addressing people who are late for doctor's appointments or Community Property Association meetings.6 The role of beneficiary community participation in HIV/AIDS communication at this station is discussed in chapter 6.
- Introduction
- Contestations over definition: community radio
- Community radio and the audience
- Participation in the context of community radio
- Stakeholder participation in HIV/AIDS communication programmes
- HIV/AIDS communication at a community radio level
- Mediated HIV/AIDS campaigns
- Putting theory into practice: community radio initiatives in health and participation
- Conclusion
This section explores the complex relationship between a community radio station and the community that becomes a core component of the community radio station. The value and purpose of community broadcasting lie in the relationship between the community radio station and the community. A community radio's programs are based on audience access and participation and reflect the special interests and needs of the community (Fraser and Restrepo-Estrada, 2002).
This section discusses the concept of participation and how it is used in the community radio sector. Participating in the production of HIV/AIDS content is one of the areas that people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS can engage in. The main concern of the research commissioned by Panos Southern Africa ( 2008) is the extent of HIV/AIDS coverage by media organizations.
- Introduction
- Understanding the public sphere
- Classical contextualisation of the public sphere: Jurgen Habermas
- Participating in the public sphere
- Radio as a public sphere
- Conclusion
The described transformations of the public sphere largely focused on its continuous expansion, which included more and more participants (Habermas, 1989). Other scholars have argued that the transformation of the public sphere is idealized and exclusionary for other groups such as women, blacks and homosexuals (Chiumbu and Ligaga, 2012). The next section discusses the dimensions of participation in their relation to the public sphere.
When community participation is welcomed in the public sphere, members become actors whose voices are included in the content. The chapter focuses on the outline of participation as an important element in the public sphere. This therefore led to balanced arguments about the value of participation in the public sphere.
- Introduction
- Qualitative research
- Case study approach
- Study design
- Data collection instruments
- Secondary data
- Themes and coded data
- Challenges encountered in the field
- Validity
- Reliability
- Conclusion
Some of the research respondents were therefore people who work for X-K FM and are involved in the design of HIV/AIDS communication messages. The ability of the researcher to speak Afrikaans also helped to communicate with the respondents and to seek clarification where necessary. Secondary or alternative data were used to support the claims of the study and encourage further analysis.
This helped in polishing the skills of the researcher in using this program for effective data analysis. One of the limitations of this study is that the actual interviews were conducted in !Xun, Khwe and Afrikaans. The reliability of the results depended on the implementation of the necessary steps determined by the research methods used in the field.
Introduction
Confounding factors to HIV/AIDS in Platfontein
The researcher created an image that illustrates the universe of challenges identified by the community. Some respondents indicated that the government's response to poverty and unemployment among HIV-positive individuals in the form of social assistance may be a contributing factor to the increase and prevalence of HIV in the community. Because there is a large body of evidence showing links between alcohol abuse and HIV/AIDS, the researcher included questions about the level of alcohol consumption in the community.
As explained by some respondents to the research, another factor that may encourage teenage pregnancies in the community is the benefits of welfare grants allocated to parents with no or low income in South Africa. In general, respondents said that the community sees HIV/AIDS as a problem. By identifying the problem and the driving forces associated with it, people can direct their energy toward curbing the spread of the virus in the community.
Partnership for an HIV/AIDS-free Platfontein
Not all the people go to the clinic; there are people who want to use traditional doctors, so those people don't get that relief. It was based on the highlight of the Health and Culture program that works closely with the radio. From the perspectives of the research respondents, the partnerships produce positive results, as they stated that there is a high awareness of HIV/AIDS in the community.
Because the station identifies itself as a community radio, the requirements of the community radio station license require it to play a role in community development. One of the main research objectives of this study was to understand radio policies that encourage beneficiary community participation in HIV/AIDS radio content. We call people and they come to pick up their letters at the station.
Communicating health at X-K FM
Linda's observation suggests that the station not only plays a broadcasting role, but that it facilitates a community development role through strategic partnerships. Problems relating to direct access to the station premises were noted by the study participants (see the discussion on participation section). Linda Pieter; (Female) Radio Station Manager March, 2012 In addition to this strategy to communicate health-related matters, the station also works with partners to develop public health communication content.
Linda Pieter; (Female) Radio Station Manager March, 2012 These programs are distributed through the wider SABC Education Strategies and the station is expected to broadcast the content at the time the station management deems appropriate. There is a range of content that the station is sometimes required to broadcast and it sometimes happens that the broadcast content is given to the radio station in a foreign language for use in Platfontein. As far as health communication is concerned, the station is involved in dynamic programs around health matters that affect the community of Platfontein.
Communiqué vs. communication at X-K FM
This therefore means that the X-K FM team has a limited influence on the station's programmes. Other indicators used in this study included participation in the station's content as well as the station's general community friendliness. In addition, the station has stored recordings of HIV/AIDS communication interviews that have been done in the past.
It is the responsibility of community members to drop their notes at the entrance to the station where they. However, some of the respondents expressed reservations about the process of writing to the station. Outside Broadcasting and the innovative measures designed to allow members of local communities to contribute to the station's content indicate that there is some limited participation in the communication initiatives carried out by the radio (see Chapter 4 for the relevance of the public sphere as a theory in this research study), such as X-K FM.
HIV/AIDS communication and the people of Platfontein
Linda Pieter; (Female) Radio Station Manager March, 2012 It must be recognized that there are other radio stations that are beginning to find favor with the community. These include Radio Sonder Grense (RSG), Motsweding FM and all other radio media whose frequency can be accessed in the township.
Conclusion
The radio station thus plays a recognizable role in the goal of creating an HIV/AIDS-free Platfontein. These include conducting and recording interviews to allow community voices into the dialogue on HIV/AIDS. The radio station must develop a comprehensive vision of its role in Platfontein and HIV/AIDS.
The station should develop more strategies to allow communities to participate in the HIV/AIDS broadcasts. There is vague clarity about how feedback on HIV/AIDS is obtained by the station;. Community members should be encouraged to make more use of the radio station's invitations to discuss issues related to HIV/AIDS.
Summary of discussions
However, it was found that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that they were also invited to the radio station to participate in the planning of broadcast content on HIV/AIDS. The surveyed audience of the radio station expressed their satisfaction with being included in the radio station in relation to communication about health. The general opinion of the respondents was that the radio station dealt with the HIV/AIDS process in a way that was satisfactory from their point of view.
In terms of the formulation of the broadcast policy on HIV/AIDS, the study established that the radio station has a mandate as an extension of the public broadcaster to broadcast on health-related matters. This indicates that HIV/AIDS communication will increase or decrease depending on what the station staff deem necessary. The future of effective and strategic HIV/AIDS communication will therefore most likely be determined by the radio station in Platfontein.
Reflecting on the field: the researcher
Social grants as a safety net for HIV/AIDS affected households in South Africa
Do you believe that the HIV/AIDS messages being broadcast are relevant to issues affecting your community. How do you think you or the community can contribute to the HIV/AIDS messages broadcast by the station. What is the most popular way for the community to participate in this HIV/AIDS discussion e.g.
