Media Department academics present at SACOMM Conference

Two academics from the Media and Communication Department recently presented their work at the Annual South African Communications Association (SACOMM) Conference, hosted by the Departments of Journalism and Visual Arts at Stellenbosch University.

Lecturer Dr Adelina Mbinjama presented on her National Research Foundation (NRF) Thuthuka grant project, which ran from 2021 to 2023. Her presentation was titled: An Investigation of Cyber-Ethics among Digital Media Marketers in a changing Media Landscape: A Case Study on Black-owned SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upasna Maharaj, nGAP Lecturer in Film Production, presented her research article: Decolonising Film Education in South Africa: A Review of Approaches and Challenges, as part of the New Pedagogies panel at the Conference.

Mbinjama, who is the Chair of the Media Department Research Committee at CPUT, where she chairs the master’s proposal defences, also serves as a mentor on the Sisonke 3.0 Mentorship Programme, where more experienced supervisors give support and advice to CPUT employees who are new to postgraduate supervision.

Through a qualitative approach, her study investigated the use and practices of cyber-ethics among digital media marketers and employers in 50%-100% black-owned Small and Midsize Enterprises (SMEs). The study revealed the ethical and moral behaviour-related challenges that black businesses encountered during the period of COVID-19. Limited technological and legal infrastructures proved challenging for SMEs considering their loss of revenue during the pandemic.

“Due to my work on cyber-ethics for Thuthuka, I noted certain topics that emerged from my study but need to be expanded on, so I have a call for book chapters with Emerald Publishers, which I am working on with two other editors with research interests in the digital world, Dr Janelle Vermaak-Griessel (Nelson Mandela University) and Prof Bianca Wright (Coventry University in the UK).

She is also part of the University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP) CPUT Cohort as a supervisor to master’s and doctoral students.

Mbinjama recently attended the Humanities International Spring School at North West University, where postgraduate supervisors and students are capacitated to do research.

“The exposure to research is important to me as an emerging scholar and postgraduate supervisor. Through conference presentations and attendances, I believe that I will be able to enrich my knowledge and speciality in cyber-ethics and digital media. I also feel that my research activities will expand from an interdisciplinary approach to a more multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach.

Maharaj joined CPUT in November 2023.

“My presentation explored the ‘decolonisation’ of film education in South Africa, attempting to address questions of how to make film education more relevant, accessible, and context-specific in the post-colonial university. Decolonisation in film education involves interrogating and decentring Western and dominant theories, methodologies, and assumptions. It requires experimenting with curriculum design, teaching delivery, and shifting power relations within the classroom, where new approaches are underpinned by a desire to make education more relevant and accessible to students.

“The study synthesises existing literature and insights from South African film educators to investigate how ‘decolonisation’ translates to tangible efforts and specific actions that assist in equipping students with the skills and knowledge to succeed in our current globalised/glocalised mediascapes. Additionally, the research explores barriers and challenges faced by academics and institutions attempting to engage meaningfully in context-sensitive pedagogy.”

She will be presenting an updated version of this research at the CPUT Research Festival on 31 October 2024.

Maharaj serves as an editorial intern for Intellect's Journal of African Cinemas and freelances as a story consultant in the film industry.

She holds an MA in Media Theory and Practice from the University of Cape Town and is currently pursuing a PhD in Film Studies.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

Email: Frederickskennediji@cput.ac.za