THE Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Journalism programme conferred its Masters Degree to the first female candidate since the inception of this programme, when Melissa Mungroo obtained her Masters Degree in Journalism on Thursday, 9 May at the Fred Crookes Sports Centre, Steve Biko Campus in Durban.
Mungroo is excited to be the first female to be conferred with a Masters degree in Journalism at DUT and to be the first person in her family to obtain a Masters degree.
Her study focused on the First Things First campaign and the responses of first-year University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) students to the campaign posters. The campaign is a project of the Higher Education and Training HIV and AIDS Programme (HEAIDS) that emphasises counselling and testing to reduce HIV and AIDS prevalence amongst students. The campaign posters encourage students to get tested and know their HIV status.
“The majority of participants understood the campaign messages, which they cite as ‘get tested’ and ‘know your HIV status’. The findings indicate that students accepted that the posters encourage them to test for HIV but that stigma, personal fears and the social environment could deter them from testing,” said Mungroo.
ALSO READ: Like father, like son – engineering is in the genes
According to Mungroo, themes generated were gender construction, peer pressure and sexual identity; stigma attached to HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) and alternative media for HIV and HCT awareness. “Themes were indicative of what students found to be important factors that future HIV programmes could reflect on and incorporate into their campaigns,” she added.
Although Mungroo’s study found that the majority of the intended audience appears to have understood the intended meanings of the campaign. “Students feel that the First Things First campaign posters could be improved to further and better communicate the intended message to fellow students by incorporating various factors such as gender construction, culture, language and more visual elements,” she said.
Do you want to receive news alerts on this and many other stories relevant to the Durban area via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
