https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/24 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:00:43 GMT 2026-04-16T13:00:43Z https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4011 Title: What's up with Whatsapp profile pictures and statuses ? a multimodal approach Authors: Nyambo, Enock Abstract: The development of social networking sites as linguistic and communication platforms is rising across all age groups in Zimbabwe. Amongst a plethora of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, WhatsApp is the most common in Zimbabwe. Consequently, this research examined the essence of WhatsApp profile pictures and statuses. The research was guided by four main objectives which are to: 1. Analyse the Significance of WhatsApp Profile Pictures and Statuses. 2. Explain the nature of WhatsApp Profile Pictures and Statuses. 3. Examine the messages portrayed by WhatsApp Profile Pictures and Statuses. 4. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of WhatsApp Profile Pictures and Statuses. Different scholars’ perspectives on social media semantics in general and WhatsApp profile pictures and statuses in particular were looked at. A case study qualitative design was used. It involved the administering of in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions as research instruments. Participatory observation complemented interviews and focus group discussions. Convenient sampling technique was used to select 60 respondents for the research. The participants in this study were the WhatsApp users (18-65 year olds) enrolled or recruited by Midlands State University (MSU) Harare Campus who were willing to participate in the study. The data was analysed using axial coding and comparative analysis. The study was informed by the multimodal discourse analysis theory. The research found out that WhatsApp profile pictures are linguistic communication affordances associated with the multimodal portrayal of identity, emotions, ideology, personality and events in one’s life. Opportunities and challenges were discovered and participants emphasized cultural awareness and caution as measures to mitigate cited challenges. Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4011 2018-06-01T00:00:00Z Nyambo, Enock https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/3983 Title: Representation of the Community Share Ownership Trust programme in print media analysing power relations between public and private newspapers: A study of The Herald and the Zimbabwe Independent, from 23 January to 18 October 2014. Authors: Mratu, Zvakarongwa Abstract: The study start out to determine the role of language in the strategic representation of the Community Share Ownership Trust programme particularly the case of the Zimbabwe Independent and The Herald issues from 23 January to 18 October 2014. The research intended to analyse language used in the selected print media articles with specific focus on highlighting how it was manipulated by reporters of both newspapers to advance their ideological inclinations. The findings of the study reveal that the private and public newspapers contest for power through fundamentally divergent representation of the same programme. The Zimbabwe Independent affiliates with the opposition parties in a bid to advance their partisan interests. Therefore they expose a negative attitude towards the programme by representing it as impractical and irrational. On the contrary, The Herald positively represents the same programme as useful, legitimate and a vehicle for government empowerment. Fri, 01 May 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/3983 2015-05-01T00:00:00Z Mratu, Zvakarongwa https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/3649 Title: Exploring the digital space as a site of literary creation Authors: Gora, Tatenda Abstract: Advancements in technology in the 21st century have of late revolutionized the business industry, communication and social life as a whole. This has been made possible by various digital media platforms, the most popular being Facebook and Whatsapp. The field of literature seems to be no exception as there is material of a literary nature on these digital media platforms. This study intends to demonstrate how with the rise of digital media platforms literary production has been revolutionized and democratized. To achieve this, the study draws examples of literary texts circulating on Facebook and Whatsapp. It also goes on to look at the genres, style and thematic concerns of the literary texts circulating on digital media platforms. Ethical issues posed by self published literature and intellectual property issues are at the core of this study as these texts do not go through the publishing process. The research is informed by the Uses and Gratifications theory which propounds that the use of particular media is determined by need. It is as a result of needs gratification that new media technologies have become popular as compared to the traditional media as research has shown that people now spend most of their time on these new sites. It emerges in this study that digital media platforms especially Facebook and Whatsapp offer quite a number of needs as compared to the television and the radio. The fact that social media platforms are not censored has also contributed to the popularity of these platforms as they promote freedom of expression. Circulating on social media platforms are novels, poems, short stories and other material. Digital media platforms have revolutionized literary production in the sense that literary texts can now be accessed online easily, sometimes free of charge. However these platforms can be a threat to our culture and unity as a nation because anyone is free to post anything without sometimes even considering the implications of the content on the next person. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/3649 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z Gora, Tatenda https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/3404 Title: Facebook as an alternative public sphere: online discussions of bond notes in Zimbabwe Authors: Mandoreba, Angellah Abstract: The research examines social media as an alternative public sphere. Special attention is paid to Facebook, a social networking site, which opened up online spaces for public dialogue on Bond notes, a surrogate currency in Zimbabwe, in 2016. Using The Herald Facebook Page as a case study, the research drew insights from a number of scholars on the notion of public sphere, among them Habermas and Fraser in order to study the extent and manner in which Zimbabweans’ use of Facebook to deliberate the introduction of Bond notes constructed a digital public sphere. It was observed that Facebook conforms to several Habermas ideals of a public sphere. The online platform provides a conducive and favorable environment for public discussions because it is fashioned with a number of features capable of facilitating debate. While the online public sphere has limitations, these mainly differed from those of the physical public sphere in the extent to which they manifest. Further researches on social media as an alternative public sphere in Zimbabwe may be conducted with special attention to other social media sites like WhatsApp and Twitter. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/3404 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z Mandoreba, Angellah