Editorial: Information and Communication in Society

摘要

The first three papers in this issue deal with aspects of the relationship between information and communication, on the one hand, and society and its social and political issues on the other. The first paper, 'The Representation of HIV/AIDS in the Media and its Impact among Young People in Namibia: a study of Windhoek and Katima Mulilo', by Mwansa Chanda, Kingo Mchombu and Catherine Nengomasha of the University of Namibia, reports on research into the impact of media representations of HIV/AIDS on young people in Namibia. HIV/AIDS mostly affects the country's economically active young people. Although several communication campaigns have attempted to mitigate the spread of the virus, the study found that the representation of HIV/AIDS issues in the Namibian media does not produce a lasting impact on the sexual attitudes and behaviour of young people. The statistical data presented in the paper are given an extra dimension by the inclusion of personal comments from young people who participated in focus groups organized as part of the study.