Theories of media and democracy, entailing concepts like the 'public sphere' and 'civil society', have been extensively used in western societies. In contrast, analysis of the role of Africa's media in democratization has been patchy and lacking in theoretical foundation. By reworking some of the theorization that is born of societies with rather different media conditions to Africa, some useful insights can be gained about the processes on this continent, particularly in southern Africa.In particular, such re-engineered theory can help provide an analysis of contemporary issues regarding media freedom, the growth of private media, the contests around government-controlled media, and broadcast deregulation in Africa. In addition, such reworked theory helps contextualize the gender character of southern Africa's media and the significance of the Internet for democracy on the continent.

Researchers performing radiation testing on electronic components often rely on semi-empirical prediction codes for determining the linear energy transfer (LET) (or electronic stopping force) of ions, without paying much attention to their reliability. However, it is seen that estimations calculated with different codes can have over 10% discrepancies, especially in the case of heavy ions with higher LET (e.g., xenon). As a consequence of the modern component fabrication techniques this has become an important issue when studying the radiation durability of electronics. In order to clarify this inconsistency, LET measurements for 131 Xe and 82 Kr in silicon have been undertaken and obtained results are presented, discussed and compared with earlier predicted data.

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International initiatives have gained momentum around analysing 'media development' -a notion related to, but generally distinct from, media's contribution to 'development'. The focus on the 'development' of media is conventionally (although not logically) about international interventions in non-dense media environments. The conceptual and normative character around the terminology of 'media development' can be critically interrogated, and the meaning of the phrase revised with the aid of the concepts of 'media mobilization' and 'media density'. The topic can also be contextualized against a historical backdrop, and questioned in terms of its assumptions about media effects. Critical theorization of 'media' also shows the need to go beyond the blinkers of 'old' media.