Digital technologies have sparked a renewed focus on radio personalities. Radio personalities are, by virtue of their profession, performers, and social media offers a stage on which to enact their professional and personal identities. Drawing on Goffman’s (1959) theatre metaphor, this study explored the way radio presenters display their personal and professional identities online. This research evolved from the difficulty that seems to exist in the interplay between a personal online identity and an online personal brand. The qualitative study was embedded within an interpretative and constructivist paradigm. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with radio personalities of a commercial radio station in South Africa and were triangulated with content analysis of the presenters’ social networking profiles. The findings extend existing scholarship by suggesting that radio personalities display differently configured online characters. The study makes a theoretical contribution by highlighting that radio personalities’ actions on social media should be informed by a strategic marketing approach in achieving individual and business goals.
The high drop-out and low throughput rates in higher education institutions is a matter of concern. Students must overcome many psychological barriers in the pursuit of an under-and postgraduate qualification. Self-efficacy is regarded as an under-researched psychological variable that may influence students' success in higher education institutions. Drawing on Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, this study explores the self-efficacy beliefs of postgraduate Language Practice students. A qualitative research design was employed. Eleven narrative essays were completed and analysed by means of directive coding. Tuesdays were identified as the worst day of the week due to the module Research Methods and Techniques, that impacted negatively on the students' self-efficacy beliefs. Social engagement in the form of support groups is seen as an important role player in self-efficacy beliefs. Educators should consider students' various backgrounds when engaging with students, since this aspect proves to be an important factor in the development of self-efficacy beliefs. The findings may help navigate educators towards rendering the necessary emotional and social student support as a strategy to address the low success rate in universities.
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