At 43, Dr Tarirai Chani is celebrating a significant academic milestone after completing her Doctor of Philosophy in Information Technology, a journey she describes as challenging but deeply rewarding.
The proud Chani took to the podium at the 2026 Spring Graduation ceremony on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban.
Based in Yellowood Park Durban, Dr Chani was funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) during her academic journey. She expressed her gratitude for the financial support and the opportunity it provided to further her knowledge and contribute to the field. She is currently working as a lecturer at a Mangosuthu University of Technology, where she continues to share her knowledge with students.
Her doctoral research focused on: “Quantifying Social Influence: Application of Social Impact Theory to Social Media.”
Dr Chani explained that the proliferation of social media platforms has significantly transformed how people exert and experience influence, rendering the quantification of social influence a crucial area in social network research.
“However, most available social influence quantification metrics, particularly those grounded in graph theoretic approaches such as centrality models, offer a limited view of influence dynamics, focusing predominantly on structural positions. They often neglect context sensitivity and complex behavioural elements of influence dynamics that people use to alter attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours through personal relationships, leading to oversimplified and potentially misleading analyses. This is particularly pressing given the rising importance of social influence in application domains such as digital marketing, political communication, and public health, where identifying and engaging main influencers can determine the success of advertisements, campaigns, and interventions,” she shared.
Dr Chani indicated that this research addresses a significant hiatus between influence quantification techniques and the established social science theories, such as Bibb Latane’s Social Impact Theory (SIT), which have long offered nuanced insights into human behaviour. Bridging this gap is crucial for developing more robust and meaningful quantification models of influence that reflect real-world social dynamic,” she added.
This study, highlighted Dr Chani, advances the social network field by integrating behavioural theory into computational influence analysis to provide an actionable tool for marketing, politics, and policy professionals to leverage influential actors in social media networks.
Reaching this milestone was not an easy journey for Dr Chani who said that it took her a long time to complete her PhD because she faced several challenges along the way. However, the support of her supervisor and family, particularly her husband, helped her persevere.
“I am so excited to be here today,” she said, as she expressed her gratitude to everyone who supported her throughout the journey.
She also encouraged those considering pursuing a PhD to embrace the challenge rather than be discouraged by its demands. “Take it on and expect that it’s going to be challenging. Give yourself that challenge and say, ‘I can do this. I can achieve it,” she urged.
For Dr Chani, completing a PhD has not only added to her academic achievements but has also helped her grow personally. She believes the experience has made her a more knowledgeable person who can freely share knowledge with others. As she celebrates her achievement, she remains grateful to everyone who played a role in helping her reach this milestone.
Pictured: Dr Tarirai Chani
Photography: Sifundo Thwala
Luyanda Mlaba
