Self reference in interpretive performance

Self reference, the capacity of language to “talk about itself”, provides a useful paradigm for understanding, directing, and performing oral interpretation. An analysis of the various relationships and interactions within this art form reveals dimensions of self reference, that feature of language which transforms a system of discursive symbolism into a presentational literary art form. To the degree that oral interpretation capitalizes on this reflexive power of language, the transformation is most complete in this literary art form.     

Research directions in the performance of literature

This report, first and in summary fashion, considers and comments upon the research in oral interpretation of the immediate past as it appears in these, dissertations, books, national and regional speech journals, and national convention programs. Next, and in more detail, it explores a few of the questions that need researchers’ attention in the future. The report is strongly indebted to a group of scholars in oral interpretation who responded to the problem of priorities for research in the seventies.     

The elements of the rhetorical theory of Phillips brooks

Sections of the beginning course in oral interpretation—three taught by an experienced faculty member using open‐circuit television facilities supplemented with classroom instruction by graduate assistant instructors having no prior teaching experience, and eleven taught by graduate assistant instructors having various levels of prior teaching experience—were compared for retention of specific course content at the end of a semester's instruction. A positive relationship was displayed between teaching experience level and retention of specific content. Although the television group displayed much higher median test scores than a control group taught by graduate assistants with little prior teaching experience, it displayed only slightly higher scores than a control group taught by graduate assistants with moderate experience, and a slightly lower median score than a control group taught by highly experienced graduate assistants.     

A new look at performance

Performance is central to the study of oral interpretation, but it can also be content for research and teaching. This paper presents a rationale for the study of performance.     

The evolution of make/buy contracting for UK independent television (ITV)

Abstract

This paper is an extract from the report of a case study into the programme supply make/buy decision of the UK's main terrestrial commercial television channel, ITV. It compares this decision in the start‐up period (1954–1964) with the latest operating period (1992–2001) to show how programme supply arrangements have changed. It also provides an interpretation for why these changes have occurred. ITV's continuing dominance of the UK terrestrial commercial market permits this paper to be examined as a country specific case of how organising structures for programme supply evolve. Due to the concise nature of this paper, only one aspect of the make/buy decision is compared: changes to the structure within which programme supply decisions are determined. The analysis is based on state archives and interviews. It is concluded that contractual ambiguity and political fear of the social impact of commercial television initially inhibited the adoption of a competitive programme supply structure. Later changes to this structure are attributed to increased contract specification and a more market‐oriented approach. A brief theoretical interpretation based on transaction cost economics, economic sociology, and the property rights literature is provided.     

Discursive texts,reflexive audiences: Global trends in television news texts and audience reception

This study examines the process of media globalization at the level of meaning generation (by television news texts) and interpretation (by audiences) based on the analysis of news‐texts and focus groups from four countries. It is suggested that the narrative of television news is discursive: it provides a specific vision of cultural “others”. At the audience level there is the emergence of a global culture of critical media consumption. This reflexive mode is born of a familiarity with the narrative conventions of the genre and the institutional imperatives of the media industries.     

On‐the‐job relationships among self‐reported oral communication apprehension,job satisfaction,and organizational citizenship behaviors

This study assessed the relationships among self‐reported oral communication apprehension (CA), job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) for employees of a bank located in the southeastern U.S. Results indicated positive relationships between several of the job satisfaction and OCB variables, and several negative relationships between oral CA and OCB variables, and oral CA and job satisfaction variables. Also, individuals with high oral CA, in comparison to those with low oral CA, were found to score significantly lower on dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior and job satisfaction. Implications of these findings for the organization are discussed, as are reactions to the research findings by bank personnel.     

The dimensionality of the verbal aggressiveness scale

Infante and Wigley's (1986) Verbal Aggressiveness Scale (VAS) is a widely accepted and frequently used measure of trait verbal aggression. Although the scale is almost always scored as if it were unidimensional, previous factor analytic studies provide evidence that it is multidimensional with two distinct factors. The present studies (N = 194 and 177) used confirmatory factor analysis to replicate the two‐factor solution. The two‐factor model was consistent with the data, and provides a better fit to the data than the unidimensional solution. The first factor, comprised of all aggressively worded, nonreflected items, appears to measure verbal aggressiveness as intended whereas the second factor, comprised of all reverse‐scored items (benevolently worded), appears to measure a communication style related to other‐esteem confirmation and supportiveness. Given this interpretation, it is recommended that only the 10 aggressively worded items be scored. Hamilton, Buck, and Chory‐Assad, in an adversarial collaborative discussion, agree that the VAS is bidimensional, but offer an alternative conceptual model. They hold that the two factors reflect selfish individualism and prosocial cooperation.     

Père René Rapin's eloquence des belles‐lettres

This study employed factor‐analytic techniques in two separate experiments to determine the dimensions of message interpretation when different opinions on black‐white relationships were expressed. People in five cities responded to messages varying in perceived racial militancy. The results yielded a factor structure with three strong and pure dimensions accounting for 68 percent of the variance. Suggestions for the use of these scales in a variety of situations were offered.     

Do young children think of television images as pictures or real objects?

Three studies investigated whether 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds interpret television images as mere pictorial representations of objects or as real, physically‐present objects. Four‐year‐olds gave clear evidence of making the former interpretation whereas 3‐year‐olds seemed to make the latter one. However, the data suggest that the younger children's errors reflect a failure to differentiate conceptually between television images and their referent objects rather than a conviction that real objects populate television sets.     

Communication apprehension and cognitive learning: An experimental analysis

This 2×3 factorial design was employed to test the relationship between communication apprehension and cognitive learning. The results of this quasi‐experimental study indicate that highly apprehensive students scored higher on an objective (written) test than they scored on an equivalent oral test. Scores on the objective exam did not differ across levels of communication apprehension. In addition, a small negative correlation between communication apprehension and learning was observed in the oral testing condition. The expected curvilinear relationship between communication apprehension and learning under the oral testing condition was not observed. A negative linear relationship between communication apprehension and learning was observed.     

Telenovelas and politics in the 1994 Brazilian presidential election*

Brazilian telenovelas (soap operas) have been playing a growing and important role in the discussion of political and social problems in Brazil. This specific role of melodrama in Brazilian culture imposes the necessity of exploring its influence upon the political process, avoiding the prejudice and indifference of the traditional approach to this problem on the part of political scientists. The objective of this article is to stress the importance of telenovelas for the interpretation of the Brazilian political process and to show their role as a key public forum in the discussion of political and social issues. A content analysis of three telenovelas that preceded the 1994 Brazilian presidential election is developed to identify the constitutive elements of the “scenario of representation of politics” (SR‐P) within which the electoral process took place. The identification of the SR‐P's constitutive elements is made on the basis of three telenovelas produced by TV Globo: Renascer (Revival), Fera Ferida (Wounded Beast) and Pátria Minha (My Homeland). The implications of the study for the analysis of political and electoral processes are discussed.     

The 2010 Horizon Report: Museum Edition

Abstract The 2010 Horizon Report: Museum Edition examines emerging technologies for their potential impact on and use in education and interpretation within the museum environment. The report is based on conversations and dialogues with technology and museum professionals from more than two‐dozen countries.     

Detecting and assessing statistical interactions with multiple regression

This paper focuses on the treatment of statistical interactions (i.e., non‐additivity) within the framework of multiple regression. The nature of statistical interactions in relation to other types of effects and the implications of interactions for analysis and interpretation are discussed. We argue that researchers using regression analyses (1) often either fail to test for interactions (2) or use inadequate methods for testing for interactions (3) and, consequently may make faulty conclusions about their data. We outline several methods of dealing with interactions with regression and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. Recommendations are made for the detection and treatment of interactions within regression.     

Visitor Meaning‐Making at Grand Canyon's Tusayan Museum and Ruin

Abstract Meaning‐making describes a process by which visitors transform museum experiences into new knowledge and memories. Meaning‐making is influenced by visitors' leisure motivations, prior knowledge, socio‐cultural context brought to the experience, personally‐guided interpretation, and events since the visit. In this study, visitors' long‐term recollections included contextual references to how and why they remembered what they experienced. Forty visitors were interviewed by telephone six months after attending a Native American interpretive program at Grand Canyon National Park's Tusayan Museum. Two patterns associated with a constructivist view of meaning‐making were discerned: a) visitors' integration of indoor and outdoor exhibits and b) visitors' comparisons of modern family and community with a more ancient culture. The presence of contextual indicators within visitor recall suggests that new knowledge may be constructed from factors carried forth from the meaning‐making process. Evidence within the data suggests that exhibits made more relevant to visitors' socio‐cultural identity may enhance on‐site experiences.     

Studies on the use of fear appeals: A summary and analysis

While a number of studies have been concerned with the effects of varying intensities of fear appeals on audience response, interpretation of the findings poses a number of problems. The author summarizes some of the major research thus far conducted, analyzes several of the problems involved in interpreting the findings of these studies, and provides some tentative suggestions for fruitful approaches to the study of the effects of fear‐arousing appeals.     

Fifty Years of Changes in America's History Museums

Abstract History museums in the U.S. have become significantly more professional over the past five decades. Many can boast of new and expanded buildings, improvements in collection management and care, and better‐trained staff and volunteers. However, most museums struggle with long‐term stagnation in audience numbers and revenues. The greatest challenge may be an alarming decline in American historical literacy and civic responsibility, especially at the elementary and secondary school levels. This article examines three trends that are affecting both the strengths and weaknesses of history museums today: the emergence of federal support, regulation, and oversight; a more inclusive approach to interpretation of the American past; and the all‐pervasive impact of information technology on both institutions and audiences.     

The Exhibit as Planned Versus the Exhibit as Experienced

Is it even possible to design museum exhibits that have an above average chance of engaging visitors in meaningful experiences? Museum‐based researchers and designers, working over the past several decades, have endeavored to address this and other questions. Recently, a promising Ideas‐People‐Objects (IPO) model of the visitor experience, subsequently elaborated on to include Physical (IPOP) has been used in the design and subsequent study of visitors' museum experiences. Here I briefly describe the model and introduce three papers featured in this issue of Curator: The Museum Journal that offer new insights and perspectives for understanding the theory behind the model, as well as features of the IPOP model that have been used in the design and interpretation of exhibitions, and a comparison of analytic techniques that produce results that can be used in IPOP‐related research.     

Ronald Reagan and the oral tradition

President Reagan's success stems from his use of rhetorical structures characteristic of the oral epics and his use of the electronic media which partially replicate conditions characteristic of preliterate oral societies. These societies develop a culture transmitted orally through epic poems or recitations. Such recitations are developed by themes, formulas, and repetition as well as by distinctive thought patterns, experiential and non‐analytic. Reagan's methods will have a lasting influence on American political discourse, since future politicians will emulate his techniques.     

London Re‐cut: Reclaiming History through the Co‐curated Remixing of Film

Abstract Film archives offer unique opportunities for co‐curation between collections‐based institutions and members of the public. By making available source materials and the tools to manipulate them, institutions can work with the public to develop new interpretations of their collections as well as to tap into the remixing and sharing cultures of social and digital media. Digital co‐curation projects can develop relationships with audiences that many institutions find difficult to engage, developing alternative narratives and reclaimed histories. This paper describes the evolution of an approach to co‐curation and the tools and strategies needed to engage users. It focuses on London Re‐Cut, a project to remix London’s film history, drawing on material from 11 film archives across the city. Projects such as London Recut suggest that audiences have both the enthusiasm and the skills to open up this radical “remix” approach to interpretation.