She Poses,He Performs: A Visual Content Analysis of Male and Female Professional Athlete Facebook Profile Photos

Using branding theory and a content analysis of the visual components of male and female professional athlete Facebook profile photos, this study suggests that hegemonic gender portrayals persist in visual representations of athletes. Female athletes were more likely to pose for photos and smile while male athletes were more likely to look away from the camera and be in motion. Athletes most often were visually represented in their uniforms, while sexualized visual portrayals of athletes of either gender were not affirmed in this study.     

#SELFIES at the 2016 Rio Olympics: Comparing Self-Representations of Male and Female Athletes from the U.S. And China

Social media provides athletes an efficient platform on which to build and maintain their online image. Applying the self-representation theory of Goffman (1959), this study explored the gendered differences between the self-portrayals of U.S. and Chinese athletes. Findings suggest that hegemonic gender norms still had a strong hold on Chinese athletes’ self-disclosure, whereas minimal gender differences emerged between male and female U.S. athletes. Results suggested that cultural background had a substantial impact on self-representation for all participants. Although athletes might claim agency when presenting themselves on social media, the practice of self-portrayal should be examined within specific cultural contexts.     

Male and Female Sources in Newspaper Coverage of Male and Female Candidates in Open Races for Governor in 2002

This study assessed how capital city newspapers used male and female experts and nonexpert, uncommitted sources in covering open races for governorships in 2002. It examined 4 states with a female nominee and 5 states where both major candidates were male. Regardless of the candidates' gender, the overwhelming majority of nonpartisan sources cited were male. Female nonexpert sources appeared far less than their proportion in the population. The story proportion of women experts even intensified the gender imbalance of experts recommended by university news bureaus. Female reporters, however, had a greater tendency than their male colleagues to cite female nonpartisan sources.     

Little in Common: Racial and Gender Differences in Adolescents' Television Diets

The assumption that adolescents exist in a common youth culture that cuts across race and gender lines is examined. A sample of 2,942 middle schoolers completed questionnaires. Of the 7 40 television shows listed, only 4 were watched regularly by at least one-third of 4 audience segments (Black females, Black males, White females, White males). Few Whites watched any of the Black teens' top IO shows, and only 2 of the girls' top IO shows were on the boys' list. These data provide little support for the notion of a common youth culture, at least as reflected in current television programming.     

Sex Differences in Science Museums: A Review

Girls as a group have far fewer science- and math-related experiences than boys. This article reviews what is known about how these differences carry over into science museums. Behavioral studies indicate that girls generally engage in more cooperative behavior at museum exhibits, and boys explore exhibits more actively on their own. However, there are large differences between institutions and even discrepancies between similar studies at the same institution. Museums may be able to minimize gender differences by anticipating them in the design of exhibits and programs.     

A Look At Mass and Computer Mediated Technologies: Understanding the Roles of Television and Computers in the Home

The multi-channel, multi-option television and the personal computer are two media technologies that have dramatically altered the home media environment. New media technologies have the capacity to create new media use patterns and blur the lines between entertainment and information. This study examines the social role of new media technologies in the home relative to: (1) social facilitation; (2) rule making (3) shifting/expanding media use; and, (4) attitudes toward media technologies.     

Reconstructing the Remote Television Memory Test: Measuring Individual Differences in Long-Term Memory

Memory plays a role in many communications theories; however, few studies consider individual differences in memory. The results are reported here for two original studies designed to reconstruct a previously validated measure for television memory constructed to assess how people forget information over time. The remote television memory test assesses recognition memory for the titles of broadcast television programs canceled after a single season. Results from two studies show that the measure is reliable across repeated administrations among independent samples, exhibits a forgetting curve over time, is uncorrelated with total television viewing, appears to be approximately normally distributed, and predicts social reality estimates typical of the cultivation effect independently from total viewing. More work is needed to further assess the construct validity of the measure. Practical implications of administration also are discussed.     

In Search of the Older Audience: Adult Age Differences in Television Viewing

General Social Survey data were used to test the claims that (a) older adults watch more television than younger adults and (b) they do so because of poor health, retirement, and widowhood. Older adults did watch more television on average than other age groups. This effect was not explained by birth cohort or altered by time of measurement. However, the age effect was small (despite striking mean differences), because variability within the youngest and oldest groups was large. Overall, traditional explanations of older adults' viewing were largely unsupported. Demographic and social variables explained younger adults' viewing better than older adults'.     

Messages About Sex on Israeli Television: Comparing Local and Foreign Programming

A content analysis of 584 prime-time programs examines messages about sex on Israeli television, comparing local and foreign shows. A 2-week composite sample from 7 commercial broadcast, cable, and satellite channels is analyzed. Results show that sexual content is highly prevalent, with a significantly higher frequency in foreign than local shows. Less than 20% of programs with sexual content address sexual health and risks; foreign shows again exceed local ones. Few differences emerge between local and foreign content in the contextual presentation of sex. Findings are discussed in light of theory, research, and implications for audience effects, policy, and education.     

Sex,Love, and Risk-n-Responsibility: A Content Analysis of Entertainment Television

This study documents the extent of sexual content, including sexual health content, in scenes with and without expressions of love on network and cable television popular with emerging adults. Sexual talk and/or behavior was found in 20% of all television scenes coded across 53.5 hours of programming. One third of these scenes featured sex alongside expressions of love. An additional 10% of scenes suggested love but not sex. Coded as a separate category, 25% of analyzed scenes contained a passing joke or pun referencing sexual organs, making these nonspecific, comedic one-liners the predominant reference to sex in this sample. Beyond jokes, most of the sexual or loving talk in this sample consisted of expressing a romantic interest in someone; sex- and love-related behaviors largely consisted of kissing or flirting. Very few scenes specifically referenced sexual intercourse. Sexual health messages were also rare. The majority of scenes mentioning any health consequence (7% of analyzed scenes) concerned emotional heartache. One scene mentioned sexually transmitted infections; 12 of the nearly 2,600 scenes coded mentioned condoms or contraceptives. It is thus a challenging proposition to build upon existing sexual depictions on television to promote safe sex practices within sexual and loving contexts.     

Conceptualizations of Female Empowerment and Enjoyment of Sexualized Characters in Reality Television

This study explores how young women's definitions of empowerment relate to their reception of The Girls Next Door, a popular reality show that documents the life and fun times of Hugh Hefner's three sexy, live-in girlfriends. Specifically, we examine whether young women's general attraction to reality television relates to their endorsement of different views of women and empowerment, how these endorsements relate to the women's own sexual permissiveness, and finally how these views relate to perceptions of The Girls Next Door. Results suggest that reality television preferences relate to greater endorsement of sexual empowerment and traditional feminine roles. However, sexual permissiveness is elevated only when sexual empowerment is endorsed, and perceptions of the show appear to be most positive only when sexual permissiveness is elevated.     

Sex Differences in the Perceived Appropriateness of Receiving Verbal Aggression

This study predicted that (a) male recipients evaluate aggressive messages as more appropriate than female recipients, and (b) the magnitude of this difference varies as a function of contextual parameters. A total of 249 college-aged students responded to hypothetical scenarios to evaluate the influence of sex of the message recipient, sex of the message source, relationship type, and privacy level of the communication setting on recipients’ evaluations of appropriateness of aggressive communication. Results indicated that male recipients evaluate aggressive messages as more appropriate than female recipients, and this main effect was moderated by sex of the message source, relationship type, and privacy level. The discussion highlights the subjective experience of aggression for male and female recipients.     

试论体育电视专业主义指标框架的三个维度——基于奥运会国际公用电视信号制作的理论探索

本文以专业主义研究的社会、认知和伦理三个维度为分析框架,以奥运会国际公用电视信号制作者群体与制作理念为分析对象,探索性地分析了体育电视专业主义指标框架的三个维度,识别出体育电视专业群体、强调体育精神的传播理念、保持角色中立,为体育精神服务等三个维度的11个指标。     

The Influences of Sports Viewing Conditions on Enjoyment from Watching Televised Sports: An Analysis of the FIFA World Cup Audiences in Theater vs. Home

This study investigates how experiences of viewing sports content in a movie theater differ from typical television viewing conditions in a home. The results of analyses showed that the viewing condition (theater vs. home) influenced audiences’ sense of presence when watching mediated sports, which, combined with the attractiveness of the game, would determine the suspenseful nature of the media experience, as well as the subsequent enjoyment.     

Facilitating Collaboration and Research in Sex and Gender Differences and Women's Health: Year One Experiences

Librarians at the University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries partnered with faculty to promote awareness of and access to research on women's health and sex and gender resources in an outreach project funded by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women's Health. The project featured elements that facilitated cross-disciplinary collaboration (using CoLAB Planning Series®, or CoLABs), instruction to various groups (including faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, and professional students), collection development, and information dissemination. Librarians leveraged existing partnerships with faculty and built new ones. Success in this project demonstrates that libraries can partner effectively with their faculty on emerging trends and new initiatives.     

Sexual Humor in Hollywood Films: Influences of Social and Economic Threat on the Desirability of Male and Female Characters

After rating male and female characters in the top-grossing comedy films for each year (1951-2000), the authors predicted that during times of greater social and economic threat female film characters who joke about sex would be less physically attractive, and male characters would be lower in socioeconomic status. These qualities have been found in prior research to denote desirability in potential mates. Results were generally consistent with predictions. It was suggested that these results, paired with findings from previous studies, could be taken as support for a lowered expectations hypothesis: during bad times people feel less optimistic, and consequently even people's fantasy partners are less grandiose.     

The Effects of Sex in Television Drama Shows on Emerging Adults' Sexual Attitudes and Moral Judgments

This study tests the effects of exposure to sexual television content on emerging adults' sexual attitudes and moral judgments. One hundred and ten college freshmen were randomly assigned to view shows that portrayed either positive or negative consequences of sexual intercourse. Results indicate that exposure to shows that portray negative consequences of sex leads to more negative attitudes toward premarital intercourse and to more negative moral judgments of characters engaged in this behavior. Results were observed immediately after the viewing and persisted 2 weeks later. Findings are discussed in light of social cognitive theory and previous media effects research.     

Television in the Workplace: Ford and FCN TV

Television is increasingly creeping into non-traditional spaces such as workplaces. As part of that movement, Ford Motor Company of Europe uses television as a key component of communication between top management and subordinates. The company broadcasts over its internal television system various Ford-related video and news stories to its plants in five countries—UK, France, Belgium, Spain, and Germany. As an employee in Ford of Europe's internal-communications team based in Cologne, I witnessed first-hand the inner dynamics of the deployment of television in a pan-European setting. Through television, the company is crafting a transnational corporate identity among its multi-national workforce, interpellating viewers in the various local sites within a larger “Ford family.” While television can act as a unifying force, the deployment of the technology also exacerbates tensions within the transnational entity as inflected by site-specific concerns—white collar/blue collar, international/national, management/union, labor/leisure, and public/private. Layered on top of this multitude of tensions remains the inherently propagandistic nature of developing news for a captive audience. For myself and others at the company, irony became a necessary tactic, to use DeCerteau's terms, to cope with the presence of a potentially monolithic technology in the prototypical transnational corporation.