The Froude‐Burke controversy

This study investigated the impact of age, task complexity, and practice on adult message‐production‐skill acquisition and performance. Participants (30 older adults and 30 college students) learned a sequence for describing geometric arrays and then employed this organizing sequence in a series of 90 performance trials. Half of the participants learned a six‐step (high task‐complexity) sequence, while the remaining participants learned a three‐step (low task‐complexity) sequence for describing the arrays. The results suggest that overall message‐production speed is characterized by a “complexity effect” (i.e., an interaction between age and task complexity such that younger adults exhibited superior performance relative to their older counterparts, and this difference was more pronounced under complex‐task conditions). Complexity effects were also found for initial message‐production‐skill performance and rate of skill acquisition: older adults exhibited slower initial performance and slower rates of skill acquisition than younger adults, and this difference was even more pronounced when learning a complex skill. Finally, the results indicate a significant main effect for age on variation in overall task performance in that older adults’ learning curves, regardless of task complexity, were characterized by greater variability in performance quality from trial to trial. These effects are consistent with changes in processing speed and working‐memory capacity that have been suggested to accompany advancing age. The current findings may be seen to have direct implications for older‐adult‐skills training.     

The effects of nonverbal reinforcement and interviewee‐interviewer relationship on interviewee's verbal response

Utilizing survey data from 99 nursing home residents in nursing home facilities serving Medicaid patients, this study investigated the relationship of interpersonal network involvement to perceived life satisfaction and perceived need accommodations. Each subject completed three survey instruments developed to measure (a) resident's perceived quality care, (b) residents’ satisfaction with personal need accommodation and (c) interpersonal network satisfaction. Residents’ perceptions of quality care (i.e., attitude of staff, food, and self‐selected social activities) and satisfaction with roommates are significant predictors of perceived needs being met. Further, residents are more satisfied with self‐selected relationships than with institutionally‐selected roommates.     

Beliefs About Intergenerational Communication Across the Lifespan: Middle Age and the Roles of Age Stereotyping and Respect Norms

Guided by theoretical models, this research examines (for the first time within the same design) young American adults' reports of age stereotypes, norms of respect, beliefs about intra‐ and intergenerational communication, and communication satisfaction toward young adult, middle‐aged, and older adult targets. Multivariate analyses showed that as age of target increased so did trait attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and satisfaction; however, attributions of personal vitality decreased linearly. Path analyses revealed that the more young adults stereotyped older adults as benevolent and personally vital, the less likely they were to report avoiding communication with them. Deference norms also positively related to the degree of communicative respect afforded older adults and the more respondents reported avoiding communication with them, the less satisfied they were with their intergenerational conversations.     

Successful Aging through Television: Selective and Compensatory Television Use and Well-Being

ABSTRACT

We applied the selection, optimization and compensation (SOC) model of successful aging to media use. Using a new self-report measure to assess selective and compensatory media use we illustrate the role of these media selection strategies in successful aging. In other words, we link compensatory and selective media use to different indicators of well-being among older nursing home residents and for a group of younger adults, which served as a comparison group. Selective media use was positively related to well-being for older, but not for younger adults, and compensatory media use was negatively related to well-being for both younger and older adults. In a second study, we replicated these findings with a sample of healthy older adults.     

Audience orientations toward new media

The proliferation of new communication technologies over the last 2 decades has increased opportunities for audience activity by offering more choices and greater control aver the communication process for media consumers. However, extant research on the degree of user activity with new media portrays conflicting views of audience members as more active or more passive. This study attempts to sort out this issue by exploring audience activity levels among users of new and traditional media, as indicated by instrumental or ritualized orientations toward media use. Results indicate that new communication technologies are motivated by both instrumental and ritualized motives, but are used more instrumentally than traditional channels, particularly among older users.     

Adjustment to the nursing home as a social interactional accomplishment

A variety of individual/psychological and institutional variables influence patients’ adjustments to life in nursing homes. The present article argues that adjustment to nursing homes is also influenced by the context of peer group and staff‐patient interaction. Ethnographic observation and interviewing were conducted in one American nursing home over a fifteen month period. Both staff and residents placed demands and expectations on newcomers’ conduct. In addition, staff nembers defined what was considered “successful”; and “unsuccessful”; adjustment, with the result that patients were constrained in the range of socially acceptable behavior they were permitted to display.     

Effects of a speech training program upon semantic compatibility

The relationship between one's attitude toward self‐disclosure in interaction and the complexity of his system of dimensions for construing the behavior and character of others was examined within a cognitive‐developmental framework in which development was hypothesized to be a function of the range and intensity of one's social experiences. Significant correlations involving three indices of construct usage reflecting the differentiation and integration of the motivational constructs in a perceiver's cognitive system suggest that it is one's motivational constructs which are elaborated through self‐disclosing interactions and which, in turn, allow for the formation of the kind of subjectivity satisfying impressions that favorably orient one toward the mutual disclosure of self‐attributions.     

The Bundy “confession” and attitudes toward legal restriction of controversial materials

This study examined whether knowledge of mass murderer Theodore Bundy's claims that sexually violent media content contributed to his crimes covaried with greater advocacy of legal restriction of controversial materials. Data analyses suggested that such knowledge was associated with more‐restrictive opinions toward visual, sexual media content and less‐restrictive opinions toward racist and sexist language. Possible theoretical interpretations of the findings are discussed.     

Media discourse and perception of game regulatory issues

This study examines how the issue of game regulation has been discussed and influenced public perception by exploring ideologically differing media outlets’ distinct uses of frames by analyzing news contents (N = 1,217) and public opinion survey of the national sample of Korean gamers (N = 1,362), who play games currently. The analyses include the influence of media on attitudes toward game regulation, perception of games, and frame adoption, based on the results of news content analysis. The study found that (a) mainstream media was ambivalent about game issues and tended to define gaming and gamers in sensationalistic ways; (b) while the dynamics of media effects on public attitudes toward game regulation are complex, exposure to game-related news content significantly impacted public attitudes; mass media that highlight the negative aspects of games have strong impacts on public perception toward games, which may ultimately affect attitudes toward game regulation.     

Legal notes

At some time in the future it may be that broadcasting will become a profession with an agreed upon preparatory course of study. At the present time, not only is there a lack of uniformity in course offerings and content, but there is no substantial agreement as to whether broadcasting is or even should be a profession. (In this connection, the recent proposals by William Chambliss in the September 18 issue of Broadcasting looking toward professional standards, education and licencing for advertising practitioners become particularly intriguing.)

Most encouraging however is the interest shown by teachers of broadcasting whenever they assemble for discussion of their common problems. In the following report, Professor Sherman P. Lawton, author of The Modern Broadcaster and coordinator of Broadcasting Instruction at the University of Oklahoma describes the questions raised (but not settled) at two recent meetings: a colloquium on the beginning course in broadcasting held as part of the “Annual Radio‐TV Conference and Clinic” in March 1961 at the University of Oklahoma, and a APBE‐sponsored session at the April meeting of the Institute for Education by Radio‐Television in Columbus.     

Taking sides: Analyzing news of the US September 11 incident in the Chinese and Taiwanese press

This study examines news reports of the US September 11 incidents in the Chinese and Taiwanese press. In the Chinese press, the party newspaper (People's Daily) and the new mass‐appeal tabloid (Nanfang Daily) were studied. In the Taiwanese press, the traditional top circulation newspaper (United Daily) and the emerging pro‐Taiwan independent newspaper (Liberty Times) were chosen. Based upon a content analysis of news reports, supplemented with Chinese and Taiwanese government documents, the study found that the Chinese and Taiwanese press tended to report the incident along with the government stances and each represented its own side even after the economic reform and ruling party shift. However, the mass‐appeal tabloid in China moved slightly toward the pattern found in capitalist countries, without violating the government policy severely. The pro‐Taiwan independent newspaper showed more loyalty to the ruling party, but both Taiwanese newspapers covered diverse topics apart from the government stance. To what degree did the press follow the government stances? This study provided the preliminary answer that business interests might influence the press not to follow completely the government stances.     

Understanding entry into controversy at work and at home

For this study, the argumentativeness scale was revised to operationalize the predisposition to engage in any discussion of a controversial issue. This study examined propensity for entry into potential disagreement through discussion of controversial issues, and compared such tendencies in the workplace and the home. Results showed nonconfrontation conflict management style to be overwhelmingly the best predictor of willingness to engage in controversy, with a negative relationship. No differences were found between spouse‐, coworker‐, and self‐perceptions of willingness to discuss controversial issues. However, spouses's perceptions were more closely associated with self‐perceptions. Finally, the relationship between the argumentativeness scale and its revision was explored and found to be strong but not redundant. Implications of this and other findings were discussed.     

A Use of Space: The Unintended Messages of Academic Library Web Sites

Academic library home pages are not only access points to the resources and services of a library, they are virtual representations of the library itself. The content placed on the page, where it is placed, and the amount of space allotted are all choices that send a message about the character of the library, the resources a user should start with, and the library's attitude toward its users. This study explores the messages being sent by the content selection and design of the home pages of 49 of the 50 largest academic libraries in the United States. By looking at the area allocated to different content types and the number and location of different content types, the researchers discovered that design elements and promotion/public relations receive a large amount of page space. The researchers also identified the prominently positioned multi-search box as the apparent de facto standard access point to library resources. Many sites are clearly designed to direct users to specific, presumably important resources. Other sites are more obscure in their site structure and design, increasing the options and visual clutter for users without providing much guidance.     

An experimental study of certain physiological,introspective and rating‐scale techniques for the measurement of stage fright

After a review of the research on compliance‐gaining strategies, it was decided that deductive approaches toward the development of a taxonomy of compliance‐gaining strategies are limited because of epistemological and methodological problems. Instead of a deductive approach, the paper proposes that an inductively‐derived taxonomy is a more valid and reliable classification scheme of compliance‐gaining strategies. The paper therefore attempts to ascertain the representational validity of a particular inductively‐derived taxonomy of compliance‐gaining strategies. The assessment of the representational validity was accomplished by comparing proposed properties of the taxonomy with a multidimensional scaling representation of subjects’ perceptions of persuasive messages. The comparison indicated that the taxonomy had a high degree of representational validity. Finally, it was suggested that future research should focus on the dynamics of the properties of compliance‐gaining strategies.     

Assessing communication competence in the primary care medical interview

The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary results of a language‐based coding system to analyze physician‐patient communication. This system is grounded in the framework of Cegala and Waldron's (1992) context‐based model of communication competence which reflects the sequential development of talk as primary to definitions of competence. Given a review of the model and identification of information exchange and relational development as the primary tasks in the medical interview, two research questions were advanced to test a coding scheme. Based on the notion that aligning one's utterances to meet self‐ and other‐goals relates to communication competence, the coding scheme was developed to include message content, function, and uptake. Frequency results showed that 32 physician‐patient dyads produced 10, 958 coded utterances. Physicians and patients contributed relatively equal numbers of units. The frequencies of each category and exploratory sequential patterns relating to competence are summarized along with a discussion of the limitations of the analytical system. Overall, the code system provided new information on content, uptake, and sequential patterns of information exchange previously unavailable from published coding scheme results. Yet, the present scheme needs to be refined to produce output that more readily identifies competent and less competent interactions. These results and issues are placed in the context of an ongoing, larger research program on communication competence in the primary care interview.     

Examining the persuasive effect of statistical messages: A test of mediating relationships

The current study tested the degree to which the sample size heuristic (Baesler & Bur goon, 1994), perceived verifiability of evidence (Ah Yun & Massi, 2000), and perceived message credibility (Kopfman, Smith, Ah Yun, & Hodges, 1998) mediate the relationship between the use of statistical evidence in a persuasive appeal and a person's attitude toward a given topic. Four hundred eighty‐six participants were exposed to one of three messages (statistical, narrative, or no‐evidence control) or a no‐message control condition and completed either a 12‐ (control) or 33‐item (experimental) survey that was designed to measure respondents’ perceptions of the sample size heuristic, verifiability of evidence, message credibility, and attitude toward a year‐round academic schedule. Path analysis and hierarchical regression modeling were employed to test the proposed model. Results revealed that the perceived sample size heuristic, verifiability of evidence, and message credibility mediate the relationship between statistical evidence and individuals’ attitudes. Additionally, the perceived sample size heuristic was found to be the strongest unique predictor of attitudes and confirmatory factory analysis results indicated that perceived verifiability and message credibility may be two indicators of a higher‐order factor. These findings and their implications for future research are discussed.     

Digitizing journal archives: the experience of Taylor & Francis

There are enormous quantities of information available to researchers on the Internet, of varying levels of quality. Now, more than ever, it is important that academic publishers make best use of their journals and provide their readers with access to this high‐value content, in a form that can be easily found and used. To that end, Taylor & Francis have taken up the challenge of satisfying researchers' need to have all relevant content available at their fingertips, by digitizing their older journal content, creating subject‐based collections of backfiles and putting them online. This article provides an insight into the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the process of digitization of Taylor & Francis's journal archives. The fact that these online backfiles are being requested, purchased, and used demonstrates the added value that publishers may hold in their archives.     

Understanding the information and resource needs of UK health and social care placement students

Background: Students on health and social care degree programmes spend 50% of their time on practice placements. Because of the diversity of settings and the need to evidence their work, it is vital to understand the information and resource needs of placement students. Objectives: The aim of this investigation was to understand the needs of placement students in terms of accessing resources whilst they are in the field in order to inform a guide to meet these needs. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with students on midwifery, social work and post‐registration health professions degree programmes on three different sites across the region. Data were analysed using Thematic Content Analysis. Results: Three themes emerged from the data: inequality, user education needs and students’ solutions and strategies. Conclusions: It is essential to speak to placement students in order to understand their needs in terms of accessing and using library resources. The timing and content of information skills training is key to meeting student needs while on placement.     

Applying the structure‐conduct‐performance framework in the media industry analysis

Abstract

This article reviews the application of the Industrial Organization (10) framework of Structure‐Conduct‐Performance (S‐C‐P) in media market research. The constructs and premises of this economic model are restated, and the orthodox economic notions of market performance and the logic that underlies the model are clarified. Alongside these elucidations, this article discusses common conceptualizations and interpretations found in media market studies. Media issues such as content diversity and media concentration, which are often studied through the S‐C‐P approach, are also re‐examined. These deliberations are intended to contribute toward a more consistent framework for the study of media industries and markets.