Impact of the VCR on control of television viewing

Familial control of television viewing in light of the introduction of the videocassette recorder (VCR) was examined by: asking sets of parents and children about their use of VCRs and television, determining differences in these perceptions, and relating family demographics to use and control. In‐home interviews with 110 families found agreement on who chooses the programs to be watched. Some differences were noted, however, between parents’ and children's perceptions of how the viewing situation is controlled.     

Professionalism among broadcast newsmen in an Urban area

The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 was the result of negotiations between local governments and the cable television industry. Not all affected parties agreed the Act would benefit them. The purpose of this survey of local regulators and cable companies was to assess perceptions of current relationships and the perceived impact of the Act. The results indicated that those from the cable industry most satisfied with the status quo were deregulated franchises who felt the new law would benefit them. Local regulators with franchises requiring public hearings prior to changes felt the new law would have negative effects.     

Pornography use and sexism among heterosexual men

ABSTRACT

The idea that pornography promotes sexism is a commonly purported one. This study employed an online sample of heterosexual men (N = 323) to investigate the relationship between pornography use (in terms of both overall level of pornography use and use of violent and/or humiliating pornography) and old-fashioned and modern sexism. The moderating effects of agreeableness and perceived realism of pornography were also assessed. Level of general pornography use and use of violent and/or humiliating pornography was not predictive of either sexism measure. Agreeableness was negatively predictive of both sexism measures, whereas perceived realism was positively predictive of sexism. Agreeableness and perceived realism did not moderate the relationship between level of pornography use and any of the outcome measures.     

A look at the constancy principle under changing market conditions

How the principle of relative constancy of media spending has fared across time is explored in this study. The authors use both income‐share and time‐trend regression models to study consumer spending on media in the U.S. since 1929. They conclude that the principle of relative constancy clearly held from 1929 to 1974, but that evidence since that time (which corresponds with the emergence of cable television and VCRs) is unclear, although partially supporting the principle.     

Media Memories: The First Cable/VCR Generation Recalls Their Childhood and Adolescent Media Viewing

Seventy undergraduates from 2 U.S. regions, the first generation raised in a media environment expanded by cable and VCRs, recalled childhood and adolescent media viewing in autobiographical essays. These recollections, considered from a symbolic interactionist perspective, reflect the media's contribution to individuals' self-development. Respondents recalled the socializing influences of mediated content that provided characters for imitative preschool play, role models, and topics for adolescent peer interaction. These recollections of childhood and adolescent experiences expressed as autobiography provide clear evidence of the media's long-term influence on development of the self.     

Domestic consumer expenditures for consumer books: 1984–1994

Between 1984 and 1994, the U.S. consumer marketplace was transformed with the introduction or wide acceptance of personal computers, CD-ROMs, VCRs, video-cassettes, the Internet, E-mail, cable television, etc. U.S. Department of Commerce data indicated conclusively that these products and services competed directly for media usage and media expenditures with all other media formats, including consumer books. Many media economics scholars who investigated media usage and expenditures came to believe that consumer allocations for various media products and services remained at a “constant” percent of Domestic Consumer Expenditures (DCE), which they termed the “Principle of Relative Constancy.”     

Comparison of mail and telephone methods of studying media contactors

Cable regulation should be based on the unique characteristics of cable, the rights of speakers to be as free as possible from government regulation, and a First Amendment theory that recognizes the public's right to a diverse marketplace of ideas. As a consequence, it is recommended that cable be defined as a limited public forum to include both the utility poles/conduits and the attached coaxial cable. This approach suggests that de facto monopoly franchise agreements and franchise fees are unconstitutional, but that limited access channel requirements such as one or two public access channels would be constitutional.     

The effects of message sidedness and evidence on inoculation against counterpersuasion in small group communication

This study tested the generalizability of previous research concerning inoculation against counterpersuasion when the counterpersuasive influence is exerted in a small group communication context. Earlier findings indicated that a two‐sided message which includes refutation of opposing positions or which includes documented supporting material tends to inoculate receivers against counterpersuasion in a confrontation setting. Results indicated that a two‐sided message produced more attitude change after counterpersuasion than did a one‐sided message. Evidence effects in the present study were significant at only the .10 level, but in the hypothesized direction. Message sidedness had no significant effect on perceived source credibility. Inclusion of evidence significantly increased perceived source credibility on the authoritativeness dimension.     

When do Online Audiences Amplify Benefits of Self-Disclosure? The Role of Shared Experience and Anticipated Interactivity

ABSTRACT

As individuals increasingly write about their distressing experiences online, it is important to understand how perceived online audiences influence the effects of self-disclosure. In an experiment, participants wrote about recent breakups for online audiences purportedly varying in 1) whether they shared recent breakup experiences and 2) their ability to leave comments. Participants perceiving audiences with shared experience showed more cognitive processing in their writing and reported increased post-traumatic growth at follow-up than participants perceiving general audiences. Those anticipating comments wrote less about emotions than those who did not. Mechanisms accounting for the benefits of shared experience warrant further investigation.     

“Pick and choose” opinion climate: How browsing of political messages shapes public opinion perceptions and attitudes

ABSTRACT

High-choice media environments allow people to cocoon themselves with like-minded messages (confirmation bias), which could shape both individual attitudes and perceived prevalence of opinions. This study builds on motivated cognition and spiral of silence theory to disentangle how browsing political messages (both selective exposure as viewing full articles and incidental exposure as encountering leads only) shapes perceived public opinion and subsequently attitudes. Participants (N?=?115) browsed online articles on controversial topics; related attitudes and public opinion perceptions were captured before and after. Multi-level modeling demonstrated a confirmation bias. Both selective and incidental exposure affected attitudes per message stance, with stronger impacts for selective exposure. Opinion climate perceptions mediated selective exposure impacts on attitudes.     

Understanding the Role of Instructor Rapport in the College Classroom

ABSTRACT

This study examined the discriminant validity between rapport and immediacy and tested a model using instructor rapport as the mediator between immediacy and learning. Participants (N = 146) completed measures of nonverbal immediacy, instructor rapport, perceived cognitive learning, and anticipated final course grade. Results revealed that immediacy and rapport were two distinct constructs. In testing the model, the enjoyable interaction dimension of instructor rapport mediated the relationship between immediacy and perceived learning but not anticipated final grades. The personal connection dimension of rapport mediated the relationship between immediacy and both perceived learning and anticipated final grade. These results explore the mechanism through which immediacy may lead to cognitive learning.     

How Does a Pre-Assessment of Off-Campus Students’ Information Literacy Affect the Effectiveness of Library Instruction?

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impact that pre-tests have on the effectiveness of library instruction when students are given feedback on their pre-test performance. Librarians and academic faculty partnered to measure library instruction outcomes in two Master's degree classes. The Research Readiness Self-Assessment (RRSA) was used as a pre-test (before instruction) and a post-test (after instruction) in Class 1 and as a post-test only in Class 2. Students who completed both tests performed significantly better on a post-test, earning higher scores on obtaining information and overall information literacy. They reported greater library/research experience and less reliance on browsing. Compared to students who did not take a pre-test, students who received pre-test-based feedback had higher scores on library/research experience and lower scores on reliance on browsing. To enhance the effectiveness of library instruction, students can be given pre-test-based feedback that compares their actual and perceived literacy and encourages the use of library databases.     

Earnings & education of men & women in selected media occupations

Using basic census information, and manipulating that data to show sexual differences in rates of pay, the following brief note provides a statistical basis for some commonly‐held assumptions on the low‐pay status of women. The author is professor and Dean of the School of Communications and Theater at Temple University in Philadelphia.     

Single versus multiple‐system cable television

The senior author is an assistant professor of radio‐television at Indiana University, where Robert Blau is working toward a PhD. The article which follows is based on research done originally for an Indiana cable company for which the authors served as consultants.     

Antitrust and horizontal mergers in the cable industry

This study explores the large horizontal mergers in the cable industry that have catapulted some large multiple system operators toward substantial market power in the exhibition stage of the industry without much response from antitrust authorities. It reviews the mergers and analyzes the antitrust implications for the industry.     

Workplace harassment in university libraries: A qualitative study of female Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals in Pakistan

PurposeThe existence of workplace harassment in a feminized profession such as Library and Information Science (LIS) cannot be ignored. There is limited literature on workplace harassment in the profession, especially in the context of the developing world. This study investigates the status of workplace harassment and the level of awareness about the relevant legislation among working women of Pakistan.MethodologyA qualitative research approach was used and data was collected through in-depth interview. Thirty-four female LIS professionals working in the university libraries of Lahore, Pakistan, were approached. However, eight were given consented to participate in the study.FindingsMost of the working females did not agree to participate in the study due to privacy concerns and the taboo nature of the topic in Pakistani society. The findings revealed the females had witnessed workplace harassment which they perceived as both physical and psychological in nature. The study also reports the respondents' level of awareness about harassment-related legislation and policies in the country as well as strategies to enhance it. It also highlights the barriers faced by them while reporting harassment issues.ImplicationThis study presents theoretical, practical, and policy implications related to workforce harassment faced by women working in LIS.     

Age and sex differences in willingness to communicate,communication apprehension,and self‐perceived competence

Age and sex differences in willingness to communicate (WTC), communication apprehension, and self‐perceived communication competence were examined using three age cohorts of participants drawn from junior high, high school, and university student populations. Results indicate that junior high females are higher in WTC than their male counterparts and females at the university level are higher in communication apprehension and lower in self‐perceived competence than are male university students. Communication apprehension and self‐perceived competence show a consistent negative relationship that does not vary with age or sex in the present sample. The degree to which communication apprehension arid self‐perceived competence predict WTC varies with age and sex. In all three age cohorts, communication apprehension is a significant predictor of WTC among women. Among men, self‐perceived competence emerges as a significant predictor of WTC in all three age groups.     

Library instruction and Wikipedia: investigating students' perceived information literacy,lifelong learning,and social responsibility through Wikipedia editing

Objectives:This article presents a multiyear pilot study delineating practical challenges, solutions, and lessons learned from Wikipedia editing experiences with first-year medical students at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. The purpose of our project was to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of Wikipedia editing to improve information literacy and lifelong learning skills and to investigate aspects of social responsibility in first-year medical students.Methods:Lessons were provided through a combination of in-person and online instruction via the WikiEdu learning management system (LMS). Students next selected a health-related Wikipedia article to edit. After the editing experience, structural completeness data were collected from the WikiEdu LMS. Feedback was collected via an anonymous retrospective pre-post survey to assess the students'' attitudes toward their perceived information literacy skills and the social responsibility of improving Wikipedia articles. Nonparametric tests were conducted to compare pre versus post outcomes.Results:Fifty-seven (79%) participants in the 2018 cohort and forty-nine (64%) participants in the 2019 cohort completed the retrospective pre-post survey. In both cohorts, respondents showed statistically significant increases (p<.05) in self-rating of all ten domains of information literacy and social responsibility after completing the program.Conclusions:This study showed that medical students are competent editors of Wikipedia and that their contributions improve both the quality of the articles and their own perceived information literacy. Additionally, editing medicine-related articles provides an opportunity to build students'' social responsibility by improving content on an open platform that reaches millions each day.     

What Motivates Librarians to Share Knowledge?

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of social and individual factors of strength of ties, perceived benefits, extrinsic rewards, recognition, reciprocity, and perceived cost on sharability. A survey was sent to 170 librarians at special, public, and academic libraries across Kuwait; 139 responses were received for a response rate of 80%. It was found that the strength of ties and perceived benefits had a positive effect and perceived costs had a negative effect on sharability. The findings can help libraries identify the opportunities and barriers to motivate librarians to share their knowledge. This study is a useful contribution to knowledge management literature, especially concerning the library context.     

Are Consumers Put off by Retargeted Ads on Social Media? Evidence for Perceptions of Marketing Surveillance and Decreased Ad Effectiveness

ABSTRACT

Consumers have described retargeted ads as “creepy,” possibly because these ads cue consumers that marketers are collecting personal data. Participants (N = 280) were either exposed to an ad that was targeted to past online behaviors or a general product ad. Behavioral targeting had a positive direct effect on purchase intent, but it also set off a negative indirect effect. Those exposed to behavioral targeting experienced increased perceived marketing surveillance, which led to increased threat, increased psychological reactance, negative attitudes toward the ad, and negative purchase intention. The indirect cost of perceived marketing surveillance on purchase intent was 4.5 percent.