Children's wishful identification and parasocial interaction with favorite television characters

Children aged 7 to 12 were interviewed about their favorite TV character. Nearly all boys and about half of the girls selected same‐sex favorites. Regression analyses used perceived character traits (attractiveness, strength, humor, intelligence, social behavior) to predict wishful identification and parasocial interaction with characters. For male characters, wishful identification was predicted by intelligence and (for girls only) humor; parasocial interaction was predicted by intelligence, attractiveness, and (for boys only) strength. In marked contrast, for female characters (chosen only by girls), attractiveness was the only significant predictor. Although girls rated female characters as more intelligent than male characters, this trait apparently was not an important determinant of attraction. Interpretations of the findings and implications for socialization effects are discussed.     

Forum: Canonical correlation: Comments on Balon and Philport

Diverse viewpoints have emerged over whether male or female characters endure the brunt of the violence depicted in the subgenre of horror movies commonly referred to as “slasher” films. In order to address this issue, a content analysis of 10 slasher movies was conducted. Although the data reveal that death and destruction are predominant components of slasher films, there is no evidence of a systematic bias in the appearances or deaths of protagonists as a function of gender. Other content attributes of these films are examined and their implications discussed.     

Kawaii Killers and Femme Fatales: A Textual Analysis of Female Characters Signifying Benevolent and Hostile Sexism in Video Games

ABSTRACT

Game developers potentially convey socio-cultural values about gender through design choices. This study interpreted the designs of 11 purposively selected female game characters, developed by studios located in the United States and Japan, through the lens of ambivalent sexism. This social psychological theory posits that sexism consists of hostile and benevolent attitudes about women. Two themes emerged across characterizations: bodies as objects, bodies as weapons and (in)dependence. Both consisted of empowering qualities paired with problematic beliefs about women. This analysis contributes to interdisciplinary literature by using an empirical perspective to interpret gender representations in video games.     

Balancing Evolving “Real” and “Virtual” Patron Needs: A Challenge for Access Services in Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

Academic libraries are at a crossroads, facing increasing competition from other student services within their institutions and from commercial entities that duplicate their services. Examining some broader trends in education leads to suggestions as to how libraries might re-examine legacy services and assumptions and consider new directions. Specifically, the contributions that might be made by areas traditionally considered part of access services are considered. An annotated bibliography is included.     

Still Shaking the Conceptual Foundations of Reference: A Perspective

ABSTRACT

This article reprises the seminal article “Shaking the Conceptual Foundations of Reference,” updates it while explaining its shortcomings, and counsels a focus on what the reference librarian's primary mission is, rather than functional fixedness regarding how the mission has traditionally been carried out.     

Practitioners as professors: Experiential learning in the distance digital liberal arts classroom

ABSTRACT

Archives and digital collections have traditionally supported undergraduate research experiences or existed in the syllabus as neat, packaged projects or assignments. Now these artifacts are taking center stage in the digital liberal arts classroom. Librarians and archivists are also realizing new opportunities to teach undergraduates their professional tools and methodologies, and they are forging new ground in the classroom teaching students how to curate and create digital scholarly projects. This case study reveals the experiences of two information professionals who cotaught a distance digital liberal arts seminar. It seeks to expand the pedagogy of the digital liberal arts and explore its viability via distance education.     

E-Mail Reference as Substitute for Library Receptionist

SUMMARY

The authors explore the historical development of e-mail reference services in general, and report on the evolution of this service in their own library. Based on evidence from their own service and from reports in the literature, they propose a connection between e-mail reference service and broader library services including circulation, interlibrary loan, and even acquisitions, through which the reference librarian receives questions traditionally directed elsewhere. The e-ref button presents an unexpected avenue of librarian-to-librarian communication, both within and beyond one's home institution. Implications are discussed.     

The third shadow and hybrid genres: horror,humor, gender,and race in Alien Resurrection

Alien Resurrection (1997) heightens the movements across dark humor and horror, and enables more pronounced and complex conjunctions across the three types of shadows put forward by Rushing/Frentz and Picart, particularly in the case of the monstrous female characters like Ripley and Call. These characters bisociate the realms of first shadow (female bodies), second shadow (products of technology), and third shadow (fearsome female freedom fighters). Nevertheless, both live—a rarity among Frankensteinian cinemyths. Alien Resurrection enables us to glimpse, through a glass darkly, other ways in which the gendered and raced complexities of the Frankenstein cinematic myth may be traced.     

Romancing ‘kung fu master’ – from ‘yellow peril’ to ‘yellow prowess’

Present study critically investigates the cinematic depiction of leading Chinese masculine figures in Hollywood film productions, with a specific focus on how the positioning of white female characters romantically involved with Chinese martial arts fighters serves to construct Chinese masculinity. In noted films such as The Tuxedo (2002), Kiss of the Dragon (2001), and Dragon: Bruce Lee Story (1993), Chinese martial arts fighters not only managed to fight off white antagonists but also succeeded in winning the ‘heart’ of white heroines. Drawing on Gestner's theoretical assertion that white women's falling for a man of color signifies the invasive movement of a new masculine discourse into the space traditionally bounded by the ideal of white masculinity, and grounded on Hall's conception of articulation, my critical examination of these three film texts revealed how the privileged cultural and racial position of whiteness was reformulated and rejustified via the strategic dramatic construction of romantic encounters between Chinese martial artists and their white partners. More importantly, the current study sheds light on an emerging form of cultural politics that transformed conventional mediated construction of interracial romance and yet perpetuated the racial hierarchy sustained through racist assumption and ideology.     

The naturalization of beer in cheers

A number of health and safety risks are associated with consuming beer. Longrunning programs, like Cheers, present a variety of social beer drinking situations which are important to examine because they provide abundant examples. Using a structuralist approach, this study investigated and identified how beer was naturalized through characters, dialogue, actions, consequences, and settings in one season of Cheers. Three narrative strategies identified were the use of humor, camaraderie, and detoxification.     

Empowertise me! Understanding marketplace feminism through deconstructing advertisements

ABSTRACT

Courses: Introduction to advanced classes in Media Studies, Women’s Studies, Gender Studies, Race, Communication, and Advertising.

Objectives: In this unit activity, students critically assess advertisements that co-opt female empowerment and then identify ways they can resist such strategies.     

Reference and Liaison Librarians: Endangered Species or “Vital Partners?” Views of Academic Library Administrators

Abstract

Reference, liaison, subject librarianship: all of these terms traditionally describe a combination of research assistance, instruction, and collection management. This study used structured interviews with 15 librarians at 14 geographically dispersed, medium to large academic institutions to investigate the current state of reference and liaison librarianship. Library administrators’ views are important to understanding the future of this work since they advocate for resources if they see the necessity. Findings included agreement on the goals of the work and the urgent need to communicate its value in the current higher education landscape; however, the specific means of communication and the types of work that being a partner could include varied.     

The thrust of the mob and the media

Children from ages 4 to 9 watched segments from Sesame Street and answered questions about television reality. Factor analysis produced three reality dimensions: (a) Sesame Street really exists, (b) television characters can see and hear us, and (c) what you see is inside the television set. For preschoolers, age was the most important variable in regard to television reality. There were other background variables for older children: Children from working‐class backgrounds were more apt to believe that television characters can see and hear us and that they reside inside the television set than their middle‐ and upper‐class age peers.     

“White supremacy in heels”: (white) feminism,white supremacy,and discursive violence

ABSTRACT

As a progressive intervention into patriarchy, feminism has traditionally centered (white) women's experience, yet when sex and gender are combined with race, feminism tends to lose its progressive edge. We argue that (white) feminism ideologically grounds itself in a gendered victimology that masks its participation and functionality in white supremacy. By erasing women of color, positioning women as victims of white male hegemony, and failing to hold white women accountable for the production and reproduction of white supremacy, (white) feminism manifests its allegiance to whiteness and in doing so commits “discursive violence”. We end with calling for ideological intersectionality as a possible corrective.     

Players and Whiners? Perceptions of Sex Stereotyping in Animé in Japan and the US

This study examined cognitive and affective responses of Japanese (N=199) and American participants (N=194) to the depiction of gender in a Japanese animé popular in both countries. As expected, Japanese respondents indicated more familiarity with the animation and also reported that they were fans to a greater extent than Americans. Japanese participants and males showed greater agreement with sex stereotyping in the depiction of characters. Males also showed greater liking for characters and expressed the belief that they were positive role models. American females disliked the characters, especially the female character, significantly more than all other participants. Finally, participants, regardless of country, who held conventional views of gender perceived fewer stereotypes in the depiction of the characters. Given the current interest in animé, implications of findings from viewing sex-stereotypical images and directions for future research are discussed.     

Document Delivery in Academic Fee-Based Information Services

Summary

Academic libraries traditionally provide document delivery services to the campus-based community. Academic fee-based information services accept document requests from corporate, industrial, and professional clients who are willing to pay for a value-added service that includes rush handling, delivery to a third party, or locating an item with a vague citation. The Purdue University Libraries' Technical Information Service (TIS) has grown into a successful venture by developing staff with specialized skills to identify, locate, obtain, and distribute increasingly difficult document orders with short turnaround times. There are advantages to the parent academic library, especially the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) unit, in having a fee-based service to which time-consuming, unusual or expensive requests can be referred. With the potential to increase these advantages comes the need to define clearly the respective roles of these units.     

Building Community: Partnering with Students and Faculty to Design a Library Exhibition Space

ABSTRACT

An academic library's space has traditionally operated as a repository, but with the proliferation of new media and interactive technologies, libraries now also serve as incubators of ideas. Architecture students at Auburn University recently took part in renovating the design library. With the librarian acting as client, they were asked to investigate diverse materials and design methods to create a dynamic and interactive exhibition wall which would showcase the creation of new knowledge and facilitate the dissemination of new information. This article discusses how the plug-in wall acted as a catalyst for the school's renewed communal investment in the library.     

Library and information services in the pacific islands

Abstract

The article deals with changes in the reading habits of Estonians in recent years. It includes overviews of studies conducted since the 1960’s and discusses the impact of the printed word on Estonian national culture. Factors influencing this impact include the Lutheran cultural heritage and the Estonians' ethnic homogeneity. The article’s main emphasis is on changes since the transition to the market economy. Under the impact of mass media, reading has become more casual and less frequent. The number of traditionally large Estonian home libraries is diminishing, giving to public libraries a more significant role in the delivery of printed materials.     

The armed forces radio service

Male and female university students and non‐students heard audiotapes containing a combination of two antagonistic persuasive speeches on the energy crisis: one with 12 obscene phrases, one with 12 parallel, non‐obscene phrases; one by a male speaker, one by a female; one pro‐environmentalists, one pro‐oil companies. Listener attitude was assessed on three dimensions using the Speech Dialect Attitudinal Scale. Analyses indicated that speakers were rated lower on Socio‐Intellectual Status and Aesthetic Quality when they used obscene language than when they did not; however, no difference was found on Dynamism. Other findings regarding speaker sex, listener group, and listener sex are discussed.