Media Violence and Adolescents’ ADHD-Related Behaviors: The Role of Parental Mediation

We examined the role of parental media mediation in the relationship between media violence and adolescents’ ADHD-related behaviors. Survey data from 1,017 adolescents (10–14 years) show that parents can play an important role in this relationship, depending on the media mediation strategies that they use (i.e., restrictive or active mediation) and how they apply these strategies (i.e., in a controlling, inconsistent, or autonomy-supportive way). Our findings support the notion that contextual factors are critical in understanding media effects, and provide directions for how parents can manage their adolescents’ violent media use, and possibly by extension, their ADHD-related behaviors.     

Parental Monitoring of Children’s Television Viewing in a Sample of Peruvian Caregivers

Parental monitoring of children’s television viewing is an important family practice that helps children understand the messages they find on advertisements and program content. Research points at different dimensions of monitoring, including parental co-viewing, rules about when and how much time children can watch television, and active parental mediation. The study describes different dimensions of parental monitoring in a sample of 303 caregivers of primary school children living in Lima. Main findings reveal that about a third of the sample engaged in parental monitoring never, rarely or sometimes, the education level of the caregiver was positively associated with limiting the time children can watch television, and that child’s age was negatively associated with the frequency of active mediation and limits on the content children may watch on TV. Further research is needed in order to understand the practice of parental monitoring across children’s age groups in the context of Peru.     

A Qualitative Inquiry into the Contextualized Parental Mediation Practices of Young Children’s Digital Media Use at Home

Technologies are increasingly adopted and used by young children at home. Parents play an important role in shaping their media use, keeping certain possibilities open for children to play, learn, and socialize while limiting others. Nevertheless, the literature on parental mediation of young children’s media use is scant. In this article, we describe a qualitative, mixed-method study involving 24 parents and 36 children aged 3 to 9, and focus on the contextual factors that shape (transitions between) parental mediation practices. The results point to the emergence of new manifestations of parental mediation and provide evidence of their dynamic, often paradoxical nature. In particular, the insights on distant mediation, various buddy styles, and participatory learning, as well as the value of a wholeness approach for understanding children’s conditions for media engagement, suggest new prospects for parental mediation literature.     

Librarians’ Use of Images on LibGuides and Other Social Media Platforms

This study compared the use of librarians’ profile images across Web platforms designed for librarian-patron communication. The primary focus was LibGuides profiles at a peer group of Association of Research Libraries institutions. Librarians are currently using a variety of options, including professional head shots, casual head shots, other photos, alternate images, avatars, and no image. Where possible, results were also analyzed by gender. For a smaller selection of libraries, LibGuides photos were compared with Facebook photos to see if different images were used for a professional versus a personal social media setting. This research was done in December 2010 and duplicated in May 2012 to track changes over time. The later study also reviews profile images for the smaller selection of libraries in LinkedIn and ALA Connect. The findings provide a baseline for further comparative research, could also inform individual librarians’ image choices based on patterns among their peers, and gives the profession a starting point for discussions about the types of images librarians use.     

Catalogers’ Perceptions and Use of Social Media and Conventional Information Sources for Professional Development

Many professional development information sources are available to catalogers, who may be constrained by limited time and money to devote to them. This article reports the results of a survey gathering information on six types of information sources: journal articles, conferences, electronic discussion lists, blogs, microblogs, and social networking sites. Catalogers rated these resources regarding their importance to filling professional development needs, the reliability of the information disseminated, and their usefulness for obtaining specific types of information. The results should help catalogers and their administrators decide where to focus their attention both as consumers and disseminators of continuing education information.     

Expanding the Unidirectional View on Parental Television Mediation: Children’s Guidance of Their Parent’s Television Use

Compared to parental mediation research, much less is known about how children influence and guide their parents’ media use. This study examined whether children also mediate the television use of their parents. Measures of an existing television mediation scale were reversed to the perspective of the child guiding the parent’s television use. A sample of 187 parent-child dyads completed a cross-sectional survey in Flanders (Belgium). Factor analyses showed that the original subscales were reproduced with high internal validity. Both parents and children had congruent views about children’s television mediation; television mediation and children's restrictive mediation was positively associated with conflict in the family.     

Muslim Women’s Use of Internet Media in the Process of Acculturation in the United States

This study examines how Muslim women use Internet-based media in the process of acculturation in the United States. Grounded theory methodology (Glaser, 1992) and Sam and Berry’s (2006) model of acculturation were used as theoretical and analytical frameworks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 Muslim women to learn about their media use and experiences in forming and maintaining relationships in the United States. Educational opportunities were an emerging theme in the determining factors of immigrating to the United States. The data indicated that Muslim women use a variety of Internet-based media such as Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Viber for communicating with family and friends locally and abroad. A majority of the participants reported that social media allowed them to express a part of their identities. The data suggests that the participants attained the level of acculturation defined as integration. The participants use these media to build and create relationships in their new communities. The combined relationships the participants maintain both locally and abroad seem to play a role in the creation of balance in their lives, which allows them to thrive in their new communities, at school, and at work.     

News Habits Among Adolescents: The Influence of Family Communication on Adolescents’ News Media Use—Evidence From a Three-Wave Panel Study

Keeping up with what’s going on in the world of politics and current affairs through various news media is commonly seen as important for civic engagement and informed citizenship. Today, however, citizens face more opportunities than ever to select media content according to their personal preferences and interests—leading to what previous research has identified as a polarization between news-seekers and news-avoiders. Given heightened concerns regarding growing shares of news-avoiders in particular, this study analyzes the development, stability, and family influences on Swedish adolescents’ news habits over time. The findings, based on panel survey data among adolescents and their parents, show that (a) news habits are fairly stable at the individual level, (b) parents’ own news consumption is the most consistent predictor of adolescents’ development of news habits, and (c) these family effects are distinct from adolescents’ personal motivations for seeking out news.     

Young Children’s Positive and Negative Parasocial Relationships with Media Characters

There is a scarcity of research on how young children form short- and long-term emotional connections with popular media characters. Preexisting research on young children’s parasocial relationships (PSR) with media personae has traditionally operationally defined PSR exclusively in terms of friendship and focused on television characters. However, a growing body of research suggests the need for a wider survey of children’s media platforms. Scholarship also actually points to two distinct constructs of PSR: positive PSR (friendly feelings or amicability) and negative PSR (unfriendly feelings or antipathy). This study engaged 88 children ages 5–7 in open- and closed-ended questions designed to measure both positive and negative PSR. Our research reveals a more nuanced understanding of young children’s PSR.     

Preservice Teachers’ Use of the University Libraries Children’s Literature Collection

Abstract

The necessity of preservice teachers’ familiarity with children’s literature remains highly significant, while their methods for achieving this familiarity are expanding. This research assessed the selection and acquisition methods of preservice teachers and their faculty. Researchers identified five children’s literature courses being taught during the fall 2017 semester and interviewed faculty members, reviewed course syllabi, and surveyed enrolled students. The data collected suggests that preservice teachers are primarily interested in quickly and easily acquiring titles and are often seeking specific titles. Suggestions for adjustments to outreach methods and organization of the children’s literature collection are given.     

Did Social Media Really Matter? College Students' Use of Online Media and Political Decision Making in the 2008 Election

This study examined college students' use of online media for political purposes in the 2008 election. Social media attention, online expression, and traditional Internet attention were assessed in relation to political self-efficacy and situational political involvement. Data from a Web survey of college students showed significant positive relationships between attention to traditional Internet sources and political self-efficacy and situational political involvement. Attention to social media was not significantly related to political self-efficacy or involvement. Online expression was significantly related to situational political involvement but not political self-efficacy. Implications are discussed for political use of online media for young adults.     

Parents’ Use of the V-Chip and Perceptions of Television Ratings: The Role of Family Characteristics and the Home Media Environment

Nearly 20 years after the Telecommunications Act of 1996, it is unclear how its mandates influence current parents’ mediation behavior. Parents of 2- to 17-year-old children (N = 1,431) were surveyed about their awareness and perceptions of the TV ratings system and use of the V-chip. Most (81%) parents knew about the ratings system and found it to be only “somewhat useful.” Only 16% of those parents had ever used the V-chip. Ratings awareness and perceptions and V-chip use varied with family characteristics. Policymakers should revisit how to provide better tools for mediating children’s viewing in this new information age.     

Use of expert assessment and analytics in Russia’s innovation infrastructure

This paper presents one definition of the Russian Federation’s national security, identifies the role of scientific and technological progress as the basis for this security and shows the development of its innovation. The study treats the concept of expertology as a line of scientific and analytical activities; examines the techniques for the state expert assessment of scientific and technological goal-oriented programs, as well as their integrated support.     

Inappropriate Parental Divorce Disclosures,the Factors that Prompt them,and their Impact on Parents’ and Adolescents’ Well-Being

Recent research has shown that parents’ inappropriate disclosures about the divorce process can be stressful for adolescents. However, little is known about the conditions that prompt parents to disclose inappropriate information about the divorce to them. The current study examines factors (a lack of social support, a lack of control over divorce stressors, and the severity of the divorce stressors) that potentially influence parents to reveal inappropriate information about the divorce to their adolescents. It also explores the impact that these inappropriate disclosures have on parents’ and adolescents’ well-being. Surveys were gathered from 118 custodial parent–adolescent dyads. The results suggest that a lack of social support and the severity of the stressors did not influence parents’ inappropriate disclosures. Custodial parents’ lack of control over their divorce-related stressors was the only factor associated with their inappropriate disclosures. When a lack of control over divorced-related stressors was considered, parents with less stressful interparental conflict were likely to be distressed by their inappropriate disclosures, whereas parents who had a strained relationship with their former spouse were not. Adolescents’ perceptions of the inappropriate disclosures were also a stronger predictor of adolescents’ well-being than the parents’ perceptions of their own disclosures.     

Children’s and school libraries in the USSR

Abstract

Changes in the state structure since 1989 and their effect on the development of culture are discussed, as is the liquidation of censorship. The transition of publishing from a monopoly state enterprise to a part of the market economy is described, along with the development of the new mass electronic media. A final section deals with the situation in public libraries after 1989 and the difficulties experienced by librarians in dealing with the threatened disappearance of traditional culture under the tidal wave of mass media for entertainment.     

The Representation of Altruistic and Egoistic Motivations in Children’s TV Programming

A content analysis of children’s television examined the frequency with which behaviors were (a) driven by altruistic versus egoistic motivations, (b) performed by affable/surly characters, (c) rewarded/punished, and (d) present in content popular among different age groups (2–5, 6–11, and 12–17 years old). We found that portrayal patterns stressed the importance of egoistic motivations (particularly competence, autonomy, and relatedness) for older children. The findings are interpreted in line with logic underlying the model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME; Tamborini, 2013), suggesting that media representations can influence the motivations of their viewers.     

Gender and Emotion Stereotypes in Children’s Television

The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence of emotion stereotypes in children’s television programming, in both educational and non-educational programming. It was hypothesized that gender stereotypes of emotion would still be prevalent in both entertainment and educational programming, with females showing more fear and sadness and males showing more anger, and that all shows would have more male than female characters. A total of 8 children’s programs were included for analysis: 4 entertainment programs and 4 educational programs. Programs were coded for the total number of males and females and for the emotions displayed by each character: happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. Overall, the analyses revealed that the majority of shows still have more male than female characters. Males were found to portray more of all emotions than females. Educational programming did not differ much in the amount of stereotypical versus counter-stereotypical emotion portrayed. Entertainment programming showed a trend toward more counter-stereotyped emotions. Future research should explore the influence of viewing specific shows on young children’s current gender stereotypes to assess the immediate impact of such viewing.     

Managing Social Media Use: Whither Social Media Guidelines in News Organizations?

Fears exist that social media use by news media and journalists may affect basic journalistic tenets such as objectivity, gatekeeping, and transparency. As a result, more and more news media organizations are issuing guidelines to manage employee use of social media. In this article we discuss the complex relationship of a selection of market-leading news media organizations with prescribed use of social media. Applying content analysis to 12 existing social media guidelines, we elaborate on the various types of rules linked with the basic principles of journalism. A key intention of this research is to provide insights for media management and journalism scholars to better understand the use of social media by journalists and the implementation of guidelines by media organizations. More practically, this article can aid media organizations who are shaping their own set of rules regarding use of social media by their staff.     

Journalists’ Use of Knowledge in an Online World

There has been little empirical study of the extent to which journalists are drawing on and applying academic research and systematic knowledge, or of their sourcing routines and habits in this regard. This paper examines data from an original online survey conducted in fall 2015 with working journalists (N?=?1,118). Over all, about half reported drawing on research studies frequently in their stories, and journalists expressed strong support for the idea that research can improve story quality. A multivariate analysis finds that knowledge usage is more likely to take place among journalists with some forms of academic and statistical training, with a national audience and with more coverage specialization in science-related topics. Political and television journalists are less likely to use expert knowledge.