The Hungarica Program of the National Széchényi Library (Budapest,Hungary)

The author discusses the history and work of the program at the National Széchényi Library to find, document, and collect Hungarica—defined as published in Hungary, written in the Hungarian language, written by a Hungarian author, or written about Hungary or Hungarians—published in Hungary or outside of it. Today both domestically-published and foreign Hungarica are documented in the library's online catalog and in a database of humanities research in Hungarian studies.     

Telenovela reception in rural Brazil: gendered readings and sexual mores

In The Cattle King, a Brazilian telenovela, melodramatic elements of class ascension, love and betrayal, adultery, and pre‐marital sex played a central role in the lives of the main characters. This ethnographic study of viewers in Macambira, a small rural community in the backlands of northeast Brazil, discusses how these rural viewers appropriated telenovelas in their daily lives and how the meanings assigned to the texts were interpreted according to their own values and beliefs about gender roles, relationships, and sexuality. I argue that the geographical isolation and the local patriarchal culture mediated the process of reception, interpretation, and appropriation of telenovelas. The isolation in which Macambira is located in relation to the urban representations in the telenovela narratives intensified the perceived gap between the local patriarchal culture and the urban reality constructed in the television text.     

Measurement of communication flexibility: Working adults vs. college students

Earlier work has indicated that certain groups of adults might be disproportionately inflexible in their communicative interactions, but conclusions are uncertain due to the accepted practice of sampling college students to develop and validate measures. This study compared working adults with college student respondents on the Communication Flexibility scale (Martin & Rubin, 1994). Results from two samples of working adults indicate that adults score lower on communication flexibility than do traditional college students. This reinforces researchers’ need to be aware that some measures’ norms may vary depending on the targeted population.     

The function of uncertainty reduction in alleviating primary tension in small groups

Two studies manipulated levels of uncertainty and employed self report, observer‐ratings, and behavioral coding to assess primary tension in groups. Results indicate that a) participants cannot differentiate levels of primary tension in groups, b) observers can reliably detect differences in primary tension behaviors, and c) these tense group behaviors decrease as uncertainty is effectively reduced.     

Measuring patients' communication apprehension about interacting with physicians: Instrument development

The purpose of these studies was to develop an instrument to measure patients' perceived communication apprehension in patient/physician interactions. In the first stydy, a five item Patients' Report of Communication Apprehension with Physicians (PRCAP) was developed. The scale appears to be a reliable, unidimensional scale which shows a moderate positive correlation with the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA), a moderate negative correlation with willingness to communicate (WTC), and a moderate negative correlation with self‐perceived communication competence (SPCC). In the second study, designed to assess the predictive validity of the PRCAP, those who scored one standard deviation above the mean on the PRCAP reported being less satisfied with their interactions with physicians than those who scored one standard deviation below the mean on the PRCAP. It appears the PRCAP is a reliable and valid instrument that can be employed to pursue issues involving the role of CA in patient/physician interactions.     

Books in review

DYNAMICS OF IDEALISM: WHITE ACTIVISTS IN A BLACK MOVEMENT. By N.J. Demerath, III, Gerald Marwell, and Michael T. Aiken. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass Inc., Publishers, 1971. $9.75.

TOMS, COONS, MULATTOES, MAMMIES, AND BUCKS: AN INTERPRETIVE HISTORY OF BLACKS IN AMERICAN FILMS. By Donald Bogle. New York: The Viking Press, 1973. $12.50.

RADICALS AND MILITANTS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON CAMPUS UNREST. By Kenneth Keniston in collaboration with Mary‐Kay Duffield and Sharon Marti nek. Lexington, Mass: D.C. Heath and Company, 1973. $15.00     

Letter from the Editor

Getting help in understanding how to use and interpret a new information system is a crucial organizational and individual resource. Indeed, both informal and formal sources of information technology help are expensive and necessary, but largely unidentified, unmanaged, and underresearched. This study proposes that two types of factors influence the formation of information technology helping relationships: individual and structural. Based on a survey of employees in an organization implementing a new workstation‐based customer database system, the study compares influences on being sought as an informal source of IT help, and on types of help (individual or positional) that one seeks. One individual factor (some forms of computer expertise) and most structural factors (especially measures of employees’ perceived socialization, task interdependence, and communication networks) exerted weak but significant influences on employees’ IT helping relationships.     

A typology of drug resistance strategies

This study examined social influences on adolescents' responses to drug offers. Seventy narrative accounts of both successful and unsuccessful attempts to say no were collected. From these data, the authors developed a typology of both drug offers and drug resistance strategies. In addition, typologies were developed for: who made the offer, what substance was offered, where the offer occurred, and why the subject responded as she or he did. As well, the study revealed the influence of the type of drug, alcohol or controlled substance, on the process of offering and resisting.

The analysis revealed that adolescents were more likely to resist offers of controlled substances and did so more often when the offer was made by an acquaintance at school. When they did refuse, they were most likely to simply say no. Also, teenagers were more likely to accept offers of alcohol, particularly from friends in social situations when the friends used persuasive appeals.     

Political bias in the news coverage of Taiwan's first presidential election: A comparative analysis of broadcast TV and cable TV news

This research examines how TV reported the campaign and the candidates during Taiwan's first‐ever presidential election in 1996.

A content analysis of evening news coverage of six TV stations indicated that the state‐owned broadcast TV stations were far more likely than the privately owned cable TV stations to give a greater amount of coverage and soundbites to the ruling party presidential and vice presidential candidates, using the ruling party officials as principal news sources. The TV Stations’ coverage also contained more news favourable to the ruling party candidates than to other candidates.

The future may well see a turning point in TV election coverage as well as in general news coverage in Taiwan. The three state‐owned broadcast TV stations face competition from privately owned cable TV stations and may soon be confronted with the loss of public trust and audience, unless they can provide fair and balanced news free from government control.