How Do the Different Components of Episodic Memory Develop? Role of Executive Functions and Short‐Term Feature‐Binding Abilities

This study investigated the development of all 3 components of episodic memory (EM), as defined by Tulving, namely, core factual content, spatial context, and temporal context. To this end, a novel, ecologically valid test was administered to 109 participants aged 4-16 years. Results showed that each EM component develops at a different rate. Ability to memorize factual content emerges early, whereas context retrieval abilities continue to improve until adolescence, due to persistent encoding difficulties (isolated by comparing results on free recall and recognition tasks). Exploration of links with other cognitive functions revealed that short-term feature-binding abilities contribute to all EM components, and executive functions to temporal and spatial context, although ability to memorize temporal context is predicted mainly by age.     

Interactive monopoly power in the daily newspaper industry

The authors explore the debate over whether daily newspapers are natural monopolies and conclude that newspapers do not exhibit the traditional characteristics associated with such monopolies. Nevertheless, the authors argue, newspapers have a proclivity toward monopoly brought on by an interaction of factors, even absent anticompetitive behavior by newspapers. This proclivity provides monopoly power to newspapers similar to that provided by natural monopoly force, they aregue, saying public policy considerations need to take this interactive effect into account.     

The combined effect of self-efficacy and academic integration on higher education students studying IT majors in Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to examine the combined effect of self-efficacy and academic integration on higher education students studying IT (Information Technology) majors in Taiwan. We introduced self-efficacy, which is a psychological factor that affects students’ academic outcomes, as a new factor in Tinto’ theory, a well-known framework in student retention research. Academic integration is the main proposition of Tinto’s theory affecting students’ decision to dropout. Students from different populations have various reasons from dropping out of their studies. An examination of the relationship between self-efficacy and academic integration is useful to understand the effect of self-efficacy on academic outcomes on the IT student population in Taiwan. Data from a Taiwanese national survey database conducted in 2005 was used to achieve the research objective. A total of 2,895 records were extracted from 75,084 students in public and private institutions studying in two IT-related Majors, namely Information Management (IM) and Computer Science (CS). MANOVA was used to analyze the interaction effects between academic integration and self-efficacy. The independent variables were institution types and students’ majors. The results showed that students from public institutions have higher levels of self-efficacy than students from private ones. Another finding is that IM students seem to have better study strategies and habits than CS students. However, CS students were found to have better collaboration and satisfaction with their institutions than IM students. Team projects, counselling services, and flexible teaching and learning strategy are suggested to enhance students’ academic integration and self-efficacy.     

Circulations,Revenues, and Profits in a Newspaper Market with Fixed Advertising Costs

This article investigates a model in which 2 newspapers compete between them for readers with differentiated preferences and advertise new products at a cost per reader that decreases as the circulation increases. The model can account for the empirical regularity that the revenues from advertising and the profits of the newspapers increase more than proportionally with the circulation. A complementary finding is that a larger number of potential advertisers lowers the profits of both newspapers.     

媒介公司国际化与全球化中的问题与趋势

祝建华 :本文紧扣传播全球化的核心 ,系统论述跨国媒体公司的成因、方式、影响及其问题 ,有助于我们了解什么是全球化的现实、什么是虚构的憧憬或恐惧。陈力丹 :现任《媒体经济学》杂志 (MediaEconomies)主编、瑞典传媒经济学家皮卡德 ,这次在会上论证了一个非常现实的问题 :跨国传媒公司的经营理念。他的论证全面而深刻 ,令人信服。本期发表的是他发言的要点。     

Shaping the Corporate Perimeter in a Changing Media Industry

ABSTRACT

A constant theme in strategic media management literature is the transformational impact that digital media technologies and deregulation have had on shaping media firms’ corporate strategies. Whilst the role of corporate strategy is to encapsulate a firm’s long-term direction and scope of activities, it will also give a strong indication of how the firm will compete and be positioned in an industry. However, the transformative effects of a highly technological media environment have changed our traditional view of how the media industry is defined, and so developing a strategic recipe for competing in an ill-defined industry becomes more challenging. This paper examines a single media firm’s corporate strategy and perimeter and considers this in the context of a changing media industry. The paper takes a practice-led approach by undertaking a longitudinal analysis of a firm’s acquisition and divestment activities in order to understand its corporate perimeter and by implication the industry or industries where it competes. We argue that by exploring a media firm’s corporate strategy and perimeter over time, scholars will not only be able to better understand the dynamics of media practice and strategy, but also gain an insight into the changing nature of the media industry. The paper concludes that the 'five forces framework' on industry structure, profitability and attractiveness remains a relevant form of strategic analysis that can help media management researchers to conceptualize and understand the evolution of media firm corporate perimeter and the industries in which they compete.