An Analysis of the Relative Influences of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Presidential Debate Viewing on Shifting Confidence in President George W. Bush

This study analyzes the influence of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 in coordination with presidential debate viewing on the outcome variable of confidence in George W. Bush's policy positions. In addition, the combined influence of these competing persuasive appeals is assessed across three political ideology groups: liberals, moderates, and conservatives. There is a statistically significant experimental stimulus-by-political ideology interaction, with Bush making substantial gains among political moderates who viewed Moore's film prior to a Bush-Kerry debate. The study also reveals similar patterns of influence for liberals and conservatives.     

The Effects of Subjective Camera and Fanship on Viewers' Experience of Presence and Perception of Play in Sports Telecasts

This study examines the use of subjective camera, and its impact on fans’ and nonfans’ experience of presence and subjective evaluations of play. In a mixed-measures experiment, high, moderate, and low sports fans viewed 16 plays from a college football game shown via either subjective or objective camera. The study found that plays viewed through the subjective camera elicited a significantly greater sense of spatial presence as well as presence as engagement. Presence also varied as a function of participants’ degree of fanship. Subjective evaluations of game play were also a function of sports fanship.     

The 2008 Presidential Campaign: Political Cynicism in the Age of Facebook,MySpace, and YouTube

Considerable research over the years has been devoted to ascertaining the impact of media use on political cynicism. The impact of the Internet has been difficult to assess because it is not a single monolithic medium. For example, the 2008 presidential campaign was the first presidential campaign in which popular social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube were widely available to voters. Therefore, the campaign offered the first opportunity to explore the influence of these social media on political cynicism. In this study, we examined whether the use of such social media influenced political cynicism. We also considered the influence of user background characteristics (e.g., self-efficacy, locus of control, political orientation, demographics, and influence of family and friends), motives for using social media for political information, and users’ elaboration on political content. Several individual differences were stronger predictors of political cynicism than was social media use. In fact, social networking use was a negative predictor of political cynicism. Results supported uses and gratifications’ notions that the influence of social media on political cynicism is more attributable to user background and media-use differences than to sheer use of these popular sites.     

One-Shot Library Instruction and Cambourne's Theory of Learning

Librarians who teach one-shot library instruction classes (one-time, one- to three-hour classes to students who are assumed to be novice researchers) are often torn between two pedagogic approaches: a “critical mass” pedagogy emphasizing a minimum amount of databases that must be introduced with little time for student searching, and a “use-oriented” pedagogy emphasizing the introduction of one or two databases, with the instructor providing adequate time for the student to hone their search skills through in class work time that provides for interaction with the librarian. Drawing from the learning theory of Brian Cambourne, we compare the two pedagogic approaches and argue that a use-oriented approach is a better match to Cambourne's Conditions of Learning, but that without certain preparations of and expectations from the student, librarians will struggle with both approaches in these one-shot library instruction sessions.     

Social Interaction and Co-Viewing With YouTube: Blending Mass Communication Reception and Social Connection

This study examined whether motives and individual differences (social activity, interpersonal interaction, locus of control, sensation-seeking, innovativeness and YouTube affinity) predicted viewing videos on YouTube and sharing videos with others. Consistent with uses and gratifications assumptions, motives and individual differences differentially predicted viewing and sharing behaviors. Participants viewed videos for information seeking, and viewed and shared videos for entertainment, co-viewing and social interaction. Results suggest that while people watch videos on YouTube for some of the same reasons identified in studies of television viewing, there is a distinctly social aspect to YouTube use that reflects its social networking characteristics.     

The broadcasting employee: A report from the APBE‐NAB employment study

The following report is one of a series based on People in Broadcasting, the initial report of a research study conducted jointly by the Association for Professional Broadcasting Education and the National Association of Broadcasters. An introductory article appeared in the Spring 1962 issue, one on “Broadcasting Management” was published in the Summer 1962, and one on “Problems in Finding Qualified Employees” appeared in the Winter 1962–63 issue of the Journal of Broadcasting.     

Negative Thought Patterns of Undecided Community College Students: Implications for Counselors and Advisors

The purpose of this study was to explore the negative thinking patterns of incoming community college freshmen who were undecided about choosing a major and to suggest an approach for addressing these issues on a community college campus. Sixty community college freshmen attending their freshman orientation (FO) were surveyed using the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI). Results indicated that the students who participated in the study scored higher on all CTI scales than high school or college students in the normative sample. There were no differences in scores in terms of ages, gender, or ethnicity. These results suggest that community colleges should design programming that can help new students, particularly freshmen; to identify and to address their unconstructive thoughts with the aim of helping these students learn how to manage their anxiety upon entering college. Counselors and advisors should work more collaboratively by shifting from an individual model of delivering services to a more holistic learning approach in order to help students to become more decisive about an educational career path.     

VERBAL INTERACTION DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JUNIOR/COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY SETTINGS

Experience with current instructional strategies employed throughout various educational institutions led the authors of the paper to question the general state of affairs portrayed by recent HEW statements concerning “abstract” knowledge imparted to “passive” students. A research design is given along with a data analysis. Findings are reported and future directions established.