A Content Analysis Guide for Media Economics Scholars

The study of demand for media products requires an understanding of audience members' preferences, which are shaped by their taste for content. Despite the central role of content in understanding some aspects of media economics, media economics scholars sometimes apply content analysis in ways that are inconsistent with the generally accepted practices of the method. This article deals with some basic concepts underlying the method of content analysis to familiarize media economics scholars with the method. The adoption of accepted content analysis practices will yield better data and, in the long-run, help advance the understanding of media economics.     

全民公决的若干问题

一些投票人在面对若干二元问题时,如果他们对这些二元问题结果的偏好是不可分割的,那么即使在众多可能的结果中存在着一个孔多塞(Condorcet)胜者,多数决原则可能最终并不会选择这个孔多塞胜者;相反,社会选择的结果可能是孔多塞失败者,或者是被其他某些结果帕雷托占优。我们还评估了一系列针对全民公决中投票人偏好不可分割这一问题的解决方案,包括对一个问题集合进行投票、贯序投票、以及投票交易等。贯序投票和投票交易可以防止最终选择孔多塞失败者和被其他所有可能的结果帕雷托占优出现。相对全民公决而言,立法机构更容易推动贯序投票和投票交易,因此全民公决虽然增加了民主决策中参与者的数量,但却降低了民主参与的质量。     

Commercial science, scientists’ values, and university biotechnology research agendas

Policies designed to promote the commercialization of university science have provoked concern that basic and publicly accessible research may be neglected. Commercialization policies have altered traditional institutional incentives and constraints, which raises new questions regarding the influence of scientists’ values on university research agendas. Our research builds on previous quantitative studies measuring changes in research outcomes and qualitative studies probing differentiation among scientists’ value orientations. We developed a nation-wide survey of 912 plant and animal biotechnology scientists at 60 research universities. Our analysis reveals that scientists’ value orientations on what we classify as “market” and “expert” science affect the amount of industry funding they receive, the proprietary nature of their discoveries, and the percentage of basic science research conducted in their laboratories. We also find that the percentage of industry funding is significantly associated with more applied research. Our findings provide insights for science and society theory and suggest that strong incentives for public-science research along with adequate public-research funds to preserve the university's vital role in conducting basic and non-proprietary research are needed to complement private-sector research investments at universities.     

Informal scientific communication in the agricultural sciences2

This analysis of informal scientific communication emphasizes the communication which occurs among public sector agricultural researchers. While the formal channels and the informal channels constitute the two mutually dependent elements of this communication, the importance of the informal channels is often ignored. The informal communication network is examined utilizing a survey of randomly sampled U.S. agricultural scientists listed in the Current Research Information System (N = 1431). Particular individuals in the informal communication network are viewed as important sources of influence for a variety of research decisions such as choice of problem, methods, key concepts and theoretical orientation. However, informal scientific communication appears to occur infrequently, and to be primarily limited to one's own discipline. Scientists report communication with scientists outside their department, clients and extension staff is limited to less than once a month. In addition, the nature and frequency of the informal scientific communication is highly related to the criteria utilized in establishing research agendas and the publication products. However, the use of and reliance on particular channels of communication may affect scientists and their research in different and sometimes contradictory ways. Consequently, it is important to view the informal scientific communication and the processes and products of science as inextricably bound together in a mutually interdependent social system.     

Teaching Teachers About Energy: Lessons from an Inquiry-Based Workshop for K-8 Teachers

We report results and impressions from a three-day inquiry-based workshop for K-8 teachers, aimed at improving their understanding of energy from a science and engineering perspective. Results suggest that the teachers made significant gains in understanding and appreciation of important energy concepts, but their comprehension of some key ideas remained incomplete. The dissipation of energy into thermal energy of the environment proved to be a particularly difficult idea, and one that represents a serious obstacle to understanding the principle of the conservation of energy.     

Rethinking Policy Diffusion: The Interstate Spread of “Finance Innovations”

Recently a number of studies have focused on states' adoptions of postsecondary-specific policies. Cutting across much of this research is the presence and influence of interstate diffusion of policy adoptions, a phenomenon for which support is scant. This paper seeks to address this through broadening the categorization of policies beyond the discrete form traditionally used to one that encompasses a larger conception of "finance policy." Our sample uses 131 finance innovations for 47 states over a 29 year period, finding that upon broadening our definition, we can detect the process of diffusion. However, the findings are striking, showing that while states do learn from one another, the process is dynamic and shifts across time.