Telecommunications (other than broadcasting)

Judith M. and Douglas P. Brush's Private Television Communications: An Awakening Giant: An Industry Report and Planning Guide (Herman Publishing, 45 Newberry St., Boston, Mass. 02116— $40.00, paper)

Kenneth C. Laudon's Communications Technology and Democratic Participation (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1977—$15.00)

John Sunier's The Handbook of Telephones and Accessories (Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: TAB Books, 1978—$14.95/9.95)

James D. Scott's Bringing Premium Entertainment into the Home via Pay-Cable TV (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Graduate School of Business Administration (Division of Research), University of Michigan, 1977— $3.50, paper)

Robert E. Jacobson's Municipal Control of Cable Communications (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1977—$16.95)     

Journalism

OVER THE WIRE AND ON TV: CBS AND UPI IN CAMPAIGN '80 by Michael J. Robinson and Margaret A. Sheehan (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, with distribution by Basic Books, 1983---$24.95)

TELEVISION AND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, edited by Martin Linsky (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books/Washington, D.C.: Heath, 1983---$19.95)

COMPUTERS AND POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS: A LOOK AT TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL CHANGE by Thomas E. Baker (Harvard Program on Information Resources Policy, 200 Aiken, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138---price not given, paper)

SPLIT VISION: THE PORTRAYAL OF ARABS IN THE AMERICAN MEDIA, edited by Edmund Ghareeb (American-Arab Affairs Council, 1730 M St., N.W., Suite 411, Washington, D.C. 20036---$12.95/6.95)

WAR, PEACE &; THE NEWS MEDIA: PROCEEDINGS, edited by David M. Rubin and Ann Marie Cunningham (Department of Journalism, New York University, New York, N.Y. 10003---price not given, paper)     

Student Advocacy and the Limits of (Action-) Free Speech: Figurations of Materiality in Tinker,Bethel, and Hazelwood

The US Supreme Court has considered the question of free speech rights for students several times since its landmark Tinker v. Des Moines ruling in 1969. In each case it has confronted the failure of existing precedents to crystallize the imaginary distinction between speech and action in such a way as to satisfactorily negotiate the social relationship between students and educators, youth and adults. This essay analyzes three cases in the student free speech tradition, attending to the ways in which materiality is thematized in the course of a negotiation of the interests of adults vis-à-vis youth.     

Covering Democracy's Forum: Canadian Press Treatment of Public and Private Broadcasting

A content analysis of Canadian press coverage of public service and private broadcasting conducted by NewsWatch Canada, a media monitoring project at Simon Fraser University, shows that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation receives far more coverage than do private broadcasters. Moreover the institutional structures, mandates, and principles of private media networks tended to be excluded. These findings suggest that commercial media are viewed as private property and therefore outside the boundaries of legitimate political discussion. Both public and private broadcasters received more positive than negative coverage.     

Mormon "Family Values" Versus Television: An Analysis of the Discourse of Mormon Couples Regarding Television and Popular Media Culture

This research is premised on Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model and on Berger's concept that religiosity is socially constructed. However, unlike the early Birmingham studies' emphasis on socioeconomic status as a “cultural code” through which audience members would decode media texts, this study examines the readings of television texts from the perspective of audience members who are, because of their religious practices, ideologically situated to the right of much that is offered on television. The findings in this case are consistent with Hall's notion that individuals bring contradictory and conflicting discourse into their readings of media texts.     

Embedded Librarians: MLS Students as Apprentice Librarians in Online Courses

ABSTRACT

Master of Library Science (MLS) students at one university are serving as apprentice “embedded” librarians in nursing courses at another university. Results of surveys of nursing students at the end of the class and reflections of the MLS students after this experience will be shared from the first semester iteration of this project. A comparison of this project with past iterations of the project will be made in the hope that the information gleaned from these interactions will help in the design of library services. Furthermore, this premise of the development of relationships in the provision of library services for distance learners will be further examined.     

The Structuring of Invisibility Among the Hidden Homeless: The Politics of Space,Stigma, and Identity Construction

This ethnographic portrayal relies on participant observations at two supplemental support programs for youth without homes, narratives collected through in-depth interviews with educators and case managers, and focus group interviews with youth participants to explore the discursive (re)production of invisibility among youth without homes. Structuration theory is used to frame macro and micro forces coalescing to enable and constrain processes of invisibility among the hidden homeless. Analysis reveals how invisibility shapes (and is shaped by) processes of stigmatization, “street smarts” as enacted by youth, and “Mayberry” and “not in my backyard” community discourses, and how the disappearance of youth without homes simultaneously serves and undermines various stakeholders.     

Mobile Phone Use in AA Networks: An Exploratory Study

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of mobile phone use for mutual support within social networks of Alcoholic Anonymous (AA). A sample of mobile phone owners and non-owners in AA was surveyed to assess their perceptions and uses of this technology. Mobile phone owners reported very positive perceptions of the technology as a resource for recovery and heavy use of the mobile phone for this purpose. Non-owners also reported positive perceptions of the mobile phone as a resource for recovery and that expense was the primary reason for not using a mobile phone in their recovery efforts. Heuristic, theoretical, and practical implications of the study are included in the discussion.     

The U.S. supreme court 1969‐1992: A shift toward an individualistic style of judging

Prior research has noted the increase of concurrent and dissenting opinions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. It has been argued that the proliferation of concurrent and dissenting opinions is symptomatic of an “individualistic” style of judging. This paper seeks to answer the question of whether individualism has also become manifest among the sitting Justices on the Supreme Court. It is argued that the number of personal references in Court opinions offers a linguistic clue as to how the Justices see themselves and the Court as an institution. The key issue is whether the sitting Justices see the current Court (and themselves) as an institutional body or as a fractionalized collection of individuals. A content analysis of Court opinions offers some support that an individualistic style of judging has increased over time.