Stephen Colbert's Civics Lesson: How Colbert Super PAC Taught Viewers About Campaign Finance

This study tests whether exposure to The Colbert Report influenced knowledge of super PACs and 501(c)(4) groups, and ascertains how having such knowledge influenced viewers' perceptions about the role of money in politics. Our analysis of a national random sample of adults interviewed after the 2012 presidential election found that viewing The Colbert Report both increased peoples' perception of how knowledgeable they were about super PACs and 501(c)(4) groups and increased actual knowledge of campaign finance regulation regarding these independent expenditure groups. Findings suggest that the political satirist was more successful in informing his viewers about super PACs and 501(c)(4) groups than were other types of news media. Viewing The Colbert Report also indirectly influenced how useful his audience perceived money to be in politics.     

“Each word shows how you love me”: The social literacy practice of children’s letter writing (1780–1860)

This article draws on hundreds of letters that formed German children’s correspondence with their parents, other relatives, teachers and friends, written mostly between the 1780s and 1850s. Through this study, we see the part literacy played in transformations of bourgeois childhood in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe. The article further investigates how children used letters as a means of learning sociability and building relationships within kinship networks. Historians of education have sometimes treated children’s writing as secondary to more authoritative records. Yet we miss something important about the history of literacy education if we disregard children’s writing or use it only superficially. This article considers the genre of children’s letter writing, exploring the conventions and typical subjects which contributed to the social purpose of correspondence. Letter writing is examined as a paedagogic exercise, including the preoccupation with the medium which filled children’s letters and evidence of instruction in letter writing. It demonstrates that letters fostered the participation of middle- and upper-class children in household affairs, kinship networks and cultural spheres connected through school friends and parents’ acquaintances from very young ages. Children’s correspondence documents a lifelong process in the making of class cultures and forging of social ties.     

Caregiver instability and early life changes among infants reported to the child welfare system

This study describes the extent of caregiver instability (defined as a new placement for 1 week or longer in a different household and/or with a new caregiver) in a nationally representative sample of infants, followed for 5–7 years. Data were drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), a longitudinal study of 5,501 children investigated for child maltreatment. The analysis sample was restricted to 1,196 infants. Overall, 85.6% of children who were infants at the time of the index maltreatment experienced at least one caregiver instability event during their first 2 years of life. Caregiver instability was associated with the child having a chronic health condition and the caregiver being older than 40 years of age at baseline. The levels of instability reported in this study from infancy to school entry are extremely high. Children with more risk factors were significantly more likely to experience caregiver instability than children with fewer risk factors. The repeated loss of a young child's primary caregiver or unavailable, neglectful care can be experienced as traumatic. Some evidence-based programs that are designed to work with young maltreated children can make a substantial positive difference in the lives of vulnerable infants.     

Film Biography

Kenneth L. Geist's Pictures will Talk: The Life and Films of Joseph L. Mankiewicz (New York: Scribner's, 1978---$12.95)

Two new books, one a revision, deal with another important director, Alfred Hitchcock

Donald Spoto's Stanley Kramer: Filmmaker (New York: Putnam, 1978---$12.95)

James Robert Parish, et al., Hollywood Character Actors (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1978--- $30.00)

Jesse L. Lasky Jr. with Pat Silver, Love Scene: The Story of Lawrence Olivier and Vivien Leigh (New York: Crowell, 1978---$10.95)

Hollywood actress and actor biographies, a round up of recent titles

Danny Peary, ed. Close-Ups: The Movie Star Book--Intimate Profiles of Movie Stars by their Co-Stars, Directors, Screenwriters and Friends (New York: Workman Press, 1978---$8.95 in paper with a hardback also available)     

Canada

EACH MOMENT AS IT FLIES, writings by Harry Bruce (Toronto: Methuen, 1984--- $18.95; 283 pp.)

CONTEMPORARY CANADIAN PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1984--$29.95 176 pp.):

JOHN GRIERSON AND THE NFB (Toronto: ECW Press, 1984---$8.95, paper, 155 pp.)

JOHN GRIERSON AND THE NATIONAL FILL BOARD: THE POLITICS OF WARTIME PROPAGANDA by Gary Evans (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984---$24.95, 329 pp.)

NEWS ACCOUNTS OF ATTACKS ON WOMEN A COMPARISON OF THREE TORONTO NEWSPAPERS by Sophia E. Voumakis and Richard V Ericson (Toronto: University of Toront( Centre of Criminology, 1984---$5.00 paper, 98 pp.)

LOOKING FOR TROUBLE: A JOURNALIST'S LIFE...AND THEN SOME by Peter Worthington (Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1984--- $24.95, 470 pp.)

PROCEEDINGS OF COMMUNICATION IN THE 80'S: MAJOR ISSUES edited by T. McPhail and S. Hamilton (Calgary: University of Calgary Communications Studies Program, 1985---$15.00, 162 pp.)

THE NEWSPAPERING MURRAYS by Georgina Keddell (Toronto: Goodread Biographies, 1984---$5.95, paper, 301 pp.)

BORDEN SPEARS: REPORTER, EDITOR, CRITIC compiled and edited by Dick MacDonald (Toronto: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1984--$12.95, paper, 220 pp.)

THE THOMSON EMPIRE by Susan Goldenberg (Toronto: Methuen, 1984--$24.95, 260 pp.)

BYLINE CANADA: THE 1984 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER AWARDS edited by Andrew MacFarlane (Toronto: Methuen, 1984-- $12.95, paper, 206 pp.)

CULTURE STATISTICS: NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS, 1981 (Ottawa: Education, Culture and Tourism Division, Statistics Canada, 1983---$6.35, paper, 52 pp.)

CHINA HANDS: THE GLOBE AND MAIL IN PEKING by Charles Taylor (Toronto: Mc- Clleland and Stewart, 1984---$16.95, 363 pp.)

LOVE'S SWEET RETURN: THE HARLEQUIN STORY by Margaret Ann Jensen (Toronto: The Women's Press, 1984---$9.95, paper, 188 pp.)

THE UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER: A WRITER'S GUIDE FOR THE NORTHWEST (Vancouver: International Self-Counsel Press, 1984---$10.95, paper, 122 pp.)

MANAGING DIVERSITY: FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL COLLABORATION AND THE COMMITTEE ON EXTENSION OF SERVICES TO NORTHERN AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES by Catherine A. Murray (Kingston, Ontario: Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Qns, Queens University, 1983---$19.00, 173 pp.)

MOVEMENTS AND MESSAGES: MEDIA AND RADICAL POLITICS IN QUEBEC by Marc Raboy (Toronto: Between the Lines, 1984--- $18.95, 165 pp.)

CANADIAN POLITICS THROUGH PRESS REPORTS edited by Donald C. Wallace and Frederick J. Fletcher (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1984---$11.95, paper, 227 pp.)

MEDIA AND ELECTIONS IN CANADA by Walter Soderland, et al. (Toronto: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1984---$9.95, paper, 163 pp.)

ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT IN CANADA by Rene Darmon and Michael Laroche (Toronto: Wiley Canada, 1984--$33.95, 577 pp.)

THE DYNAMICS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR by Winston Mahatoo (Toronto: Wiley Canada, 1985---$34.95)

FINDING CANADIAN FACTS FAST by Stephen Overbury (Toronto: Methuen, 1985 ---$19.95, 192 pp.)     

Motion pictures

THE FILMS OF MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI by Peter Brunette (New York: Cambridge University Press “Cambridge Film Classics,”; 1998—$49.95/paper price not given, ISBN 0–521–38085–5 hard, 0–521–38992–5 paper, 186 pp., selected bibliography, filmography, notes, photos, index)

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN: NEW ESSAYS ON THE WESTERN edited by Edward Buscombe and Roberta E. Pearson (London: British Film Institute, 1998—$60.00/22.50, ISBN 0–85170–660–6 hard, 0–85170–661–4 paper, 218 pp., chapter notes, photos, color advertising plates, index)

REPRESENTING THE WOMAN: CINEMA AND PSYCHOANALYSIS by Elizabeth Cowie (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997—$18.95 paper, ISBN 0–8166–2913–7 hard, 0–8166–2913–7 paper, 397 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)

TRACKING KING KONG: A HOLLYWOOD ICON IN WORLD CULTURE by Cynthia Erb (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press “Contemporary Film and Television Series,”; 1998—$24.95, paper, ISBN 0–8143–2686–2, 238 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, index)

IMAGES OF THE PASSION: THE SACRAMENTAL MODE IN FILM by Peter Fraser (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998—$65.00/22.95, ISBN 0–275–96464–7 hard, 0–275–96465–5 paper, 201 pp., bibliography, filmography, chapter notes, photos, index)

DOCUMENTING THE DOCUMENTARY: CLOSE READINGS OF DOCUMENTARY FILM AND VIDEO edited by Barry Keith Grant and Jeannette Sloniowski (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1998—$27.50, paper, ISBN 0–8143–2639–0, 488 pp., film and video distributors’ address list, chapter notes, general bibliography, index)

HOLLYWOOD RENAISSANCE: THE CINEMA OF DEMOCRACY IN THE ERA OF FORD, CAPRA, AND KAZAN by Sam B. Girgus (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998—$59.95/paper price not given, ISBN 0–521–62388‐X hard, 0–521–62552–1 paper, 258 pp., index, chapter notes, filmography, B&W photos)

IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN: CONTEMPORARY FEMALE FRIENDSHIP FILMS by Karen Hollinger (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998—$47.95/18.95, ISBN 0–8166–3177–8 hard, 0–8166–3178–6 paper, 275 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)

INDIGENOUS AESTHETICS: NATIVE ART MEDIA AND IDENTITY by Steven Leuthold (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998—$35.00/16.95, ISBN 0–292–74702–0 hard, 0–292–74703–9 paper, 238 pp., bibliography, filmography, photos, index)

PASSPORT TO HOLLYWOOD: HOLLYWOOD FILMS, EUROPEAN DIRECTORS by James Morrison (Albany: State University of New York Press “SUNY Series in Postmodern Culture,”; 1998—$65.00/21.95, ISBN 0–7914–3937–2 hard, 0–7914–3938–0 paper, 310 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, photos, index)

EDISON MOTION PICTURES, 1890–1900: AN ANNOTATED FILMOGRAPHY by Charles Musser (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998—$75.00, ISBN 1–56098–567–4, 720 pp., illustrations, bibliography, indexes for film titles, personal and corporate names, subjects, and locations)

THE FILMS OF JOHN FRANKENHEIMER: FORTY YEARS IN FILM: JOHN FRANKENHEIMER TALKS ABOUT HIS LIFE IN THE CINEMA TO GERALD PRATLEY by Gerald Pratley (Bethlehem, PA: Lehigh University Press, 1998—$55.00, ISBN 1–900541–40–8, 294 pp., photos, film credits, index)

SAVAGE CINEMA: SAM PECKINPAH AND THE RISE OF ULTRAVIOLENT MOVIES by Stephen Prince (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998— $35.00/18.95, ISBN 0–292–76581–9 hard, 0–292–76582–7 paper, 282 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, photos, index)

FOR THE LOVE OF PLEASURE: WOMEN, MOVIES, AND CULTURE IN THE TURN‐OF‐THE‐CENTURY CHICAGO by Lauren Rabinovitz (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998—$49.00/19.00, ISBN 0–8135–2533–0 hard, 0–8135–2534–9 paper, 233 pp., film index, bibliography, chapter notes, photos, index)

REALITY TRANSFORMED: FILM AS MEANING AND TECHNIQUE by Irving Singer (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998—$25.00, ISBN 0–262–19403–1, 216 pp., notes, photos, index)

THE NEW HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY by Anthony Slide (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998—$55.00, ISBN 0–8108–3426‐X, 267 pp., resource libraries and institutions addresses, index)

FRAMING LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA: CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES edited by Ann Marie Stock (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press “Hispanic Issues, Vol. 15,”; 1997—$47.95/18.95, ISBN 0–8166–2972–2 hard, 0–8166–2973–0 paper, 269 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)

MODES OF REPRESENTATION IN SPANISH CINEMA edited by Jenaro Talens and Santos Zunzunegui (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press “Hispanic Issues, Vol. 16,”; 1998—$54.95/21.95, ISBN 0–8166–2974–9 hard, 0–8166–2975–7 paper, 346 pp., chapter notes, index)

WORKING GIRLS: GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN POPULAR CINEMA by Yvonne Tasker (New York: Routledge, 1998—hardcover price not given/$19.99, ISBN 0–415–14004–8 hard, 0–415–14005–6 paper, 234 pp., bibliography, chapter notes, filmography, photos, index)

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NOVELS INTO FILM edited by John C. Tibbetts and James M. Welsh (New York: Facts on File, 1998—$48.00, ISBN 0–8160–3317‐X, 522 pp., filmographies, references, appendices including biographical sketches of authors, selected bibliography, index)

GUIDE TO AMERICAN CINEMA, 1930–1965 by Thomas R. Whissen (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press “Reference Guides to the World's Cinema,”; 1998—$79.50, ISBN 0–313–29487–9, 389 pp., appendixes, bibliography, index)

ALLEGORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT: AESTHETICS AND POLITICS IN MODERN BRAZILIAN CINEMA by Ismail Xavier (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997—$54.95/21.95, ISBN 0–8166–2676–6 hard, 0–8166–2677–4 paper, 285 pp., chapter notes, photos, index)