An MMB Special: Survey of Broadcasting Texts Compared

Harrison B. Summers, Robert E. Summers, and John H. Pennybacker, Broadcasting and the Public (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1978—$13.95)

Giraud Chester, Garnet R. Garrison, and Edgar E. Willis, Television and Radio (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, l978—price not given)

Saundra Hybels and Dana Ulloth, Broadcasting: An Introduction to Radio and Television (New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1978— price not given)     

Popular Culture (Frank Oglesbee)

Randall P. Harrison, The Cartoon: Communication to the Quick (Beverly Hills: SAGE Publications, SAGE ComnText series, 1982, 14.00 cloth, 6.95 pb)

John Caldwell Mug Shots (21 Central Ave., Albany, NY 12210: Fantaco enterprises, 1980, 2.95 pb, unpaginated),

Jan Harold Brunvand The Vanishing_Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings (NY: W.W. Norton, 1981, 208 pp., 14.95 cloth)

Richard Lipsky How We Play the Game: Why Sports Dominate American Life (Boston: Beacon Press, 1981, 189 pp., 7.25, pb)

Alan Gowans Learning to See: Historical Perspectives on Modern Popular Commercial Arts (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1981, 22.95 cloth, 13.95 pb, 514 pp.)     

Take a Paws: Fostering Student Wellness with a Therapy Dog Program at Your University Library

Therapy dogs are trained and socialized to provide comfort to individuals who are ill or experiencing stress. The following article explores therapy dog outreach programs in academic libraries by describing a successful venture at McGill University Library. Background, planning advice, assessment results, and recommendations are presented with an aim to inform those who would like to implement similar programs at their libraries.     

Mario Van Peebles's Panther and Popular Memories of the Black Panther Party

The 1995 movie Panther depicted the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense as a vibrant but ultimately doomed social movement for racial and economic justice during the late 1960s. Panther's narrative indicted the white-operated police for perpetuating violence against African-Americans and for undermining movements for black empowerment. As such, this film represented a rare source of filmic counter-memory that challenged hegemonic memories of U.S. race relations. Newspaper reports and reviews of Panther, however, questioned the film's veracity as a source of historical information. An analysis of these reviews and reports indicates the challenges counter-memories confront in popular culture.     

Controversial Rap Themes,Gender Portrayals and Skin Tone Distortion: A Content Analysis of Rap Music Videos

A content analysis of rap music videos aired on BET, MTV, and VH1 examined the occurrence of controversial themes, gender differences, and skin tone distortion. The results of this study found that current rap music videos have placed an emphasis on themes of materialism and misogyny. Additionally, men and women in the videos differ in their portrayal of these themes. Specifically, female characters are significantly more likely to appear as objects of sexuality. Men and women also differ in their appearance with more African American females appearing to have Eurocentric features. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Blue-collar work,career, and success: occupational narratives of Sisu

This study examined underground iron ore miners' occupational narratives to uncover how their stories socialize miners into blue-collar careers and reinforce their work identities. Through the root theme of sisu (Finnish for inner determination), underground miners create a status hierarchy that is used to construct a sense of pride around their work and to establish milestones of success for themselves and others in their workgroup. Furthermore, they communicatively construct exemplars that guide their performance and decisions during the unfolding of their work experiences. Their discourses provide alternatives to white-collar conceptualizations and practices of careers and success.     

The Use of Communication Technology in Thailand's Political Process

Thailand's political landscape has changed dramatically during the past five years. The rapid growth of communication technology in Thailand has been instrumental in generating political participation in the national elections of 2001 and 2005. In this article we provide the results of a benchmark study that assesses the early period of this political transformation. Specifically, we examined the use of television and of the Internet for political information by interviewing 500 urban residents. Our results indicate that likely voters actively gathered political knowledge from television advertisements and political party websites. Although use of television and the Internet for political purposes did not increase direct involvement in political parties, it did promote participation in the 2001 national election. Implications of these findings for future research on the use of communication technology for political communication in Asia are discussed.     

Building a Better M.I.C.E. Trap: Using Virtual Focus Groups to Assess Subject Guides for Distance Education Students

ABSTRACT

Subject guides are often used as an alternative to in-person library instruction for distance education students. However, when students are not on-campus, it can be difficult to assess if they are getting all of the relevant information they need. In an organization that serves students located across the United States and even outside of the country, a method was needed to assess the effectiveness of library information provided to distance learners on specific topics. The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration (Hotel College) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), offers a number of on-campus and distance education courses, including classes taught at a satellite campus in Singapore. With diverse course offerings via distance education, the conventions and exhibitions subject area was chosen as a case study. Often referred to as M.I.C.E., the study of meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions in a hospitality context is a major subdiscipline within the Hotel College. After researching different approaches to studying the effectiveness of subject guides, a virtual focus group was chosen to gather feedback from students. This paper will demonstrate how focus groups can be created and how the information gathered can be used to increase effectiveness of subject guides. Readers will discover effective techniques and pitfalls for using virtual focus groups in conjunction with subject guides assessment.