Showing papers in "Communication Theory in 2009"

The Video Game Experience as “True” Identification: A Theory of Enjoyable Alterations of Players' Self‐Perception

Abstract: This article introduces an explication of video game players' identification with a game character or role that is based on social-psychological models of self-perception. Contrasting with conventional ("dyadic" ) notions of media user-character relationships (e.g., parasocial interaction or affective disposition theory), ("monadic" ) video game identification is defined as a temporal shift of players' self-perception through adoption of valued properties of the game character. Implications for media enjoyment, the measurement of identification, and media effects are discussed. © 2009 International Communication Association.

Campaigns, Reflection, and Deliberation: Advancing an O-S-R-O-R Model of Communication Effects

Abstract: Recent communication research concerning participatory politics has found that the effects of media, especially campaign ads, conventional news, and online political resources, are largely mediated through interpersonal discussion about politics. This article extends this line of theorizing about the role of political conversation in citizen competence by testing an O-S-R-O-R model of campaign communication mediation, a modification and extension of the longstanding O-S-O-R model of communication effects. This model combines insights from iterations of the communication mediation model (McLeod et al., 2001; Shah et al., 2007) and cognitive mediation model (Eveland, 2001; Eveland, Shah, & Kwak, 2003) to theorize a set of the interrelated reasoning (R) processes that channel the influences of campaign exposure and news consumption on political engagement. Three key mediators of campaign and news influence are postulated: face-to-face political conversation, online political messaging, and cognitive reflection. We provide empirical evidence to test this model by merging two datasets: (1) tracking of the content and placement of campaign messages in the 2000 and 2004 election cycles, and (2) surveys of traditional and digital media consumption and levels of campaign participation during these same elections. Findings reveal that political conversation, political messaging, and cognitive reflection mediate the effects of campaign advertising exposure and news consumption on political participation and knowledge, providing considerable support for our theory. This O-S-R-O-R model helps organize a large body of theorizing and research on campaigns and conversation in the communication sciences.

When (and Why) Interpersonal Talk Matters for Campaigns

Abstract: We discuss how selected theoretical advances address key gaps in our understanding of the intersection of conversation and campaigns. Included are the possibilities that interpersonal interaction might spread inoculation, that social network density might affect the translation of mass media messages into public sentiment, that campaign message form might prompt people to talk, that conversation might be a crucial link between campaign efforts and key political outcomes, and that timing might matter in predicting when talk will have an effect on elections. We also highlight some opportunities for inquiry that these ideas present. Because conversation appears to be a strategic response to increased issue salience and relevance, in part, systematic exploration of the social motives for conversation in campaign contexts promises to be particularly fruitful. Resume A quel moment (et dans quelle mesure) les discussions interpersonnelles sont-elles importantes lors de campagnes electorales Nous explorons a quel point certaines avancees theoriques abordent d‘importantes lacunes dans notre connaissance du croisement des conversations et des campagnes electorales. Nous abordons entre autres les possibilites suivantes : que l’interaction interpersonnelle propage l‘inoculation, que la densite du reseau social ait un impact sur la traduction des messages mediatiques en sentiments publics, que la forme des messages de campagne puisse inciter les gens a discuter, que la conversation soit un lien crucial entre les efforts electoraux et les resultats politiques importants et que le moment soit determinant pour predire si la conversation aura un impact sur les elections. Nous soulignons egalement quelques pistes de recherche soulevees par ces idees. Puisque la conversation parait etre en partie une reaction strategique a l’augmentation de la saillance et de la pertinence des enjeux, une exploration systematique des mobiles sociaux derriere les conversations en contextes electoraux promet d’etre particulierement fructueuse. Abstract Wann (und warum) personliche Gesprache fur Kampagnen von Bedeutung sind In diesem Artikel beschaftigen wir uns mit theoretischen Weiterentwicklungen, die zum Verstandnis bezuglich der Schnittstelle zwischen personlichem Gesprach und Kampagne beitragen konnen und dabei bestehende Lucken schliesen helfen. Betrachtung finden Annahmen, dass interpersonale Interaktion Inokulation befordert, dass die Dichte des sozialen Netzwerks die Ubersetzung massenmedialer Botschaften in die offentliche Stimmungslage beeinflusst, dass Menschen durch Kampagnenbotschaften zu Gesprachen angeregt werden konnen und dass personliche Gesprache das ausschlaggebende Bindeglied zwischen Kampagnenziel und zentralen politischen Ergebnissen sein konnen. Auserdem konnte insbesondere der Zeitfaktor, also das Timing, erklaren helfen, wann genau personliche Gesprache eine Wirkung auf Wahlen zeigen. Da personliche Gesprache eine strategische Antwort auf die wachsende Themensalienz und -relevanz zu sein scheinen, sollte sich die systematische Untersuchung sozialer Motive fur personliche Gesprache in Kampagnenkontexten als besonders gewinnbringend erweisen. Resumen Cuando (y Por que) la Comunicacion Interpersonal es Importante para las Campanas Discutimos como los avances teoricos selectos cubren espacios claves en nuestro entendimiento de la interseccion entre la conversacion y las campanas. Incluidos son las posibilidades que la interaccion interpersonal podria desarrollar a la inoculacion, que la densidad de la red social podria afectar la traduccion de los mensajes de los medios en el sentimiento publico, que la forma del mensaje de campana podria provocar que la gente hable, que la conversacion podria ser una conexion crucial entre los esfuerzos de la campana y los resultados politicos claves, y que el ritmo podria importar para predecir cuando la conversacion tendra un efecto en las elecciones. Destacamos tambien algunas oportunidades para la investigacion que estas ideas presentan. Porque la conversacion parece ser una respuesta estrategica al incremento del asunto de la notabilidad y la relevancia, en parte, la exploracion sistematica de los motivos sociales de la conversacion en los contextos de campana promete ser particularmente fructifero. ZhaiYao Yo yak

Theorizing Flow and Media Enjoyment as Cognitive Synchronization of Attentional and Reward Networks

Abstract: This article suggests a reconceptualization of the psychological concept of flow as it pertains to mediated experiences. We specifically aim to further flow theory as applied to media entertainment in ways that highlight the necessity of reliable and valid operationalizations and measurements. The concept of flow originates in Csikszentmihalyi’s (1990) theory of human happiness, balance, and optimal experience. Its original formulation posits that an experience, such as media enjoyment, can be viewed as the source of flow states, which are characterized by intense attentional focus, pleasurable feelings, and emotional rewards. This article will argue that in the media context, flow can be viewed as a discrete, energetically optimized, and gratifying experience resulting from a cognitive synchronization of attentional and reward networks under condition of balance between challenge and skill. This concept of flow as a cognitive-synchronization process provides, for the first time, both a theoretical rationale for this concept and a direct measurement of flow states.

A New Conception of Spatial Presence: Once Again, with Feeling

Abstract: Recent theories of telepresence or spatial presence in a virtual environment argue that it is a subjective experience of being in the virtual environment, and that it is the outcome of constructing a mental model of the self as being located in the virtual environment. However, current theories fail to explain how the subjective experience of spatial presence emerges from the unconscious spatial cognition processes. To fill this gap, spatial presence is conceptualized here as a cognitive feeling. From this perspective, spatial presence is a feedback from unconscious cognitive processes that informs conscious thought about the state of the spatial cognitive system. Current theorizing on the origins and properties of cognitive feelings is reviewed and applied to spatial presence. This new conception of presence draws attention to the functionality of spatial presence for judgments, decisions, and behavior. By highlighting the distinction between spatial cognitive processes and the subjective feeling of spatial presence, the use of questionnaires is theoretically grounded and legitimized as a method of presence research. Finally, embodied cognition theories are reviewed to identify cues that give rise to spatial presence.

Crossing the Implementation Line: The Mutual Constitution of Technology and Organizing Across Development and Use Activities

Abstract: A growing number of studies suggest that technological change and organizational change must be closely linked at the microsocial level of analysis. However, most extant research has explicitly linked technological change to activities surrounding a technology’s development and organizational change to activities surrounding a technology’s use. This article suggests that when researchers view technological and organizational change as discontinuous events separated by the act of implementation, they di scredit the important role that organizations play in the development of technologies, and that the material features of technologies play in the process of organizing. To overcome this empirically inaccurate tendency we must cross the artificial empirical and theoretical divide, which I term the implementation line existing between our studies of technology development and use. In so doing, I outline a framework that treats technological and organizational change as mutually constitutive in nature.

The Intersection of Conversation, Cognitions, and Campaigns: The Social Representation of Organ Donation

Abstract: Social representations theory (SRT) has been underused in the communication field. This theory helps explain the interrelationships between interpersonal communication, cognition, and the mass media, particularly in situations where a new phenomenon emerges that requires some kind of social response. Because organ donation is still poorly understood by the public, in large part because of entertainment television, SRT is well suited to helping researchers and practitioners understand the complex interplay of factors within a population(s) that contribute to reluctance to donate organs after death. In this paper, it is argued that public communication campaigns should include strategies to provoke interpersonal communication about the topic as a means of creating social representations that promote behaviors that support public health.

Spreading Inoculation: Inoculation, Resistance to Influence, and Word-of-Mouth Communication

Abstract: Although inoculation has established efficacy in conferring resistance to influence for those directly exposed to inoculation pretreatment messages, we argue that inoculation’s effects may extend beyond those directly exposed to others via word-of-mouth communication (WOMC) along social networks. Specifically, we argue that inoculation’s effects on attitude accessibility, involvement, and threat are particularly conducive to the spread of inoculation content, offering WOMC as a new inoculation modality. Resume La diffusion de l‘inoculation : Inoculation, resistance a l’influence et communication de bouche a oreille Bien que l‘efficacite de l’inoculation pour generer de la resistance face a l‘influence ait eteetablie chez ceux directement exposes a des messages d’inoculation pre-traitement, nous soumettons que les effets de l‘inoculation peuvent s’etendre des personnes directement exposees a d’autres personnes par le biais de la communication de bouche a oreille (CBO) dans les reseaux sociaux. Nommement, nous arguons que les effets de l‘inoculation sur l’accessibilite des attitudes, sur l‘implication et sur la menace sont particulierement propices a la propagation du contenu d’inoculation et nous proposons la CBO comme une nouvelle modalite d‘inoculation. Abstract Die Verbreitung von Inokulation: Inokulation, Widerstand gegen Beeinflussung und mundliche Kommunikation Auch wenn die Wirksamkeit von Inokulation bezuglich des Widerstand gegen eine Beeinflussung fur diejenigen, die der inokulativ behandelten Botschaft direkt ausgesetzt werden, nachgewiesen wurde, argumentieren wir, dass diese Inokulationseffekte auch auf diejenigen ausgedehnt werden konnen, die uber einen direkten Zugang hinaus, namlich durch mundliche Kommunikation in sozialen Netzwerken, mit diesen in Kontakt kommen. Wir nehmen an, dass insbesondere die Inokulationseinflusse auf Einstellungszuganglichkeit, Involvement und Bedrohung dazu dienen, den Inokulationsinhalt zu verbreiten, und fuhren deshalb die mundliche Kommunikation als neue Inokulationsmodalitat ein. Resumen Diseminando la Inoculacion: La Inoculacion, La Resistencia a la Influencia, y la Comunicacion Boca a Boca Aun cuando la inoculacion ha establecido eficacia en conferir resistencia a la influencia de aquellos expuestos directamente a los mensajes de pre-tratamiento de inoculacion, sostenemos que los efectos de la inoculacion pueden extenderse mas alla de aquellos directamente expuestos a otros mediante la comunicacion boca a boca (WOMC) en las redes sociales. Mantenemos, especificamente, que los efectos de la inoculacion sobre la actitud de accesibilidad, participacion y amenaza son particularmente propicios para la diseminacion del contenido de la inoculacion, ofreciendo la comunicacion boca a boca (WOMC) como una nueva modalidad de la inoculacion. ZhaiYao Yo yak

Using Message Form to Stimulate Conversations : The Case of Tropes

Abstract: The use of tropes (e.g., metaphors, ellipsis) in messages from health mass media campaigns may spark conversations. Tropes require additional cognitive elaboration to arrive at the intended interpretation, thereby providing the audience with ‘‘the pleasure of text.’’ This characteristic makes them useful for conversations in which ads are used to demonstrate one’s interpretation abilities or to strengthen group identity through a shared appreciation of ads. Tropes can thus stimulate people to think and talk about information they might otherwise ignore. As a result, this information is primed, increasing the chance that it will influence relevant behavior. At the same time, the use of tropes may have undesirable side effects, such as yielding incomprehension or misunderstanding of the message’s meaning. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2008.01332.x Since 1999, an organization called loveLife has been running large-scale campaigns in South Africa aiming to reduce the rate of HIV infection among adolescents. The campaign’s tagline, ‘‘talk about it,’’ refers to the campaign’s goal to stimulate conversations among teenagers on issues pertaining to sexual health. A prominent part of the campaign is constituted by billboards that are used all over the country, displaying slogans such as ‘‘No until we know’’ and ‘‘If it’s not just me, you’re not for me.’’ These slogans present beliefs that the target audience is already familiar with, respectively, ‘‘sexual partners should know each other’s HIV status’’ and ‘‘polygamy increases the chances of HIV infection,’’ in a nonobvious way. One of loveLife’s campaign managers explained this strategy of using elliptical messages by stating that ‘‘we want people to think about our posters’’ and ‘‘we will get people to wonder. This creates conversation between parents and children, dialogue between peers. That is exactly what we want to achieve, that people talk about HIV/AIDS and sex’’ (Hollemans, 2005). Apparently, the

Presidential Campaign Dynamics and the Ebb and Flow of Talk as a Moderator: Media Exposure, Knowledge, and Political Discussion

Abstract: This article outlines the dynamic nature of interpersonal discussion about politics and its interactive influence with mass media on candidate issue stances during U.S. presidential campaigns. Using data from the 2004 National Annenberg Election Survey (NAES) for illustration purposes, we show that the interactive relationship between news media and political talk is not static or consistently significant throughout elections. Rather, our illustration shows a rough correspondence between major campaign events and a significant negative interaction between political talk and news media use on knowledge of candidate issue stances. We theorize that major campaign media events influence the sheer amount of discussion citizens engage in, and we show that an increase in discussion coincides with an amplification of inaccuracies concerning knowledge of candidate issue stances. This may be due to the increase in the number of individuals talking about politics after these major campaign events, which in turn produces an overall increase in political discussion across the electorate. This influx of new discussants after major campaign events increases the proportion of what we call “seasonal discussants.” Increasing the proportion of voters who tune in to the debates or conventions may not do much to increase the levels of expertise in follow-up discussions among citizens. Resume La dynamique des campagnes electorales presidentielles et la fluctuation des discussions comme moderateur : l’exposition aux medias, la connaissance et les discussions politiques Cet article expose la nature dynamique des discussions interpersonnelles au sujet de la politique et l‘influence interactive de ces discussions avec les medias de masse sur les positions des candidats face a certains enjeux lors de campagnes electorales presidentielles aux Etats-Unis. Utilisant a titre illustratif des donnees du National Annenberg Election Study (NAES) de 2004, nous montrons que la relation interactive entre les medias d’information et la discussion politique n‘est ni statique ni constamment importante pendant les elections. Plutot, notre illustration demontre une correspondance sommaire entre des evenements electoraux majeurs et une interaction negative significative entre les discussions politiques et l’usage des medias d‘information sur la connaissance des positions des candidats face a des enjeux. Nous suggerons que d’importants evenements electoraux mediatises influencent le grand nombre de discussions dans lesquelles les citoyens s‘impliquent et nous montrons qu’une augmentation des discussions coincide avec une amplification des inexactitudes dans la connaissance des positions des candidats. Cela peut etre dua l‘augmentation du nombre d’individus discutant de politique a la suite de ces evenements electoraux majeurs, ce qui produit ensuite une augmentation globale des discussions politiques chez l’electorat. Cet afflux de nouveaux participants a la suite d’evenements electoraux importants augmente la proportion de ce que nous appelons des « participants saisonniers ». L‘augmentation de la proportion d’electeurs qui ecoutent les debats ou les conventions pourrait ne pas faire grand-chose pour augmenter les niveaux d’expertise dans les discussions qui s’ensuivent entre les citoyens. Abstract Dynamiken der Prasidentschaftswahlkampagne und die Ebbe und Flut der Gesprache als ein Moderator: Mediennutzung, Wissen, und politische Diskussion Dieser Artikel betrachtet das dynamische Wesen personlicher Gesprache uber Politik und ihren interaktiven Einfluss auf Massenmedien bezuglich der Kandidatenthematik wahrend der US-amerikanischen Prasidentschaftswahlkampagnen. Zu Demonstrationszwecken nutzen wir die Daten der Nationalen Annenberg Wahlstudie 2004 und zeigen, dass die interaktive Beziehung zwischen Nachrichtenmedien und politischen Gesprachen wahrend der Wahlen nicht statisch oder gleich bleibend wichtig ist. Im Gegenteil, unsere Darstellung zeigt eine grobe Ubereinstimmung zwischen grosen Kampagnenereignissen und eine signifikant negative Beziehung zwischen politischen Gesprachen und Nachrichtenmediennutzung auf das Wissen zur Positionierung der Kandidaten bezuglich relevanter Themen. Wie nehmen an, dass grose Kampagnenereignisse die blose Menge der von Burgern gefuhrten Gesprache beeinflusst, und wir zeigen, dass eine Zunahme dieser Gesprache mit einem Anstieg der Ungenauigkeiten bezuglich des Wissens um die Positionen der Kandidaten einhergeht. Dies konnte auf die Anzahl der Individuen zuruckzufuhren sein, die sich nach diesen grosen Kampagnenereignissen uber Politik unterhalten, was wiederum zu einer Zunahme politischer Gesprache in der Wahlerschaft fuhrt. Dieser Zustrom neuer Diskutierender nach grosen Kampagnenereignissen vermehrt den Anteil derjenigen, die wir ”saisonale Diskutanten“ nennen. Die Vermehrung des Anteils von Wahlern, die an Debatten oder Versammlungen teilnehmen, sollte eher weniger dazu beitragen, das Mas der Expertise in folgenden Gesprachen unter den Burgern zu erhohen. Resumen Las Dinamicas de las Campanas Presidenciales y el Flujo y Reflujo de la Conversacion como un Moderador: La Exposicion a los Medios, el Conocimiento, y la Discusion Politica Este articulo resume la naturaleza dinamica de la discusion interpersonal sobre la politica y su influencia interactiva con los medios de noticias sobre las posturas del candidato durante las campanas presidenciales de los Estados Unidos. Usando los datos del estudio de la Eleccion Nacional de Anneberg del 2004 (NAES) para propositos ilustrativos, mostramos que la relacion interactiva entre los medios de noticias y la conversacion politica no es estatica o consistentemente significativa a traves de las elecciones. Mas bien, nuestra ilustracion muestra una correspondencia tosca entre los eventos de campana mayores y una interaccion significativa negativa entre la conversacion politica y el uso de los medios de noticias sobre el conocimiento de las posturas de los candidatos. Teorizamos que los eventos de los medios de campana mayor influyen sobre la cantidad total de la discusion que los ciudadanos le dedican, y mostramos que un incremento en la discusion coincide con la amplificacion de las inexactitudes del conocimiento sobre las posturas de los candidatos. Esto puede ser debido al incremento del numero de individuos que hablan sobre politica despues de eventos mayores de campana, que sucesivamente produce un incremento en la discusion politica del electorado. Este influjo de nuevas discusiones despues de los eventos mayores de campana incrementa la proporcion de lo que llamamos ‘‘discusiones estacionales. ’’ Incrementando la proporcion de votantes que sintonizan los debates o convenciones puede no hacer mucho para aumentar los niveles de pericia de las discusiones sucesivas entre los ciudadanos. ZhaiYao Yo yak

Re‐Collection: A Proposal for Refining the Study of Collective Memory and its Places

Abstract: This article outlines a theory of re-collection as a means of enhancing and enriching the study of collective memory Re-collection seeks to generate insights into two underdeveloped threads of collective memory research: (a) its processual and dynamic nature and (b) its largely emplaced character In particular, this article argues that places of memory are not finished texts, but sites of re-collection in which individuals and groups selectively cull and organize re-collected versions of the past Grounded in Michael McGee’s concept of rhetorical fragments, the theory of re-collection involves attending to discursive fragments of memory that circulate within and around the memory site—as well as the fragments brought to the site by individuals and collectives Re-collection thus requires analytical tools beyond those traditionally used in rhetorical criticism—as is illustrated in a case study proposal for exploring the process of re-collection surrounding the Space Window in Washington National Cathedral

William James on “Possible Selves”: Implications for Studying Identity in Communication Contexts

Abstract: This article describes ideas about the self suggested by William James and how these conceptualizations can be used in communication research. First, the article summarizes the elements of self according to James and how the "possible selves" could be drawn upon in a persuasive communication context. It is suggested that there are at least two approaches to studying possible selves from an empirical perspective: The accessibility of one self out of a field of many possible selves, and the synthesis of potentially conflicting selves. Further, the article argues that the influence of these selves on behavior and on antecedents to behavior suggests that greater attention should be focused on the study of identity as a mediator of communication effects. However, it is argued that James's work should also inspire further exploration of the experience of self as that which provides a sense of continuity despite substantively and temporally variable possible selves. This sense of personal identity cannot be interrogated via traditional empirical methods nor within a persuasive communication context, and a greater attunement to this sense of self has potential to enhance communication experiences.

Communication as a Dynamical Self-Sustaining System: The Importance of Time-Scales and Nested Context

Abstract: This article examines the utility of modeling communication as dynamic nesting of self-sustaining embodied contexts functioning at multiple time-scales simultaneously. We begin with van Orden and Holden's (2002) assertion that an individual's cognitive work emerges in generative, dynamic fashion out of the ongoing synergistic interaction between processes taking place at multiple time-scales. We apply this notion to communication via Lemke's (2000) application of heterochronic interactions to the social realm, and utilize Jordan and Ghin's (2006) conceptualization of the "body" as a self-sustaining embodiment of contexts playing themselves out at different, nested time-scales. We examine multiple interpersonal interactions involving the owner of an autoshop, and focus on how embodiments such as foot movements constrain and contextual i ze multiple time-scales of context simultaneously.

Experience, Purpose, and the Value of Vagueness: On C. S. Peirce's Contribution to the Philosophy of Communication

Abstract: Recent decades have witnessed a growth of interest in the contribution of pragmatism to the study of communication. Yet, it is striking that C. S. Peirce, the founder of pragmatism and the father of one of the major strands of modern semiotics, is often ignored by communication scholars sympathetic to pragmatism. In this article, I explore some of the reasons for this neglect, and put forward the case for a recovery of some of the philosophical tools that Peircean pragmatism can provide for communication theory.

Recasting the Link Between Applied and Theory Research: Using Applied Findings to Advance Communication Theory Development

Abstract: Applied research, especially in the communication discipline, has been met with resistance and criticism by some who advocate adherence to theoretically-based research. This dilemma is exacerbated by ongoing debates among applied scholars about how to define applied research and how to conceptualize its relationship to theory development. Definitions emerging from these discussions yield two explanations-dialectical tension and interdependent-for how applied and theory research are connected. We join the conversation by proposing an integral perspective whereby applied scholarship can become more clearly situated and helpful to the creation, extension, and challenge of theoretical explanations for communication.

Understanding Spatial Differentiation of Social Interaction: Suggesting a Conceptual Framework for Spatial Mediation

Abstract: Urban planning is a means for artificially differentiating urban space. It also shapes social interaction on the whole. While urban planning is fundamentally related to communications, it has been barely discussed in the communication field. Hence, I explain the impact of urban planning on social life and describe the intellectual trajectories of urban sociology and urban communication in order to draw more attention from communication scholars to urban issues. Then, based on the review of the spatial impact on social interaction, a conceptual framework is suggested-spatial media, which is defined as abstracted forms of objects exchanged in spatially differentiated social interactions. This conceptualization intends to overcome the limited understanding of the spatial impact on social life from different approaches to the physical impact on human behavior. The framework will direct the focus of the investigation of spatial differentiation toward the three significant social mechanisms of media: Social integration, social stratification, and civic participation. With the implication of spatial media, communication researchers are expected to contribute to the urban planning process by bringing communication factors to planning discussions.

Socioscientific Controversies: A Theoretical and Methodological Framework

Abstract: This paper describes a theoretical and methodological framework from critical discourse analysis for the study of the rhetoric of socioscientific controversies. The approach, based on the work of Norman n Fairclough (1992), describes the construction of such controversies in terms of chains of communicative events and particularly attends to intertextuality and interdiscursivity within and across orders of discourse. This framework is situated within extant work in the rhetoric of science and is illustrated through a case study of a controversy surrounding an evolutionary psychology study on gender and spatial cognition.

Data, Code, and Discourses of Difference in Genomics

Abstract: When James Watson suggested that Africans are less intelligent than Whites in October 2007, he was quickly called "stupid" and "irrational" by the international media. In this article, I argue that this characterization misses the structural elements at play and the larger social transformations where shifting discursive formations of race are converging in old and new ways with developments and innovations in digital culture and information technologies. This article identifies three discursive frames that characterize race talk in contemporary society, drawing on the work of Bonilla-Silva, Bell, Gilroy, Hall, and Spivak, and explores how they operate in a specific institutional context. Medical biotechnology, like many other enterprises, has been undergoing enormous changes enabled by developments and innovations in computing technologies such as databases and the Internet. As a result, scientific understandings of genetics and race are being recoded in the digital age.

An Economic Theory of Political Communication Effects: How the Economy Conditions Political Learning

Abstract: Politics and economics are inextricably linked. This article argues that the economy has been an underdeveloped contextual variable capable of coordinating the process and consequences of political communication. A theoretical model connecting microindividual outcomes to macrosocial functioning is proposed to capture the dynamic ecology of citizens’ political involvement. In particular, the economic environment is theorized to impact voters’ news media use and political learning through a series of mechanisms. It is maintained that the study of political communication benefits from considering macroeconomic variables, which brings more explanatory power to models of political communication effects, tests the economic rationality of the electorate in response to variegated social settings, and builds a political communication effects theory that addresses both micro- and macrofactors.

Discourses of Exoneration in Intercultural Translation: Polish Immigrants in South Africa

Abstract: Racial incorporation of immigrant identities has not been extensively theorized in communication. We theorize immigrant identity formation as translation between the cultural and political expressions of different racial regionalisms. As communication studies have begun to address the global dimensions of whiteness, there is a need to address particular cultural inflections that maintain its power. We situate a critical and postcolonial notion of translation within the framework of a discourse theory to explain how Polish immigrant identities are strategically articulated within the changing narratives of South African whiteness. The findings demonstrate that Polish immigrants negotiated their identity and belonging in postapartheid South Africa through strategies of exoneration to deny their implication in apartheid and its legacy. The analysis highlights particularized, contextual, and ongoing inflections of whiteness and argues for understanding racial incorporation of immigrant identity as an intercultural communication process. The paper develops the concepts of translation gap and anchoring to elucidate the discursive character of immigrant racial identity formation.

Advancing Entertainment Education: Using The Rosie O'Donnell Show to Recognize Implementation Strategies for Saturated Markets

Abstract: Entertainment-education (E-E) has been widely and successfully implemented in developing countries around the world, but it is much harder to utilize in media-saturated countries. However, talk shows can be a niche market for E-E campaigns. As evidence, The Rosie O'Donnell Show has made a significant contribution to the television industry and to entertainment-education research by redefining how advocacy, education, and entertainment can work through a variety talk show format. An extemporaneous talk show can implement E-E campaigns through four main strategies to target its viewers: (1) Variability, or using a variety of forms to provide campaign information, (2) using multimediated synergistic avenues and online connections, (3) creating audience proactivity by using a small group elements to promote self and collective efficacy, and host appeal to bridge the local to national gap, and (4) the host's use of instinctive intentionality in aggregating campaign messages. As executive producer and host of her show, Rosie O'Donnell affected awareness, disseminated educational information, and encouraged proactive behavior with social, political, and philanthropic agendas through repetitive, positive, and proactive entertainment-education messages.