Showing papers in "Communications in 2010"
TL;DR: This article found that identification with characters was associated with viewers' degree of enjoyment of feature films of different genres and with greater cognitive elaboration and a more complex reflexive process during the viewing of the dramatic film.
Abstract: This article presents three studies examining the importance of identification with characters in research on media entertainment. In Study 1 it was found that identification with characters was associated with spectators' degree of enjoyment of feature films of different genres. Study 2 showed that identification with characters predicts the affective impact of a dramatic film and, also, it was associated with greater cognitive elaboration and a more complex reflexive process during the viewing of the dramatic film. In Study 3 it was observed that identification with characters predicted the incidental impact of a full length fictional film on attitudes and beliefs. These results support the centrality of the construct of identification with characters in narrative persuasion research.
175 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of media on social and cultural change has been investigated in the context of medium theory and effect research, and two strands of research have been proposed to understand the relationship between media, culture and society.
Abstract: In general, the concept of mediatization tries to capture long-term interrelation processes between media change on the one hand and social and cultural change on the other. As institutionalized and technological means of communication, media have become integral to very different contexts of human life. The media are not just neutral instances of mediation: Media like television, radio, newspaper, the web or the mobile phone are in themselves mediators of social and cultural change. Within media and communication studies two strands of research, medium theory and effect research, have in very different ways addressed this ‘influence’ of media on processes of social and cultural change. Medium theory describes socio-cultural change as deeply structured by the advent of a new leading medium, and constructs human history as the succession of oral, scribal, print and electronic cultures (cf. for example, Meyrowitz, 1995). Approaches of media effect research analyze the rather short-term impact of certain media content on the social world (cf. for example, Rosengren, 1994). Both kinds of approaches have contributed to the understanding of the relationship between media, culture and society, but they clearly have some shortcomings. Medium theory conceptualizes the relation between one medium and its socio-cultural influence too directly and neglects questions of media content. Effect research theorizes the influence of certain media contents too directly and neglects questions of media specificity and cultural context. Furthermore, these approaches have not been able to conceptualize a key feature of contemporary culture and society: Media are no longer ‘outside’ society exerting a specific influence or effect on culture and therefore on individuals. In our present media-saturated society media are inside society, part of the very fabric of culture; they have become ‘the cultural air
86 citations
TL;DR: This paper used systematic content analysis of 17 Dutch media outlets during the eight weeks prior to the 2006 national elections (n = 1,001) and compared the appearances of four right-wing populist and seven mainstream party leaders.
Abstract: This article focuses on how leaders of new right-wing populist parties are portrayed in the mass media. More so than their established counterparts, new parties depend on the media for their electoral breakthrough. From a theoretical perspective, we expect prominence, populism, and authoritativeness of the party leaders' media appearance to be essential for their electoral fortunes. We used systematic content analyses of 17 Dutch media outlets during the eight weeks prior to the 2006 national elections (n = 1,001) and compared the appearances of four right-wing populist and seven mainstream party leaders. This article makes two contributions to the existing literature: First, we develop valid and reliable indicators of authoritativeness and populism and apply them to a systematic content analysis. Second, we show that more successful right-wing populist leaders were more prominent during the election campaign and that the most successful right-wing populist leader also appears more authoritative in the news.
76 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors make an empirically based contribution to the general debate on the mediatization of politics by looking at the Finnish policy networks as a particular context in which the general processes of mediatisation are recognized and where the influences of influence are negotiated.
Abstract: Abstract This article makes an empirically based contribution to the general debate on the mediatization of politics by looking at the Finnish policy networks as a particular context in which the general processes of mediatization are recognized and where the influences of mediatization are negotiated. Drawing on a qualitative interview sample of 60 elite decision-makers and an elite survey (N = 419), three themes related to mediatization are highlighted: the role of trust in policy networks, the dynamics of the mutual professionalization of media and politics, and the differentiation of network rationality and media rationality. These findings are at the same time evidence of a general process of mediatization and of how local conditions shape that process.
44 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors surveyed 815 Flemish 15- to 19-year-olds about the online risks they may have been confronted with and on how they cope with these risks.
Abstract: The internet offers adolescents a huge window of opportunities, but these opportunities are not always exempt from risks. Indeed, many young people are nowadays confronted with spam, gruesome or violent images and content including pornography, drugs, racism, and even suicide. We surveyed 815 Flemish 15- to 19-year-olds about the online risks they (may) have been confronted with and on how they cope with these risks. We controlled for digital literacy levels, socio-demographics and personality traits. Interestingly, our research shows that not only adolescents with a high level of internet literacy but also those with lower internet literacy levels, such as youths enrolled in vocational education, tend to be more frequently exposed to online risks. Also worthwhile noting is the fact that a high level of self-confidence positively correlates with exposure to risky online content. In general, adolescents do not consult anybody when it comes to coping with risks and negative experiences online. However, a good parent-child relationship pays off as kids with a good parental relationship encounter aggressive, sexual or value-based content less frequently.
32 citations
TL;DR: The knowledge of opinion leaders (in their area of interest) to a certain extent has always been taken for granted by communication scholars as mentioned in this paper. But what opinion leaders really know about the field they claim as their field of interest has been investigated.
Abstract: The knowledge of opinion leaders (in their area of interest) to a certain extent has always been taken for granted by communication scholars. This article investigates what opinion leaders really know. Two studies will be presented to answer the above question. Participants (N = 119) of the first study were assessed according to ratings on three scales of opinion leadership (Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955; Troldahl and van Dam, 1965; Childers, 1986), personality strength (Noelle-Neumann, 1983) and political knowledge. In the second study, respondents (N = 727) were assessed according to ratings of opinion leadership (Childers, 1986) and political knowledge. In both studies, it was found that opinion leaders can be divided into 'informed opinion leaders', who know a lot in their area of interest, and 'uninformed opinion leaders', who are ill-informed about the field they claim as theirs. In both studies 'informed opinion leaders' read newspapers approximately one hour longer per week than 'uninformed opinion leaders'.
30 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, practice theory is used as an alternative framework for mediatization studies, which can help us grasp the diversity of social and cultural changes related to the highly integrated media.
Abstract: Following the evolution towards media-saturated societies, this article presents practice theory as an alternative framework for mediatization studies. We discuss how it can help us grasp the diversity of social and cultural changes related to the highly integrated media. This is demonstrated by studying politicians' personalization, not as a product of media logic but by looking at politicians' media-related practices and media's anchoring of practices. Our in-depth interviews with Flemish politicians show that their practices are in many ways organized by the media, but through this mediatization at the same time aim to retain control over them. It is also shown that politicians' practices are not only directly influenced by media, but also by other politicians' media-related practices. Together, these findings draw a complex picture of the mediatization and personalization process.
29 citations
TL;DR: The authors presented an empirical account of mediatization from a Bourdieuian perspective, based on the development of a number of new concepts, such as cross-field effects and the rescaling of such effects as linked to processes of globalization.
Abstract: This paper presents an empirical account of mediatization from a Bourdieuian perspective, based on the development of a number of new concepts, such as cross-field effects and the rescaling of such effects as linked to processes of globalization. Built on an Australian empirical case relating to educational policy and the knowledge based economy, this paper argues that mediatization can be understood in relation to the cross-field effects of different fields of journalism on subsequent fields, which have their genesis in forms of practice that cross different social fields. Specifically, the case analysis details interactions between the field of print journalism and the field of policy over the course of an Australian science capability review, chaired by the then chief scientist, Dr Robin Batterham, which led to Australia adopting a national version of the knowledge economy. The empirical case also leads us to consider the impact of both global and national fields of journalism on fields of educational policy in relation to mediatization.
27 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a multilevel analysis of TV's impact on social trust was conducted using data from the 2002 and 2004 waves of the European Social Survey (ESS) in combination with aggregate data from telemetric audience research.
Abstract: This paper sheds new light on Putnam's hypothesis that watching television, particularly entertainment programs, contributes to an erosion of social trust. Previous studies have been unable to reach convincing evidence regarding this claim. It is argued that this is a consequence of the neglect of indirect, interpersonally mediated TV effects which supplement the influence of direct exposure, and extend even to those who do not watch television. Using data from the 2002 and 2004 waves of the European Social Survey (ESS) in combination with aggregate data from telemetric audience research, we conduct a multilevel analysis of TV's impact on social trust. Investigating this macro-micro relationship, we find that patterns of general TV use in 25 European societies exert substantial effects on individual social trust that by far exceed those of individual TV use. In line with Putnam's hypothesis, there is a negative impact of total TV time; however, high market shares of public TV increase social trust.
26 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a sample of 221 magazine advertisements depicting older adults were coded for features such as the advertised products, setting, role prominence, rhetorical scheme, tone and type of portrayal.
Abstract: Older people are an increasingly important consumer group and hence advertising target, yet relatively little research in the UK and in Europe (as opposed to the USA) has examined how older adults are portrayed in advertising. In this study, a sample of 221 magazine advertisements depicting older adults were coded for features such as the advertised products, setting, role prominence, rhetorical scheme, tone and type of portrayal. In a departure from previous studies, we devised a set of six descriptive ‘types’ which encapsulate the way older people are portrayed in these advertisements. Also, and as the main focus of this paper, we compared a magazine designed for people over 50 (Saga Magazine) to ten general readership magazines in order to investigate any differences in the portrayal of older adults in (older)age-targeted vs. general readership advertising. Previous research on old age stereotyping, social identity theory and inter-group theory form the basis of our analysis.
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the transformative potential of online media in terms of a) publicity: the capacity of the online media to focus public attention on the political process of the EU, b) participation: the ability of the on-line media to include plural voices and activate the audience; and c) public opinion formation: the capability of the ONLINE media to enable informed opinions, and test their model on the online debates that took place during the 2009 EU elections.
Abstract: Abstract In this paper we propose that the concept of mediatization should be used not only in the narrow sense to analyze the impact of media on the operational modes of the political system, but also in more general terms to capture the transformation of the public sphere and the changing conditions for the generation of political legitimacy. More specifically and with regard to the role of political communication on the internet, we focus on the transformative potential of online media in terms of a) publicity: the capacity of the online media to focus public attention on the political process of the EU; b) participation: the capacity of the online media to include plural voices and activate the audience; and c) public opinion formation: the capacity of the online media to enable informed opinions. We test our mediatization model on the online debates that took place during the 2009 EU elections (May–June 2009) in 12 member-states and at the trans-European level. The findings confirm the mediatizing impact of online political communication on the generation of the political legitimacy of the EU. Online media constitute a virtually shared forum for political communication that political actors and users increasingly occupy developing homogenous patterns of evaluating European integration. Furthermore, the stronghold of offline media in the EU e-sphere and the tendency to discuss the EP elections within the frame of domestic (national) politics reaffirm the key role of national political and media cultures.
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of domestic media use of EU citizens on their attitudes toward European integration was evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques in cross-national analysis.
Abstract: In recent research, the declining support for European integration is often attributed to the lack of a European public sphere. The comparatively low level of Europeanisation in the news media is said to promote euroskepticism or at least hinder further integration. In this paper we try to bridge the research gap between the formation of a European public opinion and the emergence of a European public sphere. Based on Eurobarometer data, this study evaluates the impact of domestic media use of EU citizens on their attitudes toward European integration. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques in cross-national analysis, we can demonstrate that domestic media use does indeed have a small, but substantial positive effect on knowledge, attachment to Europe and support for the European Union in most member states.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on a survey of youth in Brussels and their ownership and use of digital technologies, focusing specifically on the social and cultural diversity within this group, including differences regarding ethnicity and gender, language and educational attainment, as well as social and economic status.
Abstract: This article reports on a survey of youth in Brussels (N = 1,005) and their ownership and use of digital technologies, focusing specifically on the social and cultural diversity within this group. Socio-cultural diversity includes differences regarding ethnicity and gender, language and educational attainment, as well as social and economic status. The relationship of these socio-cultural differences with the digital divide in terms of ownership and use is investigated. The data show a persistent ownership divide between socially weaker versus stronger groups accompanied by an emerging socially compensatory function of instrumentally oriented user profiles among the socially weaker groups.
TL;DR: This paper examined the extent to which the highly diverse and volatile Dutch electorate received a diverse offer of political newspaper coverage during the 2006 general election campaign and measured the level of diversity of five subscription based national newspapers with a partisan history and two free dailies.
Abstract: This study examines the extent to which the highly diverse and volatile Dutch electorate received a diverse offer of political newspaper coverage during the 2006 general election campaign. We measured the level of diversity of five subscription based national newspapers with a partisan history and two free dailies. Two forms of diversity were examined: party diversity (i. e., the distribution of attention to political parties) and issue diversity (i. e., the distribution of attention to issues). The diversity of party coverage in the free dailies was greater than the diversity across all newspapers. Whereas free dailies paid a relatively large amount of attention to new and opposition parties, traditional newspapers paid a relatively large amount of attention to the parties with whom they were aligned during the period of "pillarization". Conversely, we only found small differences in the distribution of attention to issues. The diversity of issue coverage across newspapers was larger than the diversity within newspapers.
TL;DR: The authors traite des rapports entre globalisation, urbanisation, and architecture, and proposes a notion de non-lieu, based on the notion of non-truthfulness.
Abstract: Revenant sur la notion de « non-lieu », cet article traite des rapports entre globalisation, urbanisation et architecture.
TL;DR: In this article, a content analysis of newspaper articles about Iceland published in Israel before and after the outbreak of the 2008 economic crisis (N = 708) was used to detect changes in the theme and tone of news reports regarding this country.
Abstract: This study examines how the cultivation effect is impacted by a sudden change in the content of news media reports. A content analysis of newspaper articles about Iceland published in Israel before and after the outbreak of the 2008 economic crisis (N = 708) was used to detect changes in the theme and tone of news reports regarding this country. It was followed by a survey (N = 304) that asked Israelis to give their estimates and views concerning the economic aspects of life in Iceland. Both first order and second order cultivation effects, which correlated media consumption with a positive view of Iceland's economy and corresponded to the pre-crisis image of Iceland in the Israeli media, were noticed. These findings are supportive of the thesis that the long term frequency of media messages is more significant than their recency in establishing a cultivation effect.
TL;DR: The authors traite des rapports entre globalisation, urbanisation, and architecture, and proposes a notion de non-lieu, based on the notion of non-truthfulness.
Abstract: Revenant sur la notion de « non-lieu », cet article traite des rapports entre globalisation, urbanisation et architecture.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the research on how unlabeled advertorials are produced and interpreted by their key producers using ethnographic methods and reveal that advertorial advertisements are produced by news producers or agency practitioners and advertisers either independently or collectively.
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to present the research on how unlabeled advertorials are produced and interpreted by their key producers. The study uses ethnographic methods and reveals that advertorials are produced by news producers or agency practitioners and advertisers either independently or collectively. The production was based on paying for various expenses or services and making threats. Reasons for production were different within particular groups of producers. Responsibility belongs to all actors analyzed, but also to other media and social actors who establish and maintain circumstances that enable this illegal and unethical practice.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the implications anthropologiques dans le domaine de la cognition sociale, i.e., the influence anthropologique dans l'interieur de strictes frontieres sensorielles.
Abstract: Traditionnellement, l’influence des theses condillaciennes a conduit a modeliser la communication entre un sujet et le monde qui l’entoure a l’interieur de strictes frontieres sensorielles : il y aurait la communication olfactive, la communication tactile, la communication visuelle, etc. Cependant, des donnees anatomophysiologiques et ethnographiques recentes plaident en faveur d’une autre hypothese, celle d’un traitement intersensoriel des stimuli. Dans la premiere partie de l’article, j’etaye cette hypothese en rappelant les mecanismes physiologiques sous-jacents a l’experience intersensorielle. Dans la seconde partie, j’illustre l’hypothese avec des donnees experimentales et ethnographiques. En conclusion, j’en souligne les implications anthropologiques dans le domaine de la cognition sociale.
TL;DR: The authors explored the way in which ethnic marketing practices are perceived by both practitioners and ethnic minority consumers in Flanders, by means of structured in-depth interviews the opportunities and limitations of ethnic marketing in a small, though multi-ethnic, society are evaluated.
Abstract: Considering the growing interest of marketers to communicate with ethnic minority groups in an increasingly more diverse society and the limited empirical work on ethnic minorities as consumers, this study aims to explore the way in which ethnic marketing practices are perceived by both practitioners and ethnic minority consumers in Flanders. By means of structured in-depth interviews the opportunities and limitations of ethnic marketing in a small, though multi-ethnic, society are evaluated. On the one hand, the study shows that young adults with ethnic origins feel particularly positive about their recognition and inclusion as a 'new' target group in the market. On the other, both practitioners and ethnic minority consumers articulate their reservations about the economic benefits, the social impact and desirability of adjustments in advertising messages in order to target ethnic minority consumers.
TL;DR: In this paper, a pragmatic approach to the European public sphere emphasizing the importance of citizens' communicative participation and moreover considering the transnational and transcultural character of European political communication is presented.
Abstract: This article aims at shedding light on how civic engagement matters for the emergence of a European public sphere. It investigates the citizens' role in constituting it and asks how citizens, being located in different cultural and political contexts, participate in and appropriate EU political communication. First, the article develops a pragmatic approach to the European public sphere emphasizing the importance of citizens' communicative participation and, moreover, considers the transnational and transcultural character of European political communication. It is assumed that the constitution of public spheres - representing social constructions fulfilling democratic functions - ultimately relies on the citizen audience's (media based) perception of the impact of common problems and the EU's political decisions as well as on their subsequent participation in public discourses. The second part of the article presents the findings of empirical case studies conducted in France, Italy and Germany to explore citizens' engagement in and appropriation of the European constitutional debate.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that American television fiction with supernatural themes offers Danish teenage audiences a playground for exploring different religious imaginations in a continuous process of internal negotiations; thereby transforming their imaginations.
Abstract: Abstract This paper argues that American television fiction with supernatural themes offers Danish teenage audiences a playground for exploring different religious imaginations in a continuous process of internal negotiations; thereby transforming their imaginations. This process of the mediatization of religion is strengthened by three dominating factors: the absence of a homogenous religious worldview in Danish culture, the importance of high production values and visual credibility to supernatural concepts in these shows, and the appeal of transformed religious content in open-structured serial narratives. This essay presents the findings of an empirical qualitative study of seventy-two Danish teenagers and considers two primary parameters for the case-based reception study: the teenagers' levels of fandom and their connection with institutionalized religion. In other words, how are religious imaginations transformed in relation to viewers' level of commitment to the television fiction and to traditional institutionalized religion?
TL;DR: In this article, a content analysis of 1,785 American ads and 1, 467 Israeli ads maps the representation of violence in mainstream TV advertising in the two countries, finding violence present in 2.5% of the American commercials and in 1.5 % of the Israeli commercials.
Abstract: A content analysis of 1,785 American ads and 1, 467 Israeli ads maps the representation of violence in mainstream TV advertising in the two countries, finding violence present in 2.5% of the American commercials and in 1.5% of the Israeli commercials. The most frequently depicted conduct in the two countries is bare-handed assault. Sexual violence is not presented at all. A humorous mode of presentation is morefrequent than a serious tone. The results are discussed from inter-cultural and intra-cultural perspectives, taking regulation factors and public opinion implications into account.
TL;DR: In this article, the anthropologie de l'espace is used to describe a simple description of lieux, and to describe the relationships between cultures and topologies.
Abstract: L’anthropologie de l’espace doit-elle se cantonner a une simple description des lieux?? Ne doit-elle pas travailler les faits d’organisation de l’espace en intention (que signifient les lieux produits par les cultures, et les arrangements topologiques qu’elles composent??) aussi bien qu’en morphologie (quelles regles d’arrangements se donnent-elles??)?; en extension (diversite au sein des societes) aussi bien qu’en dynamique temporelle ou historique?? Que l’on englobe cette discipline au sein de l’anthropologie de l’espace ou qu’on la designe plus precisement comme «?topologie sociale?», peu importe?: si les societes font preuve d’une considerable imagination et d’une non moins grande creativite en la matiere, elles ne se confrontent pas moins a des lois topologiques incontournables, et leur maniere d’operer fait objet de science. Comment les cultures definissent-elles, dans l’etendue, des lieux porteurs de sens – c’est-a-dire des modes de relation du sujet avec le milieu, des «?moments?» de la pratique –, comment les organisent-elles entre eux, comment les pratiquent-elles, comment leur offrent-elles ensuite des dispositifs architecturaux pour les rendre efficaces?? Pourquoi une theorie de la spatialite devrait-elle demeurer impossible ou interdite?? Il est temps d’y remedier, et de construire une «?topologie sociale?».
TL;DR: In this article, a geographe francais, specialiste reconnu de ce domaine, sinterroge sur l'evolution de son usage des notions de lieu, de territoire and de paysage tout au long d'une carriere qui s'est deroulee dans le contexte suisse.
Abstract: Un geographe francais, specialiste reconnu de ce domaine, s’interroge sur l’evolution de son usage des notions de lieu, de territoire et de paysage tout au long d’une carriere qui s’est deroulee dans le contexte suisse.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose essentiellement d'aborder les canaux sensoriels de lodorat dans a double orientation, celle qui associe parfum et feminin, and celle which accompagne nombre des rituels religieux, parfums et intercession.
Abstract: Resume En contexte saharien (village de sedentarisation), l’economie langagiere offre a l’expression des sens une place preponderante. Cette communication sensorielle degagee des analyses plus « classiques » (gestualite, proxemie, interactionnisme, etc.) permet de comprendre comment les choix sensoriels impriment une tonalite singuliere aux manifestations de soi. Ce texte propose essentiellement d’aborder les canaux sensoriels de l’odorat dans une double orientation, celle qui associe parfum et feminin : rituels de la naissance et du mariage comme droits acquis a la parure odorante, et celle qui accompagne nombre des rituels religieux : « sacre feminin », parfums et intercession.
TL;DR: In this paper, the caracteristiques des etres non-humains chez les Toba (Qom) du Gran Chaco sud-americain are analyzed.
Abstract: Dans ce travail, nous analyserons les caracteristiques des etres non humains chez les Toba (Qom) du Gran Chaco sud-americain afin de rendre compte du caractere metamorphique du corps et des relations sensorielles qu’ils tissent avec les humains Nous montrerons que, par leur vie sociale et par la possession de quelques aptitudes corporelles specifiques, les non-humains sont consideres comme des personnes Pourtant, l’analyse de certaines capacites corporelles nous permettra de signaler des differences significatives que les Toba etablissent avec les non-humains
TL;DR: This paper investigated whether in the feminine, Dutch culture the culturally adapted help-others appeal was more persuasive than the culturally unadapted help-self appeal for both men and women.
Abstract: Gender has been shown to affect the persuasiveness of help-self and helpothers appeals in fundraising: men prefer help-self appeals, and women help-others appeals. This gender difference has been attributed to worldview differences. Women have a care-oriented world-view and men a justice-oriented world-view at least in masculine cultures. In feminine cultures, however, both men and women have a care-oriented world-view. The present study investigated whether in the feminine, Dutch culture the culturally adapted help-others appeal was more persuasive than the culturally unadapted help-self appeal for both men and women (N 166). Results showed that the culturally adapted help-others appeal was the most persuasive appeal for men and women, who were both found to have a relatively care-oriented world-view.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors define an etendue construite (un decor, une scene, un territoire) and an espace dramatise (par une histoire, un role, un usage).
Abstract: ResumeL’etendue etant sa matiere brute (le vide, le desert, la nature), l’espace proprement dit est une etendue construite (un decor, une scene, un territoire) et le lieu, un espace dramatise (par une histoire, un role, un usage). L’espace devient donc lieu par sa mise en intrigue?: en se legendant, se scenarisant, se densifiant par la diegese. Espace investi et comme epaissi par un recit, il faut ainsi distinguer, selon qu’il est ou non en quete d’une vision narrative, le tourisme d’espaces du tourisme de lieux et des lors envisager qu’un non-lieu touristique soit un espace sans histoire…