Showing papers in "Journal of Communication in 1976"

The Development of Attention

Abstract: In his review of research on television and the preschool child, Harold Stevenson noted the lack of research "into what it is about the constantly changing images on the screen that makes television such an attractive and compelling medium of communication .... We need to know which programs are appealing and what it is about these programs that attracts children's interest and attention" (0). Furthermore, while there is some evidence that patterns of TV viewing are differentiated by the time children reach the age of three (5, 7), this evidence is not based on actual observations of children viewing TV. These issues have become especially important since TV programs such as Sesame Street are increasingly aimed at positively influencing the cognitive and social development of very young children In order to understand and control the early influences of TV, we must know when children start watching TV and what they watch.

Why people own guns.

Abstract: We see gun ownership as expressive of pressures that involve fundamental questions about the thrust and direction of the social system. We expect that knowing more about why people own guns will tell us more about the effect of modern society on the people who make up that society. There may be some urgency in furthering this understanding if we understand what Chekov meant when he wrote, "If in the first act you hang a pistol on the wall, by the third act you must use it." Language: en