Showing papers on "Media system dependency theory published in 1994"

Electronic Mail as the Medium of Managerial Choice

Abstract: As new technologies that support managerial communication become widely used, the question of how and why managers, especially senior managers, use them increases in importance. This paper examines how and why managers use electronic mail. Today, one of the more influential theories of media choice in organization and information science is information richness theory, which has stimulated much empirical research on media selection and has clear implications for how managers should use media. Despite numerous modifications and elaborations, information richness theory remains an individual-level rational choice explanation of behavior, and as such it differs fundamentally from theories that emphasize the social context of managers' communication and media choice behavior. While the weight of informed opinion seems to be shifting toward social theories of media selection and use, much empirical research continues to test individual-level rational choice models. A multi-method investigation was designed to assess the power of information richness theory, relative to alternative social theories, to explain and predict managers' use of email. Managers were found to perceive various media in ways that were relatively consistent with information richness theory, but to use email more and differently than the theory predicted. In particular, effective senior managers were found to use email heavily and even for equivocal communications tasks. These results cannot be explained by information richness theory or by simple modifications of the theory. Rather, they suggest that the adoption, use, and consequences of media in organizations can be powerfully shaped by social processes such as sponsorship, socialization, and social control, which require social perspectives to understand them. These processes can result in differences across organizations and other social units in the patterns of using traditional media like the telephone, but such differences are even more likely for new media, like electronic mail.

Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment and Future

Abstract: Preface. Section I: INTRODUCTION TO MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY. 1. Introduction. 2. Understanding and Evaluating Mass Communication Theory. Section II: ERA OF MASS SOCIETY AND MASS CULTURE. 3. The Rise of Media Industries and Mass Society Theory. 4. The Rise of Media Theory in the Age of Propaganda. 5. Normative Theories of Mass Communication. Section III: THE RISE AND FALL OF LIMITED EFFECTS. 6. Limited Effects Theory Emerges. 7. Middle-Range Theory and the Consolidation of the Limited Effects Paradigm. 8. Challenging the Dominant Paradigm: Children, Systems, and Effects. Section IV: CONTEMPORARY MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY: SEARCHING FOR CONSENSUS AND CONFRONTING CHALLENGES. 9. Emergence of Critical and Cultural Theories of Mass Communication. 10. Media and Audiences: Theories About the Role of Media in Everyday Life. 11. Theories of Media, Culture, and Society. 12. Trends in Mass Communication Theory: Seeking Consensus, Facing Challenges. References. Index.

Canaries in the Coal Mine Perceptions of Threat and Media System Dependency Relations

Abstract: This article tests the proposition that the intensity and scope of media system dependency relations are positively related to perceptions of threats in the environment. Theoretical and operational definitions of threat are introduced. The results of multiple regression equations support the hypothesis that dependency relations with newspapers, radio, magazines, and television are more intense the more one perceives one's social and natural environment to be threatening. Hierarchical regression analysis shows threat to add significantly to the explanation of variance in dependency when demographic variables are controlled. Logistic regression fails to support the hypothesis that the scope of dependency relations becomes wider as threat perceptions increase. In fact, the opposite is supported; threat is negatively associated with scope.

SOCIAL WORLD APPROACH TO CULTURAL STUDIES Mass Media and Gender in the Adolescent Peer Group

Abstract: Cultural sociologists and those studying socialization share an interest in understanding the ways in which media are important within social life. Studies of mass media include those focusing on t...

Response Surface Analysis of Effects of Situation Constraints on Communications Media Choice in Organizations

Abstract: Past research on communications media use in organization has frequently focused on conditions such as the technical, economic, psychological, and social factors that influence use of media in organizations. However, few studies deal with situation factors. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between situation factors and utilization of communication media in organizations. These relationships between situation variables and media use are contrasted against previous media choice theoretical models (Social Presence, Information Richness, and Social Information Processing). In order to investigate the main and interaction effects of three situation constraints (urgency of message, the amount of message content, and distance between communicators), eight situations were analyzed through response surface methodology, using surveys collected from 1072 voice mail users in Wisconsin. The results strongly indicate the necessity of integrating situation factors into media choice models.

The media and the young

Abstract: The apparent conflict between school and media is the result of the poor use of one in relation to the other. School is indeed an ideal place for reflection on, and assimilation of, new means of communication. The media helps us to discover the world, brings us into contact with different cultures, but also teaches us to master the communication which is vital to every citizen. It is therefore through mutual exchange that school and media can contribute to the training of the young.