A study was conducted to establish a baseline of facts concerning the extent, nature, and social functions of the drinking of alcoholic beverages as depicted on prime time network television programing. A content analysis was undertaken of a random sample of programs drawn from the three major networks over a period of 14 evenings. The primary…

To enhance knowledge of television content, a prosocial code was developed by watching a large number of potentially prosocial television programs and making notes on all the positive acts. The behaviors were classified into a workable number of categories. The prosocial code is largely verbal and contains seven categories which fall into two…

Argues that television programs must be polysemic to achieve popularity because of the wide variety of subcultures represented in the television audience. Analyzes two scenes from "Hart to Hart" to demonstrate the textual devices that bear the dominant ideology and those that resist it. (JD)

Reviews research on the portrayal of gender and occupation on prime-time television and describes a study that focused on representation and patterns of activity of male and female characters across the contextual variables of industry, occupational role, hierarchical position, plot function, genre, and dramatic tone. (36 references) (LRW)

To compile a comprehensive review of English language scientific literature regarding the effects of television on human behavior, the authors of this book evaluated more than 2,500 books, articles, reports, and other documents. Rather than taking a traditional approach, the authors followed a new model for the retrieval and synthesis of…

Focusing on how television viewing fits into a general model of consumer consumption patterns, a study examined (1) the extent to which the viewing of certain television content can be considered a "norm" of society, (2) similarities and differences between the norms for adults and those for children, and (3) some of the antecedents of…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 35 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) television and scholastic achievement; (2) press freedom and the new world information order; (3) content analysis of Saturday morning children's television…