On May 31, 1897, William James, one of America's most influential philosophers and psychologists, delivered the first civic oration of his career. The principal orator at the dedication of the Robert Gould Shaw memorial in Boston, James did what commemorative speakers are not supposed to do. He chose to be confrontational and divisive in a…

This paper argues that sociological theory provides a sound basis for analyzing the social organization and reorganization of the college or university and for guiding the activities of the college dean. Frame analysis theory, developed in the study of social movements, and the attendant concepts of frame shifts and frame disputes, are drawn on to…

Evaluates the pattern of celebratory activities in United States homes that accompanied television viewing of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. Finds that those watching the Olympics were more likely to be in a group, to have visitors, to plan their viewing, and to pay close attention to the television. (MS)

The Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPAs), funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, were undertaken in 1982, 1985, and 1992. This report is based on the data collected by the SPPA surveys. Although data on dance genres other than ballet were collected under the rubric "other…

The phenomenon of crowd behavior at sports events is examined in this paper. Previous treatments of why spectators enjoy watching sports events are examined, showing that these studies have largely ignored the potential role of intraaudience influence processes. A brief literature review notes the role of feedback between the communication event…

Designed to investigate intra-audience effects in a field setting, this study tested three hypotheses: (1) subjects who are exposed to favorable audience responses by confederates will display more favorable assessments than subjects who are exposed to less favorable responses; (2) subjects who are exposed to favorable audience responses will…

The individual who is a focus of public attention is an active constructor of outcomes. He attempts to anticipate important characteristics of his observers and modifies his reactions in order to control likely consequences. The nature of the task is also of central importance. For socially relevant responses the individual's behavior is closely…

This branching programmed instructional workbook focuses on how people behave when they hear messages. Included are materials on audience/receiver behavior and a self-instructional supplement to materials that are a part of other communication studies. Drawings and diagrams illustrate the discussions of self-analysis, selection of audiences and…

Data gleaned from the 1982, 1985, and 1992 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPAs) were used in this analysis of participation in opera and musical theater/operetta. Findings indicate that opera is the least popular of the fine arts, being the least frequented and the least selected as an activity respondents would like to attend more…

Data gleaned from the 1982, 1985, and 1992 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPAs) were used in this analysis of participation in the arts via television, radio, and sound recordings. The arts examined were jazz, classical music, opera, musicals and operettas, plays, dance, and the visual arts. Selected findings are as follows: (1)…

This report analyzes data from the 1982, 1985, and 1992 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). Analysis focuses on the role of race/ethnicity in arts participation. Arts participation is defined as involvement in a listed activity at least once in the past 12 months. Race is defined along categories used by the U.S. Bureau of Census.…