SHORT WELL-MADE CARTOONS, CAREFULLY MATCHED TO ORAL AND WRITTEN TEXTS, COMMAND THE LANGUAGE STUDENT'S ATTENTION BECAUSE OF THEIR NOVELTY AND MULTISENSORY APPEAL. THEY ARE ALSO IDEAL VEHICLES FOR THE DYNAMIC PRESENTATION OF EVERYDAY SITUATIONS WHICH CAN SERVE AS SETTINGS FOR NORMAL SPEECH PATTERNS. THESE FOUR-MINUTE CARTOONS LEND THEMSELVES TO A…

Two major objectives of the Alternatives in Children's Broadcasting Project were to determine the extent of the influence of violence in children's television and to determine if children's interest in prosocial programming makes it a viable alternative to violence programming. Both adults and 8-10 year old children were surveyed about their…

This paper reviews ten studies on the effects of television cartoon violence on aggressive behavior in children and discusses possible reasons for the inconsistent results. Methodology and results of field and laboratory studies are compared, and study limitations are noted. The impact of cartoons is discussed in terms of human vs. animal…

This paper discusses research on the effects of formal features of television programs on children's attention, comprehension, and social behavior. Formal features are defined as visual and auditory events which are not primarily a part of the content or message. Three models of the influences of form and content are discussed: (1) the…

Discusses the uses of political cartoons in the classroom, and presents a list of skills which must be acquired by students to allow them to master cartoon interpretation. Illustrates how to recognize the use of caricature and identify symbolism and includes a bibliography of political cartoon sources and uses. (GEA)

Four activities for language learning are presented, including: class completion of incomplete dialogues excerpted from major literary works; games for learning vocabulary and civilization using words beginning with the same letter; a lesson using cartoons to elicit description and dialogues; and a unit on appropriate and inappropriate…

One hundred thirty undergraduate communications students were administered a two-part survey designed to test their abilities as visual interpreters. Results indicate student respondents were surprisingly inaccurate in determining the correct meaning elements of political cartoons, perhaps because of visual illiteracy, cultural lag of the cartoon,…

Brief research reports discuss Latin America as seen on United States network television; television news coverage of federal regulatory agencies; community perceptions of media impressions; active television viewing and cultivation hypothesis; the impact of cable on traditional television news viewing; George Kibbe Turner; advertising; and…

A theoretical framework is proposed in which comics may be studied in the foreign language classroom. Major areas in which scholars in France have formulated a pedagogy of comics are reviewed. A short bibliography of the most recent studies on the subject is given. (Author/RM)

The Media and Disabilities section of the Proceedings contains the following 5 papers: "Wrestling with Stereotypes: Images of the Mentally Ill in the WWF" (Marie Hardin and Brent Hardin); "Investigating Media Influence on Attitudes Toward People with Disabilities and Euthanasia" (Kimberly A. Lauffer and Sarah Bembry);…

Suggests books and other materials that are interesting and supportive for struggling readers and reluctant readers, in several categories: repetitive texts, texts that can be performed, and popular texts that have particular appeal for reluctant readers. (SR)

Describes ArchiVISTA, an optical disk image retrieval system that provides access to cartoons and caricatures in the National Archives of Canada. Planning, evaluation, design and image capture, and retrieval are explained, as well as how the system developed from earlier efforts of bibliographic control and imaging technology. (10 references) (EAM)

Examines the relationship between the rated sex, aggression, and sexism values of cartoons and their perceived funniness. Results, interpreted by Zillmann's social predisposition theory, indicated response differentiation by sex. (MW)

Analyzes 231 comic strips and 126 editorial cartoons featuring homelessness to uncover differences between public opinion manifested in popular culture and views held by local and national power groups. Finds that 57% of comic strips and 30% of editorial cartoons are neutralizing, either by using the homeless as "props" for other stories or issues…

Discusses an unsuccessful English 101 writing assignment in which students were asked to analyze a Gary Larson cartoon. Examines critically the type of assignment that seeks to address and incorporate the student writer's "local knowledge" of cultural texts, while at the same time containing what counts as knowledge within limited parameters of…