A study examined mass media use and ability to predict public support for two heavily publicized Florida referenda--casino gambling and a statewide lottery. It was hypothesized that (1) voters who read newspapers that publish election public opinion poll stories will be better able to predict support for the issues than voters who rely on friends…

Many persons in the United States and other countries in the second half of the twentieth century have learned about the mysteries and problems of the oceans from television. This paper highlights the chronology of television presentations about aquatic and marine topics and research documenting the impact of such presentations on viewer knowledge…

This theme issue of the "Centro Bulletin" examines media stereotypes of Latinos and presents examples of alternatives. "From Assimilation to Annihilation: Puerto Rican Images in U.S. Films" (R. Perez) traces the representation of Puerto Ricans from the early days of television to the films of the 1970s. "The Latino 'Boom'…

A study explored the effects of both prior knowledge of acronyms and their form of presentation (cued or uncued) on reader recognition of acronym meaning. Among the hypotheses tested were that (1) a reader presented with an acronym ranked as familiar is more likely to recognize that acronym than one ranked unfamiliar, and (2) that a reader…

A study examined the effects of factors (including television, family, peers, age, and socioeconomic status) on consumer socialization, the process by which individuals develop consumption-related cognitions and behaviors. The specific criterion variables studied included consumer affairs knowledge, puffery filtering, consumer finance management,…

Data from 83 Minnesota newspapers support the hypothesis that as communities become more pluralistic, their newspapers will report more conflict. Between 1965 and 1979, Minnesota saw an increase in population and proportionate increases in income from manufacturing and agriculture. During this period of growing pluralism, the amount of newspaper…

By the time SABC TV became operational in January 1976 in South Africa, television had already been firmly established in most overseas countries. Therefore prior to the introduction of television there was the opportunity to do research work to determine the effects of television on society. Between 1974 and 1981 the Institute for Communication…

To discover the components of a trustworthy source, a study evaluated the credibility of health-related news stories. Subjects, 192 college undergraduates, read one of four random versions of a one-page newspaper story about aspirin's ability to ward off heart attacks. They were told that the sources for the articles were: a medical journal (high…

A study investigated advertising executives' perceptions of the importance of culture in international advertising, as well as advertising message approaches used by international corporations. It was hypothesized that more nonculturally oriented managers would agree to the use of the same creative strategies to advertise in both domestic and…

Using a revised theoretical model of newsworthiness, a study investigated the prominence with which world events are covered by the United States news media. The model differs from previous newsworthiness studies by adding two measures of the deviance of events and by including several country-based social significance predictor variables. Two…

Observing that over the past 10 years two lines of discussion--one emanating from and focusing on the needs of women, the other arising from and related to "mainstream" communication problems--have been carried out simultaneously but have remained separate, this report focuses on the change in women's status with regard to access to the…

Thirty-five books and articles about television and sex roles that were published between l954 and l983 are listed in this annotated bibliography. Among the topics covered in the articles and books are female stereotypes, the influence of television on children's perception of sex roles, a survey and summary of the research on sex roles and mass…

Electronic databases have become important resources for researchers in many disciplines. While there is no single database designed to cover the field of communications, there are several databases which include material that is of interest to investigators in the field. An experiment was performed to determine which databases would be most…

A study examined the influence that the United States media have on the values, morality, and traditions of other countries, and more specifically the effects on Korean values of American television as it is broadcast on the U.S. Forces Korean Network. College students in Seoul, Korea (46% male and 54% female with a mean age of 24.6) answered a…

A study examined the descriptive language and sex-linked roles ascribed to women and men in articles of the New York "Times" from 1885 and 1985. Seven content analysis methods were applied to four random samples from the "Times"; one sample each for women and men from both years. Samples were drawn using randomly constructed…