Suchergebnisse

Addressing a multitude of questions and issues surrounding how we use the media, Media Effects and Beyond represents the results of an international research programme into the use and effects of television, video and music. Seeing the viewer not simply as passive object but as a very active subject, the contributors engage with every aspect of children's, adolescents' and families' use of the media - its character, causes and consequences. Topics explored include media and social mobility; family commumication, and consumer lifestyles. Confronting the two traditions of lifestyle research and

Aus dem traditionellen Blickwinkel der Kommunikationswissenschaft gibt der Autor zu Beginn eine kompakte Einführung in das Thema der internationalen und interkulturellen Kommunikation und formuliert die dem Aufsatz zugrundeliegende Aufgabenstellung: "die Untersuchung von Kommunikation, die physisch oder psychisch eine oder mehrere Grenzen zwischen Gesellschaften überquert, die man Staaten nennt". Dabei liegt das Hauptaugenmerk zunächst auf der internationalen Kommunikation, deren Ursprünge und Verbreitung bzw. Entwicklung in einem historischen Rückblick skizziert werden. Des weiteren finden Fallbeispiele (UN u.a.) für staatenübergreifende Kommunikation auf der Bühne der "hohen Politik" sowie internationale Propaganda Erwähnung. Im Anschluss erfolgt eine Darstellung und Diskussion der drei Ebenen, auf der international Kommunikation stattfindet und zwar (1) der interpersonalen Ebene, (2) der Organisations-Ebene und (3) der gesellschaftlichen Ebene der Massenmedien. Im Verlauf seiner Ausführungen rückt der Autor die kulturelle Kommunikation - also Kommunikation über Kulturen hinweg - stärker in den Vordergrund. Thematisiert werden in diesem Zusammenhang der Konsum internationaler Nachrichten, die Produktions- , Distributions- und Verkaufsmethoden internationaler Populärkultur, insbesondere populärer Musik sowie die Nutzung computervermittelter Kommunikation. (ICG)

Cumulativity in communication science presupposes a systematic interplay between substantive theory, formal models and empirical data. Research on lifestyle and communication, for instance, has been going on for about a century, but only when substantive theory was systematically related to both formal models and empirical data did it really take off. Recent developments show that the notion of lifestyle is usefully defined as patterns of individual action determined by personal characteristics (primarily values and attitudes) as differentiated from patterns of action determined by structural characteristics of the surrounding society and by positional characteristics of the individual (forms of life and ways of life, respectively). Thus defined, lifestyle phenomena stand out as important components of individual communication patterns, especially mass media use. Confronting in terms of statistical and graphical models Bourdieu's theory of lifestyle with these theoretical developments it becomes clear that Bourdieu's conceptualization of lifestyle and its determinants is insensitive, clumsy and unnecessarily cumbersome. It is suggested, therefore, that Ockham's razor be applied.

By means of comparative studies, knowledge about news diffusion patterns may be generalized not only over events but also over different social and media systems. To that end, the diffusion of news about the assassination of Sweden's Prime Minister, Olof Palme, was comparatively studied in twelve countries in Europe, Asia and America. The results show that media structure - previously somewhat neglected in diffusion studies - plays an important role in determining the predominant medium of diffusion. Across the media systems, on the other hand, differential significance of the event strongly affects the rate of diffusion as well as the role of personal communication in the news diffusion process. The influence of sheer geographical distance is weak.