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Understanding the media effect on behavioral outcomes is critical during a health crisis. Mechanisms explaining the mediation effect of media induced risk perception on individual fears and preventive behavior adoption rarely attend to the assumptions and methods to make a causal inference, nor to explore how the effect differs by socioeconomic status. We applied a causal framework to estimate how differential media exposure motivates fear and behavioral reaction, and to what extent these effects can be explained by risk susceptibility and risk severity perceptions in Israel and China, and whether the effects are conditional on socioeconomic situation. Our results suggest that media consumptions are explanatory predictors for increased fear and behavior through provoked risk perceptions. Moreover, socioeconomic status is a pronounced moderator in differentiating the media effect. These findings emphasize the media effects in the context of pandemic and have potential implications for media campaign and policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2522-3380) is the property of Arab Journal of Sciences & Research Publishing (AJSRP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The way in which climate change-related information is framed can influence not only cognitive outcomes but also emotional responses. This web-based experiment (n = 331) investigated the effects of strategy framing and issue framing on emotions and online climate action intentions in the context of climate relationship between China and the United States. Results indicated that strategy framing increased negative emotions (i.e., anxiety and anger), whereas issue framing triggered more positive emotions (i.e., pride and excitement). No significant difference was observed regarding climate action intentions between two groups. Additionally, anxiety and anger mediated the effects of message framing on online climate action intentions. Habitual worry about climate change and attitude toward China-U.S. climate collaboration moderated the effects of strategy framing and issue framing on discrete emotions. The findings offer theoretical insights regarding emotional responses to strategy framing and practical implications on climate communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional trust is pivotal in facilitating targeted policy implementation and fostering appropriate preventative behavior amid public health crises. This study examines the immediate effects of the pandemic on institutional trust, investigating whether public trust in responding institutions underwent substantial changes pre and post the early outbreak of the pandemic. Leveraging data from two large-scale online surveys administered before and after the outbreak of the pandemic, our findings highlight a marked erosion of public trust toward the government in the aftermath of the outbreak. This effect is more pronounced at the local government level compared to the central government. Conversely, there was a significant increase in trust in medical institutions. Additionally, shifts in public trust in the government were found to be closely tied to evaluations of the government's pandemic-handling measures, with this relationship moderated by diverse media consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccination and social media play pivotal roles in affecting disease transmission. Research has shown that disease transmission can be subject to random events. Consequently, we develop a stochastic infectious disease dynamical model that incorporates saturated media coverage and vaccination age. The Itô's formula and the Lyapunov function method are applied to study the extinction behavior of the disease and the existence of a unique ergodic stationary distribution. The findings suggest that the media effect is delayed and cannot eliminate the disease completely. To directly control disease transmission, a combination of high-intensity noise disturbance and low vaccine wane rate is required. Furthermore, the shorter the disease incubation period, the more difficult it is to control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass media are a key source of public news, significantly influencing the accessibility of certain issues through media coverage. While media coverage of rival nations is known to influence public perceptions, its potential impact on citizens' attitudes toward their own country is less explored. This study addresses this gap by investigating Chinese respondents' reactions to U.S. news stories related to food safety issues. The research reveals that exposure to negative news stories about a rival nation's food safety scandal can lead to a more favorable assessment of one's own government when the domestic government is perceived to be handling a similar issue better. Conversely, positive news about the rival nation's food safety issues or slightly negative news about a less severe issue diminishes government satisfaction. The findings suggest that the impact of international news coverage on citizens' views is shaped by comparisons between nations' performances. These findings shed light on the complex dynamics of international news and its influence on domestic perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zer: Journal of Communication Studies / Revista de Estudios de Comunicacion / Komunikazio Ikasketen Aldizkaria is the property of Universidad del Pais Vasco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study explores the effect of priming gendered stereotypes on emotions toward immigrants and attitudes toward refugees among Jewish-Israelis and Germans. It aims to contribute a new theoretical perspective on the importance of gendered stereotypes in media discourses. Drawing on previous research, which suggests a theoretical model for examining the indirect effect of stereotypical gendered stereotypes in predicting emotions and attitudes toward outgroups during political conflicts, this study aims to explore the effect of stereotypical gendered priming on emotions toward immigrants and attitudes toward refugees. It uses three online experiments conducted among Germans and Jewish-Israelis: the first two studies examine the effect of gendered stereotypes on emotions toward immigrants and attitudes toward refugees among Jewish-Israelis; the third replicates this model in Germany in order to explore the effect of gendered stereotypes on attitudes toward refugees there. Such empirical examination can promote a better understanding of the role of exposure to gendered stereotypes in shaping public opinion toward marginalized groups. It may also contribute to attempts to promote constructive political debate and media coverage by specifically addressing the societal constructs--gendered stereotypes--that can potentially advance positive political attitudes and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tourism Tribune / Lvyou Xuekan is the property of Tourism Institute of Beijing Union University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The spread and control of infectious diseases are inevitably influenced by the age structure of the population and media effect. In this paper, we propose a susceptible-exposure-infection-recovery type age-structured COVID-19 model with media effect. First, the existence and uniqueness of the solution are obtained using semigroup theory and the positive operator method. The basic regeneration number R 0 is computed next and the globally asymptotical stability of the disease-free steady state, as well as the locally asymptotical stability of endemic steady state is studied without any extra conditions. The influence of media effect and age structure of the population on disease transmission are also verified by numerical simulations. Our result show that additional intensity of media broadcasts not only reduces the peak of disease outbreak but also shortens the duration of the epidemic. Further more, the proportion of infected adolescents is lower, and adults should pay more attention to self-protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost all calamities make a footmark on the financial sector, and COVID-19 is no different. On this ground, stock market investors' attitudes, thinking, and everything receives severe attention as investors' psychology is a common determinant of the trading activity and investment decisions which ultimately drive the market. Investors in developing countries like Bangladesh need a more rigorous analysis of their behavior as they are now more concerned and worried about their investments than before. They must be more vigilant in terms of preparation to eliminate the impacts of COVID-19. This paper aims at focusing on understanding how the spread of the pandemic is reshaping the psychological aspect of investors with a focus on four selected factors, risk perception, market psychology, media effect, and loss aversion. Three hundred eighty-five responses were collected through a questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic, where data was tested using Smart PLS 3.0 in conjunction with IBM SPSS 25. With the help of the measurement model and structural model of partial least square, the suggested framework in this paper has been studied to identify some aspects of investors' psychology that could potentially have insights and information on how countries should place themselves to respond to future epidemics. The effect size and individual t-test of the factors explain the affected state of thinking of retail investors, where loss aversion and risk perception affect investors the most. In contrast, media effects have a moderate influence, and market psychology has the least. The findings are expected to help investors and policymakers understand the behavior of the market and prepare accordingly for challenging the upcoming economic crisis in the corona war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By drawing from imagery and consumer choice theories, we examine how visuals of faces and social groups can foster behavioural intention and emotional effects in the case of nature tourism video marketing. We implemented an experimental study by creating three different videos with altering levels of human presence. Data were analysed using linear regression and partial least-squares path analysis methods. Unlike prior research had suggested, video content with fewer direct visuals of human beings was found to be more entertaining. Thus, scenery performed better than people as visuals in our destination marketing case. The visuals of faces and social groups had no effect on consumers' behavioural intention or emotions, even if they did arouse feelings of social presence. Behavioural intention was mainly associated with entertainment value, while social presence had only a minor effect. Gender, nationality and outdoor activity also affected the media effects of videos, showing them to be complex and context-dependent phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the influence of mass media and interpersonal communication channels in the adoption of preventive measures against the Covid-19 pandemic (coronavirus). The study hypothesises that higher exposure to media content increases interpersonal communication and increased interpersonal communication is positively associated with the adoption of preventive behaviour. To test this hypothesis, this study used a quantitative research technique employing a survey method. The results, when assessed through Pearson correlation, elaborated that there was a stronger association between media exposure and increased interpersonal communication and the adoption level of Covid prevention measures. The result of the thematic analysis revealed that interpersonal communication was an important contributor towards changing behaviour. Hence, the two-step flow of communication showed strong support for accepting the role of interpersonal communication alongside the mass media. This study findings provide insights to communicators and planners for devising different communication strategies for combating the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of recent Chinese international propaganda by adopting a conditional process analysis of U.S. and South Korean audiences. Our study yields three major findings. First, perceived credibility plays a significant role as a mediator between new propaganda and its persuasive effect. Second, both the perceived credibility of a message and its persuasive effect are moderated by the nationality of the audience (American or Korean in our study). Third, the indirect persuasive effect of a piece of Chinese international propaganda, as mediated through its perceived credibility, is further moderated by the nationality of the audience (i.e., American or Korean). This paper thus stands to contribute to cross-national studies of the media effect of international propaganda by identifying factors associated with perceived credibility and the persuasive effect and assessing the influence of propaganda on public attitudes in other nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic, causing substantial anxiety. One potential factor in the spread of anxiety in response to a pandemic threat is emotion contagion, the finding that emotional experiences can be socially spread through conscious and unconscious pathways. Some individuals are more susceptible to social contagion effects and may be more likely to experience anxiety and other mental health symptoms in response to a pandemic threat. Therefore, we studied the relationship between emotion contagion and mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. We administered the Emotion Contagion Scale (ESC) along with a measure of anxiety in response to COVID-19 (modified from a previous scale designed to quantify fear of the Swine Flu outbreak) and secondary outcome measures of depression, anxiety, stress, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. These measures were completed by a large (n = 603) student sample in the United States. Data were collected in the months of April and May of 2020 when the fear of COVID-19 was widespread. Results revealed that greater susceptibility to emotion contagion was associated with greater concern about the spread of COVID-19, more depression, anxiety, stress, and OCD symptoms. Consumption of media about COVID-19 also predicted anxiety about COVID-19, though results were not moderated by emotion contagion. However, emotion contagion did moderate the relationship between COVID-19-related media consumption and elevated OCD symptoms. Although limited by a cross-sectional design that precludes causal inferences, the present results highlight the need for study of how illness fears may be transmitted socially during a pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, the crisis in Bahrain and the confrontation with Iran have created an environment of sectarianism in the region. This hostility has challenged the media to deal with the issue of citizenship (Al-Muwatana) in a responsible manner. This study applies Social Responsibility Theory to shed light on the role of print media in shaping the concept of citizenship in the Arabian Gulf, with reference to states that enjoy full or partial freedom, especially Kuwait and Oman. The results of this study show that Omani newspapers deal with citizenship positively when reporting news from Syria, Bahrain, Iraq, Yemen and Iran despite press censorship, while Kuwaiti print media, with its greater freedom of the press, is more negative on the topic of citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyber vigilantism, in particular crowdsourced vigilantism, is a newly emerging practice whereby people expose misconducts and identify culprits through collaboratively searching and publicizing information using the Internet. This study proposes a theory-oriented framework with which we demonstrate that individuals' media exposure and perceived social norms may interact and jointly predict their reception of and reactions to the practice. We tested the framework with web survey data of 800 adults in Taiwan. Results showed that the frequency and the ways in which the press covers cyber vigilantism were both directly and indirectly associated with individuals' acceptance of or resistance to cyber vigilantism. The indirect associations were mediated by individuals' evaluations and perceived social acceptance of the practice. We suggest that obtaining favorable news coverage is essential for cyber vigilantism to gain acceptance and attract crowds. When modeling or predicting the structure and evolving process of this newly emerging cyber practice, researchers may want to consider the overall media environment, social context, and personal evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the use of immersive journalism, journalistic storytelling using Virtual Reality, as a tool to promote knowledge, empathy, and change in views and opinions on the phenomenon of sexual harassment among men and women. Testimonies of employees reporting workplace harassment were adapted into a screenplay. The screenplay presented ongoing verbal sexual harassment of an employee by her manager, filmed from the victim's point of view by the use of a 360-degree camera. In a controlled experiment, change in attitudes on sexual harassment and empathy toward the victim were compared between participants consuming the content as either a written script, 2-dimensional screened video or 360-degree, 3-dimensional immersive virtual reality experience. The results point to an interaction effect, where a decrease in stereotypical views of sexual harassment was predicted by gender (men), method of consumption (immersive), and assessment of the effectiveness and emotionality of the content. Implications and directions for future research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media as a new tool for political communication influences current developments in political campaigning. In combination with mainstream media, social media is increasingly used for purposes such as political marketing, mobilisation of voters, and public debate. This paper discusses how social media helped the Malaysian main opposition coalition, Alliance of Hope (PH), to topple the ruling party, National Front (BN), which had ruled Malaysia for the last 61 years. Literature on new media rarely shows positive relationships between new media usage and voting decisions. At most, social media plays a crucial role in extending the dissemination of information to voters. However, PH had to rely solely on social media for their political marketing in reaching out to both urban and rural constituencies, as the coalition was denied access to the government-controlled mainstream media. With data-based information, PH was able to segment voters and focus on marginalised constituencies, young voters, middle-class urban voters, and rural constituencies, which were the ruling party's main fortress, contributing to 57% of the vote. One of the misconceptions many politicians and political parties have is that merely using social media will win them the election. Ultimately, what mattered more in this case was whether political parties could register the currents of change percolating within an evolving Malaysian society and address voter grievances accordingly, something that BN, even with control over mainstream media and superior usage of social media, did not do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What kind of content do citizens in a developing and authoritarian country like to acquire from Western free media? What are the effects of their potentially selective exposure? In a survey experiment involving 1,200 Chinese internet users from diverse socio-demographic backgrounds, this study finds that Chinese citizens with higher pro-Western orientations and lower regime evaluations are more inclined to read content that is positive about foreign countries or negative about China. More importantly, reading relatively positive foreign media content about foreign countries can improve rather than worsen the domestic evaluations of citizens who self-select such content. The article argues that this is because reputable Western media outlets' reports are generally more realistic than overly rosy information about foreign socio-economic conditions that popularly circulates in China. Consequently, foreign media may have a corrective function and enhance regime stability in an authoritarian country by making regime critics less critical. The article also introduces a new variant of the patient preference trial design that integrates self-selection and random assignment of treatments in a way that is useful for studying information effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing is the property of Institute of Sociology NAS of Ukraine and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Media can influence people directly and indirectly through presumed influence on others. This study examined the direct and indirect pathways of media influence. The direct pathway started from the perceived effects of media on self, to anxiety of self, and to behavioral intentions of self. The indirect influence started from the presumed effects of media on others, to others' anxiety, to others' behaviors, and to behavioral intentions of self. A survey was conducted regarding the effects of blog messages about fishery contamination associated with the Fukushima nuclear accident (N = 306). Both influence pathways were effective, but the direct influence was stronger than the indirect influence. The relationship between participants' intentions to change their behaviors and their presumptions about others' behavioral changes was reciprocal, and the effect of the former on the latter was greater than the opposite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue obtrusiveness has long been considered a condition in agenda-setting effect of mass media. Public’s perceived salience of news issues has been found to be more strongly influenced by mass media for unobtrusive issues than obtrusive issues. This study measures the issue obtrusiveness contingency in a developing country by comparing public perception of 10 different issues with varying levels of obtrusiveness. The findings support the original issue obtrusiveness contingency, and add that the public in developing countries report salience of obtrusive issues based on their own personal experience rather than from media exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mersin University Journal of the Faculty of Education / Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Mersin University Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Both the students' ideological and political work and the media work in agricultural colleges and universities are priorities of agricultural higher education in Tibet. The economic and social development situation in Tibet, especially the modern agricultural development trend in Tibet, provides excellent development opportunities and challenges for both the students' ideological and political work and the media work in Tibetan agricultural colleges and universities. On the whole, the students' ideological and political work and the media work should not be treated with discrimination. Instead, they should be effectively integrated and coordinated, to form joint efforts, so as to create a bright spring for agricultural higher education of Tibet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effects of generational identification of young South Koreans on hostile media perception, with an emphasis on the accessibility of the social categorization and the fit between the political ideology of the generation group and that of individual members. A pretest established that generational identification was as strong among young South Koreans as their nationality or gender identification. It also confirmed that the generational identification was equally strong among liberals and conservatives, although the generation group's political norm is liberalism. In a subsequent experiment, young South Koreans perceived a political news article more biased against their position, when their generational categorization was made accessible. Also, the hostile media perception was more pronounced among liberals whose political predisposition was a good fit with the normative political predisposition of their generation group. A regression analysis revealed that the fit, but neither accessibility nor hostile media perception exerted a significant impact on their intention to engage in political talk with their generational group members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experimental research as media effect study explores the effect of the current documentary that deals with radioactive contamination widely spread by fukushima nuclear accident on political and social recognition of domestic audience. Proceeding studies about media effect dealt mainly with news contents of TV, newspaper and internet. However studies on the effect of current documentary as non news contents on audience that provide us with profound information by various subjects are very few. Especially it is difficult to find studies about disaster documentary dealing with radioactive contamination having much effect on global environment. Accordingly this research implemented experimental study to find out the effect of current documentary that deals with radioactive contamination by fukushima nuclear accident on political and social recognition of audience. This research found that subjects exposed to the current documentary considered outdated nuclear power plant more seriously, supporting the opposition party more positively, claiming shutdown of outdated nuclear power plant, and opposing additive construction of nuclear power plant than subjects not exposed to the current documentary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From its inception the medium of writing has been a source of moral concern. The growth of the printed media reinforced these apprehensions. Fears about the media effect on the behaviour of readers became recurring phenomena – in some cases provoking reactions characterised as a moral panic. These periodic outbursts of disquiet can be best understood as panics about the potential impact of the media on public morality. Such reactions were not simply media panics but panics about the effects of the media. The focus of anxiety was not on any particular issue but on the threat to moral authority posed by the media on the outlook and behaviour of the public. By its very existence the media appeared to represent a potential threat to the moral order. Exploring the moral dimension of this reaction is essential for the study of moral panics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two diaza-crown ether compounds, 1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclooctadecane (L0) and its derivative with double acetamide side arms 2,2'-(1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclooctadecane-7,16-diyl)diacetamide (L), and the corresponding two lanthanum complexes were synthesised and characterised. The catalytic capacity of the lanthanum complexes was investigated for the hydrolysis of bis(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate ester (BNPP) in aqueous solution and in CTAB micelles. Kinetic studies show that the catalytic efficiency of complex LaL is obviously higher than that of complex LaL0, and introducing acetamide into the ring of the diaza-crown ether can improve the catalytic ability of the complexes for BNPP hydrolysis. A rate enhancement of about two times was observed for the complex-micelle in contrast with the complex-water system for BNPP catalytic hydrolysis. The optimal pH for the catalytic reaction in the two kinds of media systems show an approximately 0.4 pH unit difference. The two complexes possess higher thermostability, and are more stable in the micelle than in aqueous solution. Based on the results and their analysis, a catalytic mechanism with cooperation of acetamide is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The immense popularity of Facebook with more than 1 billion active users continues to spark the attention of communication scholars. While much is known about Facebook members’ motivations, usage patterns, and gratifications obtained from this social networking site (SNS), minimal attention has been given to examine the perceived consumption and impact of Facebook on users themselves versus others. Applying the third-person effect (TPE) hypothesis to the context of social media, this research uniquely investigates the (a) difference in estimated Facebook effects on self versus others, (b) relationship between perceptions of Facebook use and estimated Facebook effects on self versus others, and (c) association between perceived desirability of Facebook as a social medium and estimated Facebook effects on self versus others. The aforementioned relationships are also moderated by gender and age. Implications for the relevance of TPE on users of SNSs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North Korea is waging psychological warfare, through the internet, to erode the morale of the South Korean combatants. This study aims to examine whether the widespread use of the internet among the South Korean combatants has a significant effect on their belief in rum ors allegedly originating from N orth Korean propaganda, for two reasons. First, South Korea’s psychological counter-operation has been accused of inducing South Korean combatants to promote hatred and prejudice against the progressive political parties that support North Korean regime, causing harm to South Korea’s democracy. Second, there is little empirical research on the effects of South Korea’s psychological counter-operation on the individual's rumor belief and transmission. Results from a survey conducted among 707 South Korean combatants indicate that military education aimed to refute North Korea’s propaganda, statistically speaking, significantly decreased their belief in rumor, but it did not decrease the likelihood of rumor transmission. What was found to be conducive to rumor transmission was the individual's social relations. Our analysis implies that internet use has a significant effect on the belief in and transmission of North Korean propaganda, but its effect can be moderated by various intervening factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hacettepe University Journal of Economics & Administrative Sciences / Hacettepe Üniversitesi Iktisadi ve Idari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Hacettepe University, Faculty of Economic & Administrative Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Some science-related events stimulate public interest, and create a teachable moment in which the underlying science temporarily becomes more interesting. Here, media attention, expressed by Google News reference volume, and changes in information seeking behavior, expressed by Google Trends, were used to estimate the length of a teachable moment for 2004–2011 Nobel Prize announcements. On average, Nobel Prize announcements attracted the attention of online users for no longer than a week. News coverage declined slower and occasionally displayed seasonal trends. There was a 50% drop in searches between the day of the announcement and the following day, and an analogous pattern for news coverage of all laureates varying for different disciplines. The affordances of using publicly available online data to identify the most effective teachable moments relating to science are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this research the author examines the connection between mass audience and changes to approaches of observation of mass communication. As a result of systemization of key theoretical models of communication, the author comes to conclusion of evolution of ideas about the process of mass communication measurement in the course of development of internet, technical and mobile communications: from linear to multisided and multiple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we conducted a meta-analysis of published studies on the effects of entertainment education (EE) on health communication. A search of databases identified 22 studies (N= 19517) that met our inclusion criteria and contained relevant statistics. Analysis of the results suggested that overall, EE's effects on health outcomes – as measured by knowledge, attitudes, intention, and behaviors – was small but significant, with an average effect size (r) of .12,p< .001. Research designs (field studies vs. experiments) and exposure time (multiple episodes vs. one episode) were significant moderators of influence of EE in health communication. However, the impact of delivery channels, health issues, and study locations was not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted a survey of 217 adult game players in Hong Kong to explore the effects of gaming motivations and avatar-self identification on symptoms of online game addiction. Results show that avatar-self identification is positively associated with the problems and salience dimension as well as the uncontrollable game-play dimension of game addiction. The motivation to relax is positively related to perceived avatar-self identification and uncontrollable play; the motivation to socialize in online games is positively linked with the avatar-self identification and both symptoms of online game addiction. The motivation to escape is positively related to the symptom of problems and salience. The drive to achieve virtual accomplishment in online games is negatively associated with the problem caused by gameplay and the salience of online games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues. Illicit drugs are never far from the media gaze and although identified almost a decade ago as 'a new battleground' for the alcohol and other drug (AOD) field there has been limited research examining the role of the news media and its effects on audiences and policy. Approach. This paper draws together media theories from communication literature to examine media functions. We illustrate how each function is relevant for media and drugs research by drawing upon the existing literature examining Australian media coverage during the late 1990s of escalating heroin-related problems and proposed solutions. Key Findings. Media can influence audiences in four key ways: by setting the agenda and defining public interest; framing issues through selection and salience; indirectly shaping individual and community attitudes towards risk; and feeding into political debate and decision making. Each has relevance for the AOD field. For example, media coverage of the escalating heroin-related problems in Australia played a strong role in generating interest in heroin overdoses, framing public discourse in terms of a health and/or criminal issue and affecting political decisions. Implications and Conclusion. Media coverage in relation to illicit drugs can have multifarious effects. Incorporating media communication theories into future research and actions is critical to facilitate understanding of the short- and long-term impacts of media coverage on illicit drugs and the avenues by which the AOD field can mitigate or inform future media debates on illicit drugs.[Lancaster K, Hughes CE, Spicer B, Matthew-Simmons F, Dillon P. Illicit drugs and the media: Models of media effects for use in drug policy research. Drug Alcohol Rev 2011;30:397-402] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to analyze the impact of radio advertisements on urban commuters towards buying behaviour in retail stores and attempts to determine the role of radio advertising on dissemination of information on the sales promotions. The impact of radio advertisements on the store choice and buying preferences are analyzed based on empirical investigation. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on the empirical investigation of urban commuters who acquire information on sales promotion by listening radio advertisements during travel time. The sample respondents selected for the study frequently commute to their workplaces from the residential areas located in the southern, northern and suburban habitats in Mexico City. Data were collected by means of personal interviews during 2007-2009 in different festival seasons broadly categorized as three seasons: April-June (Spring sales following the occasions of Easter vacations, Mother's day and Father's day), July-August (Summer sales) and November-January (Winter sales following prolonged Christmas celebrations), when retailing firms including supermarkets, departmental stores and shopping malls advertise sales promotions frequently on radio. Findings – The study reveals that shopping behaviour of urban consumer at retail stores in response to radio advertisements is highly influenced by the physical, cognitive and economic variables. Radio advertisements propagating promotional messages on sales of products have quick response to the supermarkets and department stores. Listeners of radio commercials are attracted towards advertisements, which are more entertaining while disseminating the message. This study on impact of radio advertisements on consumer behaviour revealed that advantage shopping at retail stores in response to radio advertisements is highly influenced by the physical, cognitive and economic variables. Originality/value – A large number of people listen to radio while commuting in urban areas and respond to the broadcast of various commercial messages. There are limited studies available on radio advertisements and their socio-economic impact. This study contributes to the existing literature on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the media in shaping attitudes towards crime and the justice system has been a heavily researched topic. It has obvious relevance to the procedural justice perspective, in that media representations may have a mediating relationship between the behaviour of institutions of justice and public perceptions of them. Most of these studies have used quantitative methods in order to establish a relationship between attitudes and media consumption. A relationship has been demonstrated on several occasions, but its causal nature has not been proven. However, the difficulty of identifying a direct causal media effect should not lead us to abandon completely the idea that the media have some influence in shaping attitudes towards crime and the justice system. We should look for more sophisticated theories to explain the formation of public opinion and the role of the media in it, and, in addition to the quantitative analysis of statistical data, we should move towards audience research and the use of more qualitative methods. The research reported here used focus group methods to understand how and how much people rely on the media when interpreting issues of crime and evaluating justice institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Audience members carry expectations and judgment of media prior to using them. On the assumption that perceptions have broad socio-political antecedents and audience cognitive consequences, this study specifies a model to examine the relationships among social demographics, perceived media functions and evaluation of media performance, attention to newspaper and television news, and information processing strategies. Telephone interviews of a probability sample of 1000 Guangzhou residents provided first-hand data for analyses. We found that media judgment and information processing are multi-dimensional concepts and their theoretical connections are non-trivial. Variances in media assessment made no difference in people's habit of reading between the lines, but predicted differentially to critical and non-reflective reading of media content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Publizistik: Vierteljahreshefte für Kommunikationsforschung is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The authors attempt here to address a dilemma faced in recent investigation of science and health communication effects: the difficulty of assessing exposure impact in situations beyond the laboratory. Based on social representation theory, we posit that TV news exposure, especially for stories framed as relevant to the everyday lives of individual audience members, can affect people's beliefs about science and that such exposure also should interact with interpersonal conversation to jointly predict beliefs. To assess these relationships in a real world setting, we integrated market-level and individual-level data from a science TV news project funded by the National Science Foundation and employed multilevel modeling to predict beliefs about science. This move allowed us to combine information about TV Designated Market Areas with responses from a national Internet-based survey and permitted a model that included both market-level and individual-level variables. Results indicate both main effects and interaction effects. Presence of relevant science stories in a TV market, for example, positively predicted subsequent beliefs about the general accessibility of science among audience members in that market even after controlling for individual-level variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Publizistik: Vierteljahreshefte für Kommunikationsforschung is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)