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Based on the proposition that human beings are humor beings, this article probes into Iranian society through the lens of humor. It also strives to open a window to Iranian perspectives on America. Persian online jokes as the mainstream of Iranian humor about America are focused on. The qualitative analysis of several stereotypes of these jokes offers insights into Iranian viewpoints on domestic issues as well as American society. The paper discusses three categories of jokes: 'double-barrel shotgun,' 'American Dream,' and 'rattlesnake.' They are elaborated on against a backdrop of recent developments in Iran, Iran-US geopolitical tensions, and the social functions of humor. Iranian jokes about America chiefly serve as a secure, legitimate venue for Iranians to express their domestic concerns, permitting a discourse of resistance and awareness under the façade of humor. Such humor also reveals the tacit, socio-cultural presuppositions Iranians hold about American society. Thus, the paper can potentially shed light on how Iranian society considers its American counterpart regardless of the media propaganda and the conflicts between the respective governments. This is a notably under-explored area of research to which this article endeavors to contribute new insights., Author(s): Mohammad Ali Heidari-Shahreza [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.411757.1, 0000 0004 1755 5416, Department of English, Islamic Azad University, , Shahreza Branch, Isfahan, Iran This article elaborates on how humor [...]

The central ingredient in the process, widely studied, of Americanization may well be the power of American mass culture to turn everything into spectacle and entertainment. If well over a hundred years ago the appeal of William Cody/Buffalo Bill lay in his power to turn recent real-life events on America's frontier into the mass entertainment offered by his Wild West Show, today we witness the further development where spectacle and entertainment have in fact taken the place of real-life events. No more need of fine distinctions between reality and its entertainment version; spectacle and entertainment are the new reality. America's president now seems simply to continue performing his reality-TV persona, which had already turned him into the simulacrum of an authentic American hero. This paper will analyze current trends and give recent examples where the virtual world of mass entertainment has come to set the parameters for our sense of what is reality and what its fake version. It also analyzes the effects on political life and political traditions., Author(s): Rob Kroes [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) Amsterdam, The Netherlands One flourishing field in American Studies has been a form of reception studies, focusing on the ways in which American [...]

This study assessed how web-based information affects parental trust in physician's diagnosis of autism (PDA) and likelihood of seeking a second opinion. Participants of an online survey were randomly allocated to one of three hypothetical scenarios, all were given a vignette of a non-verbal 18-month-old child followed by (1) not viewing Internet results, (2) viewing results suggesting autism, or (3) viewing results suggesting language delay and rated their trust and likelihood of seeking a second opinion. When Internet results contradicted PDA, parents reported less trust in PDA and greater likelihood of seeking a second opinion. Due to the Internet's influence on parents' response to PDA, clinicians should discuss their differential diagnosis with parents, address Internet-related concerns, and recommend trustworthy sources., Author(s): Tammy Pham [sup.1] , Anna Kuznetsova [sup.1] , Haelynn Gim [sup.1] , Kyla Cordrey [sup.1] , Ruth Milanaik [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0000 9278 1430, grid.428847.5, Division of [...]

Today, the internet deeply influences our experience of self. As Sherry Turkle explains, 'the projection of self onto computational media is as consistent as it is dramatic' since the internet's [...]

Currently airing television dramas and comedies such as 'Gossip Girl,' 'Mad Men,' 'In Treatment,' and 'Glee' are analyzed. These programs are deemed to portray theatricality or live performance as a way by which characters realized self-realization and authenticity. How theatricality helps television to maintain its appeal in an era of Internet ubiquity is discussed.

Background: Suicide rates generally increase with age. Internet websites and chat rooms have been reported both to promote suicides and to have a positive beneficial effect on suicidal individuals. The role of the internet in elderly suicides has not been studied. Methods: The relationship between elderly suicide rates and the prevalence of internet users was examined in a cross-national study using data from the World Health Organization and the United Nations website. Results: The prevalence of internet users was significantly and positively correlated with suicide rates in both genders in the age bands 65-74 years and 75+ years. On multiple regression analysis the prevalence of internet users was independently associated with suicide rates in both genders in both age bands. Conclusion: Caution should be exercised in the attribution of a causal relationship and the direction of this relationship because of the cross-sectional and ecological study design whereby the findings are subject to ecological fallacy. However, the findings identify and support a need for further research.

THERE'S a story I like to tell about a story Umberto Eco tells that tells us everything we need to know about story. It starts with forty thousand tons of [...]

All psychotherapists engage in self-disclosure with their clients. At times it may be deliberate or nondeliberate, verbal or nonverbal, and avoidable or unavoidable. Yet, modern-day Internet technologies have redefined the meaning and applications of self-disclosure and transparency in psychotherapy. Consumers of mental health services can easily access large amounts of information about their psychologists. Clients' online searches about their psychotherapists may range from normal curiosity to criminal stalking. Following an examination of these issues, three invited experts share their commentaries on the issues raised. A historical review of self-disclosure in the mental health professions and the opposition of many theorists and practitioners to its use are provided. Further, the roles of Internet social networking and online communities for psychotherapists and their clients and prospective clients are explored, along with the clinical meaning of the ever-increasing digital transparencies of psychologists, trainees, and clients. Advice is provided for how to view, understand, and consider web postings by psychotherapists, clients, and others. Implications for clinical practice and training are provided along with recommendations for how to effectively address issues of digital transparency. Keywords: ethics, Internet, self-disclosure, social networks, transparency

Social problems theory has yet to fully address the impact that new communication technologies are having on the claims-making process. This article examines the emergence of the blogosphere as a cultural phenomenon that provides claims-makers with a powerful new public arena to advance social problem claims. Using Stephen Hilgartner and Charles Bosk's (1988) public arenas model of social problem construction, blog-generated problem claims are examined to analyze how Internet driven social problems compete for public attention. Findings suggest that blogs make the claims-making process more efficient, offer expanded carrying capacity compared to traditional arenas, and provide outsider claims-makers with greater opportunity to have a voice in social problems construction. Still, only a small number of blogs have become recognized as claims-making arenas; they still rely on traditional principles of selection; and bloggers face the same competition for mainstream media attention as claims-makers using traditional arenas. Keywords: blog, blogosphere, Internet, new media, public arena.

The article seeks to explore the significance of class membership among young people in the so-called internet age. Internet access and use in Britain has remained by and large concentrated in wealthier households, underlining, at an aggregate level, a clear link between individuals' socio-economic background and their use of the internet. A somewhat contradictory statement emerges, however, from recent claims made by techno-enthusiasts, and apparently young people themselves, about the existence of a digital generation. This generational label suggests that young people today are, irrespective of their background, growing up with a sense of digital expertise, where class boundaries have become obscured. The article discusses this apparent contradiction, based on a study of young internet users. The findings suggest that, while class boundaries can be affected by internet use, the impact of this use remains nonetheless short lived and unlikely to significantly impinge on young people's social mobility in the future. KEY WORDS class / internet / youth

The article examines the impact of the Internet on global sport-related social movements and changes in local responses to the globalizing forces. It is concluded that communication technology such as the Internet has led to the revolution in sports-related areas and also for sociologists.

In this article, I show how dramatic social changes in Yaounde, Cameroon, are the product of women applying long-standing cultural schemata in a changed economic context. Marriage rates are failing precipitously, and growing numbers of relatively elite women are looking beyond the nation's borders for husbands. Yet, as these women seek foreign husbands, their models of marriage are largely transposed out of older forms of bridewealth: E-mail-mediated marriage draws as much on local history as on global politics. [Africa, marriage, gender, honor, modernity, consumption]

A mobile-based online survey method was evaluated by conducting a pilot studyt. The study focuses on important issues related to online survey methodology, such as target respondents, cost, questionnaire format, response rate and the quality of data. The need for future research was suggested to improve the mobile-based online survey method.

The ideology of individualism underlying identity and psychology's focus on a visual ontology may serve to inhibit the social value of people with disabilities. The online medium with its capacity [...]

A study examines the impact of using the Internet for various purposes like social, informational, and leisure activities among others. It is revealed that users get addicted to the Internet when using it for social purposes and they may face problems in time management and health too.

We have observed conspicuous changes in the 25 years after Frank M. Bass, John D. C. Little, and Donald G. Morrison begot Marketing Science. Marketing Science benefited from five subsequent [...]

Ten participants from an online community of fiction writers were exposed to a treatment package intended to increase their writing productivity. The package consisted of graphic feedback provided through a Web page, praise for goal completion delivered via e-mail, and editing of manuscripts by other members of the community dependent on the completion of word-count goals. A multiple baseline design across groups was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention, which was successful in increasing the number of words written. DESCRIPTORS: treatment package, graphic feedback, praise, writing productivity, Internet-based intervention

In this article, the author examines the relative roles of music and the internet for self-identifying members of the straightedge youth subculture. For nearly 30 years, subcultures have been conceptualized primarily in terms of music and style. Participation has therefore typically been characterized by the consumption of specific types of music and clothing and participation in local, face-to-face music scenes. However, with the recent growth of information and communication technologies like the internet, opportunities have emerged that enable individuals to participate in subcultures in which they otherwise might not participate. The author shows that a new type of subculturalist is emerging--one whose subcultural participation is limited to the internet. Using the concepts of authenticity and scene, the author explores how participants in a straightedge internet forum negotiate their affiliations with the subculture and how some members attempt to halt others' claims to a straightedge identity. The study suggests that the internet is emerging as a new, but highly contested, subcultural scene. Keywords: subculture; identity; internet; authenticity; straightedge; scene

We use multiple methods to examine how individual websites affect political interest (i.e., citizens' willingness to pay attention to politics at the expense of other endeavors). Our model clarifies necessary conditions for a website to increase political interest. A survey then reveals age-related and site-specific interest changes that are consistent with the model's logic. Respondents of all ages report greater political interest after viewing sites that they rate as effective and efficient than they do after viewing other sites. Age-related interest effects occur because young and old disagree about which sites have these desired attributes. This work makes two contributions: our methods offer a template for understanding the influence of participatory appeals while our finding can help political entrepreneurs engage young adults more effectively.

The utility of cultural metaphor as an analytic tool and theoretical construct in consumer research is presented. The ways that computer and internet metaphors have had an impact on the US consumer meanings and actions in offices and other realms of daily life is taken as a prime example.

En depit du fait que les jeunes filles des regions rurales au Canada ont des difficultes a acceder aux TIC (techniques informatiques de communication), elles sont de plus en plus [...]

The Internet has stimulated academic inquiries on the political implications of the Internet revolution. A great deal of attention has been focused on the following: Has the Internet altered the nature of interaction between the state and society? Will the Internet ultimately be able to promote the democratic transition of existing authoritarian political systems? This article attempts to address these two questions based on an empirical study of the situation in China. The article explores the democratic implications of the Internet in the context of the interplay between the state and society by setting up a three-layered analytical framework, that is, the Internet as a tool for communication, the Internet as public space, and the Internet as a means for collective action. In China, the impact of the Internet on democratic transition differs at each of these three layers, depending on the interaction strategies between the state and society. Keywords: China; Internet; collective action; political democratization; political liberalization

Numerous articles in the popular press together with an examination of websites associated with the medical, legal, engineering, financial, and other professions leave no doubt that the role of professions has been impacted by the Internet. While offering the promise of the democratization of expertise--expertise made available to the public at convenient times and locations and at an affordable cost--the Internet is also driving a reexamination of the concept of professional identity and related claims of expertise and standards of integrity. This paper begins with a presentation of case studies illustrating the ease by which impostors infiltrate the ranks of professionals. Reports of individuals masquerading as professionals via the Internet often reveal that these imposters cause harm to the unwary victims who rely on assertions of professional expertise. Such reports motivated the authors to examine the origins and evolution of the traditional roles of professions and professionals in today's society, as well as question how, or whether, the standards for professional practice have been adapted to the challenges posed by technology, i.e., do statements of professional ethics provide a 'guiding light' for practitioners and their clients in the cyber age? The authors challenge the professions to consider the notion that technology forces a confrontation between the guild-like aspects of a profession that have served, on the one hand, to protect a profession from encroachment and, on the other hand, have purportedly protected the public. The authors conclude by presenting an examination of websites that show recognition of the challenges that the Internet poses to professionalism, as we have known it. Detailed discussion of the websites of two professions illustrates different approaches to responding to these challenges. KEY WORDS: Democratization of information, profession(s), professional ethics, professional expertize, professionalism.

This study compared self-presentation and other-orientation behaviors and interaction patterns in three types of online AA groups (i.e., asynchronous discussions, formal synchronous AA meetings, and informal chats) to the behaviors and interaction patterns in other computer mediated support groups and computer mediated nonsupport (interest) groups. Results showed AA groups differed somewhat from other support groups and support groups differed from nonsupport interest groups. Asynchronous AA discussions had the highest proportion of semi-private and private-personal self-presentations, agreements, and personal acceptance. Private-personal disclosures also tended to be followed by personal acceptance. Formal synchronous AA meetings were characterized by reciprocity of private personal disclosure and informal chats between recovering alcoholics were characterized by reciprocity of personal acceptance. AA groups in particular and support groups in general engaged in fewer negative comments, and opinion disclosures were not as likely to evoke negative responses as in nonsupport interest groups. Results supported Walther's (1996) hyperpersonal model and the supportive character of online AA groups. Overall there was reciprocity of self-presentation and other-orientation, and self-presentation codes predicted the nature of other-orientation responses. Keywords: Computer Mediated Communication; AA; Support Groups, The growth of Internet systems has revolutioned communication. Some even claim that Internet groups can do 'virtually' everything that face-to-face (FtF) groups can accomplish. However, traditionally scholars have lauded FtF [...]

Strategic voting, which was frequently described as 'Nader trading,' emerged during the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election as a way for voters to redefine their participation in the American electoral process. As a movement that emerged online, strategic voting not only presents potential political ramifications, but raises important issues for social movement scholars. In particular, movements that emerge online, which we refer to as 'e-movements,' may challenge movement theories based on offline, pre-Internet forms of activism. In this paper, we use detailed data on the forms of strategic voting and the creators of the movement to address the literature on social movement leadership. We find that biography plays a strong role in the generation of strategic voting leaders, but in ways that differ from previous expectations about movement leadership processes. Further, we find that specific characteristics of leaders' backgrounds also shape the forms of strategic voting implemented by leaders. We suggest a new institutionalist interpretation of this finding, arguing that scripts for appropriate forms of action generate diverse approaches to strategic voting.

The internet is becoming an increasingly important source of information for students in all subjects, but do you know how to make the most of its resources? How far can […]

A lively debate has recently emerged about the consequences of the diffusion of the Internet. While many social scientists emphasize the beneficial economic consequences of the Internet some suspect that it has also disadvantages for users' social capital. So far the existing empirical evidence concerning the effect on social capital is mainly based on cross-sectional data and is still contradictory. This study is based on a longitudinal survey conducted in 1998 and 2001 among a random sample of Swiss citizens. It analyzes the determinants of the adoption of the Internet and the consequences for respondents' personal networks as well as the time they spent socializing with their network. The results show that the Internet was adopted sooner by individuals with high financial, human and social capital. Furthermore, the results suggest that Internet use is not associated with a reduction in respondents' networks or with the time they spent socializing with friends. Instead the findings suggest that the time users devote to the Internet is taken away from the time they spend on watching television.

The Internet provides an unprecedented capability for sellers to learn about their customers and offer custom products at special prices. In addition, customization is more feasible today because of advances in manufacturing technologies that have improved sellers' manufacturing flexibility. We first develop a model of product customization and flexible pricing to incorporate the salient roles of the Internet and flexible manufacturing technologies in reducing the costs of designing and producing tailored consumer goods. We show how a monopoly seller may earn the highest profits by producing both standard and custom products and can raise prices for both types of products as customization and information collection technologies improve. Simultaneous adoption of customization in a duopoly reduces the differentiation between their standard products but does not intensify price competition. Compared with a two-facility monopolist, the duopoly may underinvest in customization. Consumer surplus improves after sellers adopt customization but does not monotonically increase as customization technologies advance. When firms face a fixed entry cost and adopt customization sequentially, the first entrant always achieves an advantage and may be able to deter subsequent entry by choosing its customization scope strategically. (Mass Customization; Price Discrimination; Product Differentiation; Internet Economics), 1. Introduction New information technologies are transforming the dynamics of producing and marketing consumer goods. The Internet and consumer-tracking technologies such as online registration, cookies, and collaborative filtering allow sellers [...]

The influence of the Internet on corporate size is evaluated through the use of two models.