Two studies investigated whether children's television programs that were produced to decrease racial prejudice had the intended positive effect on young children. Study 1 measured 60 White 5- and 6-year-old children's attitudes toward Asian, Black, and White stimuli prior to, and immediately following, a brief, one-time anti-prejudice television…

Following the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the authors examined emotional distress among youth who were not physically present at the disaster site. This research continued even two years after the bombing as the trial of Timothy McVeigh was beginning. The authors found an association between…

This study explores the female body ideal and its implications for health and fitness practices in African-American culture. Employing Patricia Hill Collins's (1986) notion of the "outsider-within," we analyze a focus group discussion on women's body ideals, exercise, and fitness. Our group comprises 9 young, college-educated African-American…

Gloria Ladson-Billings explains in her chapter that, in part, the promise of "Brown v. Board of Education" has not been realized because it was premised on black inferiority. She elaborates that "instead of addressing the underlying pathology of the defendant--White supremacy"--the evidence, case, and accordant ruling…

The superfluous man became a prominent literary figure in Russia during the 19th century. This article makes a comparison of the superfluous experience to the "celebutante" phenomenon, as reflected in the media. It also includes a discussion on the impact that the celebutante influence may have on the dreams, values and meaning-making…

The communication theory and methodology section of the Proceedings contains the following 20 papers: "Political Adwatches and the Third-Person Effect" (Ekaterina Ognianova and others); "Understanding Adopters of Audio Information Services" (Kimberly A. Neuendorf and others); "A Principal-Agent Approach to the Study of…

The Status of Women and Minorities and Communication section of the proceedings contains the following 14 papers: "Who Harasses Women Journalists? A Qualitative Look at Sexual Harassment among U.S. Newswomen" (Kim Walsh-Childers and others); "Not There Yet--Coverage of Women in Foreign News: A 1995 Multi-National Study" (Anat…

This workshop kit consists of: (1) 30-page "Leaders Guide and Handout Masters"; (2) 12-minute videotape, "Lines in the Sand"; (3) special 24-page issue of the journal "Media & Values" on the theme "The Media: in War and Peace"; and (4) an 8-page booklet on the basics of media literacy, "From…

This paper explores some forms of inquiry that are becoming influential within teacher education. In particular, the document focuses on forms of inquiry variously called "stories,""narratives,""personal knowledge,""practical knowledge," or in one particular genre "personal practical knowledge."…

The 1992 presidential campaign put the idea of the electronic town meeting firmly on the political scene, and each of the presidential debates during that campaign experimented with the town meeting format. This paper reviews the tradition of town meeting democracy in the United States and proposes ways to carry that tradition on with the help of…

This bibliography lists 135 publications dealing with the portrayal and employment of Canadians of all ethnic backgrounds in mainstream Canadian media. A broad definition of mass media encompassing all widely distributed communicative materials, including educational textbooks and forms of hate material, is used for the purposes of the…

Few studies have addressed the issue of cultural penetration of Latin American countries by multinational corporations (MNCs) and multinational advertising agencies (MAAs). Whether they are considered multinational or transnational, MAAs have expanded as a form of international communication in the global market, forming the backbone of MNCs.…

Two news audience surveys were conducted--one in Great Britain with 489 subjects and one in the United States with 447 subjects--to assess the ability of various types of television news stories to induce learning. The central objective of the research was to identify attributes of specific news stories that had been well or poorly comprehended.…

To determine the influence of media on learning, a study explored students' preferences, perceived difficulty, and learning in relation to a variety of activities. A randomly selected panel of 611 students, grades three through ten, was drawn from the nine schools (six elementary, two junior high, and one senior high) that make up an entire public…

In 1985 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that a Costa Rican statute requiring journalists to be licensed violates the American Convention on Human Rights and, by extension, all human rights conventions. Though press freedom advocates hailed it as a major triumph for freedom of expression, the court's ruling was only advisory and has…