Earlier studies have provided evidence for the importance of mass media in the acculturation process of immigrants. The current study intends to further investigate acculturation by exploring the influential factors in immigrants mass communication activities. A survey has been conducted among 208 participants from diverse ethnic backgrounds in the Baton Rouge area. Having examined the mass media and Internet consumption of the respondents, this study finds that psychological factors, not demographic backgrounds, are the primary influential variables in predicting immigrants media use patterns. According to this study, respondents stronger adaptive personality and acculturation motivation would lead to more consumption of host mass media and English Internet and, thus, promote immigrants acculturation. On the whole, this study casts light on the importance of psychological factors in immigrants acculturation process from the aspect of mass communication.

In a post-September 11, 2001 America and in light of the very real threat posed by radical Islamic terrorist, the courts must rethink the line between protected speech and incitement to violence. The Brandenburg test, which was previously understood to be the modern test to distinguish protected from unprotected advocacy, should be questioned. By examining the development of the Court's First Amendment doctrine leading up to Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), I establish that Brandenburg is ill fitted to be applied to advocacy of terrorism. In Brandenburg, the Court actually conflated two previously distinct speech tests-Judge Learned Hand's incitement test and Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes' clear and present danger test-without explaining how these two tests fit together. In addition, the Court founded Brandenburg on sandy soil. The Court failed to distinguish between the two traditions. They cited Hand's incitement tradition as precedent for the clear and present danger test. In doing so, they credited Brandenburg's imminence requirement to Hand's direct incitement tradition, which did not include an imminence requirement. Therefore, Brandenburg should be abandoned. I conclude that the courts should apply the clear and present danger test and the direct incitement test separately according to the particular circumstances of each case. I will give two modern examples of advocacy of terrorism. I will show how the courts would be better off applying the clear and present danger test as developed by Holmes and Brandeis in one case and the direct incitement test as developed in by Judge Hand in the other. By taking a two test approach to advocacy of terrorism, the government will better posses the tools it needs to protect national security.

The potential political effects of late night comedy programs have been a subject of much debate and concern, particularly since the 2000 Presidential election. Research into this area has been characterized by inconsistency in operationalizations of audiences and an almost exclusive focus on quantitative research. This project was designed to address key concerns that are central to this burgeoning literature by examining âheavyâ viewers of late night talk shows (including audiences of Leno, Letterman, and Conan OâBrien) and âheavyâ viewers of âThe Daily Show with Jon Stewart.â A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used to understand the relationships between late night comedy viewership and how citizens engage with the political world and news media. In addition, I sought to understand the perceived benefits of viewership (entertainment versus information), including how audiences construct meaning around political information and integrate said information into their views of the world. Findings indicate viewers of late night talk shows tend to be politically unsophisticated and low news media consumers, relying on incidental exposure to news about current events that are introduced throughout the day in the course of other activities (i.e., news headlines on email servers, jokes in late night monologues). Viewers of âThe Daily Show,â however, are on the other end of the political spectrum, reflecting high levels of political sophistication and high news media consumption. They tune into âThe Daily Showâ for a âtwistâ on news stories with which they are already familiar, expecting Stewart and his team to provide a humorous slant on current events. The differences between these two audiences can be attributed to their political evolutions. A function of independence of thought and political sophistication, engaging in a political evolution process allows citizens to thoughtfully and deliberately consider (and re-consider) their political beliefs and perspectives. This conscious and effortful engagement with political information means those who are highly politically evolved have flexible and well-functioning mental schema in place to understand and contextualize new information, draw connections between seemingly disparate issues, and recognize and challenge media conventions in political coverage.

This study contributes to the body of research on public opinion and media coverage of foreign news by examining the coverage of nine foreign countries in The New York Times and The Times. Media coverage and the public opinion about foreign nations were strongly correlated. Specifically, negative coverage tends to have more agenda-setting effects than neutral and positive coverage. The findings also suggest that media portray foreign countries in a unidimensional fashion, by limiting the coverage around a few policy issues. Finally, the U.S. and the U.K. media coverage of foreign nations were very similar.

The purpose of the current study is to examine how the prime time television show 24 frames torture by US government officials almost exclusively in scenarios of high-consequence, high-confidence that are not supported by public opinion polls, provide contextual rationalizations that are unrealistic, show torture methods as a viable means to gain needed information, and show enemy combatants torturing U.S. citizens. Through a quantitative content analysis of torture on the television series 24 and an analysis of focus groups reactions to select episodes of 24 portraying torture in such scenarios, the study seeks to investigate the role of entertainment media in influencing public opinion and providing backstage context from which opinions may be formed. The study examines how fictional portrayals of an event or issue such as torture can enter into political discourse on the subject. The study builds on prior research on how and when entertainment media provide context and frames to the public that the news media cannot, and helps further our understanding of how entertainment media can enter into public discourse and inform public opinion.

This study employed the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to complete the analysis and comparison of the moral development of mass communication students, specifically those who major in advertising and journalism. The DIT is an instrument based on Kohlbergs moral development theory and is a device for assessing the extent to which a person has developed his or her moral schemas. Results indicate no statistically significant difference in levels of moral development between sampled students majoring in journalism and advertising; no difference in levels of moral development between students who have and have not completed a course in media ethics; and no difference in moral development between students who have or do not have professional media experience. This finding argues that despite the large differences found in the moral development of journalism and advertising professionals, the students sampled are similarly morally developed. The findings also argue that if the goal of mass communication programs is to increase the moral development of students, the programs could benefit from reassessing media ethics education and media internship opportunities.

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate how the practice of democratic citizenship compares to ideals of it. I hope to provide a clear view of what contemporary democratic citizenship means, how this conception has been formed, and how democratic citizenship can be effectively practiced to serve the ideals held by democratic citizens. To do this, this paper will be comprised in several parts. After an initial explanation of the theoretical perspective used, I will explore how democracy was understood and implemented in the formative stages of United States government. Next I review contemporary practices of citizenship before examining how presidential primary debates are a reflection of contemporary democracy. Finally, I talk with young people about their perceptions and performances of citizenship. In these conversations I hope to learn how the meaning of citizenship impacts their actions as democratic citizens.

In an effort to combat the AIDS epidemic around the world, the Product (RED) campaign aims to engage consumers in an economic initiative with exclusive products from their corporate partnerships. Academic journals claim that this effort is a new form of Cause-Related Marketing (CRM), even though it involves many Public Relations strategies and tactics. Product (RED)s unique nature is unlike previous CRM campaigns due to its corporate partnership agreements. Researchers have not previously studied initiatives such as Product (RED) through either Public Relations or Marketing theories. Davids (2004) Convergence Theory creates a cyclical model to merge both Public Relations and Marketing theory where both fields compliment each other in strategy and outcomes. Cancel et. al.s (1997) Contingency Theory states that Public Relations strategies function along a continuum of either advocacy or accommodation tactics. The purpose of this study was to understand the creation process of the Product (RED) campaign in order to fully comprehend how social activism campaigns combine both Marketing and Public Relations strategies. This research compiled interviews with Product (RED) campaign organizers, corporate partners, and social responsibility analysts. Results showed a blend of both Contingency and Convergence Theories, applying a mix of accommodation and advocacy strategies. Interviews displayed differing levels of consumer and corporate engagement, as well as key campaign elements to include for future social activism campaigns.

The growth in popularity of social video games that appeal to a wide variety of audiences offers new opportunities for in-game advertisers to reach beyond the traditional gamer market. The current study aimed to test the effectiveness of in-game advertising placements in the popular video game, Guitar Hero III, based on the Limited Capacity Model of Mediated Motivated Message Processing (LC4MP). The Limited Capacity Model predicts that experienced gamers utilize fewer mental resources when playing video games because the repeated action of playing video games eventually becomes automatic. An experienced gamer would therefore have a greater capacity to remember in-game advertisements. The model also predicts that a video game that places a high cognitive demand on gamers leads to a decrease in mental resources available to process the gaming environment. The study included an experiment and a survey as well as BIOPAC equipment to provide physiological measures of heart rate. Results suggest that gamer experience does not significantly impact brand recall or brand attitude and that significant differences exist between players and watchers. Study results also indicate that the gamers perception of a brands fit in the video game significantly influences brand attitude. The study bears important implications for in-game advertisers because the results indicate that in-game advertisers should carefully consider both the content and nature of video games when developing in-game brand applications. The study results also suggest that the LC4MP lacks predictive abilities in terms of in-game ad recall when placed in a gaming context.

Americans adoption of the Internet has spawned the increased usage of this medium for direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical manufacturers, despite the widespread controversy over the ethics of the practice, the educational value of direct-to-consumer advertising, and the ultimate cost of the practices to the public. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates the industrys advertising within traditional media, the agency does not yet impose standards for direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medications on the Internet. This content analysis of the visual and textual cues of 100 direct-to-consumer Web sites for prescription medications identifies the unexpected strong presence of gain frames relative to loss frames, as well as the manufacturers focus on educating consumers, evident within the Web sites considerable utilization of informational advertising appeals and informational rewards. Possibly, the Internets ability to support rich media and the virtually unlimited space on the Web sites encourages these manufacturers to employ informational appeals and offer a variety of informational rewards. While the data reveal the manufacturers strong usage of interactive elements, the industry can improve by fully utilizing the features of the Internet to truly benefit patients as an information source, while attracting prospective consumers. While several shortcomings are evident, including the infrequent usage of minority actors within the advertisements, the pharmaceutical industry appears to have effectively regulated itself through applying the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations direct-to-consumer advertising standards for traditional media to the World Wide Web. Implications of these findings for the pharmaceutical industry and the public are discussed, in addition to the studys impact on future research.