Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 357 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 134-137).

This dissertation investigates how four half hour viewings of an authentic German television serial over the course of one fourth semester intermediate course in German affect foreign language (FL) students' perceptions about German culture. In recent years, filmic media have become popular learning instruments. However, how they affect the attitudes of the FL learner about the lifestyles, behaviors, and characteristics of that FL culture has remained largely unexplored. This study triangulates questionnaires, classroom protocols, and assessment of student essays to see in what ways students' discuss and write about cultural differences and similarities at the onset of viewing and after the final viewing of a German video serial. Additionally, it investigates whether English or German language class discussions following student viewing of the program are more effective in fostering critical thinking about a foreign culture. Participants in this study were 69 students (24 female and 45 male) enrolled in four fourth-semester classes of the lower-division curriculum of the Germanic Studies Department at the University of Texas at Austin. After reading biographies and related information about characters, all four classes watched four episodes of the popular German television program, Lindenstrabe, without subtitles. While all classes viewed and wrote about the television serial in German, two classes conducted post-viewing discussion activities in German and the other two classes in English. The investigator visited and took notes on all classes and provided instructors with guidelines to enable consistent approaches to relevant materials and assignments. The resulting data were analyzed using statistical (pre- and post-questionnaires) and qualitative analyses (student response papers and classroom protocols). Two central findings were identified: 1) Fourth-semester German students increased their ability to identify and critically discuss cultural issues and their related social implications when exposed to repeated viewings of the television serial Lindenstrabe and when reacting to the program and its content orally and in writing during in- and out-of-class assignments; 2) Students' gender and the language of the classroom discussions influenced the content and analytical style of students' on their essay analyses of the video. These and other findings are assessed in light of classroom variables, in conjunction with suggestions for future research, and implications of these findings for media use in FL classrooms. / text

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This creative research project explored the relative values of the use of aural and visual elements in the production of a television program produced by the writer for the Public Affairs Department of WANE-TV, Channel 15, Fort Wayne, Indiana. The program dealt with the migrant farm and factory workers mho move into the community each year, work for a few months, and then move on again. The project utilized both aural and visual elements in the production of the program, and then sought to measure the relative value of those elements through a test designed specifically for that purpose. The test attempted to measure the degree of change in attitudes and knowledge levels of a select audience over against the living and working conditions of the migrant workers.The results of that test were then evaluated through the aid of an IBM 1130 Computing System. The mean, standard deviation, and t-test scores were employed in an effort to extrapolate, to some limited degree, for general principles of mass communication.

This thesis was designed to determine whether there are significant differences in family sitcoms between type of response and family type; between action and family type; between type of interaction and family type; and whether there are more positive than negative responses on both types of sitcoms.Seven nuclear and single-parent family situation comedies which are presently being shown on network prime-time television were compared to one another. A content analysis using a goodness-of-fit test was utilized to determine if parenting differences between the two types of family situation comedies existed.A chi-square showed that there is no difference between the number of negative and positive scenes in each type of sitcom. Finally, it was shown that no major parenting differences exist between single-parent and nuclear family sitcoms presently viewed on network prime-time television. / Department of Journalism

Within the past twenty years, an abundant amount of research has been done on how alcohol advertising and alcohol portrayals affect society. The most common studies have examined the influence alcohol advertising and alcohol portrayals have or do not have on adolescents, the relationship between alcohol content and the level of consumption, and how adults and under-age drinkers perceive drinking incidents.The present study is a content analysis examining how four networks- ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC vary in the amount of alcohol incidents shown in prime-time programming.The two-week study began on Sunday, May 20, 2001 and ended on Saturday, June 2, 2001 from 8 to 11 p.m. each evening. Alcohol incidents were classified as either a physical or verbal reference, as well as an appearance. Physical references were further categorized as the type of theme represented, the venue of the incident, and the type of drink involved.The findings suggest that the FOX and NBC networks air programs that present more alcohol incidents and themes of socialization than ABC and CBS. Therefore the researcher concludes that because of the target audience age is younger for FOX and NBC, these networks are more inclined to show more alcohol incidents and socialization themes versus the ABC and CBS networks, which have an older target viewing audience. / Department of Journalism

It was argued that the social psychology of person perception, mass communications and cultural studies can be related to viewers' representations of television characters. Mass communications needs to incorporate viewers' interpretations and programme structure. Social cognition could satisfy the former need and cultural studies the latter. A literature review showed little research on viewers' interpretations of television programmes. There is a considerable body of research on person perception, gender stereotypes, the effects of viewing and programme structure. A study of viewers' accounts of viewing soap opera showed that they become involved with the characters and find the programmes realistic. Soap opera plays an important role in their lives. Viewers' representations of soap opera characters were examined using multidimensional scaling. This revealed stable, replicable character representations for Dallas, Coronation Street and EastEnders. The representations were compared with the oppositions which structure the programmes, Implicit Personality Theory and Gender Schema Theory. Dallas characters were represented by themes of morality and power/activity. Power was correlated with gender, with some counter-stereotypic females. Coronation Street characters were organised around morality/potency, gender (matriarchal) and approach to life. This related to person prototypes and contrasted with interaction patterns between characters. EastEnders characters were represented by themes of morality/power, gender and approach to life/centrality. Free descriptions validated the attribute ratings and showed further features of the representation. No socio-structural group differences in representation were found. Viewers' character representations were a constructive integration of programme structure and social knowledge. The application of abstract knowledge to a structured domain was discussed. Textual analysis of a narrative identified the 'role of the reader' and textual openness. This was related to stereotypes, narrative expectancies, myth and character representation. Distinct types of divergence in viewers' interpretations of narrative were discovered. Further, a narrative containing two readings was interpreted in four distinct ways by viewers, depending on their perceived relationships with characters. The conclusions and limitations of the research were discussed. Implications for person perception, stereotyping and textual analysis were examined. A taxonomy of factors relating to the interpretation and representation of television drama was presented.

The work of documentary director Errol Morris can be approached in a variety of ways as it intersects and engages with many of the major themes of film and television scholarship - genre, authorship, and historical representation. But while his films and television episodes expose debates within film and documentary studies, they also call up major elements of postmodern debates within the historical discipline. Morris makes historical documentaries that do not simply render a (hi)story visually; he also attempts to draw viewers' attention to the conventions and construction of both visual media and of history. His work reveals both his keen awareness of postmodern historical debates, and a willingness to play, to confront basic assumptions, question boundaries, and to contribute to those debates. In 'Errol Morris and the Art of History', I argue that Morris is a visual historian; his films and television episodes draw as much from his understanding of historiographical debates as they do from his knowledge and artistic approach to visual media. All of Morris' work challenges the notion of objectivity in both documentary filmmaking and history; he attempts to illuminate the limits and conventions of visual depictions of history; he uses strategies to denaturalise historical and narrative construction, the naturalising tendencies of visual media, and the conventions of documentary practice; and he attempts to promote increased critical reflection. This thesis closely examines Morris' documentary films and television episodes to consider the structure and strategies that characterise his work, and situate it within contemporary film and historical debates. I explore Morris' methods and approach to documentary and history, showing how his work relates to postmodern history debates, to written and visual representations of history, and to documentary history and theory, including more recent factual forms like reality television.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Comparative Literature Department, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Hong Kong Baptist University, 2005. / Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-84).