Young and Restless: Representing Male Adolescents with the Spirit of Reform in Hai Magazine

This article is about Hai, a magazine for boys in Indonesia. It looks into representations of male adolescents against the backdrop of post-Suharto (New Order) Indonesia. Political reform and media deregulation in 1998 transformed the Indonesian mediascape into a freer space for social and political expression. This article suggests that Hai's content represents male adolescents who adopt the spirit of Reform, which is associated with openness towards and engagement with issues that were seen as politically and socially taboo under the New Order. This magazine has become a site for male adolescents to exercise their freedom of speech, performing their role as young citizens by identifying and discussing problems that were previously silenced. Overall, the narratives of challenge and resistance create a microcosm of the nation-state within the magazine and project male adolescents as future leaders of the nation.     

Unruly Theory and Difficult Practice: Issues and Dilemmas in Work with Women Politicians

The importance of exploring the 'gender' dimension in political research has achieved a level of acceptability over the past few years as more women become part of the political mainstream as elected representatives. Rather than being viewed as lone mavericks who at best operate as honorary men and at worst function as idiosyncratic (but powerful) leaders guided by whimsy and their menstrual cycle, women politicians are now viewed as legitimate foci for analysis. As women are achieving political incorporation into parliamentary democracies, if not always power to effect change once they are there,they inevitably become targets for media and academic interest. This paper explores some of the tensions which arise for a feminist researcher intent on pursuing a feminist politics but where the theory-practice dissonance is sometimes hard to handle. This becomes especially so where her interviewees do not always share the same political values and when they sometimes engage with precisely the same kinds of power games associated with male elites. When disclosure of personal values elicits an over-empathising (and sometimes slanderous) testimony by interviewees, such revelations carry their own ethical and moral dilemmas for the feminist researcher. The paper begins by discussing the key themes in feminist research practice, including problems of definition,before moving on to consider someof the issues which arise when doing interview-based work with elite women. It explores the lack of congruence which can arise between 'established' feminist principles relating to interviewing women 'subjects' and the reality of working with 'professional' interviewee groups such as women politicians.     

Acculturation,Socioeconomic Factors and Obesity Among Immigrants from El Salvador Living in the Washington,D.C. Area

Abstract

This study examined acculturation, SES and obesity in a convenience sample of 1205 Salvadoran immigrants from the Washington, D.C area. Acculturation was measured by language preference for print and electronic media and years residing in the U.S. Obesity was measured by the percent overweight based on body mass index norms. About 30% of respondents were overweight. Acculturation was positively associated with obesity and together with other variables in the model explained 45% of the variance in obesity. Preference for Spanish media was strongest in the older age group. Doctors and TV were the most frequently cited sources of health information. Social workers and health educators can use this information to develop culturally competent interventions and research in Hispanic populations.     

We Find Our Way About: Everyday Media Use and ‘Inhabitant Knowledge’

Abstract

In this article, the author proposes that media uses in everyday living can helpfully be understood as practices of wayfaring. Whereas meaningful relations between media and their audiences or users have typically been conceptualised as matters of representation and interpretation, he focuses on matters of movement and dwelling or of orientation and habitation, opening up the possibility of a non-representational approach for media studies. His starting point is a passing remark in Scannell’s phenomenology of radio and television, and a discussion of that remark leads him to a sympathetic yet critical engagement with Ingold’s work on wayfaring and inhabitant knowledge. Along the way, consideration is given to Tuan’s notes on paths and place-making, and to Merleau-Ponty’s writing on incarnate subjectivity and the acquisition of habit.     

From Fisheries Decline to Tourism Destination: Mass Media,Tourism Mobility,and the Newfoundland Coastal Environment

Abstract

In this paper, we examine narratives of tourism mobility circulated through print news media coverage of Newfoundland published in Canada, the UK, and the USA between 1992 and 2010. Initially articles were situated within a larger narrative of fisheries collapse, rural decline, and out-migration. In recent years, however, the discourse shifted to emphasize how non-human nature, including whales, icebergs, and national parks, serves as a tourism attractor, yielding benefits for rural communities. We draw on Latour’s work on political ecology, as well as on Urry’s work on tourism, mobility, and climate change, to analyze the eco-political implications of media accounts of tourism and the Newfoundland coastal environment.     

Crisis communication in the rhetorical arena

This study applies and extends the rhetorical arena theory (RAT) of crisis communication with a network analysis. Taking the Volkswagen emission crisis as a case in point, the media discourse in two German and two US-based newspapers was analyzed. Patterns of interaction between various voices that co-construct the rhetorical crisis situation were examined using a relational analysis of statements. A symbolic network was constructed that consisted of rhetorical relations between the actors. The findings show that VW is by far the most prominent voice in the media coverage. However, this prominence is based on the fact that VW mainly appears in the role of the addressee of statements, and that many of the corporation’s statements are self-referential. Politicians and public authorities, as well as experts, have a good chance to actively have their say. Affected stakeholders and NGOs, on the other hand, barely got an opportunity to speak. Overall, the media discourse appears to be dominated by a few high-ranking actors, and the roles and power relationships are distributed very unevenly. Implications of this imbalance in media discourse are discussed, and suggestions for further research are made.     

Information channel preference in health crisis: Exploring the roles of perceived risk,preparedness, knowledge,and intent to follow directives

The 2016 Zika virus epidemic presented a serious threat to public health and left publics confused and anxious about their risks. A survey (n = 370) was distributed in late Summer 2016 in the U.S., when public anxiety regarding Zika was peaking. Results indicate interesting differences in channel preferences based on audiences’ preparedness, risk, and intention to follow crisis directives. Television news was the most important channels for Zika information, indicating the continued importance of traditional media in crisis communication.     

The role of the media in developing a shared moral understanding

Over the last few decades, research has shown that media outlets are good at telling people what to think about, fulfilling what researchers call the agenda-setting role of the media. To that end, media outlets from social media to newspapers can play a pivotal role in developing a shared moral understanding.     

The beginning of the end of Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral Ministry: A towering failure in crisis management as reflected through media narratives of financial crisis,family conflict,and follower dissent

In 2010–2011, the Crystal Cathedral Ministry, one of the world's most respected Christian megachurches (Frankl, 1990), endured a series of crisis events culminating with a court ordered sale of its property. This signaled the end of Robert H. Schuller's ministry. This research analyzes dozens of news stories published during the crisis, documenting that the ministry failed to effectively use the media to communicate on vital issues. This failure exacerbated the crisis by allowing, unchecked, a proliferation of news stories portaying the ministry as out of touch, and Schuller family members as quarreling spendthrifts. Despite Schuller's decades of service, national prominence, and ‘positive thinking’ focus, his ministry was overcome by the materialism he purported to stand against. The rapid downfall is an extraordinary event within Christian televangelism. Examining media reporting of it allows important conclusions to be reached about any organization's communication with media gatekeepers in a time of crisis.     

To tweet or not to tweet: Exploring the determinants of early adoption of Twitter by House members in the 111th Congress

The adoption of communication forms like Twitter presents students of congressional behavior an interesting case to examine the intersection of technology and politics. Twitter represents a social media venue that provides an immediate and direct link between the Member of Congress (MC) and constituents, which entails a benefit and a potential risk. In this paper, I examine Twitter use in the 111th Congress in order to better understand congressional early adoption of new technology. The primary question addressed is what systematic determinants shape the decision to adopt Twitter as a component of an MC's media strategy. Using data collected from MC Twitter accounts and the 2008 congressional election, I find partisan, cohort, and ideological determinants on early Twitter adoption. Republicans are more likely to use Twitter even in multivariate analysis; ideological extremism influences the use of Twitter. In contrast to past technologies, district demographics have no systematic effect on the early adoption of Twitter.