Cultural Indicators
A research project designed by George Gerbner and Larry Gross to study television policies and programs and its effects on a cultural landscape. The research approach determines various types of messages that are propagated during popular hours of the day, where the most amount of viewers tune in to watch television. A large database of information was accumulated from the project, which was further used to develop cultivation analysis, a framework and strategy focused on social conceptions of reality under different exposure levels to television media (Gerbner et al. 2002).
The research strategy involves three elements, which are institutional process analysis, message system analysis and cultivation analysis (Gerbner et al. 2002). The first element is designed to identify structures which direct the flow of media messages, whereas the second involves features and trends which are presented to viewers. The last point offers a more subtle approach as it examines a collection of responses given about social reality by viewers at varying levels of exposure to television. Gerbner and Gross (2002) found a correlation between violence depicted on television and the perceptions of viewers who gradually projected on-screen violence onto reality, which was used to underpin Cultivation Theory.
The project concluded that values and ideologies presented in television media can easily be reflected in any individual’s attitudes of social reality through repeated exposure overtime. It also provided an alternative to the Hypodermic Needle model, which suggests messages are received and accepted directly and entirely by the receiver.
Lexcial Choice
A principle within discourse analysis, where any form of communication whether written or verbal involves careful selection of words and phrases to convey meaning in the intended way. Language users understand that each word carries with it different implications so it is crucial to select lexical terms and grammatical items which build meaning and have an enhanced effect on readers and listeners when paired together (Matheson 2005, 20).
By analysing the lexical and grammatical choices made in different areas of text, researchers can gain a better understanding of the ways in which language and vocabulary contribute to media effects. In reverse, it can also be used to understand the types of messages and ideas the writer is trying to get across. Language therefore functions as a social practice to represent expressed communication within various groups and cultures. The use of language, more specifically the common choice of terms form a lexical map which serves as a basis for the identity and communicative patterns of said groups (Matheson 2005, 21-22).
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Lexical choice falls under types of lexis, and another significant aspect within media research is social labels. The act of labelling has the power to categorise people into divided groups and make generalisations about them, often pinning one group against another or creating a hierarchy of superiority and inferiority (Matheson 2005, 24-25). Hence it is useful for media researchers to study lexical choice, perhaps in relation to critical analysis discourse and social power.
Mean World Syndrome
One of the main findings of George Gebner’s cultivation theory, which describes the phenomenon that media effects of television impacts an individual’s perceived sense of reality. The theory draws on prevalent images of violence in television media, and argues that long term exposure often causes heavy television viewers to integrate on-screen violence into their reality (Gerbner et al. 2002, 52). Frequent sights of violence also normalises the act so that viewers not only perceive the world to be more dangerous than it is, but become desensitised as well. Mean World Syndrome demonstrates the broader belief that our perceptions of the world are developed through repeated media exposure. However, Gebner does little to distinguish between different types of violence. For example, the nature of violence depicted in documentaries is entirely different from cartoons like Tom and Jerry. Since there is strong evidence suggesting a majority of people are traumatised by experiences of real violence, their perception of a harsh world may not be attributed by media effects.
Gerbner’s Mean World Index, framed by violence-related items, also depicts conventional implications of viewing. The margin of difference between those considered as light viewers and heavy viewers is known as cultivation differential (Gerbner et al. 2002, 47). While observing the extent in which exposure to television has the ability to form attitudes towards certain topics, it was found that light viewers began to display similar outlooks to heavy viewers despite absorbing less media messages (Gerbner et al. 2002, 53). These findings were further extrapolated to areas of research concerning the image of women, gender roles, science and the environment. Mean World Syndrome is demonstrative of the fact that media effects can influence cultural attitudes and be adopted into values and beliefs of any individual. Media researchers could benefit from understanding the cultivation approach in relation to consumption behaviours.
Ontology
A state of being, including the relations between a set of concepts or elements in a certain area. In media research, André Bazin and Hugh Gray discuss ontology of the photographic image and how its key advantage over other art forms such as paintings is that it can reproduce an impression of reality in a more faithful manner (Bazin & Gray 1960, 7-8). However, they contend that people now are more concerned with images as a way of preserving memory and less with the notion of ontological identity (Bazin & Gray 1960, 6). Therefore the process of photography is never free from the photographer’s artistic touch.
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In the types of photography discussed, the journalistic approach best resembles Bazin’s ontology of the photographic image because it often aims to report and present the reality of the situation without being guided by human interpretation and bias. Realistically however, human intervention exists even if the photographer is operating from behind the lens. This is evident even in his or her selection of subjects to photograph.
In opposition to journalistic photography, social media platforms allow for inauthentic presentation of self since ordinary people have the ability to portray themselves as celebrities, as seen by example of social influencers. That being said, influencers exercise great power over younger generations on social media regarding media messages.
Technicity
In Jon Dovey and Helen Kennedy’s study of computer games, the seamless flow between virtual reality and the real world suggests that computer games have become both a new media, as well as a contemporary culture (Dovey & Kennedy 2006, 2). In new media landscapes, the game industry itself has become the most established sector with a mass market (Dovey & Kennedy 2006, 2). In their research approach, Dovey and Kennedy draws on cultural studies as a means of understanding popular culture. This also offers insight into media effects in terms of consumption, identity and entertainment.
The relationship of technology and modernity exists and progresses as a single unit. Changes in either will eventually or simultaneously inform the other. The assumption of a connection between our subjectivity and technology use have become more closely weaved into daily life. It works as a feedback-essential system so that the more we use technology, the more we become reliant on it (Dovey & Kennedy 2006, 5). Technology is not only given a sense of agency, but also exercises influence over society and the ways in which we experience the world. Cyberculture critics claim that biotechnology, in particular, have intensified this relationship and the consequences of this maybe be an unsettling of pre-existing forms of identity (Dovey & Kennedy 2006, 16).
Technicity encompasses the construction of social and cultural identities, and experiences with technology as critical to that construction of identity.
Triangulation
The mixing of qualitative and quantitative methods in order to cross-check data and information gathered. Instead of being viewed as rival methods, social science researchers have advocated that qualitative and quantitative methodology should be viewed as complementary (Jick 1979, 602). By doing so, the strengths of each method can be combined to help counter any weaknesses. Despite strong advocation for the performance of triangulation, there is limited understanding on how to combine multiple methods effectively. According to Jick (602), training only prepared graduates to select one appropriate method over the other depending on the nature of data. Even those who did
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use mixed methods, failed to provide sufficient detail on how information is collected and interpreted.
In media research, triangulation is a powerful tool using a combination of methods to study the same phenomenon. The focus of research always remains the same, however different modes of data collection are employed. If the same conclusions are reached, then validity of the results are increased and or confirmed. More specifically, within-method triangulation cross-checks internal consistency while between-method triangulation assesses external validity (Jick 1979, 603). It should be noted that models of triangulation are based on the assumption that its effectiveness lies in the belief that weaknesses in each method will be compensated for by another. The approach may not be suitable for all areas of media, so researchers should justify its appropriateness to the research purpose explicitly.