Proximate or Primary Source? How Multiple Layers of News Sources on Social Media Predict News Influence

News shared on social media presents multiple layers of sources, from reputable news organizations to individual users who share news on social media. A web-based experiment investigated (a) whether the influence of a primary news source (news organization) on viewers decreases as it becomes less proximate with the presence of a more immediate source (individual user who shared news), and (b) if so, how the evaluations of both sources, along with a varying degree of issue relevance, affect viewers’ agreement with news position. Participants read one news article either shared on Facebook by a well-known celebrity or directly posted onto a news website. The perceived credibility of news organizations predicted viewers’ agreement with the news position, but only when the news was presented on a news web page so that the news organization was shown as the proximate source. When multiple sources were displayed, the influence of news organization credibility disappeared when the given news lacked personal relevance.

Public Opinions About Child Maltreatment in South Carolina: Salience, Relevance, Prevention, and Support for Government Intervention

Substantial evidence demonstrates that child maltreatment is preventable through approaches that address the socio-environmental contexts that shape attitudes and behaviors. Understanding opinions about child maltreatment can inform efforts to influence policy and practice changes that promote child health and well-being. This study examined public opinions about child maltreatment in South Carolina. A telephone survey was conducted in Fall 2019 with a random sample of adults ( N = 1,145) in the state. Respondents rated the extent to which they agreed that child maltreatment is an important issue (salience), whether it is a problem in their community (relevance), whether it is preventable (prevention orientation), whether child maltreatment prevention is a good use of their tax dollars, and whether child maltreatment can be prevented through government intervention. Stronger issue salience was significantly associated with stronger beliefs about government intervention to prevent child maltreatment after adjustment for demographics ( B = 0.69, p < .0001). Stronger issue relevance ( B = 0.05, p = .08) and stronger prevention orientation ( B = 0.19, p < .001) were also significantly associated with stronger beliefs about government intervention to prevent child maltreatment after adjustment for demographics. Results indicate that changing public opinions about child maltreatment—specifically around issue salience, relevance, and prevention orientation—could have implications for communications interventions that seek to generate support for government intervention to prevent child maltreatment.

Modern Russian female prose in Chinese Russian studies

Chinese literary scholars studying Russian literature come to a conclusion by the end of the twentieth century that its history has many “white spots.” Thus, efforts are made to fill the existing lacunas, and one of them is the modern Russian female prose. The paper analyzes the Chinese reader’s receptive attitudes determining the interpretation and evaluation of the works of Russian women-writers. One reason for the interest in Russian female literature is the “women’s issue” relevance in China. “Soft” Chinese feminism is a receptive context defining the text interpretation. In the Russian literature scholars’ works, it is manifested in the desire to see harmonious intersexual relations in the Russian women-writers’ prose, in a high assessment of a “holy” type in the character sphere. The Chinese reader highly appreciates overcoming the male-female opposition, searching for forms of dialogue, and imagining a harmonious family. Continuity is a relevant cultural receptive attitude of the Chinese reader, the link with tradition being a significant criterion for evaluating a phenomenon. Chinese scholars note that female literature continues the realistic tradition of telling about the social “bottom” and “little man,” thereby provoking the reader’s interest. Russian female prose is the “young” object in Chinese Russian studies. The Russian philology specialists are looking for linguistic “connectors,” e. g. themes and a typology of heroes, to see the phenomenon as a whole. Chinese specialists focus on the themes of survival, love, and family. The hero typology includes such types as the “new Amazons,” playing women, saints.

On the individual students’ work management via e-learning environment

The paper presents the results of the experiment on the extracurricular individual students’ work based on web-support of learning activities. The issue relevance is contingent with reduction of the teaching load for regular students. The following methods of the academic research are applied: theoretical (analysis of scientific literature, generalisation of educational experience), empiric (lesson observation, a pedagogic experiment, questionnaires, tests, conversation) and statistical (determination of average values, scaling). A survey has been done among the first-year studentsbeing on the technical training programme at Novosibirsk State Technical University and studying mathematical analysis via the DiSpace 2.0 e-learning system. The use of the electronic educational-methodical complex for the support of extracurricular individual students’ learning activities has proved to increase motivation, interest in studies, and the level of acquired competence.

What influences media effects on public perception? A cross-national study of comparative agenda setting

Using a big data approach, this study explores the media agenda setting effects in 16 countries on five continents. Agenda setting effects were found to vary across the nations. Our findings provide empirical evidence that individual factors such as Age, Education, Living area, and Political ideologyand national macro variables, including Economic developmentand Media freedom, are associated with the strength of such effects. Results suggest that assessing agenda setting effects needs to be conducted in relation to the economic, political, and media context of a country. This study also proposes an alternative way to measure salience on the public agenda using Issue distance, which arguably allows for capturing the possible interaction between issue relevance to individual audiences and media cueing effects.

Felt discrimination increases offensiveness of stereotyped out-group depictions

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the effects of minorities’ who experienced discrimination on perceptions of offensiveness tied to brand imagery that stereotypically depicts other minorities classified as out-group members. Design/methodology/approach – Study 1 utilizes factor analysis to develop dependent variables, and a path analysis to model relationships between the focal independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DVs). Study 2 uses an experimental approach analyzing data with ANOVA and bootstrapping methodologies. Findings – Minorities who report experiencing more discrimination perceive more offensiveness tied to branding containing overt stereotypical depictions of out-groups. This effect is mediated through a perceived sympathy for the out-group. However, while some minorities perceive these branded logos as relatively more offensive, minorities, as a group, do not perceive these stereotyped logos as overly offensive. Research limitations/implications – Minorities not depicted in or alluded to in stereotypical imagery associated with a brand may be a valuable consumptive bloc that can be recruited to oppose such uses of stereotypes. This research highlights that any sympathy that these minorities report holding for depicted minority groups may be important to future targeted communications. Brand managers may need to aggressively defend the brand against negative attributions derived from non-depicted minorities’ felt sympathy. Depicted minorities fighting to remove stereotypical imagery in brands may be able to leverage non-depicted minorities’ expressed sympathy to form coalitions. Depicted minorities’ communications, however, may need to increase issue relevance to non-depicted minorities. Originality/value – This research explores how non-affected groups perceive stereotypes infused in branding. It demonstrates that, depending on past experiences, these individuals may defend against a perceived social threat targeted at a societal out-group.