Action Theory and Communication Research

by Renckstorf, Karsten; McQuail, Denis; Rosenbaum, Judith E.; Schaap, Gabi

• ISBN13: 9783110180800
• ISBN10: 3110180804
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-05-01
• Publisher: Mouton De Gruyter

Summary

The action theoretical approach has already proved its value as a framework for communication research, most especially in the study of media audiences and media use. The approach privileges the perspective of the acting individual but offers guidelines for connecting the subjective orientation with networks of social interaction and for treating 'behaviour' as a social process. Research within this framework takes account of the wider social context and calls for a careful combination of empirical observation and interpretation, with a corresponding diversity of methodologies. The contributions to the volume shed light on the significance of media use in everyday experience and contribute to an understanding of communication in society.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	v
1 Action theory and communication research: An introduction	1	(12)
Denis McQuail and Karsten Renckstorf
I Theory
2 Action theory as part of social science	13	(22)
Erwin K. Scheuch (†)
3 With more hindsight: Conceptual problems and some ways forward for media use research	35	(16)
Denis McQuail
4 The 'media use as social action' approach: Theory, methodology and research evidence so far	51	(34)
Karsten Renckstorf and Fred Wester
5 The foundation of communication and action in consciousness: Confronting action theory with systems theoretical arguments	85	(18)
Frank Huysmans
II Methods
6 Media communication and social interaction: Perspectives on action theory based reception research	103	(12)
Angela Keppler
7 Using protocol analysis in television news research: Proposal and first tests
Gobi Schaap	115	(26)
8 Reconceptualizing media literacy	141	(22)
Judith E. Rosenbaum and Johannes W.J. Beentjes
9 Elderly people's media use in the context of personal meaning	163	(14)
Margot van der Goot, Johannes W.J. Beentjes and Martine van Selm
10 'Para-social interaction': Social interaction as a matter of fact?	177	(10)
Michael Charlton
11 Action theoretical approaches in organizational communication	187	(12)
Paul Nelissen
III Findings
12 Media use as an adaptation or coping tool in prison	199	(18)
Heidi Vandebosch
13 Juxtaposing direct experience with media experience: Does reality really matter?	217	(14)
Jan Van den Bulck
14 The home as a multimedia environment: Families' conception of space and the introduction of information and communication technologies in the home	231	(22)
Veerle Van Rompaey and Keith Roe
15 Patterns in television news use	253	(26)
Ruben Konig, Karsten Renckstorf and Fred Wester
16 Do well-balanced exemplars in news stories provide food for thought?	279	(12)
Paul Hendriks Vettehen and Leo van Snippenburg
17 Between altruism and narcissism: An action theoretical approach of personal homepages devoted to existential meaning	291	(24)
Ellen Hijmans and Martine van Selm
18 Ownership and use of 'old' and 'new' media among ethnic minority youth in The Netherlands. The role of the ethno-cultural position	315	(30)
Leen d'Haenens, Cindy van Summeren, Madelon Kokhuis and Johannes W.J. Beentjes
19 The stereotypical portrayal of Germans and its effect on a Dutch audience	345	(10)
Henk Westerik
20 Occupational practices of Dutch journalists in a television newsroom	355	(16)
Liesbeth Hermans
Contributors	371	(4)
Index	375