Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This study examines the theatrical film import choices of individual countries about nine countries as primary production sources, which are the US, Italy, France, UK, India, Russia, Germany, Japan, and Hong Kong. An empirical scheme is devised to explain the quantities of film imports by countries from the respective exporters, modeling determinants of cinema market scale, cultural distance, linguistic similarity, and geographic proximity. Based on a panel dataset (52 importers × 9 exporters) drawn from the UNESCO, the various regression analyses show that the frequency of film imports by a consuming country from an exporting country significantly increases in the exporter’s domestic cinema economy and decreases in the cultural distance between the traders. Also, the sharing of a common language intensifies the bicountry film flow, while locational adjacency does not seem to determine the film traffic level among the 9 exporters.

Publication Type: Session Paper
Abstract: How the audience saw the Iraq War and the Palestinian/Israeli conflict in the Middle East depends in part on which window you were looking through. An Arab viewer explains, “I watch CNN – nobody gets killed. I watch Al-Jazeera – it’s like tragedy.” Few studies have explored support for the use of graphic visuals. The debate about where to draw the line and whether to show or not to show graphic imagery suggests that more attention needs to be focused on the issue. The 9/11 terrorists attack and the recent wars in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Iraq, have revived research on the use of graphic visuals in reporting military conflicts. The author will explain findings showing support for graphic visuals among Arab viewers of Al-Jazeera. Different approaches to mediating graphic scenes from the front lines and whether a universal code of ethics can be created will also be discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper summarizes a content analysis of 426 food advertisements collected during the spring of 2003 from 40 hours of television programming popular with children ages 6-11. Type of food, health claims, meal status, eating locale, and character attributes were coded. In addition, nutritional information for advertised foods was obtained via the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Nutrition Facts label, which has been mandatory on food packaging since May 8, 1994. Snack foods were advertised more frequently than meal foods, and the most frequently represented food categories were convenience foods, sweets, and soft drinks. The most nutritionally unsound foods were found in advertisements aimed specifically at children. Following a 2000-calorie-per-day diet composed entirely of these foods, a child would consume 130 percent of her daily limit of saturated fat, 124 percent of her daily sodium, and 180 grams (almost a cup) of refined sugar, but only 36 percent of her daily fiber and about half of her recommended daily dose of vitamin A. Discussion focuses on the status of foods advertised to general versus child audiences.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: An extensive amount of research has been conducted on the effects of media violence on children. Despite its wholesome image, Walt Disney Studios, a major producer of children’s media, has often been criticized for the content of its films. This content analysis examines the amount of violent incidents in 24 Disney G-rated, animated, full-length feature films released between 1937 and 2000. Since research indicates that television violence tends to impact child behavior, Disney films were assessed three ways for their violent content: (a) the number of violent incidents per film, (b) the types of weapons used for violence per film, and (c) the acceptance or rejection of violent acts by characters as appropriate behavior in each film. This analysis found 464 violent incidents portrayed in Disney films and 564 weapons used in these incidents. Moreover, this analysis found an increase in violence with each successive decade of Disney films.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Paper Abstract: About 10 million Mexicans live and work in the United States. Mexicans abroad constitute one of Mexico's most important constituencies, and the Mexican government is trying hard to engage this sector as citizens through the law of dual nationality, proposals for absentee balloting in the US, and programming and services designed to facilitate governance of Mexicans abroad. This paper reviews federal and state government initiatives in Mexico regarding Mexican citizens abroad (mainly in the US). I examine how an entire tier of government has been established to govern over Mexican transnationals, and how transnational citizenship as practiced by this large number of Mexicans in the US is leading to a reformulation of the immigrant rights movement. Finally, I will examine how these changes are related to the complex relationship between newcomer and more established Latino communities in the US.