Whatever Works: A Test of the "Division of Labor" Component of Uses and Gratifications Theory.

Autor/in	Carvalho, John
Titel	Whatever Works: A Test of the "Division of Labor" Component of Uses and Gratifications Theory.
Quelle	(2000), (27 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Audience Analysis; Higher Education; Internet; Mass Media; Mass Media Use; Media Research; Student Surveys; Undergraduate Students; Use Studies; North Carolina + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Massenmedien; Mediennutzung; Medienforschung; Schülerbefragung; Benutzerschulung
Abstract	The 1974 book, "The Uses of Mass Communication: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research" introduced the concept of a "division of labor"--that certain media work better than others in meeting audience gratifications. Since the division of labor concept has not been subjected to empirical testing, a study elaborated an empirical test of the division of labor concept, through statistical analysis of survey data. College students were asked to rate the usefulness of specific media in satisfying specific gratifications--entertainment and informational. The resultant data enhances the understanding of how younger audience members select media. The emergence of Internet technologies, conceptually placed between print and broadcast, suggested the following hypotheses to test the concept: (1) For entertainment-related gratifications, audience members prefer television most, followed by Internet, then newspapers; and (2) For information-related gratifications, audience members prefer newspapers most, followed by Internet, then television. To test the hypotheses, a population of 1808 students at a private North Carolina university was surveyed about their media use. A total of 320 usable surveys were returned, for a response rate of 17.7%. The two hypotheses predicted the existence of a "division of labor" with certain media "working" better to meet specific gratifications than others. Hypothesis 1 was not supported, while Hypothesis 2 was supported by the data. A third hypothesis which predicted that a respondent's perceptions of greater utility of a specific medium would be statistically related to greater use of that medium was mainly supported. Survey results partially supported the "division of labor" concept. (Contains 7 tables of data, 24 references, and 8 notes.) (NKA)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC