Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap - Volume 42, Issue 4, 2014

Beste lezer,

An experimental study on prosocial television news for children and prosocial behavior

Previous findings have indicated that prosocial children are happier, are more popular, and do better at school. As children devote a substantial amount of time watching television, children’s programming might be an excellent avenue to encourage prosocial behaviour – and, subsequently, well-being in children. In an experimental study among 372 children aged 9 to 13 years, we examined whether prosocial behaviour in children’s television news affects prosocial intentions and behaviours. Children in the experimental condition watched prosocial news showing children organizing a fundraising action for unicef. In the control condition, children watched an item about unicef without prosocial behaviour. After watching, children could donate to unicef which served as an index of prosocial behaviour. Prosocial intentions were assessed with a questionnaire. Findings demonstrated that children who watched prosocial news were significantly more willing to help in setting up a project for unicef at their schools and donated more money to unicef.

‘Safety first’ versus ‘fighting on the barricades’: a content analysis of the nuclear debate in the Netherlands

News content is often the result of an intense struggle between sources over the definition of an issue. This study content analyzes the agendas of the proponents and antagonists of nuclear energy in the Netherlands between 2002-2012 and investigates to what extent these agendas overlap with the news media agendas, including the often overlooked press agencies and regional newspapers. Analysis shows that the agenda of opponent Greenpeace – consisting of the themes of nuclear waste and risks – is slightly more visible in news agency and national newspaper content. Regional newspapers however tend to adopt the nuclear industry’s most dominant theme – safety. Interestingly enough, one regional newspaper seems to completely ignore the oppositional voice. This finding calls for a critical assessment of the relation between regional newspaper content and information subsidies.

Knowledge exchange for innovation development in open innovation systems

‘Living Lab research’ has been put forward by the European Commission as a solution to bridge the gap between knowledge exploration and exploitation. In this context, the European Network of Living Labs was founded in 2006. However, these Living Labs have not yet reached their full potential. Therefore, conceptualizing and understanding the mechanisms and processes within these Living Labs is necessary. Based on a case study analysis, this paper investigates the potential of Living Labs as open innovation networks and the ability to share knowledge between different actors within these networks. It elaborates on (parameters that affect) knowledge transfers within an open innovation network. Due to the particular constellation as an open innovation network, Living Labs can be a solution for sustainable innovation developments. This open innovation network acts as an innovation intermediary within the innovation projects taking place during the Living Lab allowing optimization of knowledge transfers between the participating actors.

Pluralism and Flemish news media: the (hot) potato of the future

A critical discourse analysis of the reporting on a direct action against a field trial of genetically modified potatoes by two Flemish quality newspapers and one alternative online news site not only points out that the level of ideological pluralism in media is dependent on the social issue in question, but also allows to draw conclusions on the potential boundaries of social debate in a commercial newspaper landscape.

In jaargang 42 zijn twintig peer reviewed artikelen en drie boekbesprekingen gepubliceerd. Deze jaargang bevat twee themanummers (nummer 1 en 4), een special issue over politieke communicatie en het ‘traditionele’ Etmaal-nummer. Alle auteurs van zowel artikelen als boekbesprekingen en ook de themaredacties danken we voor hun bijdragen aan het Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap.

Artikelen(geordend naar achternaam eerste auteur)