CULTURAL IDENTITY OF THE FIRST GENERATION AMERICANS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

This research explores how meanings drawn from advertising and the mass media may contribute to the cultural identity of young adults who are first generation Americans and children of immigrants. We examine the meanings informants derive about U.S. culture and people, how they interpret the media portrayals of people of different national ancestries, and how such meaning-making affects their daily lives and cultural identity. A key finding is that informants experience a number of conflicts that stem from negotiating multiple and sometimes contradictory cultural messages received from the media, society, family, and friends. We explore the nature of these tensions and the role of the mass media in contributing to them. Moreover, we examine a variety of cultural identity management strategies employed by informants in dealing with these diverse influences. We close by discussing implications for advertising and media managers and avenues for future research

Moving from information transfer to information exchange in health and health care

Communication in most health and health care settings assumes that information provision is both necessary and sufficient to improve individual behavior and, subsequently, health. This paper examines and challenges commonly accepted practices of information transmission in health settings, demonstrating how such practices are insufficient because they are rooted in a one-way model of information transfer. Three case studies show how this model is pervasive in different health and health care milieus: patient/provider encounters, health promotion programs, and national health policymaking. Drawing on critical theoretical perspectives, the work shows the limits of current information transfer approaches by critiquing the dominant assumptions that underpin current practice. At the same time, it provides empirical examples of the usefulness of critical approaches to identify relations of power in health communication. The paper concludes by suggesting that researchers and practitioners move beyond traditional practices of information transfer (based on a one-way monologue) and toward a more useful and appropriate notion of information exchange (based on two-way dialogue).Health communication Health information dissemination Critical social theory Women's health Health policy

Five Principles For Workable Client-Based Projects: Lessons From the Trenches

Despite the wide-ranging benefits of using client-based projects (CBPs) in the classroom, such projects can be overwhelming for instructors, and many shy away from the considerable workload and time commitment often required by CBPs. This article is designed to help marketing educators overcome such apprehensions and provide them with concrete tools to simplify CBPs and make them easier to manage. The authors discuss five principles they have developed for creating and implementing workable client projects. Their principles come directly from the trenches of their own experiences in planning and managing client-based projects across multiple courses. They address, for example, ways to customize CBPs to fit within specific course and professor time constraints, tips to manage the client relationship and students\u27 expectations, and strategies to streamline the feedback process. They offer workbench-level insights and practices drawn from their own experiences that instructors can put into practice immediately. © 2005 Sage Publications