Vol 1, No 1 (1980)

Daniel Berlyne's "new experimental aesthetics" offers a deliberately mole- cular and non-normative view of aesthetic processes. This paper suggests that Berlyne's theoretical structure may derive greater social applicability by regarding aesthetic stimuli as aspects of leisure and the entertainment industry: that the concept of optimal level of stimulation is useful in predicting individual leisure preferences; that a formal link between percep- tion and intrinsic motivation may be found in perceptually-mediated arousal; and that the hedonic value of this arousal is determined by the socially formed values attached to aesthetic stimuli.

Among communication researchers as well as journalists a growing scepticism and even disillusionment with regard to the validity, applicability and contribution of quantitative research models are becoming increasingly noticable. Partly in response to this discontent renewed attention is focused on the qualitative approach. This approach, it is argued, is especially applicable to researching the more fundamental problems of journalism. A major point of departure of the qualitative approach according to Clifford Christians, who is one of the more productive proponents of this approach, is in defining communication as a unique human act. Attributes of this approach include the following: emphasis on participant observation as technique for data collection, the contextualisation of communicative behaviour, maximalisation of comparisons of natural and socially identifiable groups and situations, refutation of the idea of neutral objectivity, and finally, the importance of intersubjective reliability. It is concluded that the qualitative approach should form an integral part or compontent of any encompassing research strategy.

A few remarks concerning the field of study of communication science. To account for the nature of any special science is not itself a special scientific concern, as it needs a basic philisophical perspective. It is not sufficient to define the uniqueness of the scientific endeavour in terms of features like systematics, verification/falsification, method, and the so-called relation between a knowing subject and a study-object. Any concrete entity (object') functions at different modes of being (modal- ities), such as the numerical mode (aspect), the spatial modality, the sensitive sphere (sometimes passively as a sensed object), the logical aspect (for instance as something analizable, i.e. identifiable and distinguishable), the sign-aspect (for example its name), the social aspect, etc. The fundamental question therefore is not, what object is scientifically studied, but from what angle (aspect, mode) is this or that entity approached? These different modalities do indeed serve as special scientific approaches (points of entry) to reflect on concrete reality. In order to think scientifically, one has to focus one's attention on a specific modal perspective, disregarding other modal directions of approach. Because abstraction as such occurs frequently in our non-scientific daily life, it is not sufficient to qualify scientific activities. In fact, abstraction and analysis imply each other. To analyse anything implies an act of identification and and abstraction concerns the identification of something for some characteristic) by disregaring (ie. distinguishing it from) non-relevant things for features) Scientific acuvities display a specific kind of analysis, namely modal analysis (abstraction) However, the identification of a modality delimiting the field of study of a special science always implies that one must simultaneously distinguish it from other modalities. This stresses the necessity of e philosophical view on the coherent diversity of modal aspects The uniqueness of these modal aspects explains the inherent limits of conceptual definition in the final analysis, every definition depends on primitive indefinable terms. This insight is lofts applied to the notion of communication and explored in the direction of the disclosed suure of the sign-mode An account is given of the implied object-object object subject relation of communication in the socially disclosed sign-aspect. To explain the nature of various types of communication an appeal is made to different kinds of social intercourse, classified as consociational, communal and associational relationships. The conditions of meaning (presupposing choice) and interpretation point to the typical human character of communication as it is conceived of in this analysis.

The South African Advertising Research Foundation started operations in January 1975. The SAARF is financed by a levy of 0.5 per cent added by the media to their published advertising rates. The primary objectives of the SAARF are to develop an organisation for research which can conduct, promote, and sponsor comprehensive and continuous audience and product usage surveys. It further aims to improve professional standards and methods of research as well as the effective use of research results; to sponsor relevant education and research by tertiary education institutions; and to liaise with international organisations involved in advertising and marketing research. Up to now six All media and product surveys have been conducted. The cost per interview in AMPS studies compare very favourably with costs overseas It is concluded that total involvement of all concerned, including academic institutions, is essential for raising the research standards even more

The first decade of intercultural communication: An overview of some important books This paper deals with eleven of the more important books on intercultural communication published over the past decade. A basic point of departure is that intercultural communication has become increasingly important due to factors such as technological, economic and political developments. The books are discussed in terms of the following issues: delimitation of the field and level of analysis: participating parties and symbol systems; perception; attitudes, values and beliefs; theoretical contributions, such as dialogue and cultural criticism; intercultural research; and applications. It is concluded that reasonable agreement exists among the authors on the importance of the field, and the nature of the major variables, although they are incorporated within different theoretical frameworks. It is predicted that the present decade will see a growth in the area of research, which up to the present seems to have been lagging behind.