CMN 1160 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Technological Determinism, Digital Divide, Critical Theory

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Communication
• Course: CMN 1160
• Professor: Dina Salha

Document Summary

Uses-and-gratification research: a branch of research on media effects that looks at why peope use particular media and examines what people do with the media rather than what the media do to people. Encoding/decoding: a theory that says that messages are encoded with certain meanings by media producers and that audiences then decode the messages in various ways, depending in things like their education level, political views, and other factors. Framing: the notion that the way messages are communicated can influence our attitudes and actions. Critical theory: an umbrella term for a range of theories, most of which are influenced by marxism, that attempt to look critically at society and to offer ways to improve it. Culture industry: a term used by some critical theorists that refers to the mass-communication industries and their power in creating culture as a community.