WHAT IS A THEORY
Theory is a conceptual
representation or explanation of phenomenon. Kurt Lewin defines theory as a way
of explaining the ordering and occurrence of various events. It can also be defined as a set of systematic
generalizations based on scientific observation and leading to further
empirical observation. (Severin and Tankard (Jnr.) 1982).
Communication
theory is a field of information and mathematics that
studies the technical process of information[1] and
the human process of human communication.[2]
DIFFUSSION INNOVATION
THEORY
Diffusion is the
“process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over a
period of time among the members of a social system”. An innovation is “an
idea, practice, or object that is perceived to be new by an individual or other
unit of adoption”. “Communication is a process in which participants create and
share information with one another to reach a mutual understanding
Diffusion of
Innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate
new ideas and technology spread
through cultures. Everett Rogers,
a professor of rural sociology, popularized the theory in his 1962 book Diffusion of Innovations.
He said diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through
certain channels over time among the members of a social system.
Diffusion research
centers on the conditions which increase or decrease the likelihood that a new
idea, product, or practice will be adopted by members of a given culture.
Diffusion of innovation theory predicts that media as well as interpersonal
contacts provide information and influence opinion and judgment. Studying how
innovation occurs, E.M. Rogers (1995) argued that it consists of four stages:
invention, diffusion (or communication) through the social system, time and
consequences. The information flows through networks. The nature of networks
and the roles opinion leaders play in them determine the likelihood that the
innovation will be adopted. Innovation diffusion research has attempted to
explain the variables that influence how and why users adopt a new information
medium, such as the Internet. Opinion leaders exert influence on audience
behavior via their personal contact, but additional intermediaries called
change agents and gatekeepers are also included in the process of diffusion.
Five adopter categories are: (1) innovators, (2) early adopters, (3) early
majority, (4) late majority, and (5) laggards. These categories follow a
standard deviation-curve, very little innovators adopt the innovation in the
beginning (2,5%), early adopters making up for 13,5% a short time later, the
early majority 34%, the late majority 34% and after some time finally the
laggards make up for 16%.
Diffusion of an
innovation occurs through a five–step process. This process is a type of
decision-making. It occurs through a series of communication channels over a
period of time among the members of a similar social system
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AGENDA SETTING THEORY
Agenda
Setting is the process whereby the mass media determine what we think and
worry about. Walter Lippmann, a journalist first observed this function, in the
1920’s. Lippmann then pointed out that the media dominates over the creation of
pictures in our head, he believed that the public reacts not to actual
events but to the pictures in our head. Therefore the agenda
setting process is used to remodel all the events occurring in our
environment, into a simpler model before we deal with it.
This impact of the mass media- the ability to effect cognitive change
among individuals, to structure their thinking- has been labeled the
agenda-setting function of mass communication.
Agenda setting theory
emerges from communications studies and focuses on mass media influence on
setting political agenda, as articulated in the seminal article by McCombs and
Shaw (1972), which through content analysis of a local election documented a
high correlation between media agenda and the public agenda - a correlation
corroborated in numerous studies since. Their 1972 article coined the phrase
"agenda-setting." Subsequent agenda setting theorists have followed
their lead in contending that the media agenda influences the political agenda
more than vice versa.
Maxwell McCombs and
Donald(1972) Shaw corroborate the agenda setting theory by their research. They
posit that:
“In choosing and
displaying news, editors, newsroom staff, and broadcasters play an important
part in shaping political reality. Readers learn not only about a given issue,
but how much importance to attach to that issue from the amount of information
in a news story and its position …The mass media may well determine the
important issues- that is, the media set the ‘agenda’ of the campaign.”(p.176)
Bernard Cohen
(1963) puts it more clearly “The press may not be successful much of the time
in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its
readers what to think about.”
This theory assumes that
Content analysis is frequently assumed to adequately reflect agenda
rankings, based on frequency of word/phrase citations, newspaper column inches,
etc.
Agenda Setting has two levels, the first level enacts the common
subjects that are most important, and the second level decides what parts of
the subject are important. These two levels of agenda setting lead into what is
the function of this concept. This concept is process that is divided into
three parts. The first part of the process is the importance of the issues
that are going to be discussed in the media. Second, the issues discussed in
the media have an impact over the way the public thinks, this is referred as
public agenda. Ultimately the public agenda influences the policy agenda. Furthermore the media agenda affects the public agenda,
and the public agenda affects the policy agenda
HEALTH BELIEF THEORY
The health belief
theory is represented by the health belief model which is one of the first
theories of health behavior. It was developed in the 1950s by a group of U.S.
Public Health Service social psychologists who wanted to explain why so few
people were participating in programs to prevent and detect disease. The BM is
a psychological model that attempts to explain and predict health behaviors by
focusing on the attitudes and beliefs of individuals.
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