E-Journals: New Issues This Week

New issues of the following journals are available online this week:

• Discourse Studies
• European Journal of Cultural Studies
• Information Economics & Policy
• International Journal of Press/Politics
  
• Journal of Language & Social Psychology
• Journal of Nonverbal Behavior
  
• Media, Culture & Society
• Simulation & Gaming
  
• Television & New Media
  

Click on a title to access the issue. (Login with your BC username and password is required for off-campus access.)

Communication Abstracts Update

The February update of the Communication Abstracts database is now complete, with new journal articles, book chapters, and books. Use the links below to view all of the new entries or to browse them by major topic area: All New Abstracts

New Abstracts by Topic Area

1. Communication Processes
2. Interpersonal Communication and Relations
3. Economics and Communication
4. Communication, Culture, and Society
5. Education and Communication
6. Health Communication
7. Political Communication
8. Communication, Regulation, and the Law
9. Organizational Communication
10. Public Relations
11. Advertising, Marketing, and Consumer Behavior
12. Mass Media
13. Journalism and News Media
14. Communication and Information Technology
15. Telecommunications
16. Communication Theory and Research

Super Bowl Ads: More Humor, More Animals, Fewer Celebrities

There was more -- though not necessarily better -- humor than ever before in this year's crop of Super Bowl ads, according to an updated interactive analysis on the New York Times Web site, but it was more likely to be delivered by animals than by celebrities.

85% of the ads featured humor, the highest percentage in the 25 years tracked on the Times site. At the same time, 43% of the ads featured animals, also a record. And, for the first time, there were more ads with animals than with celebrities. (32% featured celebrities, up from last year but below the record 40% in 2003.)

The Times analysis provides an interactive look at Super Bowl ads from 1984 to 2008. Use the slider at the top of the screen to move through the years. For each year, it shows a count of the number of ads in different product categories (vehicles, beverages, travel, food, etc.) plus the percentage of ads featuring humor, animals, and celebrities. Selected ads can be viewed on screen.