Finds that soap operas analyzed in 1994 contain more frequent sexual incidence on an hourly average, both within the same soaps analyzed a decade earlier and even more so on two additional very popular soaps. Shows that the more frequent sex centers on physical intercourse, primarily among partners not married to anyone; and sexual activity is…

Offers a new approach for the study of soap opera, aimed at discovering the social boundaries within which a particular culture negotiates its primordial relationships. Reveals the interaction between culture, power, genre, and gender by tracing the complex kinship structures of family and romance among soap opera characters and by observing how…

Argues that humor can be accomplished in computer-mediated communication and can be critical to creating social meaning online. Analyzes the humor of the USENET news group rec.arts.tv.soaps (r.a.t.s.), which discusses soap operas. Combines user surveys with message analysis to show the prevalence and importance of humor in r.a.t.s. (RS)

The structure of televised conversations were compared with theoretical structures of such conversations, based on data drawn from commercial television soap operas. Results show that portions resemble naturally occurring speech as represented in theoretical frameworks, but others do not; implications for language teachers are noted. (17…

A family literacy program used television soap operas as a starting point for investigating home and community literacy practices. Parents participated as co-researchers, comparing media portrayals of literacy events with their own everyday practices. (SK)

Examines the local reception of global Spanish-language soap operas, or telenovelas. Explores how young people talked about Mexican telenovelas in daily life. Concludes that the telenovela, within certain limits, reflected some of the national, ethnic, gender, and class tensions that defined the viewers' identities as working-class, Mexican…

Investigates the effects of India's first long-running television soap opera that was designed to promote women's status in Indian society. Finds that exposure to the program was positively associated with viewers' involvement with the characters in the program and with viewer's television dependency, but did not make viewers more aware of women's…

Offers examples of dramatic experiences (student produced soap operas) in two classrooms in British comprehensive secondary schools. Concludes that students in other countries would find such experiences as meaningful and enjoyable as their British counterparts. Notes that the two teachers managed to be flexible, appropriating effective…

Examines the impact of background media on Dutch students' performance and time spent on paper-and-pencil and memorization homework assignments. Notes that doing homework combined with watching a soap opera interfered with students' performance on both types of assignments. Indicates that music in the background left homework performance…

Describes development of an objective content analytic category scheme for measuring the sexiness of women's business attire in media presentations. Finds women's business attire in television soap operas significantly more provocative than real-world attire. Finds a significant positive correlation between the degree of sexiness as measured by…

Explores parallels between the soap opera and both fairy tales and therapy. Presents a detailed analysis of a recurrent narrative element in soaps--that of the "bad" and/or missing mother of young women heroines in "The Young and the Restless." Emphasizes the repressive over the liberating aspects of the soap opera. (SR)

Hypothesizes that instrumental media motivation, selectivity, attention, and involvement are positive predictors of satisfaction, parasocial interaction, and cultivation effects from watching daytime television serials; avoidance, distraction, and skepticism were seen as negative predictors. Finds support for these expectations through three path…

Examines an approach to teaching conversation in New Zealand to adult migrants studying English as a Second Language, using language data from a television soap opera. Compares teacher-made samples of conversation and the scripted conversation of television soaps and points to advantages of using videoed television samples. (15 references)…

Examines television viewers' interpretations of a particular narrative from the British soap opera "Coronation Street" after they had watched it unfold over some time in natural viewing circumstances. Identifies and discusses the interpretations of four clusters of viewers ranked in terms of their relative allegiance to the characters.…

Discusses changes in feminist theory as well as struggles pertaining to Canadian multiculturalism and antiracism. The article focuses on an advanced-level writing class in Canadian culture consisting mostly of women students with an interest in soap operas, who focused in the class on what personal histories were evoked in watching these programs.…