This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 45 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) gender portrayal in magazine advertising; (2) the role of special interest groups in agenda-setting; (3) the relationship between sensation-seeking and horror movie interest and attendance; (4) educational radio and rural development; (5) popular religion and the imperatives of television: a study of the electric church; a children's perceptions of television commercials; (7) mass media and political socialization of immigrants; (8) the impact of advertising on the less developed countries; (9) the early radio years of Carl McIntire; (10) a study of factors related to the use of motion picture films by public school teachers; (11) cable television and the first amendment; (12) a critical approach to star discourse and television; (13) mass media and development in Sudan; (14) media effects and the formation of political commitments; (15) patterns of mass media exposure among adults, high school juniors, and seventh graders; and (16) a search for values in the magazines of the car-culture. (EL)