The capital budgeting decision: Economic analysis of investment projects

by Harold Bierman Jr.

Understanding Audiences helps readers to recognize the important role that media plays in their lives and suggests ways in which they may use media constructively. Author Robert H. Wicks considers the relationship between the producers and the receivers of media information, focusing on how messages shape perceptions of social reality. He analyzes how contemporary media--including newspapers, film, television, and the Internet--vie for the attention of the audience members, and evaluates the importance of message structure and content in attracting and maintaining the attention of audiences. Wicks also examines the principles associated with persuasive communication and the ways in which professional communicators frame messages to help audiences construct meaning about the world around them.Among other features, this* describes the processes associated with human information processing;* presents an analysis of the principles associated with social learning in children and adults and explores the possibility that media messages may cultivate ideas, attitudes, and criticisms of this perspective;* explains how most media messages are framed to highlight or accentuate specific perspectives of individuals or organizations--challenging the notion of objectivity in media information messages;* considers the effects of media exposure, such as whether the contemporary media environment may be partially responsible for the recent rash of school violence among young people;* analyzes the Internet as an interactive medium and considers whether it has the potential to contribute to social and civic disengagement as it substitutes for human interaction; and* evaluates the principles of the uses and gratifications approach as they apply to the new media environment, including traditional media as well as popular genres like talk shows and developing media systems such as the Internet.Intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students who need to understand the nature of the media and how they interact with these messages, Understanding Audiences promotes the development of media literacy skills and helps readers to understand the processes associated with engaging them in media messages. It also offers them tools to apply toward the shaping of media in a socially constructive way.

544 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Harold Bierman Jr. Distinguished Professor of Management, Professor of Finance at Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University.

rofessor Bierman's interests are in investment and corporate financial-policy decisions. He has consulted for many public organizations and industrial firms and is the author of more than 150 books and articles in the fields of accounting, finance, investment, taxation, and quantitative analysis. In 1985 he was named the winner of the prestigious Dow Jones Award of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business for his outstanding contributions to collegiate management education.

Reviews

[Dwight Walker]

Used in financial cash flow analysis for investment decisions in supply chain design.