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Newton
Gresham Library
Assignment
Guide
Dr.
DeMars RTV474 - Spring 2004
In order to successfully complete
your paper assignment for this course, we encourage you to use a variety
of resources. The resources you use might include books, journals, databases,
and Websites. Your Library fees have enabled the Library to purchase and
subscribe to a number of resources. This guide will provide you with a
starting point and suggest resources.
Your assignment requires that you
investigate a country and assess its communications situation, specifically
radio and television. What should you do first?
| Getting Started: |
Select
the countries you want to write about |
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List the types of information
you want to find. For instance, do you want maps, demographics,
history, politics, etc.? |
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Think about the type
of sources that would be useful - maps, almanacs, encyclopedia,
etc. |
In your paper you will need to address a number
of things. Among them are those listed below. Remember to discuss each
of the following:
| Name of the countries and where
it is located. For example, what continent is it on? Who are its neighbors? |
| A brief history of each country. |
| Demographics of each country. Who lives there?
What is the per capita income of the people? What is the mean education
level? Is the country industrial or agricultural? Urban or rural? |
| What are the politics of each country. Is it
a monarchy? A democracy? A dictatorship? |
| What is the economic situation of each country?
Who do they trade with? What do they produce? Who owns the means of
production? |
| What kind of technology is available? Is the
electricity dependable? Is the Internet available? Are there satellites? |
| What kind of communications system is there?
Are the radio and television stations publicly owned? Government owned? How many of
each are there? |
| What are the issues facing radio and television
in each country? Is there censorship? Are stations licensed in some
way? Is there competition between stations? |
| What function does the communications system
have? For news? For propaganda? For entertainment? |
| What is your assessment of each country in
terms of communications? |
Let's take a look at some of the Library resources
you have available.
 You
can locate books using the Library's on-line catalog. Remember that you
can search the catalog by entering the country as a subject or you can
do a search using different aspects of your topic and the country name
as keywords. To access the streaming video Virtual Instruction Series
unit on the on-line catalog, click
here.
There are a number of reference books that are
useful for this kind of research. You can start with some of these.
Encyclopedia of International
Media and Communications. (2003) San Diego, Calif: Academic. Located
in Reference, the call number is P87.5 .E532
Europa World Year Book. (2002)
London, England: Europa Publications Limited. Located in Reference,
the call number is JN1 .E85
The Illustrated Book of World
Rankings. (2001) Armonk, N.Y.: Sharpe Reference. Located in Reference,
the call number is HA155 .K87 2001
International Television and
Video Almanac. (2003) New York: Quigley Publishing. Located in Reference,
the call number is HE8700 .I55 2003
The World Almanac and Book of
Facts. (2003) New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association. Located
at Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk, the call number is AY67
.N7W7
World Book Encyclopedia.
(2000) Chicago: World Book. Located in Reference, the call number is
AE5 .W55
 There
are also a number of databases that you will find useful. Databases provide
a wide variety of information. Some contain citations and/or full text
of articles, others contain information about a topic, and still others
include statistical data. All of these will be useful as you work to complete
this assignment. Below is a selected list. If you want to go to that database,
click on the link.
Associations
Unlimited - directory of associations and organizations. Searchable
by subject or industry.
CIAO
- Columbia International Affairs Online. Contains a wide variety of
information including studies and data related to international affairs.
Encyclopedia
Americana - electronic version of the encyclopedia.
Population
Index - international population statistics and demographics.
Communication
Abstracts -index to articles about many types of media and communication.
Lexis-Nexis
- database of articles, legal information, data, some related to this
assignment. Indexes CIA World Factbook.
Mergent
Online - database of statistical information about companies. It
includes a Country Profiles section.
 In
addition to the databases listed above, there are a number of reputable
Websites that may be useful to you.
CIA World Factbook
- http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
International Trade Association
- http://www.ita.doc.gov/
U.S. Department of State - http://www.state.gov/
Federal Communications Commission
- http://www.fcc.gov/
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
- http://www.rferl.org/
As you use these research tools to
gather the information you need, remember that librarians and library
staff are available to answer your questions during the hours the library
is open. The telephone number at the Reference Desk is 936-294-1599. If
you'd prefer to contact us by e-mail, click on Ask a Librarian on the
Library's Homepage. You are also welcome to call me, Linda Meyer, at 936-294-3551
or reach me by e-mail at lib_lsm@shsu.edu
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