No abstract

Dubbing and subtitling are the most prevalent methods used to make foreign-language television programmes available to a domestic market. Each adaptation method has its advantages and disadvantages. This article provides an inventory of the pros and cons of both methods on the basis of three questions: Through which method can information best be transferred? What are the aesthetic advantages and disadvantages of each method? Which skills do viewers acquire `incidentally' by using one of the two adaptation methods? The answers given to these questions are based as much as possible on the results of empirical research on dubbing and subtitling. The conclusion is that there is no empirical evidence for some frequently claimed advantages and disadvantages. With regard to other pros and cons, it depends on the viewer, the type of television programme and the way in which a programme is subtitled or dubbed as to whether the argument should be taken seriously.

S Using a sample of 1,050 Dutch elementary school children who were in Grades 2 and 4 at the outset of the research, this study explored (a) the longitudinal effects of television viewing on children's reading comprehension, (b) the causal mechanisms that underlie television's longitudinal effects on reading comprehension, and (c) the longitudinal effects of television viewing on children's decoding skills. The children were surveyed three times, at 1‐year intervals. Structural equations analyses suggested that television viewing inhibited the development of children's reading comprehension in both 1‐year intervals of the study. Television's inhibitory effect on reading comprehension was not sensitive to children's IQ and socioeconomic status, but did depend on types of programs watched. Partial support was found for two causal mechanisms underlying television's inhibitory effect on reading comprehension: (a) a television‐induced reduction in leisure‐time book reading and (b) a television‐induced depreciation of reading. Watching subtitled foreign television programs was found to stimulate the development of decoding skills. SE UTILIZÓ una muestra de 1.050 niños hol andeses de escuela primaria que estaban en 2° y 4° grado al comenzar la investigación. El estudio exploró (a) los efectos longitudinales de mirar televisión en la comprensión lectora de los niños, (b) los mecanismos causales que subyacen a los efectos longitudinales de la televisión sobre la comprensión lectora, y (c) los efectos longitudinales de mirar televisión en las habilidades de decodificación de los niños. Los niños fueron examinados tres veces, con intervalos de un año. Los análisis de ecuaciones estructurales sugieren que mirar televisión inhibió el desarrollo de la comprensión lectora en ambos intervalos de un año del estudio. El efecto inhibidor de la televisión sobre la comprensión lectora no fue sensible al CI y estatus socioeconómica o ESE de los niños, pero dependió de los tipos de programas mirados. Se encontró evidencia parcial de dos mecanismos causales subyacentes al efecto inhibidor de la televisión sobre la comprensión lectora: (a) una reducción, inducida por la televisión, del tiempo de lectura por placer y (b) una desvalorización de la lectura inducida por la televisión. Se observó también que mirar programas de televisión extranjeros subtitulados estimula el desarrollo de las habilidades de decodificación. UNTER VERWENDUNG eines Samples von 1050 niederländischen Grundschulkindern, die sich zu Beginn der Untersuchung auf der zweiten und vierten Schulstufe befanden, erforschte die Studie (a) die Langzeiteffekte, die Fernsehen bei der Sinnerfassung beim Lesen bewirkt, (b) die kausalen Zusammenhänge, die den FernsehLangzeiteffekten hinsichtlich der Sinnerfassung beim Lesen zugrunde liegen, und (c) die Langzeiteffekte des Fernsehens auf die Dekodierfähigkeiten von Kindern. Die Schüler wurden dreimal überprüft, in einjährigen Intervallen. Strukturelle Analysen nach dem Gleichsetzungsprinzip legen den Schluß nahe, daß das Fer...

This study investigates young children's fright reactions induced by television. The central question concerns the degree to which the impact can be predicted by temperamental fearfulness and the quality of the parent-child relationship. Using a procedure for recording simultaneously skin conductance (SCL) and heart rate variability (RMSSD), 78 3- and 4-year-olds were shown two brief TV film episodes (one fear-inducing and one emotionally neutral). The children responded to fear-inducing film stimuli with an increase in SCL-reactivity and a decrease in RMSSD-reactivity. Furthermore, temperamentally more fearful children showed most electrodermal reactivity when their relationship with the parent was less harmonious. More fearful children were more susceptible to the quality of the relationship with their parent, which provides support for the differential susceptibility hypothesis.

Using a sample of 1,050 Dutch elementary schoolchildren who were in Grades 2 and 4 at the outset ofthe research, this study investigated (a) the longitudinal effects of television viewing on thefrequency with which children read books and comic books at home, and (b) the causal mechanisms that underlie television's effects on leisure-time reading. The children were suwyed three times, at 2-year intervals. Structural equations analysis suggested that television viewing reduced children's comic book reading only in the periodfrom Year 2 to Year 3. Book reading, however, was found to be reduced by television vMving over both measurement periods. The data suggest that two causal mechanisms underlie television's reductive effect on children's bwk reading: (a) a television-induced deterioration of attitudes toward book reading, and (b) a television-induced deterioration of children's ability to concentrate on reading.hereas elementary schoolchildren spend about 2.3 hours per day watching television, they devote an average of only 8 minutes W per day to leisure-time reading (Timmer, Eccles, & O'Brien, 1985). The relatively small amount of leisure time children devote to reading has raised concerns among educators and parents, who frequently assume that the contribution of television to children's cognitive development is inferior to that of print (e.g., Winn, 1985). There is little evidence, however, that television is a less valuable medium than print. Researchers who have examined the distinctive strengths of the two CeesM. Koolstra (Ph.D., Leiden University, 1993) is a research associate at