Diffusion Theory, Censorship & the School Library

Diffusion theory may be new to library and information science, but it has been applied to such fields as education, rural sociology, and marketing for many years.

"Essentially the theory has been used to examine the speed of things, e.g. seeds or grains, or practices, e.g. use of fertilizers or irrigation, which are new or perceived as new by members of a social environment and which are called innovations. In the diffusion process a person becomes aware of an innovation and communicates it, and so on as the innovation is spread and diffused" (Chatman, 1986).

The first model of diffusion theory was the Elements of Diffusion Model in which "Tarde conceptualized the patterned communication process as social imitation or the duplication of something new by members of a community" (Chatman, 1986).

Later, Rogers broke down the diffusion process into four stages, viz. (1) innovation, (2) communication, (3) social structure, and (4) time span. He and Shoemaker then identified attributes of the innovation model, viz. (1) relative advantage, (2) compatibility, (3) complexity, (4) trialability, and (5) observability. Relative advantage is viewed as the degree of risk associated with innovation. Compatibility is the positive correlation between the innovation and the current value system, needs, and practices of the subjects. Complexity is the intricacy of the arrangement of parts as perceived by the

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time, and other extrinsic factors. 5. Public communication as diffusion It is widely held that mass communication does not truly reflect current popular values, morals, and attitudes in America today. Public communication fulfills two functions: it caters to what it perceives as the low common denominator of public opinion, and it tries to fashion such opinion in response to political, religious, social, and/or economic pressures - whether they originate in majority or minority groups. In both cases, it fails to fill the needs of substantial minorities (and possibly the majority) and it acts irresponsibly by distorting information for personal or corporate material gain. Mass communication strongly influences fashions, fads, and small talk. Every advertiser knows this but too well. Each public communication medium characteristically influences specific population segments into a certain orientation. The longevity of such influences is still a matter of conjecture; it may depend on the type of recipients more than on the medium and message (It would seem that children are more profoundly affected than adults by the audio-visual media). Adult voting behavior responds to propaganda; this is particularly true of the undeci
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Approximate Word count = 4476
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)