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COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
NATIONAL INTEGRATION AND MASS MEDIA:
THE SOCIALIZATION EFFECTS OF TELEVISION
IN A RURAL IVORY COAST VILLAGE
by
Milton Nathan Adams
A dissertation submitted tc the Depa£~~ot
of Educational Research, Developm~nt, and Foundations
in partial fu1fi1lment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosop~y
December, 1978
..

---

NATIONAL INTEGRATION AND MASS MEDIA:
THE SOCIALIZATION EFFECTS OF TELEVISION
IN A RURAL IVORY COAST VILLAGE
(Publication no. - - - - - )
Milton Nathan Adams, Ph.D.
The Florida State Uni vet's i ty ,·1978
Major Professor:
Sydney R. Grant
In this study the Multi-Dimensional Scaling Method is
used in a case study approach to examine the possible
national integrative effects of television in a rural
Ivory Coast village in French West Africa.
National Integration is approached as a process of
cultural change leading to (a) an increased sense of
national identification among members of a c~~unity, and
(b) a reduction in the range of perceived cultural dif-
ferences between members of different sub-communities.
The population for this study consisted of 47 male
heads of permanent households in the fishir-g village of
Toukouzou 11. located 105 kilometers from the capital,
Abidjan.
The original time-series desjgn of this study
called for a series of observations before and after the
installation of a television set in t~e village school.
which, used for elemencary school instruction during the
i i

---

day,
is available in the evenings for adult viewing.
Actual
conditions in the field, however, made only three post-
television observations possi~e during a lQ-month pe{iod,
commencing close to the date of installation.
During each period of observation the subjects were
presented with a list of 21 concept pairs for which they
were required to give similarity~issimilarity ratings.
In the MDS method similarity and difference between con-
cepts is expressed in quantitative terms as ratio level
distances relative to a standard; the more similar two
concepts are,
the less distance there is between them;
the more different, the greater the distance.
The 21
concept pairs were based upon all possible combinations
of the following seven concepts:
"Me", "School",
"Government". "Senoufo", "France", "Radio", and "Tele-
vision."
Before the experiment, "Schools," and "Government"
had been rated highly as elements of the national Ivorien
culture by a panel of Ivorien experts.
The Senoufo, an
ethnic group to the north, were included to ~easure
changes in perceived difference between sub-cultures.
"Radio"
was included as a communication control concept.
"France," the former colonial authority, was included to
measure possible influence of this external culture on
the emerging Ivorien identity.
It was predicted in the research hypotheses that,
j
iii
]

---

as a result of television exposure, over-time the subjects
would perceive less distancE (Difference) between them-
selves and all of the concepts with the exception of
"Radio."
It was reasoned that this concept would remain
relatively stable since the subjects had had adequate
time to acclimate themselves to its effects.
Through the assistance of a local translator, each
subject was interviewed individually, during three ob-
servation dates extending over a 10-month period from
October, 1977 to July, 1978.
Individual distance ratings
for all concept pairs were tabulated together and averaged
to produce mean distances representing the collective
perception of the population.
The results of the data analysis showed the following
distance reductions between the population and the other
six concepts from Tl to T3:
Schools, 25 percent; Gov-
ernment, 63 percent; Senoufo 28 percent; France, 51 per-
cent; Radio, 74 percent; and, Television, 70 percent.
The data supported all but one hypothesis related to
Radio ..
As a result of the villagers' low usage patterns,
and their low levels of French literacy, the researcher
concludes that television did play an integrative func-
tion within the village, but that it was less the result
of direct effects as much as it was the result of inter-
vening variables:
(a) by its very presence television
iv

---

influenced the villagers to feel that they were members
of a more "modern" community, leading to closer identi-
fication with the other "modern" concepts of the study,
including "Radio,"
(b) television provided relevant con-
tent about the nation-state which was circulated through
the community by a multi-step flow process, and (c) tele-
vision increased the villagers' awareness of radio,
which working through inter-personal channels as well,
combined with television, resulting in a more effective
media mix.
v

---

DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my parents and
the people of East Harlem who deserve much more than
this modest and singular ach'ievement from their educa-
tional system.
vi

---

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to express sincere gratitude
to the many persons who directly assisted him in the com-
pletion of this study.
I will be forever grateful to
Prophet Papa Nouveau whose hospitality 3nd cooperation
opened the doors to his village.
Special thanks are also
extended to the beautiful people of Toukouzou
I
11 who
tolerated in good spirit my intrusions into their busy
I
lives, and to my village assistants, Mr. Jean-Claude Gnaba
I
and Mr. Rene Clarac Papa Nouveau, whose translation worK
provided me with the insights into their culture.
I
I would also like to acknowledge the assistance pro-
vided by the Ivory Coast Government, and Mr. Konan Kouadio,
I
director of the Educational Television Evaluation Service.
I
He and his staff offe~ed invaluable assistance and
comradeship.
I
Special thanks are also extended to members of the
I
National Fellowship Fund who provided the one-year re-
search grant which made this study possible.
I must also
I
thank the members of my doctoral committee, each of whom
has broadened my thinking about education and mass com-
I
munication.
I
vii
I

---

I thank my wife, Aline Bory-Adams, for her patience
and understanding in dealing with the strains of this task
which locked us together in a strange and foreign land
and also required our temporary separation.
viii

---

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .
ii
DEDICATION
· . .
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
xii
LIST OF TABLES
· · ·
. . ·
xiii
Chapter
1.
I nt roduct i on . .
1
Development and
National Integration
1
The Problem
·
· . .
5
The Ivory Coast:
General Overview
6
Level of Development
8
Qualitative Change
9
Media Policy and National
Integration
·
· ·
10
I!.
Review of the Literature
15
Effects of Media
· ·
15
Trans-National Cultural
Integration
· · ·
. .
22
Research Findings
· ·
24
Synthesis
·
· · · .
27
Media Impact on Cultural
Change
·
· · ·
32
I I 1.
Theoretical Framework
34
National Integration:
The Dependent Variable .
34
Intercultural Transfer
34
•
ix

---

Chapter
Ill.
Theoretical Framework
34
National Integration:
The Dependent Variable
34
Intercultural Transfer
34
Media Mechanisms of Cultural
Transmission . . . .
. . . . . .
41
Demonstration of the
Process:
A Research Approach
. . .
43
IV.
Methodology and Related
Hypotheses
. . . . .
46
Nulti-Dimensional Scaling (MDS)
. . .
46
Research Design
. . . . . .
54
Research Hypotheses .
. . .
56
V.
Research Setting . . .
58
Site Selection
. . .
58
Location of the Village
59
Access
.
60
The People of Toukouzou Ill.
61
Some Socio-Economic
Characteristics of the Village .
63
External Economic Links
64
Daily Life Patterns
66
The Role of Religion in
Village Life
. . . .
69
Some Characteristics of
the Target Population
. . . . . . .
77
VI.
Procedures . .
82
Field Trip I
82
Refine Test Instrument
83
Field Trips 11, Ill, and
IV:
The "Tele Pour Tous" Group
87
Field Trips V, Vi, and VII. . . .
89
x

---

Chapter
VII.
Research Findings . . . . .
92
Television Content Anlaysis
92
Mass Media Unidimensional
Questionnai re
. . . .
98
Analysis of the MDS Data
103
Impact of Findings on
Research Hypotheses
112
Weaknesses and Limitations
of the Study
114
VIII.
Conclusion
118
Mass Media and
National Integration
118
The Cultural Imperialism
Thesis
. .
. .
. . .
l2i
Mechanisms of Cultural
Tr ans f orrnat ion
. .
.
12 J
Implications for Mass
Communication Policy
131
Implications for Future Research
136
APPENDICES
138
APFENDIX A:
I nst rument 1
Multi-Dimensional Seal ing
Questionnai re
. .
. .
.
13,9
APPENDIX B:
Instrument 11
Unidimensional Questionnaire
142
REFERENCES
VITA
153
xi

---

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1
Traditional Approachs to
the Study of Media Effects
29
,
2
Cultural Approach to the
Study of Media Effects
31
3
Cultural Differences between
Little Tradition and Great
Tradition
.
39
4
The Interaction Function
of Cultural Brokers.
.. . . . . . . . .
41
5.
Cultural Elements of the
Great Tradition Moving to
Equal Proximity with Elements
of the Little Tradition
. . .
44
6
Cultural Elements of the
Great Tradition Moving
Relatively Closer to
Individual or Group
. . . . . ... . .,
45
7
Over-time Changes in Perception
Displayed Graphically in
Multi-dimensional Space
. .
.
47
xii

---

.'
LIST OF TABLES
Table
1
Three Components of
Soc i al Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2
Expert Ratings for
Six Principal Concepts
51
3
Research Design
.
55
4
Village Modernity Scale
64
5
Subjects by Age Groups
78
6
Years of Formal Education
of Subjects
.
. · . ·
· · ·
79
7
Levels of French Comprehension
80
8
Number of Days Spent
in Capital
. . ·
· · · · ·
·
81
9
Results of Two-Heek
Content Analysis of
Ivory Coast Television
· · ·
· · ·
94
10
Compari son of Television
Content data Collected
in 1977 and 1978
· ·
·
·
95
11
Results of One-~oJeek
Analysis of Television
....
Net'lS Items
. . .
·
· · · · · · ·
96
12
Number of Days Spent
Watching TOe1evision
· ·
· · · ·
98
13
Television Viewing Behavior
of Closest Friends
. . .
99
14
Favorite TV Programs
Among Villagers
100
-
xiii

---

Table
15
Favorite Radio Programs
Among Villagers
· · · · · · · · · 102
16
Mean Distance Matrix for
Target Population at Tl
· · · · · · · · 103
17
Mean Distance Matrix for
Target Population at T2
· · · · · · · · 106
18
Comparison of Principal
Concept Pairs fran
Observation Tl and T"
· · · · · · · · · 106
...
19
Compari son of Construct
Validity Sets from
Observations Tl and T2
· · · · · · · · · 107
20
Mean Distance Matrix for
Target Population at T3
· · · · · · · · 108
21
Comparison of Principal
Concept Pairs from
Observation Tl' T2 ,
and T3
.
108
22
Comparison of Construct
Validity Sets from
Observations Tl, TZ'
and T3
._ . . . . .
109
23
Comparison of Principal
Concept Pair Ratings
Between Population and
Isolated Group with
Close TV Identification
at T3
110
24
Comparison of Principal
Concept Pair Ratings
Between Population and
Telespectators at T1
112
xiv

---

CHAPTER I
Introduction
Development and National Integration
In the course of its own unique historical development,
each of the more developed countries has evolved national
institutions, symbols and political structures which have
served to integrate its members into a collective body, pro-
viding both a reasonably stable structure and a human
resource channel for social and economic development.
Nowhere has the need for stability and development been
more acutely felt than in the newly fledged African states r
brought to independence with pressing human needs under
extreme, fragmenting conditions of ethnic and cultural
heterogeneity.
Yet, the major news reports from Africa
this year (1978) have dramatically underscored a process
of national disintegration as conflicting nationalist and
separatist mov~ents challenging central authority have
seriously disrupted political and economic life in Chad,
the Sahara, the Ogaden region of Somalia, the Eritrea
region of Ethiopia, and Shaba Province in Zaire.

---

2
Much of the latent tension and unrest in Africa stem
more than anything else from the attempt to superimpose
national governing structures over no fewer than 6,000
ethnic groups on the continent.
On the one side is ethno-
centricism, or "tribalism:"
the deep-rooted loyalty of
225,000,000 Africans to traditional subgroups that represent
certainty amid bewildering social and economic change.
On
the other side is nationalism:
the heady dream of creating
modern states of affluence and power.
Nationalism implies a dream of an Africa adorned with
splendid schools and hospitals, universities and factories,
highways and irrigation schemes.
It will depend upon a vast
and extended amount of skill and toil, requiring the type
of national unity and mass mobilization which have charac-
terized development campaigns in Cuba and the People's
Republic of China.
African leaders have recognized that
until they can unify diverse groups and build strong econ-
omies, it will be a dream deferred.
"Tribalism," it should be noted, is not a problem
limited to Africa.
At some point in history, all men
belonged to tribes and resisted efforts to integrate them
into national-states.
The Scots were tribal well into the
18th century.
Even the modern West is not free of
"tribalism" as witness Canada's French-speaking separatist
movement, and the bitter divisions between Walloons and
Felmish in Belgium.
Many of the so-called "tribes" of

---

3
Africa consist of hundreds of thousands of human beings and
would in E:urope be called "peoples."
Today, tribal loyalties are weakening in African cities
where a second generation of Westernized -Africans is grow-
ing up.
But, beyond them, in the forests, plains, and
deserts many people still live much as they always have,
embedded in their traditional setting.
They do not think
of themselves as Chadians, Nigerians, or Voltaics, but as
Baluba, Ibo, and Bobo.
National politics is often simply
an arena where ethnic loyalty and rivalries are played out
to the benefit of the group in power over the interests of
the nation-state.
Long cognizant of this problem, Ivory Coast President
Felix Houphuet-Boigny called tribalism the "scourge of
Africa."
Former Kenyan Minister or Economic Planning
Tom Mboya warned that unless tribalism is eradicated in
Africa '~uch of what we have achieved could be lost over-
night" (Time, 1968).
Factors supporting national integration.
More to the
focus of this research, one might ask '~hat are the factors
which contribute to a sense of national unity or integration
~vithin a country?"
At the core of any notion of national integration are
individuals, the manner in which they perceive the state,
and. the socialization process by which they acquire a sense
of national identification.
Traditionally; family, school,

---

4
church, and peer group influence have played major roles in
the developed nations.
History, as a sense of national
heritage, has also been an important force, binding people
together in a common past, suggesting a common future.
But, in the newer, emerging nations, where artificially
imposed boundaries encompass groups with quite different
experiences and conflicting historical interpretations,
emphasis on the past can serve a divisive function, re-
opening old wounds and unresolved disputes.
Primary group
ties and sentiments more often pull members in directions
away from national norms and loyalties, and embryonic
systems of national education, though important, reach but
a fraction of those whose immediate contribution to develop-
ment and social stability is felt the least.
In the past fifteen years, considerable interest has
been focused on the integrative function of the mass media
in developing countries.
Radio and television, with their
sense of immediacy, their mass coverage, and their central-
ized structure, have been considered as important tools in
development campaigns.
Radio and television have been used both as a means
and an end:
diffusing the content of development strat-
egies while also influencing broader patterns of cross-
cultural interraction within a population.
In regard to
this latter function, the mass media have been heralded

---

5
by Pierce (1967) as the "greatest unifying force in history."
Chaffee (1966) has argued that disparate communities can be
he Id together "only" by mass corranunica tions.
Schrazmn (1963)
considers mass media a "requirement" for modernizing
societies.
The strength of this view, reflected in the develop-
ment literature, has served to encourage extensive invest-
ments in media expansion in several developing nations,
most notably the French West African Republic of the Ivory
Coast, the setting of this study.
The Problem
While important theoretical discussions have been
advanced to explain the socialization role of mass media
in the nation-building process,
there have been few attempts
to test such propositions empirically, particularly in
Third World settings.
As Barnett (1977) has observ~d,
much of the literature is based upon "armchair theory"
and does not represent a body of systematic knowledge
based on verified hypotheses.
For the most part, individ-
uals having worked in the field are satisfied with relating
their feelings, anecdotes, and impressions concerning the
cultural impact of mass media.
The few studies which hav~
examined media effects on national integration hav~ focused
on measures of political development and have yielded
inconclusive and limited results.

---

6
In this study the question of television impact on
national integration was examined from a cultural perspec-
tive, focusing upon members of a small outlying community
of the Ivory Coast.
Of central importance was the manner
in which television viewing affects the perception of self
and the nation-state.
National integration was approached as a process of
,
cultural change leading to (a) an increased sense of
national identification among members of a community within
the state, and (b) a reduction in the range of perceived
cultural differences between members of different subcom-
munities.
The central research question was:
"How does the type
of television available to villagers in the Ivory Coast
affect their perception of themselves and their country?"
The method of Multi-Dimensional Scaling is used to monitor
and document thes·e changes.
The Ivory Coast:
General Overview
Situated at the western edge of the Gulf of Guinea,
north of the equator, the Ivory Coast has an area of approx-
imately 126,000 square miles, twice the size of the State
of Florida.
It is bordered by Liberia, Guinea, Mali,
Upper Volta, and Ghana.
The country is comprised of some sixty identified
ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language.
The

---

7
total population of about seven million includes about one
million non-Ivoriens coming mainly from neighboring Mali,
Guinea~ and Upper Volta.
There are also an estimated 50,000
non-Africans, mostly French expatriates and Lebanese mer-
chants who dominate middle
and large-scale business enter-
prises and teaching.
For the purpose of conceptualization, the country can
be thought of as a square, in each corner of which reside
several related ethnic groupings.
These groups are most
often part of larger cultures which cut across national
boundaries.
In regard to the pluralistic nature of the
country, Roberts (1973) has written:
In each case, the Ivory Coast segment of the
larger (cultural) entity is but a small part
of it, an extension from its cultural and
spiritual center.
Futhermore, none of these
four culture provinces can be said clearly to
predominate in Ivory Coast life, and probably
no single ethnic group comprises more than
15 per cent of the total population.
The
Ivory Coast is thus, ethnically speaking,
a total accident.
(p. 55)
Since independence from France in 1960, the country
has made impressive social and economic gains.
In French
and African circles, it is proudly referred to as the

---

8
"Ivorien miracle."
Today it is considered the most prosper-
ous of tropical African nations, boasting a favcrable balance
of trade, a rapidly expanding industrial sector, diversified
agriculture, and political stability derived from the lead-
ership of one party and one president since independence.
Level of Development
Throughout his career, Ivorien President Felix
Houphouet Boigny has maintained close fraternal and economic
ties with France through an extensive program of technical
assistance.
As a result, the Ivoriens have evclved a
highly efficient cadre of professionals, managers, and
technicians who, through a gradual program of Ivorization,
have now moved into the highest decision-making levels in
all governmental sectors.
The development approach which has emerged has been a
two-pronged strategy with priorities on increased produc-
tivity in the sectors of agriculture and education.
The
change statistics in these two target areas are impressive
and speak for themselves:
1.
Since independence, income from agriculture has
tripled so that by 1970 the country ranked as third pro-
ducer of coffee after Brazil and Colombia; second producer
of cocoa after Ghana; fifth producer of pineapple and banan-
as; second African producer of cotton after Chad; and first
African producer of rough timber.
The impact of the indus-
trial sector on the GNP has also grown from six percent in

---

9
in 1960 to 15 percent.
(Houphouet Boigny P~ese~te La
Cote D'lvoire a Giscard, 1977)
2.
Increased productivi~y in the educational sector
has been focused at the elementary level through increased
fiscal allocations and the implementation of a program of
direct instruction by educational television, reaching
1,731 schools in 1977.
Few countries can match the Ivorien
investment in education which was 17 percent of the national
budget shortly after independence in 1962 and is today esti-
mated between 46 and 50 percent.
Elementary school enrol-
lment has more than tripled since independence from 238,772
to 735,621 students.
(La Cote D'Ivoire en Chiffres, 1977-
78)
The literacy rate is reportedly among the highest in
Africa at 65 percent.
(World Almanac and Book of Facts, ].977)
Qualitative Change
Quantitative changes such as those mentioned previous-
ly are useful in measuring development in a country but
they imply little about the quality of life or the pattern
of human relationships.
It is characteristic of many researchers to think of
development in terms of the numbers of things and to value
their importance by the size of the numbers they apply to
them.
But this is just one level of change.
This is the
world outside of us,
the tangible elements changing.
A
second level of change involves our own encounter with
these transformations, our revised perceptions of the world,
our psychological adjustment to the new environment:

---

10
... it has to do with the observable differ-
ences in our experience of the configuration
of things.
They do not, as we experience
them, stand in the same relationship - left
to right, top to bottom, front to back,
color on color - as they did before.
For
the most part this is what we mean by
cultural or social change.
Here again,
change is measurement, but what we measure
is quality not quantity.
(Fabun, 1966, p.5)
In this respect, what have been the qualitative changes
in the basic relationship between the government and the
governed since independence?
To what extent have these
developments resulted in.',:re:_~~~rcePtions of the nation
among ethnic groups?
C;€,n;they~.~~own to have involved
the expansion of primaty (!fr_~.u() 's~;!\\ents based on kin,
religious, and linguise~<C\\ties ~jld national norms, values,
'''+.
• -
-----
,,-?
"'''''
r
_ :\\,'j....
and institutions?
Finallt)",,~such changes been the
result of specific policies?
Media Policy and National Integration
In the Ivory Coast, as in many African nations, the
mass media of radio, television, and the single daily news-
paper, Fraternite Matin, are state controlled.
It is
government policy to use them as tools for development
(Fraternite Hebdo, 1975).
A significant aspect of this

---

11
policy is concerned with integrating the various ethnic
groups of the country under a collectivE spirit of national
unity in support of development aims.
The following statement of these media objectiv~s was
made by the former Minister of Information Mathiu Ekra in
a 1968 speech before the Ivorien Economic and Social
Council.
The present great mission of information is to lead:
1.
to insure the predominance of a national
feeling over atavistic regionalism,
2.
to the transformation of citizens'
mentality, and
3.
to the global education of the masses.
(Fraternite Matin, 1968)
But, such a policy limited to privately owned tele-
vision sets would clearly be ineffective since the estimated
200,000 receivers in the country are in the hands of the
more affluent, more educated urban dwellers who are more
often employed in the vast government sector.
It is with
regard to the final objective of global education of the
masses that the government has sought to expand its reach
beyond this elite group to a national target population.
The Promise of Educational Television
With the support of the French government and several in-
ternational agencies, an extensive program of direct educational

---

12
television was implemented in the Ivory Coast schools in
1971.
While primarily intended for elementary school in-
struction, it was also conceived as a tool for national
integration which would serve to create a new national
culture within which all groups would interact.
This was to be achieved by using the educational infra-
structure of 1,731 television schools as a base to reach
a national audience of adults and out-of-school youths with
special public service programming.
The most important of
these programs is "Tele Pour TOus," Television for Everyone,
a weekly program emphasizing cultural enrichment and village
improvement development themes related to health and puhlic
hygiene, agricultural improvement, housing, and other
salient issues.
These half-hour programs are regularly aired each
Wednesday and occasionally on Fridays a~ 8:00 p.m. after
the evening news.
The programs are presented in both
dramatic and straight-forward didactic formats, accompanied
by French commentary.
Throughout the country, classroom teachers were called
upon to volunteer their time to organize groups for these
French language telecasts, translate their content into
the local language, and genercte group discussion on ways
to implement these ideas.
A mail feedback system was de-
vised to encourage communication between those in the field
and the program producers.

---

13
At the outset of this ETV projecc, Claude Pauvert
(1971). then chief technical advisor to the project, and
UNESCO media specialist, envisioned that the schools would
become the hub of a national communication network.
Pauvert (1971) stated that with the progressive
extension of the ETV infrastructure to remote outlying areas,
reaching children and adults from all walks of life, the
entire nation would soon be "re-integrated into a triangle
of televisual cOImIlunications."
The expanded ETV system,
he felt, would serv~ as a two-way channel through which the
entire nation would conduct an educational dialogue with
itself, resulting in the creation of a new, integrated
culture.
He wrote:
., . intercommunication (will be) established
between children, young people, peasants and
vi llager s.
In th i s way the "g lobal vi llage"
will be achieved to which McLuhan refers
when he says there is a man who speaks and
tells stories, whom everyone sees and every-
one talks about the next morning.
(p. 44)
Restated, the aim of this dissertation has been to ex-
amine the "global village" assumption expressed here.
But,
before proceeding with a discussion of how this was ap--
proached, previous studies Were examined in order to review
earlier work in this area.

---

14
The review is presented in three sections.
In the
first, assumptions about the integrative effects of mass
media are reviewed.
This is followed in the second section
by a review of related research studies.
These findings
are synthesized in the final section.

---

CHAPTER 11
Review of the Literature
Assumptions About the Integrative
Effect9 of Media
As developed by McLuhan (1964), the "global village"
notion relates to changing patterns of perception brought
about by our expanded electronic involvement in affairs
external to our immediate environment.
In Understanding
Media, McLuhan (1964) eleborated on this process as it
related to problems of population:
We still talk about the population ex-
plosion and the explosion in learning.
In fact, it is not the increase of numbers
in the world that creates our concern
with population.
Ruther, it is the fact
that everybody in the world has to live
in the utmost proximity created by our
electric involvement in one another's life.
(p. 47)
McLuhan (1964) contends that the tendency of electronic
media is to create a kind of organic interdependence among
15

---

16
all the institutions of society, emphasizing, according
to some interpreters, the view of Pierre Teilhard
de Chardin that the discovery of electromagnetism should
be regarded as "a prodigious biological event."
Inter-
preting McLuhan's assumption, Goldberg (1971) has writ-
ten:
Because of its characteristic of integrating
rather than separating men from other men and
men from society, electronic media, according
to McLuhan, have transformed the leitmotiv
of Western society from rlexplosion" to
"implosion."
It is in this sense that he
speaks of a 'global village.'
Electronic
man, like preliterate man, ablates or outers
his whole self in technology and is, like-
wise, involved in the actions and events
of all other men.
(Goldberg, 1971, p. 224)
With little, if any, empirical evidence to support
his contentions, many of McLuhan's grand ideas have re-
ceived solid criticism from his peers (Goldberg, 1971).
Yet it will be seen that quite similar unsupported assump-
tions about the integrative effects of media abound in the
literature.
While McLuhan's statement addresses existing patterns
of social integration "created" by media, considerable
theoretical commitment can be found for this proposition

---

17
.
h
f
f
.
.
.
"If
tt
C
. ,
In t
e
orm 0
an InverSIon, 1. e.,
pa.
erns oJ.. SOCIal.
interdependency err,erge between systems as a result of
,
media,
then media development within a nation will lead
to greater integration among its sub-systems."
This
point of view is found in the writings of political scien-
tists like Fagen (1966) and Pye (1963) who have advanced
nation-building theories which approach the problems of
development as communications problems.
Pye (1963) clear-
ly reflects this approach:
A scanning of any list of the most elementary
problems common to new states readily suggests
the conclusion that the basic process of
political modernization and national devel-
opment can be advantageously conceived as
problems in communication.
For example, the
generally recognized gap between the West-
ernized, more urbanized leaders and the more
tradition-bound, village-based masses, which
is the hallmark of transitional societies,
represents a flaw in the structure of the
national communications, and a fundamental
problem in personal communication among
people with grossly different life experi-
ences.
(p. 8)
]
]

---

18
While also stressing the importance of interpersonal
channels of communication, Pye (1963) contends that a
basic task of creating political consenses in new nations
involves the building of universal means of national com-
munication, so that "all segments of the society can be-
come more closely i nvol ved wi th each other" (p. 10).
Such a national communication system would be instrumental,
,
Pye contends, in countering problems of national consensus
related to the deeply held attitudes and sentiments of
"separate i ndi viduals \\vhich emerge out of thei r accumula-
tive communications experiences" (p.ll).
This same concern with integrativ~ communication
systems is present in the work of political scientist
Richard Fagen (1966), who has attempted to develop Pye's
ideas into a more systematic framework.
Fagen (1966) con-
tends that the national integration approach to political
development finds its "natural ally" in the study of
communication, and that when viewed this way political
development involves a structural expansion in the com-
munication sector sufficient to make national politics
possible .
.. . political development involves extending
central communication networks into and across
previously isolated sectors of the society.
The developing political system is charac-
terized by new horizontal channels stemming

---

19
from increased socio-economic interde-
pendence and new vertical channels arising
from increased pressures for political
participation and administrative effective-
ness.
(p.128)
Schramm (1963) has been concerned with how communi-
cation development can serve to accelerate political,
economic, and social growth.
He asserts that communication
assists in public understanding and acceptance of national
goals.
His theme has been that the mass media can be used
to create a feeling of " nat ioness" in developing countries.
The process, according to Schramm, involves the extension
of loyalties and awareness to a national level:
Through this process the man who had been
a citizen of the village grows self-
consciously into a citizen of the nation.
But the citizen cannot extend his envi-
ronment unless the communication system
extends its environment.
In the oral,
traditional society the previsions for
wide-horizon communication are inefficient:
the traveller and the ballard singer come
too seldom and know too little.
A mod-
ernizing of society requires mass media,
some of which ~ust be national.

---

20
In a related review of development communication
literature on national integration, researcher Troy Zimmer
(1971) finds other references to this integrative assump-
tion.
As early as 1938, O.W. Riegal discussed how mass
communication media promoted nationalism through a
tendency to spread national symbols.
Louis Wirth (1960)
considered mass communication to be the main framewor~
of the web of social life.
He felt that mass communication
contributed to national integration through the spreading
-:....~',r. ,~ ':'"
of poli tical symbols and the reinforceme /,,>:~~<~~l-
i stic norms.
_~ I ~ ,;;>
) ; .
Karl Deutsch (1953) has argued tha ~"...~'~ i~~;A ,,~ part
,~....<, ~
"
of the nation-building process involves t
~~i~. "'on of
symbols throughout a nation-state by the means of mass
communications.
More committed statements include those
of John Pierce, Zechariah Chaffee, and Bruce Russett.
Pierce (1967) has declared the mass media to be the "great-
est unifying force in history."
Chaffee (1966) considers
it obvious that "a community with its citizens widely
separated can be held together only by mass communications:'
On this matter, Russett (1964) writes:
Communications media may have major con-
sequences for the political unity of a
nation.
A nation, in the sense of a
people with shared values and aspirations,

---

21
may 20t exist before oodern ccmmunic3tions
become reasonably widespread.
~hen radio,
newspapers, and other media are introduced
they may provide the means whereby the
existence of common goals and values are
recognized or created
(p. 105)
Examples of how these assumptions have been applied
can be illustrated by the "popular education" and "Amer-
icanization" programs of the U. S. S. R. and the Uni ted States.
At the twenty-fourth congress of the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union (CPSU), a resolution on the report of
the central committee stressed the growing importance of
the Party's propagandistic and agitation work (Kondrashkov,
1972).
The participants agreed that the rapid development
of the mass media,
their omnipresence, their mobility and
efficiency had created "unprecedented opportunity for the
active ideological influence of the press, radio and tele-
vision on the nonmaterial life of society and gn the minds
of the broadest strata of the population ll (p. 98).
The congress attached great importance to the further
improvement of the work of those involved in the mass med~
propaganda work, reminding them that they should always
recall the ~vords of V.1. Lenin:
"We are doing little to
educate the masses on the basis of living ... and yet this
is the main task of the press during the transition from
capitalism to communismll (p. 99).

---

22
This concern with using media to transmit a way of
life finds its counterpart among the American instructors
responsible for the education of aliens for citizenship
status.
The Bureau of Continuing Education Curriculum Develop-
ment of the New York State Education Department has pro-
duced an annotated bibliography entitled "Multi-Media for
Americanization Programs" (1973).
Stating that such
instructors have long recognized the value of incorporating
a variety of audiovisual aids into their instructional
programs, the guide describes a compilation of videotapes,
records, tapes, filmstrips,
films, film loops, trans-
parencies, charts, and kits which are thought to be useful
in the majority of Americanization programs.
Though these particular materials are not intended
for mass transmission they, nevertheless, underscore the
importance attributed to the media in integrating individ-
uals into the national consciousness.
Trans-National Cultural Integration
A contrasting perspective is presented by writers
who view the integrative effects of mass media with con-
cern for the threat that foreign values, norms, and
aspirations pose to the integrity of their own cultures.
This view which is often expressed under the rubric of
"Cultural Imperialism" has been articulated most con-
sistently by spokesmen from those nations which lie within

---

23
[he Ameri"::.1n sphere of
influence,
l . E . .
Canada and the
Latin Americ3r. nations.
Weiss (1974), for example, contends that the effects
of constant exposure to American broadcasting on Canadians
competes with their sense of identity to their own country.
This view is also explored by McPhail and Barnett (1977)
whose study is reported in the latter part of this lit-
erature review section.
Weiss (1974) calls for a stronger policy on the part
of the govErnment to "Canadianize" its broadcasting.
Special attention,
she contends, should also be given to
the development of Canadian cable television to serVE this
special function.
This section of the literature review has been by no
means truly exhaustive; the list of subscribers to this
view could certainly be extended.
The purpose of this
section was merely to indicate the breadth of theoretical
commitment to a popular proposition before turning to a
review of the empirical studies which have addressed this
question.
It must also be noted in this section that many of
the writers cited also feel that under certain conditions
media development can contribute to "disintegration" in
developing nations.
Pye (1963), Lerner (1958), and
Deutsch (1961) have each argued that new forms of com-
munications can lead to rising political and economic

---

24
expectations which outrun government's ability to supply.
Civil disorder and overturned governments are said to
result when this revolution of rising expectations becomes
the revolution of rising frustrations.
Actually these negative consequences of media taken
with the earlier statements of the writers serve further
to establish their belief in a strong relationship between
mass media and patterns of national interaction; it is the
nature of the relationship, whether positive or negative,
which is the focus of their concern.
Research Findings
Most of the empirical research on the relationship
between media and national integration has been generated
from the political science perspectiv~.
Within this field
there have been only a limited number of multivariate
studies which have examined this relationship in a fully
conceptualized manner.
In the majority of studies, re-
searchers have focused on the contributing components to
national integration such as the influence of media devel-
opment on voter turnout, universal suffrage, and the
development of political knowledge and national political
parties.
This type of research has been thoroughly
critiqued by Kraus and Davis (1976).
For example, in separate studies conducted in Cclombia,
Deutschman (1963) and Rogers (1965-1966) found a high
correlation between levels of media exposure ar.d political

---

25
knowledge.
It was also found that these two variables
correlated highly in Costa Rico (McNelly and Deutschman,
1963), and in Egypt (Hornik, 1971).
Bishop (1973) report-
ed that young men in Peru were able to compensate for lack
of education with high media use in the development of
political knowledge.
Though these studies seem to provide some support for
the central proposition, they are limited because:
1.
they use individuals as units of analysis, and
2.
because they have only focused on subvariables
of the national integration process.
They require too many inferential steps to allow one to
make confident, generalizable conclusions about the national
integration process within nations.
To date, this writer is aware of only three such
political studies which have addressed the relationship
between mass media and national integration in a manner
which avoids these two weaknesses.
In each of these multi-
variate studies, nation-states are used as the unit of
analysis.
One addresses the "dis-integration" hypothesis,
and the other two focus upon national political integration.
Taylor (1969) tested the hypothesis that mass com-
munication channels change perceptions and raise personal
expectations faster than society can cope with them (pre-
viously discussed Deutsch and Lerner notions).
His

---

26
statistical analysis was based on newspaper circulation
and number of radios in use.
Political violence and sta-
bility measures were obtained from the Yale World Data
Program.
He found no significant correlations.
In another study, Adelman and Morris (1967) were in-
terested in societal correlates of economic development
and performed a factor analysis on several variables, some
of which were related to mass communication development
and national integration.
Media development was based upon newspaper circulation
and number of radios, and an integration measure called
degree of integration-unity was developed (ZiIT~er, 1971).
(The components of this index are unspecified.
The pri-
mary source is currently unavailable.)
Data were col-
lected from 74 countries.
Mass communication was reported
to be highly correlated (.72) with degree of national
integration-unity.
In the most recent study, Zimmer (1971) performed a
statistical analysis on aggregate data from 108 nations.
Of primary interest is his hypothesis that there would be
a positive relationship between media development and
national political integration.
The dependent variable
was operationalized as:
(a) a low degree of political
violence,
(b) a low degree of potential separatism,
(c)
linguistic homogencity, and (d) high political encult-
uration.

---

27
Level of mass ~edia development for each country was
represented in an index of daily newspaper circulation,
radio and television receivers in use, and number of cinema
seats available.
The results of Zimmer's correlational analysis were
problematic.
There were countries such as Tanzania and
the Central African Republic with low levels of media de-
velopment and high levels of national integration.
On
the other hand, there were nations such as Czechoslovakia,
Spain, and Belgium which rated relatively high in media
development but scored low in national integration.
Zimmer (1971) concluded:
It seems reasonable to conclude that mass
media development does play a role in the
political integration of the nation-state.
But, the degree of importance of the role
... is difficult to establish.
There were
deviant cases to refute the claims made
by some that mass media development is
either a necessary or sufficient condition
for political integration.
(p. 100)
Synthesis
Two significant points are derived from this liter-
ature review:
(a) There is a wide range of theoretical
commitment to the assumption that the mass media perform
an important integrative function in countries, and

---

28
(b) when researchers have conceptualized national inte-
gration in political terms, their studies have yielded
mixed and inconclusive findings.
Taylor (1969) found no support for the "disintegration"
notion; Adelman and Morris (1967) confirmed their inte-
gration thesis, while ZiITmer (1971) failed to find support
for the same hypothesis.
What then does this suggest about the assumptions?
Have scholars such as Deutsch (1953), Lerner (1958),
Russett (1964), and others overstated their case?
Before any conclusions can be reached, it must be
noted that many of these writers whose assumptions were
identified in the first section of the review include In
their discussions of national integration a cultural
component of shared values, symbols, and norms.
The
available research studies, on the other hand, have not
addressed these factors.
They have primarily been
directed toward indicators of political stability based
upon citizen participation, political knowledge, and civil
violence.
Changes at the level of an individual's perception
of the nation-state are either implied by the researchers
from behavior, or are considered unimportant.
To this
writer's knowledge, there has been only one study In
which the integrative effects of media on perception and
culture have been examined (HcPhail & Barnett, 1977).

---

29
This study will be discussed later in this section.
This researcher views the process of national devel-
opment, or any process of directed large-scale social
change as consisting of three basic components:
(a) cul-
tural/psychological,
(b) structural/institutional, and
Cc) social/behavioral.
Cult'Jral!
Stru.:tu=a!,'
Social!
?svcholmdc31
Institutio!1al
Behavioral
i
~[edia
Social Parti -
I
I
Beliefs, ValL:es
!
t
Caoacicy
I cipation andl
I
[OPPOl: tunl ty
I
Attl ::uces I
I or
Other Be-
I
I
I
havioral Change I
I
,
I
!
)
I
'
,
'
Figure 1
Traditional Approaches to the
·Study of Media Effects
As illustrated in Figure 1, political researchers
such as Zimmer, Taylor, and Adelman and Morris have looked
for a direct link between media development and political
manifestations of behavioral change.
Such an approach
seems unreasonable to this researcher when one considers
the importance of intervening cultural and structural fac-
tors which operate differently in each country to either
hinder or support development and national integration
efforts.
The structural component assumes central importance
whether national development and integration are concept-

---

30
conceptualized in political economic or social terms; un-
less an individual has both the capacity (income, mobility)
and the opportunity, there is very little chance that he
can participate in activities at these levels.
Changes
in this component are brought about through new social
structures and institutions which support socio-economic
and cultural transformation at the local and national
levels of a country.
The Cultural/Psychological component is equally im-
portant.
For without concomitant changes at the level of
beliefs, values, and attitudes, the opportunities brought
into existence through structural changes can be misunder-
stood, overlooked, or ignored.
These factors can be
viewed as pre-conditions to change.
The relationship
among the three components is illustrated in Table 1
using as an example the opening of an agricultural co-
operative bank in a new co~munity.
Table 1
Three Components of Social Change
Cul~ural/Psvchological
StructuraI/I"stit~­
Eehavicral
Pre-conaitlons
tional Change
Change
Values
Save tor a rainy day
Establishmen: of
Resident
~oney needs protection
local branch cf
opens an
Let your money work
Agricult~ral
account
for you and the nation
Cc-op Bank
Beliefs
Government Cc-op banks
are safe
Goverr~ent CC-OD banks
are fair to the small ~an
Attitudes
The Gover~~ent CO-CD bank
is convenient
.
The Gov~rnment Co-op bank
i~ a good place to save

---

31
Hhile it
15
certiJinly :lOt: bein'2. suggested that be-
liefs,
values and attitudes alone have any impact on an
individual's capacity to participate in new institutional
structures or to adopt new behavioral patterns, it is
argued that they do affect that person's ability to recog-
nize their value and to take advantage of such opportun-
ities once they are brought about through structural
changes.
It would seem then that educative mass media
campaigns targeted at these pre-conditions might play an
important role in influencing an individual's perceptions
of the nation-state and its policies of development.
A revised model for a research approach stressing the
central function of the cultural component is indicated
in Figure 2.
Behavioral Change
Structurai/lnst:t~tionalChange
! :-ius S
;, ~!cdi a
CapacitY/O??o,t~ni~y
Participation
Figure 2
Cultural Approach to the
Study of Media Effects

---

32
Media Impact on Cultural Change
The Canadian pilot study of McPhail and Barnett (1977),
mentioned earlier, represents an important effort at as-
sessing media impact on national integration from a
cultural perspective.
In this study, the researchers
sought to evaluate the importance of Canadian television
on its viewers.
Of special interest was the competing
influence of American television programs which are
extremely popular among Canadians and widely available
both on the Canadian networks and from United States based
stations which transmit across the border.
Using the Multi-Dimensional Scaling Method, the re-
searchers asked a group of 149 Canadian university
students to indicate the cultural difference between them-
selves and a conceptual field of 16 other concepts in-
cluding "Canada," "Separatism," "National Unity," and the
"United States."
Cultural differences were expressed by having the
subjects estimate ratio level "distances" between them-
selves and all other possible concept pairs to indicate
similarityidifference and the strength of these relation-
ships.
The most significant finding of the study was that
those subjects who, over the years, had experienced the
greatest exposure to American television programs per-

---

33
perceived ~hemselv~s culturally as bein;::, "closer" to the
United States
(more American)
than the rest of the sample,
and further away from Canada (less Canadian).
The results indicated an inverse relationship be-
tween the viewing of American television programs and a
sense of Canadian identity.
But, because the research
design did not satisfy the criteria of time-order, it cou~
not be confidently concluded that the viewing of American
programs "caused" this group to perceive themselves as
being mere American.
Despite the limitations of the research design in
this study, the use of the MDS method demonstrated a prom-
ising, empirically rigorous approach to the study of media
impact on cultural change.
In the following chapter a
theoretical framework is presented for employing this
methodology in the study of national integration in the
Republic of the Ivory Coast.

---

CHAPTER III
Theoretical Framework
National Integration:
The
Dependent Variable
In a review of general literature on national inte-
gration, lcken Safa (1971) has noted that researchers and
theorists tend to define this concept in a manner which
reflects their particular discipline.
Economists have
emphasized the importance of an economic infra-structure;
political scientists have focused on the growth of a
"participant society" and political consensus.
While these definitions may vary in emphasis they
all point up, she observes, the necessity of replacing
"traditional, local,
'primordial' ties with a new identi-
fication with the state" (p. 212).
Researchers approach-
ing this process from the cultural perspective, she notes,
have tended to emphasize a change in values or ethos as
being indicative of the process of national integration.
Anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1963) provides a
definition which will serve as the conceptual definition
for this study.
Geertz refers to this process as the
34

---

'35
I t ·
•
1 ' "
d d f'
.
"
l~te~ratIve
reVoLutIon
a n e Ines :~ as
sive extension of the sense of primordial similarity and
difference ... to more broadly defined groups within the
framework of the entire national society" (p. 153-154).
The sense of similarity and difference, manifested
in how we perceive the world, is a psychological attribute
of an individual, and a cultural characteristic of a
particular ethnic or social group.
One could expect, for
example, that members of an American teenage drug culture
might perceive greater similarity between the concepts
"marijuana" and "white wine" than would members of a law
enforcement subculture such as retired F.B.I. agents.
By the same token, educated,
highly urbanized
Africans are more likely to perceive greater similarity
between the concepts "malaria" and "mosquitoes" than might
illiterate forest dwellers.
However, in both examples
these perceptual patterns would be subject to change over
time as a function of direct personal experience and in-
formation exposure.
Woefel and Barnett (in press) argue that given a set
of relevant concepts, and expressing differences between
them in terms of ratio level distances, that any culture
can be represented mathmatically as the mean differences
between the concepts and"self" perceived by its individual
members:

---

36
... the collective consciousness,
i.e.,
that
aggregate psychological configuration which
constitutes the culture of a society and
toward which individual beliefs may seem
to tend, may be represented accurately
as the average matrix S, where any entry sij,
is the arithmetic mean conception of the
distance or dissimilarity between objects
i and j
as seen by all members of the
culture.
(Barnett, 1977, p.
2)
The authors have demonstrated that these objects can
be abstract aspects of belief,
attitude,
ritual,
and pat-
terned activity including such things as language,
re-
ligion,
or the nation-state.
As such,
this approach pro-
vides an analytical definition of culture which can be
described quantitatively.
Returning to the Geertz
(1963)
cultural definition of
national integration as the extension of this sense of
similarity and difference across a national society,
it is
important next to address the question of how this trans-
fer process takes place,
and what are its principal mech-
anisms.
Intercultural Transfer
The process by which aspects of one culture are trans-
ferred
to anothe~, and its consequences, have been examined

---

37
by researchers under thr2e major conceptual frameworks,
each distinguished by a particular value bias toward the
process.
These are Diffusion Theory, the Cultural Impe-
rialism Perspective, and the Theory of Cultural Transmis-
sion.
Diffusion theory.
In diffusion theory (Rogers, 1971),
the researcher regards the transfer process as a positive
one.
The researcher is concerned with maximizing those
social, ip.terpersonal, and pyschological conditions which
are believed to make an individual or a culture more re-
ceptive to the adoption of values, beliefs, and technolog-
ical innovations deemed necessary for development.
It is
a practical theory of social intervention rooted in the
assumptions of planned change.
Cultural imperialism.
The cultural imperialism per-
spective can be viewed as a political-philosophical
reacticn agaip.st foreign cultural dominance much as de-
pendency theory is a reaction against the effects of
foreign economic control over other countries.
Its ad-
herents contend that the indiscriminate adoption of foreign
cultural elements results in a psychological dependence
upon that culture and the ultimate demise of authentic,
meaningful, indigenous cultural systems (Gibbons, 1974).
With regard to Africa, such a loss would be tragic.
Tribal culture has developed all of Africa's arts:
its

---

38
vigorous songs, dances, and music, its rich legends and
folklore,
the carvings. masks, and decorative bead and
basket work, its pottery and elaborate weaving and dyeing
techniques.
The social structure of the tribal system has provided
a security blanket under which all members could seek shel-
ter.
No tribesman need ever be alone.
Every fellow
tribesman is bound by sacred rules to give shelter, food,
and comfort when another is in need.
It has provided the
perfect welfare state based on blood relationships.
Several African novelists such as Achebe (1967), and
Ngugi (1977) have written about the mental and spiritual
effects of de-tribalization under the influences of
Western cultural dominance which started with the activ-
ities of white missionaries:
The young have flocked to
the cities.
Severed from tribal morals, yet longing for
them, same have sunk into alcoholism, prostitution, and
petty crime in order to obtain Western luxuries.
Most
are victims of "alienation."
It has been estimated, for example, that in some
Nigerian cities, two thirds of the population suffer from
some form of mental illness, mostly anxiety (Time, 1968).
Such consequences are indeed tragic and one can only hope
that African leaders are fully cognizant of them in their
present policies of national integration.

---

39
Cultural transmission theory.
Like diffusion theory,
the theory of cultural transmission provides a framework
for understanding the process of intercultural transfer,
but, avoids either of the two previous value biases.
It
is a detached perspective which lends itself to anthro-
pological investigations of cultural change, or culture
in the mak ing.
This transmission process can be illustrated graphi-
cally as in Figure 3 with references to the Redfield-
Singer notion of "Great Tradition - Little Tradition,"
(Wax & Wax, 1971) and Eric Wolf's "Broker" thesis (Icken
Safa, 1971).
<Brokers
Little Tradition
Great Tradition
(Sub-cultural)
(Nation-state)
Figure 3
Cultural Differences between
Little Tradition and Great Tradition

---

40
The point of the illustration in Figure 3 is
to indicate that the constellation of cultural elements
which surround these two systems are quite different.
For
example,
the world view of the individual who is integrat-
ed into the Great Tradition (the nation-state) may consist
of:
(1) formal education opportunities,
(2) material con-
sumer objects,
(3) specialized government services, etc.
In the Little Tradition (sub-culture) an individual's
world would consist of those norms and patterns of be-
havior prescribed by one's own community,
tribe,
or ethnic
group.
Wolf contends that through the interaction of "bro-
kers," elements of the two systems are transmitted from
one to the other; more often this is predominately a one-
way process from the national system to the sub-group.
These brokers are often:
(1) agents of national
institutions,
i.e.,
tax collectors,
teachers, policemen,
health workers,
(2) marginal men seeking economic and
political power,
and (3) as suspected in this study, the
mass media.
The result of this interaction is illustrated in
Figure 4.

---

4l
0'
ep
I
<Brokers)
Little Tradition
Great Tradition
(Sub-cuI tural )
(Nation-state)
Figure 4
The Interaction Function ef .
Cultural Brokers
Media Mechanisms of
Cultural Transmission
In their study of mass media effects on political
behavior, Kraus and Davis (1976) identify five theoretical
perspectives on the role of media, two of which can be
considered within the framework of this study as mechanisms
of cultural transmission:
the cammunicational reality and
agenda setting functions.
Cammunicational reality.
First advanced by Lee
Thayler,
(Eulua, 1963) this construct describes reality
as a function of human communicational behavicr structured
through such acts as talking, listening, and thinking.
Thayler contends that '~hatever one or more men can and
do talk about, but which is not amenable to sensory con~
tact by them, has no reality beyond what can be and is

---

42
said about it" (p. 54).
By contributing symbols,
ideas,
and issues to this conceptual environment in which persons
interact, mass media create communicational reality.
By extension, abstract notions of a nation-state
broadcasted by nationally controlled media become part of
the political reality which are talked about, altered,
and interpreted by citizens of a society.
This ,process
is very similar to the expectations of Pauvert (1971),
related earlier, that Ivcrien television would create a
new national culture within which all groups would inter-
act.
Agenda setting.
The concept of agenda setting asserts
that media content sets personal agendas.
By focusing
attending on certain issues while ignoring others, the
media, it is believed, set "priorities of concern" within
the various sectors of a public.
Maxwell McCombs (1972),
a prominent researcher in this area, argues that audiences
not only learn about public issues and other matters
through the media, but that they also learn how much
importance to attach to an issue from the emphasis placed
on it by the mass media (p. 213).
Following this proposition one might reasonably ex-
pect that in countries such as the Ivory Coast where
media are nationally controlled and strong emphasis is
placed on themes of national development, educational

---

4J
reform,
the achievements of goverr.ment,
and the need for
a sense of national unity, that these issues would become
more salient to members of the viewing audience.
In summary, national integration is approached in
this study as a process of cultural change where culture
is conceptualized as a shared sense of similarity and
difference among members of a public toward selected con-
cepts.
The mass media are viewed as cultural transmis-
sion brokers which expand the field for cultural inter-
action through the mechanisms of communicational reality
and agenda setting, creating an information environment
of issues and concerns to which the public attends.
Demonstration of the Process:
A Research Approach
In keeping with Geertz's conceptual definition used
in this study, there are two ways to approach a demonstra-
tion of cultural transmission from a measurement point of
view.
First, it would be necessary to obtain interval
level measurements describing the proximity of Great
Tradition and Little Tradition elements on a similarity-
difference continuum.
One would next try to show that
over time certain Great Tradition elements had become
similar (i.e., less strange and foreign) to Little Tra-
dition elements for members of that culture.

---

44
Title 1
Simllarity ..
Difference
...
o
o
..
0
D
o 00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Individual
or
Group
Time 2
S~milarity
Difference .
•
.
()
•
'
()
0
0
·0. .
0
0
I
1 2 3 4. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
..,
Individual
or
Group
Figure 5
Cultural Elements of the Great
Tradition Moving to Equal Proximity
with Elements of the Little Tradition
But since national integration is conceptualized as a
process, "a progressive extension of the primordial sense
of similarity and difference," it would not actually be
necessary to go through with this full demonstration show-
ing relatively equal similarity among elements.
It would
suffice to demonstrate that elements of the Great Tradi-
tion have moved closer to the individual along this con-
tinuum (or that he moves closer to them).

---

45
.,.
5 ir:,i b::- i ty
T2
'1
Di~ference
0
. . .
0
0
()
00
0
•
t
I
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Individual
or
Group
Figure 6
Cultural Elements of the Great Tradition
Moving Relatively Closer to Individual or Group
Such is the approach of this study.
Difference/simi-
larity ratings of selected national cultural elements have
been generated from members of an Ivorien community ov~r
time to determine whether their television viewing serves
to alter their proximity to members of that community.
In the following chapter Multi-Dimensional Scaling
(MDS) is discussed as a method for monitoring cultural
change; a field of seven concepts is delineated; and the
major research hypotheses are presented.

---

CHAPTER IV
Methodology and Related
Research Hypotheses
Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS)
The method of Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS) is
ideally suited for this study because of its close cor-
respondence with the conceptual definition of the depend-
ent variables.
Basically, MDS is a technique which
produces a conceptual map in which cognitions and-con-
cepts are located in relation to one another on the basis
of discrepency or dissimilarity data reported by a sub-
ject.
In this method, subjects are presented with a list
of concepts (stimuli) and asked to make ratio level
judgements about their similarity or difference relative
to a standard.
Through the use of the Galileo computer
program these judgements are illustrated mathematically
in a space resulting in a geometric pattern.
Changes in
the relationship among the concepts are represented as
changes in this pattern over time (Woelfel, 1974).
46

---

47
Time 1
Time 2
Figure 7
Over-time Changes in Perception Displayed
Graphically in Multi-dimensional Space

---

48
The Galileo program is presently available at Florida
State University, but was not fully operational at the
time of this data analysis.
All computations were perform-
ed with standard calculating equipment.
The examples
presented below are used solely to illustrate the manner
in which the relationship between concepts can be dis-
played graphically through this method.
It will not be
possible to illustrate the actual data collected in
this study in this manner.
The concepts displayed in
Figure 7 were used in this study and are discussed later
in detail.
The figure shows changes in the relationship
of seven concepts over-time.
When the individual is the unit of analysis, the con-
cept configuration yielded by this method can be inter-
preted as a cognitive map for that individual.
When
similarityidifference ratings are averaged over a large
sample of individuals, they yield extremely precise
estimates of discrepancies as perceived by that aggregate
of people.
Joseph Woelfel, who has been instrumental in
the development of this technique, writes:
These measures might well be seen as des-
criptive of discrepancies as seen by the
culture from whom the sample of individuals
is drawn.
While we might hope that this
theory and its associated measurement

---

49
system can eventually serve 3S 2 Dr2cise
tool for the analysis of individual cog-
nitive processes, it would seem to be
fully able to serve now as a precise system
for the analysis of cultural or macro-
conmunication processes.
OoToelfel, 1974,
p.
14)
Recent cultural applications of this method have in-
cluded a cross-cultural study of the relationship between
media and social institutions in Mexico, South America,
and the United States (Barnett & Wigand, 1976); political
processes in the 1974 Michigan congressional election
(Barnett, Serota, & Taylor, 1976), and cultural definitions
of sex roles (Saltial, N.D.).
Barnett reports that the
method has been used successfully with subjects from non-
English speaking cultures, including Japanese, Dutch,
Swedish, Finnish, and Spanish (Barnett, 1977).
Scaling procedures.
Actual procedures for conducting
an MDS analysis are described by Barnett, et a1.
(1976),
and ~oT 0 elf el, eta 1.
(1 974 ) .
Sub j e et s are pr e s en t ed wit h
a list of paired concepts and asked to make ratio level
judgements about the dissimilarity between pairs.
They
are given the following general instructions:
If concepts
X and Y are U units apart, how far apart would you say
concepts A and B are from each other?
(Iu this study,

---

50
this question was expressed at a level of familiarity which
proved to be very effective with the subjects,
see p.84.)
The first distance is set by the researcher as a "Rod
S" standard.
Providing the subjects with this initial
standard distance (U) allows them to make proportional
judgements for all possible combinations of paired con-
cepts.
These data are transformed to p,rovide a multidi-
mensional representation of the interrelationship among
all concepts,
including the subject.
This is achieved
by arranging the subject responses into a mean distance
matrix, which is transformed to a scaler-product matrix
whose origin is at the centroid of the distribution.
From this,
a coordinate matrix is generated which allows
the researcher to map each concept in a multidimensional
space.
When over-time data are collected from a sample or
a population,
the changes in the proximity of the mapped
concepts reflect a shift in that group's perception of
their interrelationship,
as well as the strength of the
group's identification with each concept.
Integration concepts.
Seven concepts were selected
for this study to monitor possible changes in the relation-
ship between the subjects and elements of the national
and international culture.
These concepts are listed in
Table 2.

---

51
Tab::'e 2
Expert Ratings for
Six Principal Concepts
Concept
Rating
Classification
1.
Me
2.
Schools
4.8
National Culture
3.
Gov2rnmen t
3.9
National Culture
4.
Senoufo
2.3
External Sub-Culture
5.
France
2".1
External International Culture
6.
Radio
4.0
. Cormnunication Concept
7.
Television
3.1
Independent Variable
Concepts (2), Schools, and (3) Government were
selected by the researcher and validated by a panel of
Ivorien experts as representing important elements of
Ivorien national culture.
The panel was comprised of
twenty professionals from the government civil service
and the university system.
They were asked to rate each
of the concepts on a five-point scale, a high score indi-
eating that the item was an important element of the
national culture.
The concept of a "national culture" was defined in
the following manner:
In the course of its own unique historical
development each nation has developed national
institutions, symbols and political structures
which serve to integrate its members into
a collectivE body, with a c~on sense of
national identification.

---

52
Collectively, these factors constitute what
can be called a national culture.
In
countries composed of many different
ethnic groups like China, the United States,
and the Ivory Coast, these groups are able
to cooperate and share experiences within
this national culture in spite of their
ethnic differences.
A list of six general concepts is presented
below.
Using a five-point scale, please
estimate, according to your own opinion,
which concepts represent important aspects
of Ivorien national culture.
A score of 5
is high, a score of 1 is low.
A score of 3.5 was arbitrarily set as the lower limit
for a concept of national culture.
"Government" and
"Schools" were validated as national concepts, meeting
the researcher's eXDectations.
It can be noted that the
panel also rated "Radio" as an important national concept,
though it was originally included in this study as a
communication control concept.
The fact that "Radio" is rated higher than television
is consistent with popularly held opinions in ivory Coast
that television tends to mainly address itself to a small,
well educated, urban, minority of the population.

---

53
Concepts (4) Senoufo, and (5) France, respecLively,
represent an external subculture and an external inter-
national culture.
The Senoufo are an ethnic group
located in the north of the Ivory Coast who practice a
lifestyle which could be characterized as more traditional
than that of the target population of this study.
They
are known for their deep attachment to traditional social
and religious values and organizations.
Comparatively,
they have been little touched by Western culture and the
modern economic system.
Senoufo is a culture rich in legend and folklore.
Their musicians, dancers, and artisans attract thousands
of tourists each year to this region for a glimpse of
ilL' Afrique Vrai" (The True Africa).
Their music and
dance are featured prominently on radio and television,
and as a group they constitute an important part of the
National Dance Company.
As the former colonial power and presently the major
trading partner of the Ivory Coast, France continues to
exert a powerful cultural influence upon this country,
particularly upon the lifestyles of the more educated,
urban dwellers, and on those Ivoriens aspiring to such
positions.
French is also the official language of the
country in which all instruction is conducted and most of
the radio and television programs are transmitted.

---

54
Concept (7~ Television, is the dependent variable in
this study.
A content analysis is presented in a later
section of this study to provide an overview of the type
of programming available in the Ivory Coast.
Concept (6~ Radi~ was included as a control concept
since it is the only alternative medium of mass communi-
cation available to the subjects of this study.
Concept (lh Me,
represents the individual subject.
In this study, it is a summary measure reflecting the
collective consciousness of the target population.
Research Design
The original intention in this study was to use a
classical time-series experimental design in which a series
of observations are collected from a group of subjects
before and after the introduction of a specified treatment.
The pre-treatment series of obse~vations establishes a
base-line pattern in which changes brought about by the
treatment are registered as deviations from this steady
state.
The target population sought for this study was a
village in which television receivers had not yet been
installed in the school, but were expected within several
months, allowing ample time for a series of pre-treatment
observations.
Members of the community would be monitored
over the course of ten months for cultural changes which

---

55
might be attributed to their exposure ~o viewing television
programs in the school during the evenings.
However, the actual conditions in the field made it
impossible to collect the pre-treatment series and the
actual design used in this study commences at the approx-
imate date of television installation in the village.
Thus, the design is more representative of a case study
and is thus subject to weaknesses.
This design is dia-
grammed in Table 3.
Table 3
Research Design
T2
X 0
In order to control for threats to validity and rival
hypotheses, a questionnaire was administered to the subjects
at the end of the series.
This instrument was intended to
explore other influences on the daily lives of the subjects
which might explain significant changes during the course
of this study (displayed as Instrument 2 in Appendix B).
One such influence which was anticipated by this re-
searcher was the daily interaction between the general
population and those villagers who became regular partici-
pants in the weekly organized discussion groups centered

---

56
around the programs of "Tele Pour Tous."
Because of the
added reinforcement of the interpersonal channel of com-
munication in these sessions it was anticipated that at-
titude change would be more dramatic among these villagers
when compared with the general population.
For various reasons, discussed later in this chapter,
these sessions never became operational in the village of
Toukouzou 11, thus this aspect of the study is treated
neither as part of the research design nor in the state-
ment of research hypotheses.
Research Hypotheses
Hypothesis I predicts that as a result of television
exposure the subjects will identify more closely with
the medium, thus:
"Over time, the subjects will perceive
less distance between themselves and the concept "Tele-
vision."
Hypothesis 11 is advanced as a'control mechanism.
Since the subjects have already been exposed to radio for
a considerable period of time, it is reasoned that there
should be no significant change in perception toward this
medi um, thus:
"Over time, the subj ects will not perceive
a significant change in the distance between themselves
and the concept 'Radio'."
Hypothesis 111 is concerned with national identifi-
cation.
It predicts that a stronger identification will

---

57
develop between the subjects and the two elements of
national culture as a result of television mediated cul-
tural transmission:
"Over time the subjects should per-
ceive less distance between themselves and the concepts
'Government' and 'Schools'."
Hlpothesis IV is concerned with closer identification
between sub-cultures as a result of television mediated
cultural transmission:
"Over time the subjects should
perceive less distance between themselves and the con-
cept 'Senoufo'."
Hypothesis V addresses the "Cultural Imperialism"
thesis.
It predicts:
"Over time the subjects will per-
ceive less distance between themselves and the concept
'France' as a result of television mediated cultural
transmission."

---

CHAPTER V
Research Setting
Site Selection
The process of site selection began on September 30,
1977, shortly after this researcher's arrival in Ivory
Coast.
On this date a meeting was held with officials of
Compagnie Africain de Television (CATEL), the private
French agency responsible for the installation and main-
tainance of all television receivers in public and pri-
vate schools.
The intention was to identify a village
where television did not yet exist, but where installation
was expected within two or three months, permitting ad-
equate time for two pre-television observations of the
population.
However, it was learned at this meeting that most of
the new installations for the 1977-78 academic year had
already been completed during the summer vacation months.
There remained only five villages where installations were
running behind schedule and where connections were ex-
pected to be completed within the week.
From this list of five potential villages where
58

---

59
television was not yet operational, the village oE Tou-
kouzou 11 was selected as the research site for this study,
primarily because it was the most removed, located some
105 ki10meters from the capital city of Abidjan.
~This
criterion was applied to keep to a minimum the possible
influences on the population of frequent travel to the
city, an activity which might also serve to explain any
relevant attitude change during the course of this study.
Because of the installation schedule, the plan of
employing a time-series design with two pre-te1evision
observations was modified to a series of observations
commencing at the time of installation.
Location of the Village
The Village of Toukouzou 11 is situated in the
Lagoon Region of the Ivory Coast along a narrow coastal
belt of sandbars and islands which extend some 340 ki1o-
meters west along the Gulf of Guinea from the Ghana
border.
Built by the combined action of the heavy surf
and the eastward current, this barrier has closed most
of the river mouths in the region, forming a series of
lagoons between itself and the true continental shore.
Most of the lagoons are narrow, salty, and shallow
and are parallel to the coastline, linked to one another
by small canals built by the French.
The fringing sand-
bars and island vary in width from about 60 meters to

---

60
six or seven kilometers.
The .section of the bar on which
Toukouzou 11 is located ranges from about 200 meters to
two k ilometers.
Access
By car, the trip from the capital to Toukouzou 11
takes from two and a half to three hours, depending on the
traffic and road conditions.
The first leg begins on a
major two-lane black top invariably congested with com-
mercial transport vehicles and other travellers headed
into the interior.
After an hour, one turns off onto a
single-lane dirt road which passes through plantations
heading southwest to the fishing vi~lage of N'Djem where
a regular ferry service transports vehicles across the
lagoon.
At the other side, one travels another 60 kilometers
along a sand track which is periodically cleared and fil-
led by a team of bulldozers.
One passes through the tiny
fishing villages of Abrebi, Akrou, Jacqueville, Addah,
and Toukouzou I, seldom passing another moving vehicle.
This road comes to an abrupt end at Toukouzou 11.
The
location of the village is such that there is no through
traffic.
The only travellers reaching the village are
those who have set it as their destination.

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61
The People of
ToukoU20U 11
Toukouzou I and Toukouzou 11 are sister villages
separated by a distance of about one kilometer along the
main road.
The second village was founded some 40 years
ago by the Prophet Papa Nouveau who has established his
church there in a compound situated in the southern
corner of the village facing the sea.
It is an impressive
concrete structure said to be 100 meters long with seating
capacity for 3,000 worshippers.
It is the social, re-
ligious, and cultural center of the village.
The bamboo
huts of the villagers extend for about one kilome~
ter
between the sea and the lagoon, bordered on both
sides by lush coconut groves.
The people of Toukouzou, known both as the Avikam
and the Brignan, trace their ancestors to Ghana.
They
are one of seven small ethnic groups which inhabit the
Lagoon Region comprising what is called the Lagoon
Cluster.
Though these groups are believed to be related
within a common Ghanian language grouping, historically,
they have lived separate from each other and relations
have been antagonistic between their villages.
It is
estimated that the total number of Avikam are about 5,000.
Outside of the Toukouzou area they can be found in the
vicinity of the port town of Grand Lahou, about 30

---

62
kilometers west, near the mouth of the Bandama River.
Western cultural contacts.
Historically, the peoples
of the Lagoon Region have had more exposure to European
culture than those groups in the interior through contacts
with French colonialists and Christian missionaires who
established their administrative centers in the south.
But, direct contact was minimal in Toukouzou because of
its minor economic importance and, as will be discussed
later, Christian influences have been synthesized within
the traditional belief system, minimizing its disruptive
impact upon the culture.
As a result, one finds today that many of the tra-
ditional African life patterns have remained intact in
Toukouzou 11.
Canoes are hollowed out of tree trunks
with simple hand tools; fishing nets are handwoven.
Farming, mainly limited to subsistance level production,
is delegated to women'.
In the evenings, after school and work, the villagers
prefer traditional body wraps to Western styled clothing;
women frequently go bare-breasted.
The men in the village
have as many wives as they can afford.
Though there are
a few concrete housing starts along the road, the majority
of the homes are fashioned in the traditional manner
with bamboo sticks and thatched roofs, with separate huts
for cooking and bathing.

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63
Some Socio-Economic
Characteristics of the Village
Within the 1vcrien context of development, Toukouzou
11 can be considered a small village ranking low on the
scale of modern development.
Though government statis-
tics estimate the adult populaticn at 600, the actual
number of "permanent" adult residents was found to be
less than half this figure.
The level of illiteracy is about 90 percent for
adults; most of the children have learned to speak and
read some French in the village school.
The average in-
come from fishing and individual small scale agricultural
production was difficult to determine.
Estimates ranged
from between $80 and $200 per month.
During the period
of this study, the yield from the lagoon was poor,
creating economic hardships for the majority of families.
Further insight into the level of development of
Toukouzou 11 can be gained by examining its socic-economic
infrastructure th~ough a village modernity scale developed
by researchers of the Ivory Coast ETV Evaluation Service
(Lenglet, 1976).
Using this scale, a modernity score is
calculated for a village based on the presence or ab-
sence of 18 unweighted indices of development.
The scale
differentiates three levels of development based upon
the following score categories:
High (13-18 points);

---

64
Medium (7-12 points); and Low (1-6 points).
Toukouzou 11
is rated in Table 4.
Table 4
Village Modernity Scale
Service
Availabilit·,
l~
Protected ~ater Supply
Yes
2.
Apportioned Housing Lot3
Yes
3.
Grocery Store
Yes'
4.
School
Yes
5.
Matetnitv Ward
Yes
5.
Health Cent er
Yes
7.
Covered ~arket
~o
8.
Latrines
No
9.
Runni~g Yater
No
10.
Durable Ccncrete Housing
No
l:!..
Land Agent
No
12.
Cooperative
~~o
13.
Post Office
NO
14.
Cultural Center
No
15.
Youth Center
No
16.
~echanical Workshop
No
17.
Electricity
~IJ
13.
Access by All Weather Road
No
ClllIlulative Score
6
A cumulative score of 6 places Toukouzou 11 in the
category of low modernity.
Though comparable data has
not been collected on a national level, one would be safe
in stating that in this regard Toukouzou 11 is character-
istic of the majority of small villages with population
of less than 2,OOO~
External Economic Links
To examine the level of contact with the outside
world generated by the economy, a simple ratio can be
calculated contrasting the number of different food items

---

65
cultivated ir. a village against the number sold to outside
markets (Lenglet, 1976).
At one end of this continuum
one finds the self-supportive, subsistence economies of
traditional villages; at the other, those villages highly
integrated into the cash crop, money economy where the
use of land and labor are maximized for the production
of highly commercial crops.
Using this method, a village with an independent
agricultural economy would be indicated by a low score
(.00 - .40), a mixed economy oriented both toward ex-
ternal markets and internal needs would fall in the mid-
dle category (.41 - .70), and a highly commercial agri-
cultural economy would be indicated by a high score (.71 -
1.0).
There are 14 types of crops cultivated in Toukouzou 11;
with the inclusion of fish, the total number of food items
is 15.
Those items sold to outside markets are fish, co-
conuts, and cassava.
The other items grown include
plantain, bananas, sweet potatoes, pineapples, lemons,
papaya, mangoes, avccado, red peppers, ocra, palm oil,
and tomatoes.
This gives the village a ratio of 0.2
(3715), indicating an independent agricultural economy
oriented toward internal needs, gener3ting minimal com-
mercial contacts with the outside world.

---

66
Daily Life Patterns
As in most of rural Africa, life in the Lagoon Region
revolves around the requirements of subsistence.
The
climate is harsh; disagreeably hot during the dry season
and visited by torrential rain storms between the months
of March and September which may last for several hours
or extend for several days.
Malaria, nutritional deficiencies, and poor waste
disposal systems continue to be the major cause of disease.
The workday in Toukouzou 11 begins at dawn with the
regular chore of preparing the morning meal which will
most likely consist of fish and acheke, a fluffy, starch
dish made from the cassava root.
While the female head
of the household will supervise this task, the actual
work is most often delegated to the young girls of the
household who are either daughters, relatives, or children
placed under the charge of another home because of their
family's inability to support them.
In the morning, the majority of children attend the
village school which covers the first six elementary
grades.
Those who are slow learners or
drop-outs will
assume responsibility for the care of the younger children,
who lead an idyllic childhood free of responsibility and
worry.

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67
The social hierarchy built upon age groups is such
that members of each age group are responsible for those
beneath them and respectful of those who are older.
The
elders of the village are revered by everyone; the child-
ren are pampered and cared for by all.
They frolic along
the beach, singing and dancing to their own tunes and those
they have learned during religious festivals, or generally
wallow away their hours, fashioning toys from the natural
objects around them.
The activities of the women during the morning hours
routinely involve cleaning the house and yard, washing
clothes, tending the family garden, and collecting water
and firewood for bathing and cooking.
Preparation of the
noon-time meal is a time consuming process which might
begin at 11 a.m. to be ready by 1 p.m.
Preparing the
root staples of cassava and sweet potatoes into a digest-
able format involves a laborious process of grating,
pounding, and kneading.
The fishing hours of the men rotate with the cycles
of the tide, and so it is not uncommon for them to push
out in their one-man canoes in the late evening or night.
During the daylight hours they will patch nets, make re-
pairs on their huts, visit friends, or simply rest along
the shady side of their hut or under a coconut tree.

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68
After the mid-day meal, there is generally a siesta
until 3 p.m. when the children return to school until 5 p.m.
There is some time for socializing among the women before
it is time to start the food preparation cycle over again.
This activity is picked up by the young girls when they
return home.
The school aged boys will usually tend to
the coconut and banana trees.
For those fishermen who have worked the morning hours,
they will often return in the evenings to their fields to
collect the sap of the palm tree which is fermented with
yeast and sugar and made into a chalky white bitter drink
called palm wine or "Bangi," which when consumed in large
quantities can be quite intoxicating.
Evening activities are severely limited by the lack
of electricity in the village.
Men can often be found in
front of their huts playing with their children, demon-
strating a very affectionate relationship with them.
It
is also a time for visiting friends, listening to the radio,
and visiting the newly installed 21 inch, black and white
television set located in the second grade classroom where
one can view nationally produced development programs
like "Tele Pour Tous," feature films, and French-dubbed
telecasts of "Columbo," "Ironsides," and "Happy Days."
During the dry season when rain is not a threat, the

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69
entire family will sleep out of doors, placing kerosene
lanterns at their heads to alert late night strollers of
their presence.
On particularly hot and muggy evenings,
the villagers will settle down along the beach or in the
Prophet's compound to be cooled by the ocean breeze which
also reduces the omnipresent annoyance of mosquitoes and
sand fleas.
Saturday is an official day of rest declared by the
Prophet during which fishing is not permitted.
Adults
and working age teenagers will spend the day assisting
the Prophet in his fields or engaged in one of several
village improvement projects he has initiated.
The
Prophet leads the village in religious services each
morning, the most widely attended being on Friday, Sat-
urday, and Sunday.
The Role of Religion
in Village Life
Among the villagers, Toukouzou I is known as Hozalum;
its sister village is called Tourouzalum.
Both represent
important cardinal points in their religious cosmology:
Toukouzou I being the birthplace of their Prophet Papa
Nouveau; Toukouzou 11, the site of a religious community
founded on his techings and principles.
The Prophet's home sits in the southwest corner of

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70
a compound area about 150 meters square, bordered on all
sides by a four-foot concrete wall.
Contained within the
walls are the large church; his two-level concrete bunga-
low; the home of one of his seven wives; a low rectangular
building used for small group worship; the ruins of his
first church; a concrete two story structure used to house
pilgrims and guests; and the beginnings of a new home for
the Prophet whose present home is deteriorating because
of its close proximity to the ocean.
The prophet can always be found dressed in a long
white gown criss-crossed around the chest by a black belt,
wearing a high cloth cap resembling a bishop's headpiece.
He is a striking figure, well known throughout the country,
and particularly revered in the Lagoon Region.
In his
presence all men will kneel, including the traditional
chiefs of the area.
As head of the community, he holds
council with important ,representatives of government.
It was necessary to obtain his approval for this study
before any of the interviews could be conducted.
The Prophet's role as a communitv leader.
Close to
•
<
70 years of age, the Prophet is blessed with the remark-
able strength and mental awareness of any man half his
age.
Over the years, he has been credited with using his
influence with goverp~ent officials to help obtain fresh
water wells for his villagers, a health center and

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71
maternity ward, and the village school.
To improve access to the lagoon for the fishermen, he
led the villagers in the digging of two canals, each about
a kilameter long, extending from the lagoon across swampy
marshlands to the bank of the village.
This they accom-
plished with their bare hands.
They are presently working
on an extensive irrigation system to increase aveilable
faDming acreage about one kilometer away from the village.
It is a densely wooded area covered by thick underbrush.
They have already cleared the land and started the trench
work, revealing its rich virgin topsoil.
A man with no formal education, the Prophet says the
scheme of lacing the land with canals and trenches came
to him in a religious vision, as did the design for his
massive church.
He is a man who believes in the virtue of hard work,
rising each morning before dawn to conduct a morning re-
ligious service for the village, then walking to the newly
cleared fields where he can be found until dusk supervising
the planting and irrigation work under the shade of a
black umbrella.
In the traditional African calculus, his virtue is
measured by his success:
he has a large coconut planta-
tion, a growing flock of lambs, and seven beautiful wives.

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72
Many of his children have earned academic degrees in France
and are employed there.
His evenings are spent at home
in prayer, counseling youths, and arbitrating village dis-
putes.
He retires at around 10 p.m.
Since much of the social and cultural life of the
villagers finds central expression through the church, a
brief historical discussion of the religion is presented.
Roots of the religion:
Harrism.
The religion of the
Toukouzou villagers draws its name from its founding pro-
phet:
The Religion of Papa Nouveau.
It is one of several
syncretic cults which flourish along the coastal region
of the Ivory Coast, inspired by the early Christian
teachings of a prophe~ named William Wade Harris.
Called Latagbo by his followers, Harris came to this
country from Liberia in 1914 and has left a distinctive
mark on Ivory Coast Christianity.
Raised in Cape Palmas,
Liberia as a Methodist, he claimed at the age of 60 to
have received a call from the Angel Gabriel to go convert
the "pagan" of the Ivory Coast.
He travelled extensively
throughout the lagoon area and is estimated to have
baptized some 120,000 persons.
In photographs he can been seen wearing a long white
gown and turban, carrying a bamboo staff and cross, a
small bible and a calabash of water.
He is said to have
led a simple life eating what the village~s offered him.

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73
He considered hi~self simply a messenger of God,
claiming no superiority or divinity.
He preached against
idolatry, sorcery, and exorcism, and ordered the systematic
destruction of fetishes.
He condemned adultery, theft,
and lying.
He ordered the strict observance of the Sabbath
and Christian ritual, preaching hell for sinners and
paradise for the virtuous.
In 1915, in spite of the fact that Harris preached
total obedience to customary and colonial authorities, he
was expelled to Liberia by the French governor, who at
that time feared the disruptive potential of his movement.
In his wake, Harris left along the lagoon dozens of
independent "Harrist" churches, many starting with mud
and bamboo walls to be later replaced by concrete and
granite.
In 1924, two English Methodist missionaries discovered
his legacy and took up his work.
In 1927, Harris was
discovered living in Liberia, and he is said to have given
a Methodist missionary the "Testament of Harris," speci-
fying that his followers should join the Methodist Church
and none other.
The majority, numbering about 50,000
complied.
A faction, however, maintained their independ-
ence, and beginning in 1939, Harrism or Neo-Harrism wit-
nessed an important revival in the lagoon region.
The religion of Papa Nouveau.
Little is known by

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74
this researcher about the early life of Prophet Papa
Nouveau save the fact that he was born in Toukouzou I and
was baptized by Harris.
It is reported in one press ac-
count mounted on the Prophet's living room wall that Harris
himself had predicted the emergence of a new prophet in
Toukouzou during one of his visits there.
It was i,n the midst of the Neo-Harris revival some
40 years ago that the Prophet Papa Nouveau says he fled
Toukouzou I because of religious bickering among competing
Christian denominations.
He walked to what is now
Toukouzou 11 where he found eight huts and a loosely or-
ganized group of inhabitants "who lived a life of suffering
in ignorance and darkness," he says.
He chose this site
to build a new religious community which has since grown
to include several hundred inhabitants.
Like his mentor, Prophet Papa Nouveau also experienced
difficulties with the French colonial authorities and dur-
ing the 1940's he was imprisoned for a period of five years
as a security risk for daring to predict in a sermon that
the day would come when Whites would sit and eat at the
same table as Africans.
The date of his release in the
month of July is celebrated throughout the region.
Today much of the social and cultural life of the
village revolves around the church where the Prophets
Harris and Papa Nouveau are revered in song and sermon.

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•
75
The religious services are open to all outsiders. and one
occasionally finds visitors from foreign countries.
The
sermons are conducted in the local language and are often
translated for the benefit of strangers.
At his age. the Prophet has deep roots in the rich
oral tradition of his ancestors; he is capable of speaking
abundantly for hours.
At times he has chided his follow-
ers for forgetting the subtle nuances of their everyday
language.
The large church is usually reserved for major holi-
days and festivals.
Most of the services are held in the
small church which accomodates about 200 worshippers.
It
is a long rectangular white building with a low roof sup-
ported
by six interior columns with a floor of blond
swept sand.
The Prophet sits on a raised platform at the
far end at a simple table containing a driftwood candel-
abra. several bottles of holy water. and assorted items
including a miniature model of the Eifel Tower. a calendar.
and a clock.
Both his chair and the table are covered by
white clothes.
The one-hour service alternates between the Prophet's
sermon, reinforced by comments from his chosen disciples,
and spirited singing from the congregation.
It can be observed that the Prophet preaches the
morality of good deeds to neighbors and allegiance to

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76
authorities.
He uses parables from the Bible to illustrate
Christian virtues and the power of God.
Toward the end
of the service, he uses holy water and the laying on of
hands in certain liturgical practices as in his prayers
for the pregnant and sterile women of the village.
He
requires public statements from petitioners who generally
request his prayers for improved health, fertility, and
success in their general day-to-day affairs.
There are three major festival seasons in Toukouzou
11:
The Easter and Christmas holidays, and a special
celebration in August in honor of school children who con-
verge from around the country for the festivities.
Each
of these occasions is marked by lengthy religious services,
traditional African singing and dancing, and a sumptuous
feast for which serveral of the Prophet's lambs are
slaughtered and prepared.
In comparison, one sees that where Harris served a
proselytizing John the Baptist function, basically "spread-
ing the word," Prophet Papa Nouveau has brought structure
to this, synthesizing religion and village life in such a
manner as to reaffirm important African values while pro-
viding a vehicle for community directed change and develop-
ment.

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77
Some Characteristics of the
Target Population
The target population for this study consisted of a
group of 47 male heads of permanent households in tl1e Nil-
lage of Toukouzou 11.
The selection of this limited
group was based upon two major,considerations . . The first,
and most important, was the need to select subjects who
~restable enough in their residential patterns to allow
for several observ~tions over the course of a year.
The
second consideration was related to research load.
Because Toukouzou 11 is the home of the Prophet, it
attracts religious pilgrims who come to seek an audience
with him.
They stay in the village with relatives or
friends for several days or weeks and then move one.
The
general African pattern of extended families also accounts
for the presence of transients such as in-laws and close
family friends.
In addition, there is a small, growing community of
Muslims from the Dioula ethnic group of the north who have
migrated to Toukouzou 11.
Though not integrated into com-
munity life, they co-exist with the followers of the
Prophet, living in a walled compound area on the outskirts
of the village.
The 47 families selected for this study were identi-
fied as stable units of the community by a resident,

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78
Jean-ClaudeGnaba
who served as translator and general
t
research assistant.
The decision to limit the study to the male heads
of these families was based on practical considerations
related to research load.
It was found that among the men
the average interview required from 20 to 45 minutes.
Si nce some men have as many as two or three wives"
to have
included the women as well would have considerably increased
the time and energy required to complete this research.
Since one aim of this researcher was to study an intact
population, rather than a sample, it was decided that this
might be more practically achieved by limiting the group
to all men
rather than expanding it to include all adults.
t
A descriptive profile of the target group.
Biograph-
ical data collected from the subjects during the course of
this study are presented ip- Tables 5 through
8.
It can
be noted that with regard to age that 51 percent of the
subjects are middle-aged, between 46 and 56 years of age.
A majority of 85 percent are between the ages of 30 and 65.
Table 5
Subjects by Age Groups
Age Group
Number of Subjects
% of Total
21-25
3
5
30-45
16
34
46-65
24
5~
66-120
4
9

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~79
An obvious relationship can be seen to exist between
•
age, level of education and literacy.
Since this popula-
tion is comprised of a middle age group of men one finds
that they score low in these two categories.
It has only been in recent years that formal education
has been made available to sc~ool-aged children; .th;
majority of adults, having missed this. opportunity, are
thus unschooled and illiterate in the national language
of French.
Table 6 shows that some 80 percent have had no formal
schooling; some 26 percent have had some literacy training
as adults.
Table 7 shows that about one third of the
villagers speak no French at all, while close to the remain-
ing tt-lO thirds say they speak "a little."
Tsble 6
Years of Formal Education of Subjects
..
Number of Years
~umber of Subjec.::s
'0
of T0ta:!.
0
25
5~
1-3
1
...,
L
3-7
!+
't
j -13
4
9
Adul:: Edwc~tion
Less Than a Year
11
24
Adult Educaticn
~(jre ihan a Year
1
2
\\
\\
,I
.J

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80
Table 7
Level of French Comprehension
Level
Number of Subjects
'Z. of Total
None
15
33
A Little
28
61
Good
3
6
Very Good
0
0
In connection with television viewing, the villagers'
low levels of French mastery pose obvious problems.
The
use of teachers as translators in the "Tele Four Tous"
groups was intended to address this need.
When such assist-
ance is not available, for example, during the viewing
of regular, entertainment programs, the villagers must
depend on friends who understand more French than they do,
to provide them with running capsule summaries of the
program.
Otherwise, they must rely solely upon visual
information.
The same form of buddy system is used in the
cinemas.
In June 1978, information was collected from each
subject on the number of days he had spent in the capital
of Abidjan.
The purpose of this question was to provide
data to help determine whether the subject's exposure to
socio-cultural activities outside of the village could be
considered a rival explanation for any pertinent attitude
change which might be otherwise attributed to the tele-
vision treatment.

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81
The data presented in Table 8 show that 39 percent
of the subjects spent the entire period of time in the
village.
Another 30 percent spent from one to two weeks
in Abidjan.
Most of the others who had spent more time
out of the village said they did so in order to seek med-
ical attention and to visit relatives.
The three subjects
who reported spending more than 41 days in Abidjan were
students attending secondary and technical schools.
In
Table
S, they comprise the youngest age group, their level
of education is rated highest in Table
6, and they have
a higher level of French literacy.
Table 8
Number of Days Spent in Capitol
Days
Number of Subjects
% of Total
0
18
39
0-7
6
13
8-14
8
17
15-21
5
11
22-30
4
8
31-40
2
4
41-
3
7

---

CHAPTER VI
Procedures
Data for this study were collected during a IQ-month
period between October 1977 and July 1978.
During this
period some seven field trips were made to the Village of
Toukouzou 11, the duration of each trip lasting from five
to ten days.
The first trip took place on Friday, October 7, 1977.
Mr. Konan Kouadio, Director of the ETV EValuation Service
took responsibility for the necessary preliminaries:
ar-
ranging for official transportation to the site, and
securing letters of introduction from the Minister of
Education to respective political and educational district
leaders.
He also assigned a staff researcher born in the
Lagoon Region, Mr. Lavry Digre, to help establish personal
contacts.
The researcher was accompanied by his wife,
Aline Bory-Adams, a native speaker of French, during the
first two trips to help with translation work.
Field Trip I
During this visit, considerable care was exercised in
establishing positive lines of communication with the
82

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83
village secular and religious leader. Prophet Papa Nouveau.
During the evening of October 8, my wife and I met with
the Prophet at his home to explain the purpose and method-
ology of the study, which was passed through multiple
translations from English to French to Avikam.
The fol-
lowing morning he passed this information on to his
congregation.
As an indication of his support, and partly out of
his concern to oversee the project, the Prophet assigned
two young disciples to serve as translators and assistants;
his son,
Mr. Rene C1arac Papa Nouveau, and Mr. Jean-C1aude
Gnaba, whose mother supervises the village Maternity Ward.
Both young men are in their early twenties, speak fluent
French, a little English, and are highly respected among
their fellow villagers.
Refine test instrument.
The first important research
task involved adapting the MDS format to the language and
culture of the research subjects.
This required identi-
fying
a standard unit of measurement employed by the
villagers in their daily lives, and identifying a shared
set of culturally determined reference points to which
this unit could be applied as a "Rod S" in the MDS Method.
With the help of my assistants, the unit of measure-
ment selected for this study was the "meter," one of the
few European technical terms which have been completely

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84
integrated into the local culture.
In order to insure
uniformity in its application as a measurement tool. two
reference points were required whose degree of similarity
and difference were shared by all members of the
Toukouzou 11 community.
The two concepts chosen for this
purpose were "Toukouzou I" and "Toukouzou 11." two sister
villages perceived by all members of the target community
as being very "similar" in the way of life practiced there.
Combined. these three pivotal concepts were presented
to the subjects in the following manner:
liThe people of
Toukouzou I and of Toukouzou 11 are very similar in their
way of life.
Let us, therefore. say that the cultural
distance between them is very small, say one meter.
Using meters to measure with. how much distance would you
say there is between you and the schools?, y?U and the
government?" etc.
Using the seven concepts discussed
earlier in this study. there were 21 sets of comparisons.
Instrument field test.
This procedure was field
tested with the two village assistants who had been as-
signed by the Prophet.
They at first experienced some
difficulty with the notion of expressing difference in
terms of distance but once they had completed the first
three comparison sets. they proceded without difficulty.
Because both young men had received some secondary
schooling. it could not be assumed that similar results

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85
would be achieved with the less educated members of the
community.
In practice it was found, however, that the
majority of villagers experienced very little difficulty -
with the MDS Method, though they required considerable
more time to comprehend and complete the task.
The re-
liability of subject ratings and a construct validity
check of the instrument are discussed in the following
chapter with research findings.
Data collection.
Data were collected for the first
field trip between October 9 and 15.
Since most of the
subjects were not literate and could not be expected to
complete a written questionnaire alone, each subject was
interviewed separately.
The purpose of the researcher's
visit, general instructions, and the set of concept pairs
were presented orally in the local language by the two
village assistants.
Most of the interviews were conducted in the evenings
in front of the 'subjects' homes after they had returned
from their fishing tasks; some of the older men were con-
tacted during the day.
Each interview required from 20
to 45 minutes.
This procedure of oral presentation was
used during each field trip.
The population of male heads of permanent households
totaled 50 persons.
During the course of the week each
male was contacted and interviewed with the exception of
three villagers:
an old man who was too weak from illness

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86
to participate, the village political party representative
who was away on business, and the Prophet, who declined
the invitation.
For the first two evenings, the researcher and his
wife divided up into two groups, each working with an
assistant who did the translation work.
Later in the week,
when Mr. Rene Clarac Papa Nouveau had to leave to prepare
for a trip abroad, we worked together in a group of three.
During the subsequent five field trips, the researcher
worked along with Mr. Gnaba.
The two local assistants were invaluable.
Residents
of the village, they were easily able to identify those
permanent villagers from the more transient persons.
They
were quite persistent in following up on reluctant subjects,
some of whom had to be literally chased.
For each subject,
the nature of the study and the MDS Method had to be ex-
plained anew.
The assistants were exceptional in their
ability to generate interest and enthusiasm time after
time (only two interviews were conducted with two or more
persons simultaneously).
Once the villagers had grasped
the notion of ratio judgement, one felt that they rather
enjoyed the opportunity to express their views to serious
listeners in this novel manner.
There were interesting variations from the Western,
highly personal notion of what an interview is all about.
The villagers did not just consider the question quietly

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87
-and respond, but, in mos~cases the subject would repeat
the question, "think out loud" about it, and then finally
give hIs response. -Since most of the int@Tviews were con- -
ducted in front of their homes, the subje~ were most
often in the company of family members and neighbors who
all seemed to enjoy the activity as much ps the subjects.
Open discussion is very much a part of village life and
children were never discouraged from listening to their
elders as long as they remained well-behaved.
Palm wine or beer were frequently offered to the
interviewers and each visit was received by the subject
as a personal social visit.
Traditional salutations and
the customary exchange of "news" took place before the
official purpose of the visit was discussed.
These
formalities usually required about ten minutes.
Field Trips 11, Ill, and
IV:
The "Tele Pour Tous" Group
On October 21, the researcher returned to the village
for a week to collect data from the group of viewers
participating in the "Tele Pour Tous" programs of group
discussion.
It was learned, however, that no teacher
had yet taken responsibility to lead these sessions.
Data
were, nevertheless, collected from those adults who were
present in the television room.
The questionnaire was
presented using the same oral format employed with the
general population.

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88
On November 16, a third field trip was undertaken for
the same purpose of collecting data from the "Tele Pour
Tous" group.
The program had still not been organized and
there was little reason to suspect that it would be during
the initial year of television in this village.
The reasons for the failure to organize "Tele Pour
Tous" sessions were characteristic of program weaknesses
reported by other researchers of this program (Grant, et
al., 1978).
Principally, most of the teachers assigned
to Toukouzou 11 are from other regions of the country and
do not speak the local language, and, in fact, discourage
students from speaking Avikam in the school.
This practice
is part of a national educational policy to promote French
as the official language.
It was also apparent that these teachers, most of
them under the age of thirty, lacked the authority and
possibly the motivation to assume directive roles among
full adults in a village where they themselves were social
outsiders, albeit members of a privileged, respected,
social elite.
The program aired on "Tele Pour Tous" that week was
a socio-cultural report on the traditional dances of an
ethnic group in the north.
The audience was made up of
over 50 persons, mainly youngsters, of which only nine
were adults.
They all appeared genuinely absorbed in the
program.

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89
At the end of the telecast, the teacher officially as-
assigned to animate the group turned down the volume of
the set and then asked some general questions in French
about the program content.
He was completely ignored as
the audience continued to focus its attention upon the
silent television images of a French victorian soap opera.
After a minute of this the volume was turned up again.
Field trip IV was scheduled for the Christmas holiday
season and provided a valuable opportunity for this re-
searcher to participate in the religious services and
festivities centered around the church.
On Thursday,
December 29, the date for the scheduled "Tele Pour Tous"
broadcast, the researcher found only six adults in the
television room and no evidence of directed group discus-
sion.
As during the previous visits, these viewers were
interviewed as they watched the evening programs.
Though these three data sets do not relate directly
to the stated research hypotheses data from the second
field trip,are presented in Chapter 7 for comparative
purposes.
Field Trips V, VI,
and VI I
The final three field trips were planned for the col-
lection of data from the general population, directly
related to the major research hypotheses of this study.

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90
Field trip V began on April 1, when this researcher
returned to the village' for ten days to collect data from
the population of male permanent heads of households to
compare with the pre-television data collected six months
earlier in October.
As in October, the interviews were conducted orally
and in the evenings.
It was an exhau~ting experience;
locating and interviewing an average of six to eight men
a night under the light of a kerosene lamp or flashlight.
After ten days, my assistant, Mr. Gnaba, and I managed
to contact 45 of the original 47 men of the study.
As an incentive, I had offered to photograph each
subject with his family and provide them with color copies
upon my return.
Toward the end of my stay, the village was celebrat-
ing their completion of a second canal dug by hand from
the village to the lagoon.
There was much singing, dancing,
and praying, the villagers being joined by followers of
the Prophet from Abidjan and other regions.
I was allowed
to take photographs and record the religious music.
The last data collection was completed during field
trip VI from June 5 to 11.
Some 43 of the orginal 47
participants were contacted and interviewed.
The photo-
graphs offered as an incentive were returned to the sub-
jects who were highly appreciative of the gesture.
Ad-
ditional portraits were taken of those subjects who had

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91
missed the original shooting schedule.
The final field trip toward the end of July was ar-
ranged for the purpose of returning the remaining portraim
and to express my deep gratitude to the Prophet, and
Mr. Gnaba and his family for their support, their assist-
ance, and their demonstration of traditional African
hospitality in providing me with food, lodging, and an
invaluable opportunity to share, all too briefly, in
their culture.
In Chapter 7, which follows, the data collected during
these field trips are analysed and presented in the form
of tables and matrixes.
In Chapter 8, the Conclusion, a
discussion is presented which interprets the significance
of these findings to the research hypotheses; general
conclusions are drawn, and implications are presented for
mass communication policy and future research.

---

CHAPTER VII
Research Findings
in this chapter, the researcher reports the results
of the data collected from the target population from
October, 1977 to July, 1978.
It
is divided into three
major sections.
In the first section, data are presented fron a
content analysis of Ivorien television.
In the second,
results are highlighted from a
unidimensional question-
naire administered to the subjects at the completion of
the study in July, 1978.
In the final section, the MDS
results are reported from three observations of the target
population.
Television Content Analysis
In the Ivory Coast where state owned television is
used primarily for elementary school education, the gen-
eral broadcasting day for public viewing begins at
12:30 p.m. with a daily talk show followed by a 30-minute
news report.
There are no public telecasts during the
afternoon.
General broadcasting resumes at 7 p.m. and
continues until about 11 p.m.
This gives a total of
about five "general public" broadcast hours per day.
92

---

93
For the purpose of this content analysis two months
were randomly chosen, and in each of these months a week
was randomly selected.
This resulted in a random sample
of two weeks of television braodcasting during a 10-
month period.
The observation dates were May 6-12, 1978,
and July 12-18, 1978.
The types of programs offered to the general viewing
public have been organized into five categories used by
Seya (1978) to render the data comparable.
These cate-
gories are (a) News, (b) Public Education, (c) Local
Language Programs,
(d) Entertainment, and (e) Talk Shows.
News.
The three daily news programs include local
African and international items.
A detailed analysis is
provided later in this section.
The time devoted to each
news program usually varies from 20 to 45 minutes.
Public education.
This category includes for the
most part locally produced programs concerned with com-
munity and national development themes.
It includes such
programs as "Tele Pour Tous," "Promo Village," "Sante
Magazine," "Operation Riz," and "Comment Ca Va."
It also
includes some French produced documentaries.
These pro-
grams vary from 30 to 60 minutes in length.
Local language programs.
There is one local language
program entitled "Nouvelles du Pays," (News of the Country)
in which a 5-to-lO minute news summary is presented by

---

94
speakers in their local language.
Each evening from four-
to-six different ethnic groups are represented.
Entertainment.
This category includes all television
series, movies, sports, theater, children's programs, and
local and international variety programs.
The programs
vary from 30 minutes to two hours.
Talk shows.
These programs cover a wide range of
topics, from interviews with prominent French literary
figures,
to discussion with local artisans, intellectuals,
and civic leaders.
Talk shows usually last 30 minutes.
Table 9
Results of Two Week Content Anlaysis
of Ivory Coast Television
Category
News
Public Ed.
Local Lang.
Entertainment
Talk
Number of Hours
18
16
4
35
5
1 of Total Hours
237.
21~
51
45%
67.
It can be observed from this analysis that entertain-
ment receives the greatest allotment of air time, followed
by news and public education programs.
Of the entertain-
ment programs mcnitored, some 26 percent were of French
ot::Lgi n, and 12 percent were of u. S. origi n.
The AIDer ican

---

95
programs included "The Virginian,"
"Ironsides," "The
Muppet Show," the film "Citizen Kane," and variety shows
featuring soul and rock music performers.
The rest of
this category consisted mainly of African music variety
shows and a small percentage of international music pro-
grams.
In Table 10 these data are contrasted tolith information
collected by Seya (1978) based upon a six-week period of
observation in 1977.
Table 10
Comparison of Television Content Data
Collected in 1977 and 1978
Percentage of Total Program Hours
Year
News
Public Ed.
Local, Language
Entertai~ent
Talk
1978
23%
21%
5%
45%
6%
1977
19%
14%
5%
35%
27%
Significant diffe~ences appear between these two data
.
sets under the category of Talk Shows, which are probably
not the result of program schedule changes in one year.
They, no doubt, reflect problems inherent in this partic-
ular category which alone is oriented toward program for-
mat rather than content.

---

96
This discrepency may be due to the fact that programs
listed by Seya as Talk Shows were placed in the Public Ed-
ucation and Entertainment categories by this researcher
on the basis of their message intent.
Both data sets,
nevertheless, clearly show a dominance of entertainment
programs, followed,
in the more recent analysis, by a
substantial commitment to news and public education pro-
grams.
The unexpected priority given to news programs,
representing 23 percent of all air time, led this research-
er to conduct an analysis of news items from July 12-18,
1978.
The results of this analysis are presented in
Table 11
Table 11
Results of One Week Analysis
of Television News Items
Category
Local
Africa.
France
International
Number of Minutes
142
107
61
122
% of Total Time
33%
25%
14%
28%

---

97
This analysis shows that one third of all news items
deal with events, personalities, anG issues pertinent to
the national Ivorien culture.
Considerable attention is
also given to African and International affairs.
Yet, if
one considers the amount of air time alloted to all events
outside of the country one finds that the affairs of
France comprise 21 percent of such items.
In addition, the majority of international and African
news stories are filmed and reported by French journalists
who display a strong ethnocentric perspective, particular-
ly in their treatment of issues and conflicts in former
French territories.
This researcher draws two important conclusions from
these analyses.
First, there is evidence of a balanced
broadcast policy in regard to the function of the medium
and the scope of its coverage.
Air time is divided quite
evenly between entertainment and non-entertainment mate-
rials with news and public education programs comprising
44 percent of all transmission, compared with the 45 per-
cent share of air time alloted to entertainment programs.
The news analysis shows a news policy primarily oriented
toward national concerns, yet balanced by an interest in
those events occuring elsewhere on the continent and the
rest of the world.

---

98
A second conclusion is that France exerts a significant
influence upon 1vcrien
television.
As previously stated,
some 26 percent of all entertainment programs were found
to be of French origin.
The majority of news items report-
ing on affairs outside the country, representing 67 percent
of all news items, are produced in French studios, and
95 percent of all programs are broadcast in the French
language.
Mass Media Unidimensional
Questionnaire
The section of the questionnaire reported here docu-
ments television usage patterns in the Village of Toukouzou
11.
These data were collected at the end of a ten-month
period during which television was available in the village
school.
The viewing patterns of the villagers are pre-
sented in Table12:
Table 12
Number of Days Spent Watching Television
D~s
Number of Subjects
~ of Total
None
8
14
Fewer than 5
18
39
More than 5
10
22
More than 10
7
15
More than 20
3
7

---

99
The data clearly show an under-utilization of tele-
vision in Toukouzou 11 during the initial 10-month period.
Some 78 percent of the villagers repoTted that they at-
tended the viewing center fewer than ten times during
this period.
A small minority representing some 15 per-
cent of the popula,ion attended more than ten tiraes.",
It
should be noted that the thTee subjects who report view-
ing television more than 20 times were students who had
access to television outside of the village.
The majority
of villagers who report having never visited the te1e-
vision center were elderly persons.
Some reasons suspected for this pattern of low usage
are of feTed in the conclusion.
Though the majority of subjects reported low usage
patterns, they indicate that they believed their close
friends in the village whom they seek out for advice and
canradeship
watched more television than they.
This view
was reflected by 65 percent of the subjects, illustrated
in Table 13.
Table 13
Television Viewing Behavior of Closest Friends
Number of Subjects
'1. of Total
View more than I
28
65'1.
View the same as I
6
14'1.
1
View less than I
9
21'1.
]
1

---

100
These data are particularly interesting, because they
suggest that interpersonal communication networks exist
within the village which could operate to transmit the
opinions, attitudes, and values of the higher television
users to those who under-utilize the medium.
This pattern of interaction, known as the two-step
media flow process, has been shown by other researchers
to operate in a manner where individuals receive informa-
tion from mass media channels and re-transmit it to persons
within their interpersonal networks (Rogers and Shoemaker,
1971).
Another item on the questionnaire asked the villagers
to state the name of their favorite television program.
The results are listed in Table 14.
Table 14
Favorite TV Programs Among Villagers
Program
Number of Subjects
% of Total
Tele Pour Tous
10
26%
Sports
10
26%
Films
8
20%
N~s
4
10%
International Variety
4
10%
Traditional Dancing
2
5%
Tele Jeudi
1
2%

---

101
When considered in connection with the previous find-
ings on interpersonal communication patterns in the vil-
lage, the fact that "Tele Pour Tous" was rated as the
favorite program by 26 percent of the population suggests
that the national development themes of this program might
be reaching a larger audience through the two-step flow
process.
A final television item on this questionnaire, admin-
i stered after the vi llagers had completed .the MDS pai red
comparisons, asked "Does television make you feel more
Ivorien?"
This was a forced choice question which re-
quired a response of either "no," "a little," or "very
much."
None of the respondents chose the first category;
three chose the second category; and 35, representing
92 percent of those polled, responded that television had
influenced their sense of being Ivorien "very much."
Questions related to radio.
Several items in the
unidimensional questionnaire were focused upon the role of
radio in the village.
In regard to access, it was found
that of the 43 respondents, some 20 reported either owning
or having access to radio.
This suggests a pattern of
distribution sufficiently broad enough to reach most of
the villagers.
Of these 20 subjects, only three reported
having purchased or gained access te radio during the
period of this study.

---

102
In respect to radio program preferences it appears
that a substantial group of villagers, representing 46
percent of the target population, turn to radio for musi-
cal entertainment.
Some 19 percent, however, prefer
"The National Cup of Progress," a short, narrative, mini-
documentary which each week showcases the development
activities of a particular community or village for
special commendation.
These preferences are presented
in Table 15.
Table 15
Favorite Redio Programs of VIllagers
Program
Number of Subjects
% of Total
Music
20
46%
National Cup of Progress
8
19
News
6
14'7.
Public and Personal
Announcements
5
12%
Local Language Shows
4
90'10
In response to a forced choice question of whether
radio made them feel more Ivorien, none of the subjects
chose the fi rst category "no."
Ttvo subjects chose the
second category "a little," and 41 subjects, representing
95 percent of the population, responded that radio influ-
enced their sense of being Ivorien "very much."

---

•
103
Analysis of the
MDS Data
As stated earlier, the subjects experienced little
difficulty with the task of making the direct paired com-
parisons among the concepts.
This in itself should
represent an importaMt finding; to this research'r's know-
ledge, this experiment represents the first attempt to
use this methodology with subjects whose backgrounds were
not based on high levels of formal education.
Observation 1.
In Table 16 a means distance matrix
is presented, displaying the mean scores for each of the
21 concept pairs generated by the target population at
the first observation (Tl)' during the week of October 9,
1977.
To determine the distance between "self" and each
of the principal concepts, one reads from row one across
each column.
Table 16
Mean Distance Matrix For
Target Population at Tl
1. Me
2. Sc
3. Cv
4. Sn
5. Fr
6. Ra
7. Tv
1.
He
38.32
84.84
66.08
124.7
58.31
52.42
2.
School
17.8
" 53.82
22.26
6.46
7.66
3.
Govt.
75.65"
9.71
4.52
6.62
4.
Senoufo
],00.22
61. 76
76.24
5".
France
4.07
3.50
!
~.
Radio
3.03
7.
T. v.
0-45
1
Note:
Me-- subjects, Sc - Schools, Gv - CoverOQent, So c Seooufo
Fr - France, Ra - R~dio, T.V - Television.
A ceiling of 200
Vas placed on four extreme scores.
~

---

104
Among these concepts, the villagers feel closest to
the "Schools," perceiving a distance of 38.32 meters be-
tween themselves and the concept; the lower the score, the
closer the concept is to the definition of self.
Converse-
ly, the higher the score, the further away is the attri-
bute from the self in both saliency and relevance (McPhail
& Barnett, 1977).
Government is much further away at 84.84 meters.
They perceive the Senoufo to be 66.08 meters away, and
France is the furtherest concept (most different) from
their culture at 124.47 meters.
Radio and Television
are perceived to rest at relatively moderate distances
from "self" respectively, 58.31 meters and 52.42 meters.
The matrix also displays the distances between each
of the other concepts.
For example, the distance between
Television (Column7) and Radio (Row 6) is found to be very
close at 3.03 meters.
There are only 3.5 meters difference
between Television and France.
The culture of the
Senoufo and that of France are perceived to be very dif-
ferent, separated by 100.22 meters.
Construct validity.
Though it is the first row of
concepts in the matrix which directly relate to the re-
search hypotheses, others are of equal importance for
monitoring the Validity of the procedure through construct
validity checks.

---

105
Using Government as one central concept for this check~
this researcher would expect the subjects to relate it very
;c
•
..'~
closely to Schools, Radio, and Television which are' atl
state operated institutions whose links with the I~orien
•
•
government are highly visible, and in the case of the media,
this association is s~ted daily in regular publ!c stat~
ments.
It was reasoned that Schools and Television should
also be perceived as close because of the major education-
al role of television in the Ivory Coast, and because of
its physical location within the village school.
Radio
and television should be considered close, it was reasoned,
because they are both electronic media of mass communi-
cation.
A check of these concept pairs on the matrix shows
the d i st ances bettoleen "Government 11 and the concept s
Schools, Radio, and Television to be respectively 17.8
4.52, 6162 meters.
Schools and Television are .eparated
by 7.66 meters.
Television and Radio are separated by
3.03 meters.
All of these distances can be considered
close in relation to the score range of the other concept
pairs, indicating that the villagers were using the
scaling method as expected by the researcher.
Observation 2.
The mean distance matrix presented
in Table 17 displays the mean scores generated by the

---

106
villagers during the second observation, T2, collected
during the week of April 7, 1978, six months after the
initial observatiQ~.
Table 17
Mean Distance Matrix for
Target Population ~t T2
l. l-tc
2. Sc
3. Cv
4. 5n
5. Fr
6. Ra
7. Tv
l.
Ne
36.24
48.54
65.63
81. 76
30.20
28.50
2.
School
"9.00
63.92
12.97
].00
4.2
3.
Govt.
45.00
10.00
3.-44
2.93
4.
Scnoufo
65.98
34.00
37.66
5.
France
3.46
2.95
'6.
Radio
1. 94
7.
T.V.
n=45
In Table 18
the principal concept pairs of these data
set, found in row one of the matrix, are contrasted with
the data from Tl:
Table 18
Comparison of Principal Concept Pairs
From Observation Tl and T2
Observation
I.Se.
2.Cv.
3.Sn.
4.Fr.
5.Ra.
6.Tv.
T
Self
38.32
Bl f.84
l
66.08
124.7
58.31
54.42
T2
Self
36.24
48.54
65.63
81. 76 30.20
28.50
1 of Change
. 05~~
4~"
j
•
.006%
34%
48'7.
48%

---

107
<,
This comparison shows very little change in the dis-
tance between-self and Schools~over this six-month peLiod .
.
The distance between self and Senoufo is also quite stable.
However, significant cianges can be seen between)lelf and
the other principal concept ~airs.
The change ~n distence
between self and Government represents a reduction in
distance of 43 percent.
The reduction for France, Radio,
and Television are respectively, 34 percent, 48 perc~nt,
and 48 percent.
A comparison of the concept pairs used in the con-
struct validity check shows that the five expected asso-
ciations have also been reduced.
Table 19
Comparison of Construct Validity
Sets From Observations Tl and T2
Concept Pairs
T2
Government and S~hools
17.8
9.00
Gover~ent and Radio
4.52
3.44
Government and Televisicn
6.62
2.93
Schools and Television
7.66
4.2
Television and Radio
3.03
1. 94

---

108
Observation 3.
It can be observed in Table 20 that
the trend observed in observation two (T2) is further
established as the distances between the principal con-
cept pairs continues to diminish.
This data set was col-
lected during the week of June 5, 1978, eight months
after the first ohse~vAt;Qn (T,).
Table 20
Mean Distance Matrix for
Target Population at T3
l . He
2. Sc
3. Gv
4. 5n
5. Fr
6. Ra
7. Tv
1.
He
28.86
31.11
47.20
61.60
15.09
16.20
2.
School"
3.13
31.15
3. El
2.04
1. i4
3.
Govt.
30.09
5.39
2.61
2.59
4.
Scnoufo
62.30
25.90
20.23
5.
France
2.33
3.34
'6.
Radio
1.94
7.
T.V.
0=45
In Table 17 the principal concept pairs for all three
data sets are presented for comparison:
Table 21
Comparison of Principal Concept Pairs
from Observation Ti, T2, and T3
Observation
1. Se.
2.Cv.
3.5n.
4.Fr.
5. Ra.
6.Tv.
Tl
Self
38.32
84.84
66.08
124.7
58.31
54.42
T2
Self
36.24
4.8.54
65.63
81. 76
30.20
2B.50
T)
Self
28.86
31. 11
47.20
61. 60
15.C9
16.20
'7. of ChanRe frOOl
., ...
T1 to T)
257.
63~.
.. - '.
~l'!.
74'7.
70~

---

109
This comparison shows that the villagers perceive that
the distances between themselves and the Schools and the
Senoufo have been reduced from their stable locations ob-
served at T2, representing reductions of 25 percent and
28 percent respectively.
The distance reductions between
the villagers and Government, France, Radio, and Tele-
vision have also continued to decline, representing re-
spective change values of 63 percent, 51 percent, 74 per-
cent, and 70 percent.
When the five concept pairs used in the construct
validity check are compared across all three data sets in
Table 22 one finds that the expected close associations
I
continue, indicating that the subjects understood the
methodology.
]
Table 22
I
Comparison of Construct Validity
Sets from Observation Tl' T2' and T3
I
Concept Pairs
Tl
T2
T3
1
Government and Schools
17.8
9.00
3.13
Government and Radio
4.52
3.44
2.61
Government and Television
6.62
2.93
2.59
Schools and Television
7.66
4.2
1. 74
Television and Radio
3.03
1. 04
1. 94
!j

---

110
Another area of analysis involved the delineation of
a special group within the target population comprised or
individuals who had reported very close identification
with the concept of "Television" at T , estimating the
3
distance between themselves and the medium at less than
10 meters.
It should be noted, however, that these sub-
jects had reported both "high" and "low" usage patterns.
When their mean distances are contrasted against
those of the total population at T3' significant differ-
ences are found in the strength of their identification
with all concepts, further indicating a definite cor-
relation between them and television.
Table 23
Comparison of Principal Concept Pair
Rating Between Population and Isolated Group
with Close TV Identification at T3
Principal Concept Pairs
Population (n=43)
Close TV G~oup (n=19)
Self and Schools
28.86
17·.
Self and Government
31.11
16.
Self and Senoufo
47.20
28.
Self and France
61.60
39.
Self and Radio
15.09
10.
Self and Television
16.20
3.
Data derived from individual distance ratings within
the general population show that from T1 to T3 the number
of villagers reporting "close" identification with
"Television'l increased from 11 to 19.
Also to be noted

---

111
is the fact that during this same period, the number of
individuals reporting "close" identification with "Gov-
ernment" increased from 8 to 19.
A final area of analysis, of secondary importance to
the research hypotheses, concerns the MDS ratings of adults
interviewed as they viewed programs in the village tele-
vision rooms.
The researcher had originally intended to
monitor "regular" members of the "Te1e Pour TOus" te1e-
clubs to compare their mean change scores with those of
the general population.
As previously stated, this
strategy had to be abandoned because the discussion groups
were never organized.
On three separate occasions, data were collected
from actual te1espectators, a group which included women
as tve11 as men, and transient "strangers" as well as
permanent male residents.
Interviews with these persons
revealed that they had more education, and spoke more
French than most members of the general population.
In Table 24, mean distance ratings for the principal
concept pairs are displayed for the general population
at T1 and for the te1espectators at T1 (these data were
actually collected on October 26 about two weeks after
the first population observation).
This comparison
clearly shows that at this early date the television
center was attracting a mixed audience whose members

---

112
perceived considerably less distance between themselves
and all of the research concepts.
Table 24
Comparison of Principal Concept Pair
Ratings Between Population and Telespectators at Tl
Concept Pairs
Population (n=45)
Telespectators (n=-lO)
Self and Schools
38.32
2.
Self and Government
84.84
12.
Self and Senoufo
66.08
16.
Self and France
124.7
2l.
Self and Radio
58.31
4.
Self and Televidon
52.42
3.
Impact of Findings on
Research Hypotheses
In Hypothesis I it was predicted that over-time the
subjects would perceive less distance between themselves
and television as a result of exposure to this medium.
This hypothesis is supported by a 70 percent reduction
in distance.
In Hypothesis 11 the researcher used radio as a
control mechanism and predicted that over-time the sub-
jects would not perceive any significant reduction be-
tween themselves and this concept.
The data fail to
support this hypothesis.
A 74 percent distance reduc-
tion was reported by the villagers.

---

113
In Hypothesis III the researcher was concerned with
national identification.
It was predicted that over-time
the subjects would perceive less distance between them-
selves and the concepts "Government" and "Schools."
The concept "Radio" was not originally included in
this hypothesis, but since the panel of Ivorien experts
rated it highly as an element of national culture, it
is treated as such in this section.
The results support
this hypothesis showing respective distance reductions
of 63 percent, 25 percent, and 74 percent.
In Hypothesis IV the researcher was concerned with
closer identification between sub-cultures and predicted
that over-time the villagers would perceive less dis-
tance between themselves and the Senoufo.
This hypothesis
is supported by a 28 percent distance reduction.
In Hypothesis V the researcher addressed the I1Cul-
tural Imperialism l1 thesis and predicted that over-time
the subjects would perceive less distance between them-
selves and the concept I1France. 11
This hypothesis is
supported by a 51 percent distance reduction.
Thus, four of the five major research hypotheses are
supported by this study.
In the final chapter the re-
searcher interprets these findings, discusses some of the
shortcomings and weaknesses of the study, and offers sug-
gestions for future research and mass communication policy.

---

1.14
Weaknesses an~ Li~itatior.s
of the Study
Number of concepts.
Increasing the number of concepts
would have enhanced the cultural picture obtained from this
population and would have expand ea the researcher's powers
of explanation.
At the outset of this study the researcher intended
to include a concept which would measure village integra-
tion into the national economy, such as "Banks." 'He also
considered employing a second ethnic group "Baoule," to
expand data on identification between sub-cultures.
The
president of the republic is a member of this group, and
they are generally believed to be among the most modern,
and most educated of Ivcriens, occupying prominent posi-
tions in the civil service system.
The problem with such additions is that with the MDS
method, as the number of concepts increase arithmetically,
the number of paired comparisons which the subject is re-
quired to make increase geometrically.
By merely expand-

---

115
ing the number of concepts from seven to ten would have
increased the number of comparisons from 21 to 45.
College students from the United States, and Third
World countries as well, have reportedly completed as many
as 105 comparisons (Barnett, et aI, 1977).
Canadian
students have completed MDS questionnaires with 136 com-
parisons (McPhail & Barnett, 1977).
But the differences
between these popu1ations and the one that was studied
here, and the different conditions under which interviews
were conducted, require a shorter questionnaire which the
subjects could handle.
It was found during the initial field-test and during
actual interviews that 21 comparison sets represented
the ceiling beyond which the subjects would lose concen-
tration and interest in the task.
Nevertheless, the fai1-
ure to include the concept of "modernity" has hampered
the analysis of the research findings and is, therefore,
acknowledged as a serious weakness.
1!
Research design.
This researcher's inability to col-
lect at least two pre-te1evision observations from the
population which would have provided base-line date for
this study is a weakness which could not have been avoided.
As previously stated, the date of the researcher's arrival
j
J

---

116
in the Ivcry Coast, and the schedule of new television
installations precluded this possibility.
As such. this experiment was modified from a time-
series design to one which more closely approximates a
case study, and is thus subject to some of its characteris-
tic weaknesses in the area of internal and external validity.
Among these sources of invalidity (Campbell & Stanley,
1963), "Testing" and "Selection" appear to offer the only
real threats to this study.
Construct validity checks,
displayed in Table 22, indicate, according to the ration-
ale behind their use,
that over-time, the subjects did
improve their understanding of how to use the MDS method-
ology.
For the most part, however, these fluctuations
are small, less than ten units, and do not represent sig-
nificant gains in skill.
Testing can thus be dismissed as
a serious threat.
Since this village and the subjects were not randomly
selected, selection would appear to pose a serious threat
to the validity of these findings by introducing the
question of whether the village and its residents were
representative of most villages and villagers in Ivory
Coast, and Africa.

---

117
Within the context of a study such as this one, the
question loses significance.
In a nation comprised of
some sixty different ethnic groups, it is virtually im-
possible to find anyone group of villagers which can be
said to be representative of the national population.
It was, in fact,
this reality of cultural diversity and
the absence of national cultural consensus to which this
research was addressed.
As a result, in respect to the generalizeability
of these findings,
it can only be speculated that the
fact that national integration was shown to have occured
in this one "atypical" setting suggests that,
in the ab-
sence of any specific forces of resistance, it should be
capable of taking place in others.

---

CHAPTER VIII
Conclusion
Mass Media and National
Integration
,
The data collected in this study, for the most part,
support the general assumptions of several major theorists
and scholars in the fields of communication and develop-
ment about the integrative effects of the mass media.
Within the limited context of this experiment, television
does appear to perform such a function within the nation-
state.
In this study, national integration was approached
from a cultural perspective as a process which occurs in
sub-cultures of a country_
This process was conceptual-
ized as a two-pronged activity resulting in increased
identification with elements of the national culture, and
the reduction of perceived differences between sub-cultures
Both of these processes have been demonstrated through
the MDS Method to have taken place in the village of
Toukouzou 11 during the course of this experiment.
Questions related to the generalizeability or these find-
ings will be addressed later in this chapter in the
118

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119
section dealing with limitations and weaknesses of the
study.
Differences between sub-cultures.
The reported 28
percent reduction in perceived distance (difference) be-
tween the subjects (Avikam) and the Senoufo is quite
significant, particularly in view of the fact that the
chances of direct, personal interaction between members
of these sub-cultures during the course of this study were
quite remote.
The geographical distance which separates
them and language differences preclude such an explanation.
There is the possibility, however, that radio might
have contributed to, or even been directly responsible
for this change score since both radio and television
folklore programs feature the music and dance of this
ethnic group.
The general question of possible radio im-
pact on the villagers during the course of this study is
addressed more fully later in this chapter.
National identification.
In this study, "Schools,"
"Government," and later "Radio" were identified as concepts
representing important elements of Ivorien national cul-
ture.
As displayed in Table 21, at the end of this study,
the subjects reported respective reductions in distance
of 25 percent, 63 percent, and 74 percent.
The changes
in perception toward "Gove-rnment" and "Radio" are quite
impressive while the 25 percent distance reduction for
"Schools," though significant, represents the slightest

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120
movement among all six concepts.
This is particularly
interesting in view of the fact that at Tl the subjects
felt relatively "closest" to this concept (see Table 16).
Television viewing and the schools.
This researcher
believes there is an important connection between the rel-
atively low change score for "Schools" and the low tele-
vision usage patterns reported in Table 12.
The cultural
distance which the villagers perceive between their own
culture and the village school is based upon actual, ob-
jective conditions which changed very little during the
course of this study, and operated as obstacles to their
regular attendance at the television viewing room.
Because the television is set up in a second grade
classroom, all of the physical aspects of the setting
serve to reinforce the notion that this is an environment
for children, not adults.
Respect for elders is an important traditional value
in the village, yet, in the television room adults are
forced to openly compete with children for good seating.
The seats themselves are designed for a child's height
and are placed behind desks.
There is clearly a degree
of humiliation and loss of respect associated with this
arrangement.
Children usually comprise about 75 percent of the
viewers, and teachers often have difficulty in maintaining
order in the room.
Adults must tolerate this confusion,

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121
whereas in their own homes they are the final authority.
Adults have often been seen peering through the windows
and doors rather than place themselves in such a setting.
This researcher believes that it is these objective
conditions which lie at the base of the low change scores
toward "Schools," and the generally low usage patterns of
this facility among adults.
Conditions such as these, documented by researchers
in other villages,
(Faustin, 1976; Fritz, 1976) have
certainly contributed to the generally low turnout of
adults to the "Tele Pour TOus" discussion groups.
It has
been reported that from the 1973-74 season to the 1976-77
season, the number of television schools in Ivory Coast
increased from 950 to 1,731.
Yet, the actual number of
participants in the "Te1e Pour TOus" groups had declined
from a high of 16,024 in 1974, to 5,296 in 1977, reaching
less than one percent of its out-of-school youth, and
rural adult target population (Grant, et al., 1978) .•
The Cultural Imperialism Thesis
The summary data presented in Table 21
show a 51 per-
cent reduction in the perceived distance (difference) be-
tween the villagers and the concept "France" during the
course of this study, supporting the popular thesis that
exposure to foreign media increases identification with
that culture.

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122
This thesis is often extended to suggest that this
identification in time leads to the acceptance of foreign
values and lifestyles which leave the recipients dependent
upon that external culture for the gratification of their
newly acquired "needs."
In this connection, it is also interesting to note
that the villagers at T3 perceive close links between
"France" and their own Ivorien "Schools," "Government,"
"Radio," and "Television."
The respective distances,
displayed in Table 20, are 3.61, 5.39, 2.33, and 3.34
meters.
These are extremely close relationships when
considered within the range of distance ratings estimated
for all 21 concept pairs.
It clearly indicates that the villagers perceive
their government, its educational system, and its mass
media to be all heavily influenced by France.
These per-
ceptions are, no doubt, quite accurate, for the IVGrien
government is quite openly proud of its close cultural
and economic ties with France.
The implications of the MDS relationships suggest
that in such a country, heavily influenced as it is by a
foreign culture, that in moving closer to the nation-state
it is only natural that the villagers also move closer to
the dominant external culture which prevades those gov-
ernmental institutions.

---

123
Mechanisms of Cultural
Transformation
The fact that the national integrative process was
shown to have occured in association with the presence of
television in the village of Toukouzou 11 satisfies the
major research question of this dissertation.
The MDS
change scores for the related concepts were quite signifi-
cant.
The relationship between "closeness" to television
and the strength of identification with the research con-
cepts (reported in Table 23) serve further to establi sh
the importance of this medium, if only at the level of a
correlation.
But, at the same time, these findings raise another
question of equal importance:
What were the actual
mechanisms of this cultural transformation?
Do the find-
ings also support the assumptions set forth by this re-
searcher in the theoretical framework for this study?
In the theoLetical framework for this dissertation
presented in Chapter 3, the researcher offered a theoreti-
cal approach posited primarily on the direct cultural
transmission function of mass media.
Yet, one important
finding collected in the unidimensional questionnaire leads
this researcher to question this explanation.
This find-
ing, reported in Table 7, revealed the low television usage
I
patterns of the majority of villagers.
Are we expected to
accept the conclusion that attitudes could be so
1
.I

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124
dramatically changed as a result of villagers, who, on the
average, viewed television about once a month over a ten-
month period?
This researcher does not think so, partic-
ularly in light of the low level of French comprehension
reported by most of the subjects and displayed in Table 7.
This researcher suspects that there were other interper-
sonal mechanisms operating within the village which sug-
gest a two-step, or multi-step flow process.
The two-step flow model.
The Two-Step Flow Model of
media impact, developed by Lazarsfeld, contends that ideas
often "flow" from the mass media to opinion leaders and
from them to less active sections of the population
(Lazarasfeld, et al., 1944).
This basic model, combining
mass media and interpersonal communication networks, has
been further elaborated to include more interpersonal links
between the medium and the population resulting in what is
referred to as the Multi-Step Flow Model.
In both models
the primacy of face-to-face interpersonal communications
is emphasized in the process of attitude change.
One item on the unidimensional questionnaire was
addressed to this model by asking the subjects whether
their close friends,
and persons they turned to for advice,
viewed more, less, or the same amount of television as
they did.
The results reported in Table 13 revealed that
65 percent of the villagers felt that these close friends,

---

125
"opinion leaders," vietved more television than they did,
suggesting that the Two-Step Flow Model might be a more
viable explanation for the changes documented in this
study.
The importance of structural change.
A second ex-
planation offered by this researcher is that television
might have served as a catalyst, interacting with a
second intervening variable closely associated with
"modernity" and "development."
This explanation empha-
sizes the importance of structural change over information
content.
It does not necessarily conflict with the Two-
Step Flow Model, it relates more to specific types of
information and opinions which might have been passed
along interpersonal channels of communication.
Since
there were no data collected to support this position,
it is offered speculatively.
This researcher believes that it is quite possible
that the villagers were not influenced as directly from
television content as they might havE been by its actual,
physical presence in their village.
The fact that they
now had access to this expensive, technical, urban medium
could havE made them feel "closer" to unidentified con-
cepts such as "modernity" and "development" around which
all of the other research concepts, except "Senoufo,"
might also be found to cluster.

---

126
Sensing that they'were now members of a more
"modern" village because they had a television set, the
progression of this interaction effect would be that the
villagers might also tend to identify more closely with
other concepts associated with "modernity" and "develop-
ment" such as "France," "Radio," "Government," and, to a
lesser extent, "Schools."
An integrative function is, nevertheless, served by
television, but a similar effect could be achieved, logic
dictates, through the construction of a new paved high-
way, modern concrete housing, or by providing the vil-
lagers with a fleet of ocean-going fishing vessels.'
This thesis could have been tested if "modernity" had
been included as a concept in the MDS questionnaire.
A
factor analysis performed on the concepts in space would
have revealed a cluster around "modernity."
This weak-
ness was discussed in the limitations section.
This observation that the mass media can operate and
have impact as institutions at a structural level in soci-
eties was not considered in the research approach to this
study diagrammed in Figure 2.
Neither was the important
implication that structural/institutional entities, in and
of themselves, alter the cultural contexts in which they
function, regardless of the specific content of their of-
ficial programs.

---

127
Possible radio influences on the population.
The
researcher's inability to conduct a series of pre-tele-
vision observations of the population severely weakened
•
his chances of controlling for the cultural influence of
radio as a competing treatment in this experiment.
The concept "Radio" was originally intended to serve
as a control concept.
The rationale was that subjects
would be expected to identify more closely with television
as a direct result of exposure to it, but that "Radio"
would remain stable since the subjects would have had
ample time to "acclimate" themselves to its effec'ts over
the preceeding years.
The results, howev~r, showed dis-
tance reductions for "Television" and "Radio" respectively
at 70 percent and 74 percent.
The researcher was initially surprised by the unex-
I
I
pected "Radio" change score.
The fact that the villagers
had moved closer to this medium of communication raised
1
the possibilities that the altered cultural outlook of the
subjects could have been the result of (a) a media mix of
1
television and radio, or even (b) radio alone.
This lat-
1
ter possibility was explored and dismissed on the basis
of data obtained from the unidimensional questionnaire.
I
A more obvious explanation for the decrease in dis-
I
tance between the villagers and this concept relates to
]
~

---

128
its inclusion in this study, not as a control, but as one
of the three rated elements of Ivorien national culture.
The fact that only three villagers reported that they
had gained access to radio during the ten-month period of
this study ruled out the possibility that their stronger
identification with this medium was the result of in-
creased availability and exposure.
More important,
in connection with radio influence on
the target population during the study, are two limitations
related to (a) inherent qualities of the medium, and (b)
the French language skills of the subjects.
By its very nature radio, more than any other mass
medium, including print, requires a high level of language
mastery if one is to benefit from it.
While the infor-
mation content of both television and newspapers are sup-
plemented by a visual component, radio relies solely upon
the spoken word.
Most of all broadcasting in Ivory Coast
is presented in French.
Though there are some special
local language programs, they are limited to the more
widely spoken native languages such as Baoule, Bete, and
Malinke.
The total population of the Avikam is estimated
at around 5,000 persons, a group much too small to merit
special programming consideration.

---

129
The low levels of French comprehension reported by
the subjects in Table 7 make it highly unlikely that the
other change scores reported in-this study could have
been the result of their attending, comprehending, and
assimilating the messages of this medium alone.
This conclusion seems to be partially supported by
data on the radio program preferences of the villagers,
reported in Table 15.
The results can be seen to illus-
trate the interaction between the French language limi-
tations of the villagers and their radio listening
behavior, with some 46 percent of the subjects naming
favorite programs which feature music, requiring no know-
ledge of French.
When local language programs are added,
the total percentage of non-French program preferences
increases to 55 Fercent.
I
Nevertheless, the possibility that radio might havE
1
played a role in the concept change scores through inter-
personal links cannot be completely ruled out as a possible
contributing factor.
\\oJhen "Radio" is considered as an element of national
culture, as it was rated by the Ivcrien panel of experts,
the reduction in distance between this concept and the
subjects is quite consistent with the expectations set
forth in the research hypotheses.
In effect, the panel

---

130
expressed the view that an Ivorien integrated into the
national culture would tend to identify quite closely with
"Radio."
But how does one explain the mechanisms behind
such an identification related, as it is, to television
effects?
The structural explanation of the possible interaction
between television and an unidentified modernity factor
is one explanation which might explain this "Radiol! change
score.
A second explanation, not wholly unrelated, is that
exposure to a new medium, television, might have increased
the villagers' awareness and appreciation of other exist-
ing media.
No doubt, interpersonal communication channels
were also involved in a multi-step flow process which
linked villagers who could understand French and had ac-
cess to radios with other members of the population who
lacked one or both of these requirements.
In summary, the researcher concludes from the data
and reasonable speculation that television did play an
integrative function in the community of Toukouzou 11,
(a) by its very presence, thereby influencing the villagers
to feel that they were members of a more modern community,
leading to closer identification with the "modern" con-
cepts of the study,
(b) by providing relevant content
which was circulated throughout the community by a multi-

---

1
1
1
131
step flow process, and (c) by stimulating increased-aware-
ness of radio, which working through interpersonal chan-
nels as well, combined with television, resulting in a
more effective media-mix.
Implications for Mass
Communication Policy
A first and primary observation in regard to these
findings is that the present policy of media expansion
in the Ivory Coast is contributing to the nation-building
aims of that government.
The findings suggest that mass
media played an important role in increasing the sense of
national identification of members of one sub-culture and
helped to reduce the sense of dissimilarity between that
ethnic group and another.

---

132
As previously stated, however, these cultural, trans-
formations appear to be more the result of structural
change and intervening interpersonal communication networks
than from the direct impact of television viewing upon the
villagers whose actual utilization of this medium was low.
Media policy makers should not expect their aims to be
sustained by these mechanisms, since they might be of a
short term nature.
Efforts need to be directed toward
strengthening the basic structure of the Out-of-School
Education Program.
Two problems identified by this researcher as serious
obstacles to fuller adult utilization of television in
the village of Toukouzou 11 underline the interrelation-
ship between mass communication and educational policy and
will thus require coordinated solutions.
These are the
obstacles posed by unfavorable viewing conditions for
adults in the schools, and obstacles associated with the
low level prerequisite French language skills of the vil-
lagers.
Obstacles related to the school.
Since the educational
system is the framework for the television infrastructure,
policies should first of all be directed toward strength-
ening the communityischool relationship.
In some communi-
ties significant iQprovements in television utilization

---

l I
-..,I
. I
- 133
might be achieved through basic organizational changes
which would insure the allocation of classroom space"for
"adults only" where they could view and discuss "!elevlsion
undisturbed by the presence of children.
In other communities where motivation and ~nteres\\
are lacking because the cultural gap between the community
and the school is too great, increased participation in
tele-club activities will only be achieved through higher
level decisions which re-conceptualize the school/community
relationship along the lines of a convergence in which
mechanisms are developed which actively solicit community
participation in school activities, and policies are
initiated which demonstrate increased school commitment
and involvement in community life.
A more costly policy alternative would be to circum-
vent the schools, and the associated problems, by instal-
ling television receivers outside of the school setting,
possibly in the homes of respected village leaders who
would assume r.esponsibility for organizing adult viewing
1
and discussion activities.
Such arrangements are known
1
to take place informally in some villages where there are
privately owned television sets.
But, for government, the
I
added costs incurred in installing and servicing the ad-
1
ditional sets needed for such an endeavor would probably
render such a policy untenable.
]
..
J

---

134
In the village of Toukouzou 11 there is evidence of
a community/school convergence, though on a small scale,
which operates at the individual level.
It was observed
by this researcher that most of the teachers participate
in the major cultural and religious activities of the
village, and that two village residents are employed in
teaching positions in the school, one of whom is the wife
of Prophet Papa NOUV2au.
But,alone, these activities, significant as they are,
were not sufficient to bridge the gap between school and
the community during this initial year of television.
Perhaps it is too early to draw conclusions and improved
patterns of television utilization will emerge in the
forthcoming broadcast seasons.
But, as reported earlier,
government evaluations of adult participation in television
viewing groups are not encouraging; they show declining
patterns of participation over time, and generally low
levels of motivation among teachers to organize these groups.
At present, the Ivcry Coast Government is considering
offering monetary incentives to teachers as compensation
for the extra time and energy required in the orgariization
of group vietving clubs for "Tele POur Tous."
This re-
searcher feels that a favcrable decision on this issue
could be a positive step toward reviving or stimulating

---

135
interest among villagers in group viewing clubs, particu-
larly if the decision is presented as part of a broader
policy which, at the same time expands both the role of
the teacher and the school in a manner which reflects a
more collaborative relationship with the community.
Obstacles related to language.
One of the major tele-
club functions of the teacher-animator is to serve as a
translator for those villagers who are not fluent in the
national language of French.
Where teachers speak the
local language, as some do in Toukouzou 11, the previously
mentioned incentives should be adequate motivation to en-
list their services.
In those communities where such
teachers are not available, the teacher should be encour-
aged to work through a local translator, students, if
necessary, who should also be compensated for their
services.
The decision to promote a single national language
in the Ivory Coast is consistent with the country's
general aim of national unification.
However, one can
observe, even at the village level, how this policy divides
the community into net'lly created categories of "illi te-
rates" and "literates" t'lhose members perceive themselves
as being distinctly different from each other.
Under a
more collaborative policy of community/school relations

---

136
teachers responsible for tele-club organization would need'
to be encouraged to learn the local language of their
setting.
Closely related to the problem of literacy in French
is the more general concern for the French cultural in-
fluences on Ivorien national life.
While this study has
shown that television has contributed to increased feel-
ings of national identification among Toukouzou 11 vil-
lagers, it has also shown that closer identification with
France has accompanied this transformation.
The question
of whether .this is a positive or negative side effect of
their nation-building efforts is one which needs to be
critically assessed by policy makers at the highest
levels.
Implications for Future Research
Two important aims have been realized in this study
which should generate fertile areas for future research.
The first aim was to study media effects on national inte-
gration from a cultural perspective, and the second was
to demonstrate the utility of the Multi-Dimensional Scal-
ing Method in measuring such effects.
It is hoped that
the fact that this method was used successfully with vil-
lagers who had little or no formal education will serve
to encourage wider applications of this methodology in
more diverse cultural, and socio-economic settings~

---

137
Other research concerns are generated by the short-
comings of this study.
This study has documented-cultural
...",,'-
.
- , "
change OVEr a ten-month period.
But, what are the long
term effects of television
-
viewing on one's sense of -- •
national identification after the possible novelty effects
of the medium have worn off?
Does national identifJcation
continue to increase, or, is there a saturation point
beyond which one's identification with the nation reaches
a new steady state, or even possibly regresses back in
the direction of one's original position?
Such questions underscore the need for longitudinal.
time-series research designs which monitor changes over
several years.
Studies of this nature are expensive and
difficult,
but necessary.
Another research area, closely related, involves the
documentation of behavioral correlates accompanying cul-
tural changes in perception of self and nation.
The
process of social change is often a long-term enterprise
and a researcher might not expect to find significant
changes in a villager's actual behavior as a result of
short-term exposure to television.
Longitudinal studies
would provide the opportunity to collect data necessary
to test whether strength of identification with the state
I
correlates with constructive, active participation in
further nation-building activities.
]
1

---

APPENDICES
138

---

1
l
:1
,
I
APPENDIX A
Instrument 1
Multi-Dimensional Scaling Questionnaire
I
1
J
I
1
I
139
I
J
J

---

Multi-Dimensional Scaling Questionnaire
I am an American researcher interested in village
life.
I would like to learn more about how people in your
village view the outside \\~orld.
To accomplish this, I
will ask you 21 questions in a manner in which you will
need to compare different ideas.
I would like you to
re~pond to the questions by estimating how much differ-
ence there is between the two ideas presented, in terms
of distance.
For example, we can say the people of Toukouzou I
and Toukouzou 11 are very similar in their way of life.
Let us, therefore,· say that the difference between them
is very small, say one meter.
Using meters to measure
with, estimate the difference between the following con-
cepts.
Remember, the greater the difference between the
two ideas (illustrate with arms) the greater the distance
between them.
The more similar the concepts are, the
smaller the distance between them.
In meters, how much difference is there between:
1 .
You and Schools
2.
You and Government
3.
You and Senoufo
4.
You and France
5.
You and Radio
140

---

"1
6.
You and Television
7.
Schools and Government
8.
Schools and Senoufo
9.
Schools and France
10.
Schools and Radio
ll.
Schools and Television
12.
Government and Senoufo
13.
Government and France
14.
Government and Radio
15.
Government and Television
16.
Senoufo and France
17.
Senoufo and Radio
18.
Senoufo and Television
19.
France and Radio
20.
France and Television
2l.
Radio and Television
141
J

---

APPENDIX B
Instrument 2
Unidimensional Questionnaire
142

---

1I
1
.1
Unj.dime_nsional Que~tionna}re
1.
Since last September, how many days have you spent in
Abidjan?~
_
2.
How many times have you visited the. school to watch
television?
Less than five times
-----More than five times
-----More than ten times
-----More than twenty times
.,
3.
How well do you. understand French?
Not at all
----A l i ttle
-----Good
~Very Good
4.
What is your favcrite television program?---------
5.
Do you feel that television ma~es you feel mote Ivorien?
No
----A little
~Very much
6.
Do you think your friends in the village, those who
you turn to for advice, view television:
More than you
----As much as you
~Less than you.
7.
What is your favcrite radio prcgram?
_
8~
Do you feel that ~adio makes you feel more Ivorien?
No
-----A little
- V e r y much
9.
Do you own or have access to a ~adio?
Yes
---No
10.
Have you bought or gained access to a radio si~ce last
September?
Yes
- - N o
11.
How many years of schooling have you received?
_
12.
What is your age?
143

---

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1i
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1iI
VITA
in New York City
public schools.
Hampton, Virginia.
\\
/
\\
'~
~.
After graduation he pur~uedrj~c;mplete graduate studies
'I. _'-
in the Sociology of Education, and Journalism respectively at
Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, ~ashington. and at
Michigan State University in East Lansing.
He earned both his
M.S. and Ph.D, degrees le the field of International/lnter-
cultural Education with an emphasis in Educational Technology
at Florida State University in 1976 and 1978.
His professional experienc~have included aS5ignments
as a journalist at the Tacoma (Washingto~) News Tribune,
1969-1970; and at the New York Post, 1971-1973.
From 1974-
1976 he worked as a journalism instructor and Audio Visual
Officer at the University of Guyana, South America, responsible
for the development and coordination of media services and
faculty publications for the College of Educatfon.
In this
capacity he initiated preliminary television research fer
the Ministery of Education involving a constraints and re-
sources analysis of alternative policies for the introduction
of television as a tool for national development in Guyana.
As a graduate research assistant at Florida State
University he held several assignments with the Cent er for
Educational Technology and'Teacher Education Projects.
His
research in the Ivory Coast was made possible through d grant
awarded by 'the National Fellowship Fund, Atlanta, Georgia .
. 153

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