Salon discourse
sampling is to be able to use what is discovered
about the sample group as a basis for inference
about the behaviour of the population. The
reliability of such inferences depends upon how
far the sample is representative of the popula-
tion. A representative sample is constructed in
such a way that it contains members of various
signifi cant categories and classifi cations in the
same proportion as they appear in the popula-
tion.
Not all samples are representative, or quota,
samples: random sampling techniques are also
used. A random sample is selected in such a
way that every member of the population has
an equal chance of being chosen. Such a sample
is used when it is felt that the population is not
divided into particularly signifi cant categories
or classifications. See topic guide under
research methods.
Sapir-Whorf linguistic relativity hypoth-
esis Developed by two notable linguists, Edward
Sapir (1884–1939) and Benjamin Lee Whorf
(1897–1941). Succinctly stated, the hypothesis
proposes that ways of thinking and patterns of
culture (and also to some extent social
structure) are determined by the structure of
the language used in a particular culture. An
individual’s or group’s thought and discourse
about life generally can only be expressed in
language and is thus constrained by the language
structure available.
Satellite transmission There are three main
types of satellite: (1) weather and observational
satellites; (2) communications satellites; and
(3) space probes. Sputnik in 1957 was the fi rst
observational satellite; Telstar, in 1962, the fi rst
communications satellite. Working off solar-
powered batteries, satellites have equipment
for monitoring the conditions in and around
themselves and sending data back to earth for
control purposes. Also, they carry reception
equipment for control signals from earth for
correction of orbital travel, etc. Satellites orbit-
ing the earth have generally given way to geo-
stationary operation, that is satellites stationed
some 23,000 miles out in space at a constant
altitude and keeping pace with the revolutions
of the earth.
Signals from ground stations are beamed to
the geo-stationary communications satellites
and refl ected by them to receiving stations that
then relay the signals by cable for recording or
transmission, or to receiving ‘dishes’ or anten-
nae. Most communication satellites receive and
transmit simultaneously from a number of earth
stations.politically significant. See agenda-setting;
attribute dimension; mccombs and shaw’s
agenda-setting model of media effects,
1978.
Salon discourse According to Susan Herbst and
James R. Beniger in ‘Th e changing infrastructure
of public opinion’ in Audiencemaking: How
Media Create the Audience (Sage, 1994), edited
by James S. Ettema and D. Charles Whitney, the
fi rst use of the term ‘public opinion’ was made
by Jacques Necker, the fi nance minister to the
French King Louis XIV (1638–1715). Necker was
referring specifi cally to the salons of the day,
generally if not always presided over by women
of high birth and attended by intellectuals, poets,
statesmen and philosophers.
Here, among many things, matters of state were
freely discussed and later diff used by the writings
of those who attended the salons. Herbst and
Beniger refer to this as the elite model of public
opinion infrastructure: ‘Th e public in the model is
composed only of the most highly educated and
infl uential members of society, while the bulk of
the people are purposely excluded because their
opinion is thought to be uninformed, and are in
any case irrelevant – most people have no politi-
cal power.’ Th e authors argue that this model of
public opinion held sway until the American and
French revolutions.
Salutation display Means by which we demon-
strate that we wish someone well, or at the very
least do not ostensibly wish them harm: greeting
them when we meet and when we part company.
Salutation display varies according to such
factors as the nature of our relationship with
the greeted person, the context of the encounter
and the length of prior separation. See gesture;
shortfall signals.
Samizdat Russian, meaning ‘self-published’, a
secret publication during the Soviet-Communist
era, circulated by hand, usually printed on a
duplicator or simply on a typewriter with carbon
copies, by dissident writers, at great personal
risk of reprisals by the authorities. The First
Circle (1968) by Russian novelist Alexander
Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) began life in Samizdat.
Th e word Ta m i z d a t described work produced by
Russians in the West, published there and then
smuggled into the Soviet Union. Dr Zhivago
(1957) by Boris Pasternak (1890–1960) is an
example of this. See glasnost.
Sampling A statistical method of selecting a
group for analysis, from a larger social group
known as the population; the statistical term
for all those persons, events or entities that are
relevant to the subject of the enquiry. Th e aim of