Nov. 6 - We are still working on the questions and format of the survey, however I think that it would be a good idea to define three terms we used in our project proposal as they pertain to our survey.

Impression management refers to the methods in which one tries to control the perceptions of others toward himself/herself. This is most often done when one says or does things that they know will make a favorable impression on their audience, or at least an impression that they want to produce. In our survey, using news as a topic to initiate conversations would be a form of impression management, as one may be trying to give off an impression of being worldly and informed by discussing news with others.

Cultural capital is, according to Pierre Bourdieu, the collection of cultural styles, skills and knowledge that come from one's family background. Common examples of cultural capital would be owning a baby grand piano, speaking another language, or possessing a college diploma. In our survey, we will measure the responses of students to determine if they view receiving news as something that increases their embodied sense of cultural capital, as in they become more knowledgeable of the arts and of events in their world, and thus have a knowledge that is expected of their social status.

Social status is the importance and prestige accorded to one's position in a social hierarchy. In our survey, we hope to measure if students view the act of receiving news as an important factor in maintaining their social status as students. We hope to find out what being an "informed student" means to various students, and whether or not it entails a regular intake of current events in the form of news.