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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The solitary nature of writing a book as opposed to creating a film is discussed in Section 4.4. That's why there is not a long list of credits at the beginning and end of a book. Writing a book is, however, only relatively solitary. All writers have more than a little help from their friends. Colleagues helped. Dr. Ray Charron, Dr. Ira Nayman, and Dr. Edgar Zurif (with Dr. FranÁoise Zurif reading over his shoulder) all read various parts of various drafts of this book and made many helpful suggestions for its improvement. Their precise contributions are acknowledged in context. Dr. Maben Poirier didn't read the manuscript - he didn't have to since I "talked" the book to him on the train to our classes on the Loyola Campus of Concordia University. His valuable suggestions are also acknowledged in the text. Dr. Gail Valaskakis didn't read the manuscript either. However, she invited me into the Department of Communication Studies even though I had no academic qualifications in this discipline. May this book justify her faith that I could make a contribution to her field. Students helped. They are mentioned here and there throughout the text but are, as is the academic tradition, rarely identified. Someone should erect a monument to The Unknown Student. Playing professor is a wonderful way to get an education. They teach us as much as we teach them. This is especially true in fast-moving times like now when the old can no longer say (with a straight face) that they can guide the young into the future since they have been there. My students are more at home on the other side of the "digital divide" with video- and computer-based media than I and kindly help me feel more at home there. This book is thus dedicated to my students. May it help them move into the future with less fear and more hope. |