Soap operas and development

　　肥皂劇與發展

　　Good trash

　　肥皂劇也可以有用

　　How television and radio shows can improvebehaviour

　　電視和廣播怎樣改進人們的行為

　　May 5th 2011 | from The Economist print edition

　　In the radio drama Nau em Taim aired in Papua New Guinea, a widowedfather takes up dynamite fishingprofitable but disastrous for the reef. Then he meets adashing marine scientist who warns him off. The idea is that by the end of the drama, whichdebuted in February, both heand the listenerswill renounce dynamite for sustainablefishing.

　　在巴布亞新幾內亞播出的廣播劇Nautica em Taim中，一個喪偶的父親開始從事用炸藥捕魚的行當利潤可觀但對珊瑚危害很大。之后他遇見一位沖勁兒十足的海洋專家，這個人警告他不要再從事這項行業。這部于二月首播的廣播劇的主旨就是播到劇尾的時候，這個父親和聽眾都將譴責炸藥對捕魚業可發展性的危害。

　　The shows producer, the Population Media Center in Vermont, has been a pioneer ofprogrammes with the goal of fostering development. But other groups have increasinglyfollowed suit. In Vietnam Khat Vong Song uses radio drama to teach its listeners aboutdomestic violence. In Kenya Mediae promotes civil rights with a television soap calledMakutano Junction.

　　該廣播劇的制作方式佛蒙特州的人口傳媒中心是通過電視廣播節目來促進發展方面的先鋒。不過其他機構也在不斷效仿。在越南，Khat Vong Song使用廣播劇向聽眾教授家庭暴力方面的知識。肯尼亞的Mediae通過電視劇《Makutano Junction》推廣民權。

　　Evidence that radio and television soaps can change behaviour was first spotted in the 1970s.But solid academic research was lacking until a few years ago. In 2008 economists at the Inter-American Development Bank, for instance, found that Brazilians receiving Globo, a televisionnetwork, had fewer children and got divorced more often. Another study discovered that, ascable television spread, the fertility rate in rural India dropped by as much as if women hadreceived five additional years of education.

　　能證明廣播劇和電視劇可以改變人們的行為方式的證據首次出現在上個世紀70年代。但是直到前幾年才有可靠的學術研究出現。比如2008年，在美洲發展銀行的經濟學家們發現收看電視網絡Globo的巴西人生的孩子較少、離婚更頻繁。另一項研究發現，隨著有線電視的普及，印度鄉村地區的生育率降低的程度相當于婦女再接受五年的額外教育。

　　Some thought that this was because couch potatoeswere less likely to make babies. But research inEthiopia showed that dramas can have a directeffect. Demand for contraceptives rose by 157%among married women who listened to the soapoperas Yeken Kignet and Dhimbibba. Malelisteners sought tests for HIV/AIDS four times asmuch as male non-listeners.

　　有些人認為這是因為終日懶散在家的人造人的可能性更小。然而，在埃塞俄比亞進行的一項研究顯示肥皂劇能起直接的作用。在收聽肥皂劇《Yeken Kignet》和《Dhimbibba》的已婚婦女中要求使用避孕手段的人數增加了157%。男性聽眾尋求HIV/AIDS測試的人數是不收聽節目的男性中尋求測試的人數的四倍。

　　The best results are when people identify with characters, says Betty Oala of the PMC. This iswhy the organisation does extensive research, takes on local writers and uses nativelanguages.

　　最好的結果出現在人們與角色產生共鳴的時候， PMC的貝蒂?Oala說。這就是為什么該組織要進行大規模研究、吸收當地作者、使用當地語言的原因。

　　Not only are soaps effective, but they are also cheap. Radio programmes can cost as little asthree cents to reach a listener in Africa. Yet trying to influence the poor can be controversial.Although producers do not hide their agendas, Charles Kenny, an economist, thinks that therecould be a quagmire of a debate over morals and a tangle of regulation. An increase indivorces, say, may seem like good news to a woman activist, but bad to a Catholic priest.

　　肥皂劇不僅有效而且廉價。在非洲廣播節目只需花費三分錢就能獲得一位聽眾。但是試圖影響窮人的做法可能充滿爭議。盡管制作方并未隱藏他們的計劃，經濟學家查爾斯?肯尼認為在道德和一堆規則之間爭論的困境可能存在。比如離婚的增加對一名婦女積極分子來說可能是個好消息，但對一位天主教牧師來說則是壞消息。

　　Soap operas and development

　　肥皂劇與發展

　　Good trash

　　肥皂劇也可以有用

　　How television and radio shows can improvebehaviour

　　電視和廣播怎樣改進人們的行為

　　May 5th 2011 | from The Economist print edition

　　In the radio drama Nau em Taim aired in Papua New Guinea, a widowedfather takes up dynamite fishingprofitable but disastrous for the reef. Then he meets adashing marine scientist who warns him off. The idea is that by the end of the drama, whichdebuted in February, both heand the listenerswill renounce dynamite for sustainablefishing.

　　在巴布亞新幾內亞播出的廣播劇Nautica em Taim中，一個喪偶的父親開始從事用炸藥捕魚的行當利潤可觀但對珊瑚危害很大。之后他遇見一位沖勁兒十足的海洋專家，這個人警告他不要再從事這項行業。這部于二月首播的廣播劇的主旨就是播到劇尾的時候，這個父親和聽眾都將譴責炸藥對捕魚業可發展性的危害。

　　The shows producer, the Population Media Center in Vermont, has been a pioneer ofprogrammes with the goal of fostering development. But other groups have increasinglyfollowed suit. In Vietnam Khat Vong Song uses radio drama to teach its listeners aboutdomestic violence. In Kenya Mediae promotes civil rights with a television soap calledMakutano Junction.

　　該廣播劇的制作方式佛蒙特州的人口傳媒中心是通過電視廣播節目來促進發展方面的先鋒。不過其他機構也在不斷效仿。在越南，Khat Vong Song使用廣播劇向聽眾教授家庭暴力方面的知識。肯尼亞的Mediae通過電視劇《Makutano Junction》推廣民權。

　　Evidence that radio and television soaps can change behaviour was first spotted in the 1970s.But solid academic research was lacking until a few years ago. In 2008 economists at the Inter-American Development Bank, for instance, found that Brazilians receiving Globo, a televisionnetwork, had fewer children and got divorced more often. Another study discovered that, ascable television spread, the fertility rate in rural India dropped by as much as if women hadreceived five additional years of education.

　　能證明廣播劇和電視劇可以改變人們的行為方式的證據首次出現在上個世紀70年代。但是直到前幾年才有可靠的學術研究出現。比如2008年，在美洲發展銀行的經濟學家們發現收看電視網絡Globo的巴西人生的孩子較少、離婚更頻繁。另一項研究發現，隨著有線電視的普及，印度鄉村地區的生育率降低的程度相當于婦女再接受五年的額外教育。

　　Some thought that this was because couch potatoeswere less likely to make babies. But research inEthiopia showed that dramas can have a directeffect. Demand for contraceptives rose by 157%among married women who listened to the soapoperas Yeken Kignet and Dhimbibba. Malelisteners sought tests for HIV/AIDS four times asmuch as male non-listeners.

　　有些人認為這是因為終日懶散在家的人造人的可能性更小。然而，在埃塞俄比亞進行的一項研究顯示肥皂劇能起直接的作用。在收聽肥皂劇《Yeken Kignet》和《Dhimbibba》的已婚婦女中要求使用避孕手段的人數增加了157%。男性聽眾尋求HIV/AIDS測試的人數是不收聽節目的男性中尋求測試的人數的四倍。

　　The best results are when people identify with characters, says Betty Oala of the PMC. This iswhy the organisation does extensive research, takes on local writers and uses nativelanguages.

　　最好的結果出現在人們與角色產生共鳴的時候， PMC的貝蒂?Oala說。這就是為什么該組織要進行大規模研究、吸收當地作者、使用當地語言的原因。

　　Not only are soaps effective, but they are also cheap. Radio programmes can cost as little asthree cents to reach a listener in Africa. Yet trying to influence the poor can be controversial.Although producers do not hide their agendas, Charles Kenny, an economist, thinks that therecould be a quagmire of a debate over morals and a tangle of regulation. An increase indivorces, say, may seem like good news to a woman activist, but bad to a Catholic priest.

　　肥皂劇不僅有效而且廉價。在非洲廣播節目只需花費三分錢就能獲得一位聽眾。但是試圖影響窮人的做法可能充滿爭議。盡管制作方并未隱藏他們的計劃，經濟學家查爾斯?肯尼認為在道德和一堆規則之間爭論的困境可能存在。比如離婚的增加對一名婦女積極分子來說可能是個好消息，但對一位天主教牧師來說則是壞消息。