Abstract

This essay examines the relationship between player and diegetic sound FX in immersive computer game environments and how this relationship leads, in large part, to the contextualization of the player within the virtual world of the game. This contextualization presupposes a primarily sonically-based perception of objects and events in the world and, in a multi-player game, this ultimately leads to communication between players through the medium of diegetic sound. The players’ engagement with, and immersion in, the game’s acoustic environment is the result of a relationship with sound that is technologically mediated. The game engine, for example, produces a range of environmental or ambient sounds and almost every player action has a corresponding sound. A variety of relevant theories and disciplines are assessed for the methodological basis of the points raised, such as film sound theory and sonification, and, throughout, the First-Person Shooter sub-genre is used as an exemplar. Such games include the «Doom» and «Quake» series, the «Half-Life» series and derivatives and later games such as «Left 4 Dead». The combination of the acoustic environment, the interactive placement of the player – as embodied by his virtual, prosthetic arms – in the environment and the sonic relationships between players produces the acoustic ecology. An exposition of this multi-player communication and the resultant acoustic ecology and player immersion, is the main objective of the essay.

Abstract

Does the public expression and performance of shock, distress, anger, frustration and ideological disapproval of particular sorts of politics constitute a form of collective political expression from which individuals can learn about being citizens? When it comes to the expression of feelings of racial and other types of prejudice, has political correctness led to a deepening of entrenched racist beliefs with no channel for discussion? This article engages with such questions through a case study of YouTube responses to «My Tram Experience» a commuter-uploaded mobile-phone video of a racist diatribe on a tram in the UK. Using qualitative content analysis, and thematic analysis, it describes how these performed, networked and distributed moments of citizen angst demonstrate a limited but interesting range of civic engagements with and positionings towards racism, immigration, class and nationalism. For one reason or another these are not allowed to occur in other public for a such as the mainstream media or schools. The article argues that these vlogs are both a wide-ranging potentially therapeutic resource for those needing validation for their racist or anti-racist views, or for those who wish to express and garner solidarity for discomfort and pain caused by racism; they are also a significant though currently uncurated resource for citizenship education both formal and informal because of their engagements with technology, social context, emotional context and political rhetoric.

Abstract

This study analyses the role of communication in social activism from models that surpass the mere emotional reaction, prior belief reinforcement or brand identification. This paper tests the hypothesis that a message focused on the cause (and its results) will motivate a previously sensitized audience depending on their interactions with source favorability. The methodology is based on the design of a bifactor experimental action result study 2 (failure versus success) x 2 valences (favorable versus unfavorable source) with the participation of 297 people who are pro-avoidance of evictions. The results allow us to infer that the messages from sources hostile to the cause that report negative results have the potential to emotionally and behaviorally motivate activists to a greater extent than messages with more positive results from favorable sources. The conclusions point to the dialogue between social injustice frames and pro-cause action emotions as a way to increase social mobilization. The theoretical and empirical implications of these findings are discussed in the present-day context of social media prevalence.

Abstract

Transmedia podcasting (transpodcast) is an example of a digital medium essentially promoted by a community of independent creators that arises from the technological advancement derived from the arrival of Web 2.0. This medium is considered to offer its users greater possibilities of participation and co-creation by abandoning the traditional communicative models based on unidirectionality. The objective of this work is to determine how audience engagement takes place in this medium, taking into consideration the analysis of its participation spaces. In order to reach this goal, a Mixed Method Research Design was used, integrating two case studies with a total sample of 2,490 units of participation generated by users on the iVoox platform, the blogs of the two selected projects, and messages on Twitter. The research was complemented with an ethnographic investigation through observational methods on the presence of the user’s voice in the podcasts of a total of 19 transpodcast projects. Despite the fact that numerous and relevant voices have defended that the new media ecosystem causes the decentralization and democratization of the agenda-setting and empowers ordinary citizens, this study shows a less optimistic and more critical perspective about the possibilities of meaningful citizen participation in online discourse.

Abstract

This paper analyses how the streaming television platform Netflix creates a community in Twitter. Through a content analysis (N=1,048 tweets, n=100 tweets) we explore the characteristics of the messages with more answers, more likes and more retweets. Results allow to ascertain what the audience finds more relatable in a TV brand. Conclusions show that having a creative strategy, promote and inform about series, and using the social media language, like hashtags and visual resources, contribute to the follower’s participation. Asking questions looking for participations or using humour or intrigue also helps towards this objective.

Abstract

The instability in the newspaper business model since the emergence of the Internet disrupted the value chain and has led newspapers to turn to videos as an additional source of revenue. YouTube has become the content distribution channel of choice for most newspapers, which benefit from the ability to generate greater traffic in exchange for a blind contract imposed by YouTube’s algorithm. Advertising income from this source is still scarce and depends on engagement, previous user experience, video quality, video reputation and numerous other factors. Based on an analysis of 864 videos over three randomly selected weeks, conclusions are reached, and the consequences of the management of the YouTube channels of six Spanish newspapers are discussed.

Abstract

The expansion of digital communication technologies has been accompanied by the development of a “dialogical theory” of Public Relations, a theory that saw in new media the potential to implement ethical principles about dialogue to communications between organizations and publics. This article studies the current situation of the subject from two points of view: a critical literature review and discourse analysis of the 40 largest public relations consulting companies in Spain. As a result of the first component, “the unfulfilled promise” of the new media is highlighted. The analysis of the consulting discourse, on the other hand, shows the preference given to conversation and engagement as alternative concepts, the persistence of the discursive connection between digital technology and dialogic processes, as well as the existence of three basic forms this connection assumes. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Abstract

The instability in the newspaper business model since the emergence of the Internet disrupted the value chain and has led newspapers to turn to videos as an additional source of revenue. YouTube has become the content distribution channel of choice for most newspapers, which benefit from the ability to generate greater traffic in exchange for a blind contract imposed by YouTube’s algorithm. Advertising income from this source is still scarce and depends on engagement, previous user experience, video quality, video reputation and numerous other factors. Based on an analysis of 864 videos over three randomly selected weeks, conclusions are reached, and the consequences of the management of the YouTube channels of six Spanish newspapers are discussed.

Abstract

Narrative engagement is a fundamental factor in understanding the enjoyment of narratives and their effects. This study seeks to develop a measure of engagement for youngsters and to gather evidence of validity and reliability for a sample of European adolescents. After watching a dramatic film, 310 European high school students (68.71% Italian, 17.74% Spanish and 13.55% German) responded to the proposed narrative engagement scale. The results confirmed the existence of a common factorial model of four factors for Germans and Italians and invariance measurement between samples. The mean score comparison shows that German adolescents have a greater understanding of the narrative than Italians. Also, Germans demonstrated greater emotional understanding than Spaniards. These results contribute to the comprehension of the narrative engagement and illuminate the conceptualization of the psychological phenomena related to the reception of dramatic narratives by youngsters of different cultures across Europe.