How We Use Stories and Why That Matters

How We Use Stories and Why That Matters guides the reader through the tangled undergrowth of communication and cultural expression towards a new understanding of the role of group-mediating stories at global and digital scale. It argues that media and networked systems perform and bind group identities, creating bordered fictions within which economic and political activities are made meaningful. Now that computational and global scale, big data, metadata and algorithms rule the roost even in culture, subjectivity and meaning, we need population-scale frameworks to understand individual, micro-scale sense-making practices. To achieve that, we need evolutionary and systems approaches to understand cultural performance and dynamics. The opposing universes of fact (science, knowledge, education) and fiction (entertainment, story and imagination) – so long separated into the contrasting disciplines of natural sciences and the humanities – can now be understood as part of one turbulent sphere of knowledge-production and innovation. Using striking examples and compelling analysis, the book shows what the New York Shakespeare Riots tell us about class struggle, what Death Cab for Cutie tells us about media, what Kate Moss’s wedding dress tells us about authorship, and how Westworld and Humans imagine very different futures for Artificial Intelligence: one based on slavery, the other on class. Together, these knowledge stories tell us about how intimate human communication is organised and used to stage organised conflict, to test the ‘fighting fitness’ of contending groups – provoking new stories, identities and classes along the way

How We Use Stories and Why That Matters

How We Use Stories and Why That Matters guides the reader through the tangled undergrowth of communication and cultural expression towards a new understanding of the role of group-mediating stories at global and digital scale. It argues that media and networked systems perform and bind group identities, creating bordered fictions within which economic and political activities are made meaningful. Now that computational and global scale, big data, metadata and algorithms rule the roost even in culture, subjectivity and meaning, we need population-scale frameworks to understand individual, micro-scale sense-making practices. To achieve that, we need evolutionary and systems approaches to understand cultural performance and dynamics. The opposing universes of fact (science, knowledge, education) and fiction (entertainment, story and imagination) – so long separated into the contrasting disciplines of natural sciences and the humanities – can now be understood as part of one turbulent sphere of knowledge-production and innovation. Using striking examples and compelling analysis, the book shows what the New York Shakespeare Riots tell us about class struggle, what Death Cab for Cutie tells us about media, what Kate Moss’s wedding dress tells us about authorship, and how Westworld and Humans imagine very different futures for Artificial Intelligence: one based on slavery, the other on class. Together, these knowledge stories tell us about how intimate human communication is organised and used to stage organised conflict, to test the ‘fighting fitness’ of contending groups – provoking new stories, identities and classes along the way

Animal People

Billions of animals are killed every year based on this ethical premise: Animals are lower than humans on some abstract moral scale, and they can therefore be considered property. However, a growing percentage of compassionate and educated animal lovers and advocates reject that premise. Its now possible to live comfortably and happily without subjecting animals to fear, pain, and stress for non-essential products. Whether it be food, clothing, scientific experiment, or entertainment, alternatives now exist to take their place. A broad range of investigative journalism and scholarship have exposed the detrimental effects of the use of animals for industry. An increasingly large number of compassionate, attentive people are beginning to understand that animals, too, deserve to their life as they choose, and many of us are determined to spread the word. Animal People tells the stories of individuals who are engaging in advocacy in new ways and building a better future for animals and humans alike. Though their fields of interest and expertise may be very different — they have backgrounds in science, social media, animal husbandry, and philosophy— their stories illuminate the progress we\u27re making in thinking about animals and interacting with them in a more positive, less-exploitative manner.\u2

Let Me Tell You a Story: A Journalist\u27s Pursuit of Redemptive Storytelling

This thesis will explore, and attempt to define, what redemptive storytelling is within the field of journalism. Storytelling is a practice as old as humanity itself. Indeed, it is ancient, originating in the mind of God, the author of the greatest story ever told. Books written by experts in the field of storytelling, as well as scholarly articles, will be utilized. Aside from journalism, aspects of psychology, theology, and philosophy will be included in the consideration of what makes a story redemptive. This thesis also probes the reasons why stories are so crucial to the human experience, and how God uses them for his redemptive purposes around the world

Evaluating the state of investigative journalism in Malaysia from practitionners' perspectives

Investigative journalism is not a new area in journalism but its practice around the world vary from one country to another as media practitioners are arguing whether it should be practiced or not. Therefore, this research is trying to find out the state of investigative journalism in Malaysia from media practitioners’ perspective. Using qualitative interview, this research will try to evaluate their understanding on the roles of investigative journalism and barriers in practising it in Malaysia. Eight respondents consist of editors and reporters from four print media organizations were interviewed in this research. This research found that Malaysian media practitioners do understand investigative journalism but they have to adapt their practice into the country’s media environment. Most of them prefer to abide by the rules and regulations set by the government, their organization and even themselves. Consequently, the study showed that they prefer to investigate issues concerning consumer affairs and rarely touch on political issues

Uranjanje u virtualne svjetove i stvaranje svjetova u video igrama

Videogames are a relatively new entertainment medium that, despite its current underappreciated position in relation to literature, film or television, still succeeded to cement its place in the global culture by virtue of its interactivity. By comparing and contrasting videogame narratives to those of other media, one can easily see that interactivity, as their defining quality, has a detrimental effect on how players immerse themselves in videogames’ stories. Immersion is easily broken though, as it hinges on a multitude of different elements, such as the videogame’s length, the responsiveness of its controls, and the acknowledgement of player actions. How writers approach crafting these virtual worlds is also markedly different in comparison to literature and film, as the videogames' dynamic nature gives rise to a host of potential issues to be mindful of. The author’s vision can sometimes be at odds with player agency, for instance, and taking too much control away from the player might result in a quality narrative at the expense of an engrossing gameplay experience. Understanding that crafting a game that stands on its own merits, engages the player, and tells a compelling story is more often than not a balancing act is the first step to creating a truly unique and timeless experience

Uranjanje u virtualne svjetove i stvaranje svjetova u video igrama

Videogames are a relatively new entertainment medium that, despite its current underappreciated position in relation to literature, film or television, still succeeded to cement its place in the global culture by virtue of its interactivity. By comparing and contrasting videogame narratives to those of other media, one can easily see that interactivity, as their defining quality, has a detrimental effect on how players immerse themselves in videogames’ stories. Immersion is easily broken though, as it hinges on a multitude of different elements, such as the videogame’s length, the responsiveness of its controls, and the acknowledgement of player actions. How writers approach crafting these virtual worlds is also markedly different in comparison to literature and film, as the videogames' dynamic nature gives rise to a host of potential issues to be mindful of. The author’s vision can sometimes be at odds with player agency, for instance, and taking too much control away from the player might result in a quality narrative at the expense of an engrossing gameplay experience. Understanding that crafting a game that stands on its own merits, engages the player, and tells a compelling story is more often than not a balancing act is the first step to creating a truly unique and timeless experience

Systemic Strategies to Improve the Readability of the English Version of Indonesian Children Stories

The paper discusses languge exploitation for the children story books and offers several systemic strategies to improve the quality of language exploitation so that the books have a better quality for their readabality. Thirty children story books which are classified as narratives according to the publishers were randomly selected for the analysis. The books are targeted for children from five to twelve years old. The analysis on the text structure shows that all the stories have the three obligatory discourse units, namely orientation, complication, and resolution. Meanwhile, seen from the lexicogrammatical exploitation, most of the books have various grammatical mistakes and difficult words

Narrative Quilts and Quilted Narratives: The Art of Faith Ringgold and Alice Walker

There have been two main streams of influence on Chicano artists aside from the obvious one that is the result of their artistic training, education and development in the United States. The primary influence came from Mexico, first during the colonial period in the form of New Spanish art and architecture, and then in modem times provided by the Mexican muralists through their work and their use of pre-Columbian art. The New Spanish materials formed the nucleus for the second stream of influence composed of the various manifestations of religious folk art found primarily in the Southwest

Themes and Moral Values of Stories From the Sub-continent Published in Youtube

YouTube, a popular video site in the Internet, publishes children stories which can be used for the teaching of English. Many children stories published in YouTube are based on famous fairy tales like “Goldilock and the Tree Bears,” “The Three Little Pigs,” and “The Frog Prince.” Many other children stories, especially those from the Sub-continent, are based on the less famous tales. Examples of these stories include “The Four Friends,” “The Wise Son,” and “Whispering Palms.” Although these children stories are not well-known, with their clear English pronunciation and English subtitles they offer useful resources for the teaching of English. This paper presents the results of content analysis of a sample of 10 children stories from the latter category, that is children stories from the Sub-continent. The analysis was focussed on the themes and moral values. The results of analysis show that the children stories contain everyday life and animal life themes which are close to children life. The children stories also contain moral values which promote the importance of friendship, respect to other people, and love of natural environment. With examples of themes and moral values as such, the children stories from the Sub-continent are relevant with the mission in the development of character. Thus, when used in the English classroom, the video-based children stories from the Subcontinuent published in YouTube not only provide useful materials for the teaching of English, but they also contribute to the development of students\u27 good character