Dying in Full Detail

In 'Dying in Full Detail' Jennifer Malkowski explores digital media's impact on one of documentary film's greatest taboos: the recording of death. Despite technological advances that allow for the easy creation and distribution of death footage, digital media often fail to live up to their promise to reveal the world in greater fidelity. Malkowski analyzes a wide range of death footage, from feature films about the terminally ill (Dying, Silverlake Life, Sick), to surreptitiously recorded suicides (The Bridge), to #BlackLivesMatter YouTube videos and their precursors. Contextualizing these recordings in the long history of attempts to capture the moment of death in American culture, Malkowski shows how digital media are unable to deliver death "in full detail," as its metaphysical truth remains beyond representation

Audio-Visual scientific popularisation. Theoretical analysis and critical realisation

La tesi analizza e propone un nuovo modello di divulgazione scientifica attraverso l\u2019utilizzo dell\u2019audiovisivo. Stabilito il quadro di riferimento, entro al quale diverse forme di audiovisivo si sono sviluppate e sono diventate protagoniste della divulgazione scientifica, la seconda dell\u2019elaborato si concentra direttamente sui passaggi necessari per la creazione di un audiovisivo scientifico arrivando alla creazione di un modello originale per la trasmissione scientific

Co-created Mobile Narratives

FM Marjo Mäenpään Turun yliopiston Humanistisen tiedekunnan Kulttuurituotannon ja maisemantutkimuksen digitaalisen kulttuurin oppialalle valmistunut väitöskirja Co-created Mobile Narratives tarkastetaan Porin yliopistokeskuksessa 27. huhtikuuta 2013. Marjo Mäenpää tutkii, kuinka ihmiset tarinallistavat elämänsä, kuvittavat ja jakavat kokemuksiaan toisten ihmisten kanssa mobiilin median avulla. Elämänjulkaisemisesta on tullut ihmisten arkista toimintaa. Mäenpää lähestyy jaettuja kännykkävideotarinoita kolmesta eri näkökulmasta. Hän tutkii tarinoiden rakennetta, julkaisemista ja julkaisevia yhteisöjä narratologian, yhteisöjen toiminnan ja mediantutkimuksen valossa. Teoreetikot aina Aristoteleesta klassisen narratologian tutkijoihin ovat esittäneet erilaisia tarinallisuuden kaavoja ja rakenteita, joita on havaittavissa myös yhteisössä tuotetuista videotarinoista. Myöhemmän alan tutkimustradition, mm. kognitiivisen narratologian mukaan ihmiset hahmottavat tarinallisia kokonaisuuksia pienemmistäkin fragmenteista ja vihjeistä. Elämän tarinaa, käännekohtia ja elämyksiä kerrotaan usein – esimerkiksi Facebookissa – yksittäisillä, sattumanvaraisilla kuvilla. Yhteisöllinen tuotanto edellyttää luottamusta. Yhteisö jakaa tarinoita, jotka voivat olla hyvinkin fragmentaarisia, mutta saavat merkityksensä yhteisestä kokemusmaailmasta ja kulttuurista. Julkaiseminen on sattumanvaraista, luovaa toimintaa, jonka lopputulos voi olla ennalta arvaamaton. Kuitenkin julkaiseminen edellyttää jonkinlaista aktiivista toimijaa tai tuottajaa. Rakenteen julkaisemiselle voi antaa tuottaja, moderaattori tai hyvin rakennettu teknologinen julkaisualusta. Monitieteisen väitöstutkimuksen aineisto on peräisin Turun yliopiston, Tampereen teknillisen yliopiston ja Aalto- yliopiston Porin yksiköiden yhteisestä Mobile Social Media -tutkimushankkeesta. Vuosina 2008-2010 hankkeessa suunniteltiin MoViE (Mobile Video Experience) -sovellusta, jonka avulla ihmiset voivat julkaista omia lyhyitä videoitaan ja jakaa niitä toisten käyttäjien kanssa. MoViE-sovelluksen avulla käyttäjät voivat editoida omia ja toisten kuvaamia videoita sekä julkaista kuvallisia tarinoita yhteisöllisistä kokemuksista. MoViE-sovellusta kokeiltiin mm. Pori Jazz -konserteissa. Samasta konsertista taltioitui kännykkävideoille useita näkökulmia, ja testikäyttäjäryhmä koosti useita erilaisia videotarinoita yhteisestä konserttikokemuksestaan. Marjo Mäenpää (1959) työskentelee opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriössä kulttuuriasiainneuvoksena. Hän on toiminut mm. kustantajana, multimedian dramaturgian opettajana Teatterikorkeakoulussa, digitaalisen mediatuotannon professorina Aalto-yliopiston Taiteen ja suunnittelun korkeakoulussa vuosina 2006-2012 sekä Taiteen edistämiskeskuksen väliaikaisena johtajana vuonna 2013.Siirretty Doriast

The I in Optics

This thesis involves a film-based installation that explores the notion of authorship in cinema. Participants are invited to access and combine short video clips through an interactive device that facilitates the creation of individualized films. Combining elements of expanded cinema, customized editing software, and crowdsourced video, The I in Optics challenges the conventional hierarchy and compartmentalization of film production, along with the presumed passivity of the audience. My exhibition empowers spectators to take on the role of filmic experimentation regardless of their training or knowledge; the result will be an archive of films that demonstrates the agency and creativity of individuals who can become filmmakers if provided the opportunity. In recruiting a wide variety of participants to engage with my customized software, what will ultimately be gleaned from this exhibition is the different ways users cull their creativity from the same set of tools and clips

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SOCIAL BUSINESS: STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

The paper is both conceptual and empirical because it presents concepts and ideas, borrowed referred and quoted from the existing sources. It is partially empirical because online questionnaires employed to collect information from thirty-five individuals who are part of service sectors and promote social business. In-depth interview and focused group discussion with individuals and groups to reflect about the benefits of social media for social business in today’s world gives deeper understating about the need for planned design and focused activity and audience to exploit the opportunity for the advantage of social business. Conceptual understanding about social media as a double-edged sword and its impact on revolutionizing the human existence and communication system to improve human dignity and livelihood has been discussed in the paper. The paper also denotes that social media can be used and abused hence social entrepreneurs need to possess thorough knowledge and understanding about the technology and device for a better outcome. Social media as a gadget and technology is easily available and user-friendly it has become the product of rich and poor alike, and in that sense, it has reduced the gap between the haves and have-nots. It is also getting cheaper and cheaper hence making it effortlessly adaptable. Usage of social media has increased day by day and discounted cell phone accessories have made it possible to infiltrate even into the lower strata of society. The empirical research portrays that social media has empowered and at the same time enslaved the human mind and action. It has been considered as the best modem of communication and the worst form of stress inducer. It has helped to get connected with people across the border and at the same time reduced the face to face interaction with our neighbor. The primary source of information reveals that all of the participants are familiar with Facebook and the majority of the professionals have a Facebook account but they do not operate frequently. The participants also shared that it hooks the viewer and so intentionally or non-voluntarily they tend to spend more time. The second reason was that by choice they want to have minimum access because as educationist they feel their priorities differ, so they use Facebook sparingly

From corporeality to virtual reality: theorizing literacy, bodies, and technology in the emerging media of virtual, augmented, and mixed realities

This dissertation explores the relationships between literacy, technology, and bodies in the emerging media of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). In response to the recent, rapid emergence of new media forms, questions arise as to how and why we should prepare to compose in new digital media. To interrogate the newness accorded to new media composing, I historicize the literacy practices demanded by new media by examining digital texts, such as video games and software applications, alongside analogous “antiquated” media, such as dioramas and museum exhibits. Comparative textual analysis of analogous digital and non-digital VR, AR, and MR texts reveals new media and “antiquated” media utilize common characteristics of dimensionality, layering, and absence/presence, respectively. The establishment of shared traits demonstrates how media operate on a continuum of mutually held textual practices; despite their distinctive forms, new media texts do not represent either a hierarchical or linear progression of maturing development. Such an understanding aids composing in new VR, AR, and MR media by enabling composers to make fuller use of prior knowledge in a rapidly evolving new media environment, a finding significant both for educators and communicators. As these technologies mature, we will continue to compose both traditional and new forms of texts. As such, we need literacy theory that attends to both the traditional and the new and also is comprehensive enough to encompass future acts of composing in media yet to emerge

Depart from study or be deported? Exploring international students' crisis response to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency's (ICE) announcement on TikTok

2021 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.On July 6, 2020, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) announced that international students would face potential deportation if they took all-online courses in the fall while matriculated on United States university campuses. Through the lens of Media System Dependency Theory and Social Identity Theory, this study examined the crisis responses of international students between July 6-July 14, 2020, on an emerging social media app- TikTok. Despite TikTok's extensive use and thriving presence as a platform for social and political conversations, there are only a few studies on TikTok. Adopting the multimodal method of Critical Techno-Cultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA), the researcher analyzed twenty-one TikTok videos made by international students to study interface features, practices, and discourses present in the platform. The findings indicated that hashtags, green-screen effect, first-person camera view and share feature on TikTok facilitated the articulation of crisis responses of international students. Similarly, the discourse themes of humor, fear of displacement, contribution reminders, and call to action helped to understand how international students articulated their fears and concerns about the ICE announcement. Addressing the gap in TikTok literature, this study elucidated the connection between marginalized groups and their social media use at the time of crisis. This study paves a path for researchers in and beyond academia to study the connection of technology, marginalized cultural groups and social structures

Remote Visual Observation of Real Places Through Virtual Reality Headsets

Virtual Reality has always represented a fascinating yet powerful opportunity that has attracted studies and technology developments, especially since the latest release on the market of powerful high-resolution and wide field-of-view VR headsets. While the great potential of such VR systems is common and accepted knowledge, issues remain related to how to design systems and setups capable of fully exploiting the latest hardware advances. The aim of the proposed research is to study and understand how to increase the perceived level of realism and sense of presence when remotely observing real places through VR headset displays. Hence, to produce a set of guidelines that give directions to system designers about how to optimize the display-camera setup to enhance performance, focusing on remote visual observation of real places. The outcome of this investigation represents unique knowledge that is believed to be very beneficial for better VR headset designs towards improved remote observation systems. To achieve the proposed goal, this thesis presents a thorough investigation of existing literature and previous researches, which is carried out systematically to identify the most important factors ruling realism, depth perception, comfort, and sense of presence in VR headset observation. Once identified, these factors are further discussed and assessed through a series of experiments and usability studies, based on a predefined set of research questions. More specifically, the role of familiarity with the observed place, the role of the environment characteristics shown to the viewer, and the role of the display used for the remote observation of the virtual environment are further investigated. To gain more insights, two usability studies are proposed with the aim of defining guidelines and best practices. The main outcomes from the two studies demonstrate that test users can experience an enhanced realistic observation when natural features, higher resolution displays, natural illumination, and high image contrast are used in Mobile VR. In terms of comfort, simple scene layouts and relaxing environments are considered ideal to reduce visual fatigue and eye strain. Furthermore, sense of presence increases when observed environments induce strong emotions, and depth perception improves in VR when several monocular cues such as lights and shadows are combined with binocular depth cues. Based on these results, this investigation then presents a focused evaluation on the outcomes and introduces an innovative eye-adapted High Dynamic Range (HDR) approach, which the author believes to be of great improvement in the context of remote observation when combined with eye-tracked VR headsets. Within this purpose, a third user study is proposed to compare static HDR and eye-adapted HDR observation in VR, to assess that the latter can improve realism, depth perception, sense of presence, and in certain cases even comfort. Results from this last study confirmed the author expectations, proving that eye-adapted HDR and eye tracking should be used to achieve best visual performances for remote observation in modern VR systems

Interactive Fiction in Cinematic Virtual Reality: Epistemology, Creation and Evaluation

This dissertation presents the Interactive Fiction in Cinematic Virtual Reality (IFcVR), an interactive digital narrative (IDN) that brings together the cinematic virtual reality (cVR) and the creation of virtual environments through 360\ub0 video within an interactive fiction (IF) structure. This work is structured in three components: an epistemological approach to this kind of narrative and media hybrid; the creation process of IFcVR, from development to postproduction; and user evaluation of IFcVR. In order to set the foundations for the creation of interactive VR fiction films, I dissect the IFcVR by investigating the aesthetics, narratological and interactive notions that converge and diverge in it, proposing a medium-conscious narratology for this kind of artefact. This analysis led to the production of an IFcVR functional prototype: \u201cZENA\u201d, the first interactive VR film shot in Genoa. ZENA\u2019s creation process is reported proposing some guidelines for interactive and immersive film-makers. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the IFcVR as an entertaining narrative form and a vehicle for diverse types of messages, this study also proposes a methodology to measure User Experience (UX) on IFcVR. The full evaluation protocol gathers both qualitative and quantitative data through ad hoc instruments. The proposed protocol is illustrated through its pilot application on ZENA. Findings show interactors' positive acceptance of IFcVR as an entertaining experience

Therapeutic Benefits of Nature Images on Health

This thesis is a journey that travels back in time, when nature and health were inseparable, and forward to a time when science was the impetus for separation between the natural landscape and healing (chapter two), then into the present when nature and health are being reunited, only through science (chapter three). The research conducted in 2008-2009 is reported in the form of three journal articles. The first article (chapter four) developed a methodology using sequential methods to select the nature images that would be used in the experiment. Appleton\u27s prospect refuge theory was the basis for four image categories. The second article (chapter five) reports on the experimental procedures using multiple methods of psychological and physiological data collection to assess the therapeutic influence of the image on a person in pain. The third article (chapter six) reports on findings related to `presence\u27, a virtual environments concept that reports on a sense of \u27being in\u27 the mediated environment and `influence\u27, which measured how much the image influenced thoughts during three stages: rest, pain treatment, and recovery. This exploratory study was designed in an interdisciplinary format, using various theory, methodology, and concepts from a broad array of disciplines to investigate which nature images are more therapeutic than others. Only statistically significant results are reported