Understanding fan culture : characteristics, terminology and limits

Fan Culture has largely been discussed when linked with Media Studies – be it regarding the effects of television and/or the Internet, or its historical evolution. This study proposes to investigate Fan Culture by exploring how it works and which are its defining characteristics, terminology and limits. Inevitably intertwined with Popular Culture, this dissertation will try to identify multiple fandoms and distinguish what unites them – as well as what separates them. Exploring topics like fan identification, as well as gender and violence (among others), will allow for a greater clarity on the impact of the phenomenon in both social and cultural life. Fan Culture can be thought of as a wide spectrum. This investigation wishes to better define and analyze the phenomenon and its dynamics. Understanding fans as both cultural objects and active agents in the production of culture, this dissertation will make use of a qualitative analysis of fundamental texts, as well as a secondary data analysis of three quantitative studies to further define the culture produced for and by the fans.A Cultura dos Fãs tem sido estudada sobretudo em associação aos Estudos dos Media - quer seja em relação aos efeitos da televisão e/ou da Internet, quer seja em relação à sua evolução histórica. Este trabalho propõe investigar a Cultura dos Fãs, explorando como funciona e quais são as suas características principais, respectiva terminologia e limites. Inevitavelmente entrelaçada com a Cultura Popular, esta dissertação procurará identificar múltiplos grupos de fãs e distinguir o que os une - assim como o que os separa. O estudo de temas como a identificação dos fãs, o género e a violência (entre outros) permitirá clarificar o impacto do fenómeno tanto na vida social como cultural. A Cultura dos Fãs pode ser pensada como um espectro amplo. Esta investigação visa definir e analisar mais a fundo o fenómeno e as suas dinâmicas. Fazendo uso dos fãs como objetos culturais e agentes ativos na produção da cultura, esta dissertação desenvolve uma análise qualitativa de textos fundamentais, bem como uma análise de dados secundários de três estudos quantitativos para definir melhor a cultura produzida para e pelos fãs

Gender Pay Gap in Sports on a Fan-Request Celebrity Video Site

The internet is often thought of as a democratizer, enabling equality in aspects such as pay, as well as a tool introducing novel communication and monetization opportunities. In this study we examine athletes on Cameo, a website that enables bi-directional fancelebrity interactions, questioning whether the well-documented gender pay gaps in sports persist in this digital setting. Traditional studies into gender pay gaps in sports are mostly in a centralized setting where an organization decides the pay for the players, while Cameo facilitates grass-roots fan engagement where fans pay for video messages from their preferred athletes. The results showed that even on such a platform gender pay gaps persist, both in terms of cost-per-message, and in the number of requests, proxied by number of ratings. For instance, we find that female athletes have a median pay of 30$per-video, while the same statistic is 40$ for men. The results also contribute to the study of parasocial relationships and personalized fan engagements over a distance. Something that has become more relevant during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, where in-person fan engagement has often been limited

“Arashi for Dream” : Idol—fan relationships in Japan

The topic of this thesis is idol—fan relationships in Japan, with a specific focus on male idol groups and their female fans. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it organizes the current discourses into a unified framework. It outlines the historical roots of the idol system, and it identifies four defining characteristics of idols: their multimedia presence/intertextuality, their relations to (and departure from) youth culture, the jimusho system, and the conscious cultivation of fandom. The intimacy between idols and their audience is reconceptualized as a parasocial relationship, and their commercialization and the viewers’ reception experiences are analyzed in this context. Current theories on fan—idol relationships posit that the female fan gaze is asexual. The second objective of this thesis is to challenge this notion by resituating these arguments in the wider theoretical framework of gaze and by highlighting certain methodological issues in the literature, e.g., the problems of applying a psychoanalytic model and textual analysis, that assume a textual spectator, to the study of the meaning-making processes of actual, empirical audiences. I also conducted a thematic analysis on popular idol fanfiction to explore the potential of an active, erotically charged female gaze, and to identify certain common appeals of idols as love objects. The discussion of the findings is structured along four central themes. First, themes related to the narratives are introduced as I explore the function of fame in these stories. Second, the inherent flexibility of the celebrity image is analyzed in regards to its potential to invite fantasy. Third, I focus on the construction of the idealized masculinity of idols, and I argue that amidst the “masculinity crisis” in Japan, male idols represent a new kind masculinity where threatening aspects are omitted. Nonetheless, these images are still perceived as masculine and are sexual by their audience. Fourth, I investigate how work and dreams were presented in the dream novels, and what these texts reveal about femininity in contemporary Japanese society. I suggest that idols embody neoliberal values which center on work and consumption as primary sites for identity-formation. Since my research analyzed dream novels that specifically target women, its scope was naturally limited to female fans of Arashi. A possible avenue for future research could be a comparison between the findings of this study and the gaze of male Arashi fans, or an in-depth comparative analysis of female and male idol fandoms in general

Parasocial relationships with transgender characters and attitudes toward transgender individuals

The transgender population lives in a condition of serious discrimination, poverty and violence (NCTE, 2014). Few studies, however, have been conducted to understand people’s attitudes toward this population and factors that affect the responses. Applying the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis (Schiappa, Gregg & Hewes, 2005), this thesis investigated the relationship between audiences’ positive and negative parasocial relationships with transgender characters in TV and their attitudes toward transgender people in real life. A survey method was employed to address research questions and test hypothesis. Results show a significant association between parasocial relationship (positive or negative) and attitudes toward trans people in real life. Parasocial relationship was also found to have mediating and interactive effects on the relationship between perceived realism of characters and attitudes toward transgender population. Finally, it was also suggested that positive parasocial relationship with comedy characters is a stronger predictor of attitudes than with non-comedy characters. Contribution, limitation and implications were also discussed

IMAGINING, GUIDING, PLAYING INTIMACY: - A Theory of Character Intimacy Games -

Within the landscape of Japanese media production, and video game production in particular, there is a niche comprising video games centered around establishing, developing, and fulfilling imagined intimate relationships with anime-manga characters. Such niche, although very significant in production volume and lifespan, is left unexplored or underexplored. When it is not, it is subsumed within the scope of wider anime-manga media. This obscures the nature of such video games, alternatively identified with descriptors including but not limited to ‘visual novel’, ‘dating simulator’ and ‘adult computer game’. As games centered around developing intimacy with characters, they present specific ensembles of narrative content, aesthetics and software mechanics. These ensembles are aimed at eliciting in users what are, by all intents and purposes, parasocial phenomena towards the game’s characters. In other words, these software products encourage players to develop affective and bodily responses towards characters. They are set in a way that is coherent with shared, circulating scripts for sexual and intimate interaction to guide player imaginative action. This study defines games such as the above as ‘character intimacy games’, video game software where traversal is contingent on players knowingly establishing, developing, and fulfilling intimate bonds with fictional characters. To do so, however, player must recognize themselves as playing that type of game, and to be looking to develop that kind of response towards the game’s characters. Character Intimacy Games are contingent upon player developing affective and bodily responses, and thus presume that players are, at the very least, non-hostile towards their development. This study approaches Japanese character intimacy games as its corpus, and operates at the intersection of studies of communication, AMO studies and games studies. The study articulates a research approach based on the double need of approaching single works of significance amidst a general scarcity of scholarly background on the subject. It juxtaposes data-driven approaches derived from fan-curated databases – The Visual Novel Database and Erogescape -Erogē Hyōron Kūkan – with a purpose-created ludo-hermeneutic process. By deploying an observation of character intimacy games through fan-curated data and building ludo-hermeneutics on the resulting ontology, this study argues that character intimacy games are video games where traversal is contingent on players knowingly establishing, developing, and fulfilling intimate bonds with fictional characters and recognizing themselves as doing so. To produce such conditions, the assemblage of software mechanics and narrative content in such games facilitates intimacy between player and characters. This is, ultimately, conductive to the emergence of parasocial phenomena. Parasocial phenomena, in turn, are deployed as an integral assumption regarding player activity within the game’s wider assemblage of narrative content and software mechanics

BULLYING IN SCHOOLS: A Measurement Validation Study in Brazilian Children and Longitudinal Prediction of Childhood Bullying Behaviour in the UK

Bullying is defined as intentional, power imbalanced and repetitive use of aggressive behaviours. Research shows bullying is a global issue, where roughly two in every ten pupils are directly involved in bullying. Furthermore, bullying involvement poses a high risk for developing emotional and psychological problems as well as educational problems. Though bullying studies date back to the 1970s, higher prevalence rates have progressively been reported despite international intervention polices being introduced. Although many previous studies have investigated causes of antisocial behaviour more broadly, fewer have been designed to examine risk and protective factors for engaging in bullying behaviours in particular. Most of these studies have examined predictors of bullying involvement during adolescence with the lower age for samples typically being around 12 years of age. Comparatively few have investigated predictors of earlier bullying involvement and validated measures of bullying have seldom been used. The ability to assess bullying involvement reliably is essential for assessment of outcomes in high quality longitudinal research and it is a key foundation for the identification of children who may benefit from early intervention to prevent behaviours becoming entrenched. In Brazil, unfortunately there is both a lack of robust validated bullying measures, and prevention and intervention initiatives are still incipient. In this context, the present doctoral research aimed to: (i) evaluate the reliability and validity of two bullying measures in Brazil: the Bullying Prevalence Questionnaire (BPQ; Rigby & Slee, 1993) and the University of Illinois Bully Scale (UIBS; Espelage & Holt, 2001); (ii) systematically review the international literature available on childhood factors that contribute to later bullying behaviours; (iii) validate the Forms of Bullying Scale (FBS; Shaw, Dooley, Cross, Zubrick & Waters, 2013) in childhood (ages 9-10) in the UK; and (iv) use the FBS to examine the role of a range of early socio-demographic variables, maternal relationship circumstances, maternal mental health, child psychological and interpersonal functioning, and parenting environment and practices as possible predictors of bullying behaviours at 9-10 years of age in a representative UK birth cohort, using measures completed at the time of school entry, aged 4-5 years. The University of Illinois Bullying Scale and the Bullying Prevalence Questionnaire were translated into Portuguese and administered to a group of Brazilian adolescents alongside indices of psychopathology and empathy. Exploratory factor analysis replicated the original structure of the UIBS, and construct validity and convergent validity were partially supported. Less encouraging results were attained for the BPQ. These study findings are encouraging and suggest its suitability for use in Brazil, over the BPQ, however a further large-scale study is required to confirm the findings and support its future use in Brazil. The Forms of Bullying Scale (FBS; Shaw et al., 2013) was used in a UK sample of 640 children aged 9-10 years taking part in the Wirral Child Health and Development Study. The results of Exploratory Factor Analysis mirrored the original factor structure of the FBS in adolescents (aged 12-15), being both statistically as well as conceptually robust. Furthermore, concurrent validity results for the FBS were confirmed in relation to traditional bullying, whilst convergent validity was tentatively supported though associations were small. The measure can now be cautiously recommended for future use in this younger age group but convergent validity in this young age group needs future replication. Following validation of the FBS in the WCHADS sample at age 9, the predictive independent effects of early socio- demographic, maternal relationship circumstances, maternal mental health, child psychological and interpersonal functioning, and parenting environment and practices variables assessed at age 5 on later bullying perpetration at age 9 were examined using a hierarchical regression analysis. Male gender, lower family income, financial problems, higher maternal anxiety, lower parental involvement, and higher inconsistent discipline in early childhood significantly predicted later bullying behaviour. A high proportion (over 90%) of children reporting bullying others at age 9 also reported experiencing victimisation. These findings make a novel contribution to the relatively scarce literature on early childhood predictors of emerging bullying behaviour in middle childhood and, if replicated, may serve to inform the focus of early interventions

Social distress and pain modulation : findings from healthy ans chronic pain patients

Tese de doutoramento, Ciências Biomédicas (Neurociências), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, 2016Pain is a complex experience that integrates sensory, emotional and cognitive dimensions. Understanding how these different dimensions integrate this experience and how each of these dimensions can modulate pain is thus a challenging task. Growing body of evidence showed in the last decades that the central nervous system can increase and decrease the noxious information via the descending pain modulatory system, a conjunction of pro-nociceptive and anti-nociceptive projections tracks that modulate pain. Deficiencies in this system have been proposed has a key element of some chronic pain conditions, mostly in those particularly known to involve central sensitization mechanisms, as Fibromyalgia syndrome. Among several emotional dimensions that can modulate pain, it has been proposed that social distress threatens well being in a similar mode as pain does, and may share neurocognitive resources and mechanisms with physical pain. In this view it would be expected that social distress would significantly modulate pain experience, but this prediction has not been well established in healthy subjects. Furthermore, this was not, to the best of our knowledge, tested in chronic pain, which is a huge public health problem that, according to the International Association for the Study of Pain, is believed to affect more than 20% of the population worldwide. Based on these theoretical grounds, two studies were developed with the aim of investigating how social distress manipulations modulate pain experience in healthy and chronic pain patients. In the first study, we aimed to understand the relationship between social distress and pain intensity and unpleasantness in healthy individuals. Sixty participants were enrolled to one condition of a well validated paradigm that induce social distress, the Cyberball game. Electrical stimulation protocol was induced before and after playing the game. It was found that participants that had a lower electrical unpleasantness threshold were also more distressed by the Cyberball game (p=0.012) and that the manipulation itself affected pain intensity ratings (p=0.001). The relationship between social distress and physical pain was not related to attachment styles or neuroticism. Overall, this study. provided evidence that sensitivity to social distress is related to sensitivity to physical pain and that social distress modulates pain in healthy individuals. In the second study, 90 participants were recruited to a study aimed to further investigate how social distress could modulate the pain experience in response to experimental pain models in healthy and two chronic pain conditions: Fibromyalgia, a condition that although recently recognized to have peripheral abnormalities is classically related to central sensitization mechanisms, and Rheumatoid Arthritis, a condition with a well described peripheral inflammation mechanism but less information regarding central sensitization mechanisms. Each participant played the Inclusion and Exclusion condition of Cyberball while pain was induced before and during each condition. In line with the first study, healthy controls (pain=-13.71±}45.28; unplesentness,=- 20.78±}28.7) and rheumatoid arthritis patients (pain=-7.50}34.54; unplesentness=- 5.60±}38.04) demonstrated a reduction in pain intensity ratings in response to the electrical induced pain in the Inclusion condition, suggesting the recruitment of the antinociceptive projections of the descending pain modulatory system, while in fibromyalgia patients, pain (7.50±}26.04, p=0.019) and unplesentness (2.86±}31.98, p=0.021) were significantly increased during the same condition. This suggests an impairment of the descending pain modulatory system in fibromyalgia. These results are discussed in line with evidence of impaired anti-nociceptive projections and changes related to chronic pain that have been found to occur in brain areas as insula, anterior cingulate and midbrain projections, fundamental areas for social connection. Further studies are needed to collect additional information on the nature of the descending pain modulatory system deficits in fibromyalgia. We hope that the increased knowledge regarding the relationships between social events and pain modulation will provide relevant insights for new social and emotional therapeutic approaches in chronic pain conditions, and ultimately contribute to reducing suffering.A dor é uma experiência complexa que integra dimensões sensoriais, emocionais e cognitivas. Compreender de que forma estas diferentes dimensões se integram nesta experiência e como é que cada uma delas modula a dor tem-se revelado uma tarefa desafiadora do ponto de vista científico. O crescente desenvolvimento de investigação nas últimas décadas tem demonstrado que essa integração se relaciona com a capacidade do sistema nervoso central inibir ou potenciar o processamento da informação dolorosa através do sistema de modulação descendente da dor. Este sistema integra áreas como o córtex préfrontal, o córtex do cíngulo anterior e o córtex da ínsula, áreas relacionadas com a componente emocional da dor, em ligação com diversos núcleos do tronco cerebral, sobretudo a substância periaqueductal cinzenta e os núcleos ventromediais rostrais do bolbo raquidiano. Estes núcleos comunicam com a espinhal medula através de projeções serotonergicas, noradrenergicas e dopaminergicas descendentes, aumentando ou diminuindo o processamento de informação. Deste modo, essas projeções tanto poderão ter um efeito inibitório no processamento da dor, isto é, antinociceptivo, como poderão ter um efeito excitatório no processamento da dor, isto é pronociceptivo. Tem sido proposto que deficiências neste sistema modulador descendente poderão ser um aspeto central de algumas síndromes de dor crónica, nomeadamente naquelas que parecem ter um maior envolvimento de mecanismos de sensibilização central, como a Fibromialgia. De facto, diversos estudos têm evidenciado a existência de deficiências no recrutamento de projeções antinociceptivas e um aumento no recrutamento de projeções pronociceptivas nesta síndrome, facto que poderá contribuir significativamente para a dor generalizada reportada por estes doentes. Diversos investigadores da área das neurociências sociais acreditam que de entre as emoções que podem relacionar-se com a experiência da dor, o sofrimento social que decorre de situações de perda ou ameaça de relações sociais significativas, poderá ter um papel particularmente importante na sua modulação, partilhando com a experiência da dor diversos mecanismos comportamentais e neurocognitivos. De acordo com esta abordagem, as semelhanças entre estas duas experiências resultam do facto de os humanos, tal como outros mamíferos, serem animais que se desenvolvem em grupos sociais, dependendo não apenas de uma boa condição física mas também de uma boa integração social. Isto poderia, na argumentação dos autores, ter implicado que este sistema social tivesse co-optado os recursos neurocognitivos da dor física, nomeadamente no que diz respeito ao recrutamento das áreas de processamento da componente emocional da dor, como o córtex do cíngulo anterior e a ínsula anterior. Com base nesta perspetiva, seria de esperar que situações de sofrimento social alterassem significativamente a experiência da dor, mas esta predição tem sido difícil de verificar experimentalmente em indivíduos saudáveis. Acresce ainda que, tanto quanto é do nosso conhecimento, ela nunca foi testada em indivíduos com dor crónica, um importante problema de saúde pública que, de acordo com a International Association for the Study of Pain afeta cerca de 20% da população em todo o mundo. Esta dissertação foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de integrar as duas áreas de conhecimento apresentadas, o estudo da dor e as neurociências sociais, investigando através de dois estudos, de que forma o sofrimento social poderá modular a experiência da dor, em indivíduos saudáveis e em indivíduos com dor crónica. O primeiro estudo teve como objetivo compreender as relações entre o sofrimento social e, a desagradabilidade e intensidade da dor, em indivíduos saudáveis. Sessenta participantes foram recrutados e sujeitos a uma condição de um paradigma desenvolvido para induzir sofrimento social, o Cyberball. O Cyberball trata-se de um jogo de computador criado para estudar rejeição social, onde se pretende que o participante passe a bola a outros dois jogadores, que ele pensa serem jogadores “reais” ligados online. Na verdade, o participante está, sem saber, a jogar sozinho com o computador que determina até que ponto será excluído. Neste primeiro estudo, depois de preencherem um conjunto de questionários, os participantes jogaram o Cyberball, tendolhes sido aplicado um protocolo de estimulação elétrica antes e depois do jogo. Os resultados mostraram que os indivíduos que apresentavam um limiar de desagradabilidade da dor mais baixo eram os que sentiam mais sofrimento social durante o jogo (p=0.012). Em segundo lugar, verificou-se que a manipulação induzida pelo jogo alterava a perceção da intensidade da dor aos estímulos elétricos aplicados depois do jogo (p=0.001). Foi ainda possível verificar que a relação entre o sofrimento social e a dor física não se relacionava com o estilo de vinculação ou com o neuroticismo, duas dimensões que têm sido teoricamente relacionadas com a sensibilidade ao sofrimento social. Em resumo, este estudo forneceu evidências de que a sensibilidade ao sofrimento social está relacionada com a sensibilidade à dor física, sobretudo nas suas dimensões emocionais, e que o sofrimento social modula significativamente a dor física em indivíduos saudáveis. No segundo estudo, noventa participantes foram recrutados com o objetivo de compreender de que forma o sofrimento social modula a dor em indivíduos com dor crónica. Nesse sentido, dois modelos experimentais de dor foram investigados em indivíduos saudáveis e em duas condições de dor crónica: na Fibromialgia, síndrome onde têm sido amplamente estudados os mecanismos de sensibilização central, mas onde só recentemente se reconheceu o envolvimento de mecanismos periféricos e na Artrite Reumatóide, onde pelo contrário, os mecanismos inflamatórios periféricos se encontram bem descritos, mas só recentemente se têm reconhecido evidências relacionadas com mecanismos de sensibilização central. Cada participante jogou duas condições do jogo, Inclusão e Exclusão, sendo-lhe induzidos estímulos dolorosos antes e durante cada condição. Tal como no primeiro estudo, verificou-se que os indivíduos saudáveis (intensidade da dor=-20.78±28.7; desagradabilidade=-13.71±45.28) e com Artrite Reumatóide (intensidade da dor=-7.50±34.54; desagradabilidade=-5.60±38.04) evidenciavam uma redução na intensidade da dor resultante da estimulação elétrica quando participavam na condição de Inclusão do jogo, sugerindo o recrutamento das projeções antinociceptivas do sistema modelador descendente da dor. Pelo contrário, os indivíduos com Fibromialgia revelaram um aumento de dor durante a mesma condição, sugerindo a existência de deficiências no sistema modulador descendente da dor nesta síndrome, que poderão ser particularmente acentuadas em resposta a emoções ou situações sociais positivas (intensidade da dor=7.50±26.04, p=0.019 e desagradabilidade=2.86±31.98, p=0.021). Estes resultados são discutidos tendo em conta Estes resultados são discutidos tendo em conta os dados de outros estudos que reportam dificuldades no recrutamento de projeções antinociceptivas na Fibromialgia. Para além disso, estes resultados corroboram também os estudos de neuroimagem que descrevem alterações estruturais e funcionais na dor crónica em áreas como o córtex da ínsula, o córtex da cingulo anterior e as projeções do mesencefalo, áreas que são fundamentais para as motivações e ligações sociais. Alterações nestas áreas poderão ser também centrais nas reorganizações das redes neuronais que se verificam nos processos de transição da dor aguda para os estados de dor crónica. Os resultados evidenciados pelos estudos aqui descritos destacam a necessidade de desenvolvimento da investigação direcionada à compreensão da natureza das deficiências no sistema modulador descendente da dor na Fibromialgia. Esperamos que o aumento do conhecimento sobre as relações entre as experiências sociais e modulação da dor possam fornecer dados relevantes que se venham a traduzir em novas abordagens terapêuticas sociais e emocionais, para as condições de dor crónica, e com isso contribuir para a redução do sofrimento destes doentes

Religion and brand activism: Faith-based segments in the UK and their engagement in boycotting behaviour.

At present, brand activism has become an emerging marketing strategy for companies who aim to distinguish themselves in a fragmented marketplace by publicly addressing social and political issues. In a bid to foster loyalty and nurture lifelong customers, brands are aligning their values with meaning causes to spark change and inspire action. However, several brands have faced criticism or faced boycotts because of their decisions to support contentious causes. The contrasting positions adopted by brands such as Huda Beauty and McDonald's Israel amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict serve as a notable example. Existing works have focused on consumer motives for, responses to, and the effectiveness of brand boycotting. Also examined is the role of consumer affinity and animosity play in the context of boycotting campaigns. In addition to this, social media has simplified the process for activists to connect with a broader audience and garner more substantial support for their causes. With this said, the impact of religious animosity on people's attitudes toward macro boycotts is said to be culturally dependent. Yet, little research was located on the boycotting behaviour of faith-based segment in secular societies like the UK. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to examine the impact religion (and religious commitment) has on faith-based segments when boycotting brands. The objectives of the paper are threefold. First, to uncover individual motives and expectations (i.e., from personal views to social expectations). Second, identify their engagement and participation (i.e., communication, product, purchase and response) in boycotts online and offline. Third, to understand how faith-based segment perceive or measure the success of their boycotts (i.e., business impact vs. society impact). The study will encompass followers of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Sikhism, and includes respondents with no religious affiliation. variations will be assessed among religion and religiosity group, with the latter being measured through two dimensions (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic). The implication of this research enables companies to understand the mechanism of consumer boycotting behaviour in instances of brand activism

Eye quietness and quiet eye in expert and novice golf performance: an electrooculographic analysis

Quiet eye (QE) is the final ocular fixation on the target of an action (e.g., the ball in golf putting). Camerabased eye-tracking studies have consistently found longer QE durations in experts than novices; however, mechanisms underlying QE are not known. To offer a new perspective we examined the feasibility of measuring the QE using electrooculography (EOG) and developed an index to assess ocular activity across time: eye quietness (EQ). Ten expert and ten novice golfers putted 60 balls to a 2.4 m distant hole. Horizontal EOG (2ms resolution) was recorded from two electrodes placed on the outer sides of the eyes. QE duration was measured using a EOG voltage threshold and comprised the sum of the pre-movement and post-movement initiation components. EQ was computed as the standard deviation of the EOG in 0.5 s bins from –4 to +2 s, relative to backswing initiation: lower values indicate less movement of the eyes, hence greater quietness. Finally, we measured club-ball address and swing durations. T-tests showed that total QE did not differ between groups (p = .31); however, experts had marginally shorter pre-movement QE (p = .08) and longer post-movement QE (p < .001) than novices. A group × time ANOVA revealed that experts had less EQ before backswing initiation and greater EQ after backswing initiation (p = .002). QE durations were inversely correlated with EQ from –1.5 to 1 s (rs = –.48 - –.90, ps = .03 - .001). Experts had longer swing durations than novices (p = .01) and, importantly, swing durations correlated positively with post-movement QE (r = .52, p = .02) and negatively with EQ from 0.5 to 1s (r = –.63, p = .003). This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring ocular activity using EOG and validates EQ as an index of ocular activity. Its findings challenge the dominant perspective on QE and provide new evidence that expert-novice differences in ocular activity may reflect differences in the kinematics of how experts and novices execute skills