A Survey on Event-based News Narrative Extraction

Narratives are fundamental to our understanding of the world, providing us with a natural structure for knowledge representation over time. Computational narrative extraction is a subfield of artificial intelligence that makes heavy use of information retrieval and natural language processing techniques. Despite the importance of computational narrative extraction, relatively little scholarly work exists on synthesizing previous research and strategizing future research in the area. In particular, this article focuses on extracting news narratives from an event-centric perspective. Extracting narratives from news data has multiple applications in understanding the evolving information landscape. This survey presents an extensive study of research in the area of event-based news narrative extraction. In particular, we screened over 900 articles that yielded 54 relevant articles. These articles are synthesized and organized by representation model, extraction criteria, and evaluation approaches. Based on the reviewed studies, we identify recent trends, open challenges, and potential research lines.Comment: 37 pages, 3 figures, to be published in the journal ACM CSU

Supporting Narratives in News Stories through Visualization

O uso de histórias para transmitir mensagens tem sido uma constante desde os primórdios dos tempos, o que prova a importância do storytelling. Uma técnica particularmente interessante para contar histórias é o uso de narrativas visuais (NV). Utilizando elementos visuais como complemento da narrativa, podemos enriquecer uma história "tradicional" e facilitar a sua leitura e compreensão. Ao longo deste projeto, comprometemo-nos a estudar o campo das narrativas visuais a um nível académico, jornalístico e artístico, bem como a tentar compreender como nos podemos servir de elementos visuais, com particular destaque para o multimédia, para atrair o leitor e manter o interesse do mesmo em histórias que se prolonguem ao longo de vários meses ou anos. Servindo-nos de uma metodologia de investigação mista, após completarmos a investigação bibliográfica, realizamos entrevistas a cinco jornalistas, tendo mais tarde complementado este estudo com um inquérito feito a leitores sobre a temática das NV. De acordo com os entrevistados, o futuro do jornalismo digital prende-se com a utilização do long-form, multimédia e interatividade, lado a lado com narrativas visuais para contar uma história. Contudo, nunca dispensando a utilização do texto, uma vez que é parte essencial das NV. Não obstante, é necessário encontrar opções cativantes que ajudem a combater o cada vez menor tempo de atenção do leitor. Tendo em mente que atenção não pode ser vista como sinónimo de compreensão, é necessário repensar a noção que temos de boas formas de transmitir informação e lembrar que as opções mais simples são geralmente as mais eficazes. A realização de um inquérito a leitores permitiu aprofundar a questão da transmissão de informação auxiliada por elementos visuais. Os resultados mostraram que a timeline permanece como o formato ideal de NV e que as pessoas preferem divisões claras de informação, em lugar de formatos mais compactos, como o wordcloud e fotomosaico. Tornou-se claro que as NV em jornalismo são vistas como uma vantagem pela maioria de estudiosos, leitores e profissionais da área. Com base nas informações recolhidas, criou-se uma primeira versão de um protótipo não funcional para contar uma história ao longo de seis meses, que, mais tarde, foi testado em focus group com cinco estudantes de Mestrado. Ao aplicarmos o conceito da pirâmide deitada de Canavilhas para contar histórias online, oferecemos ao leitor um maior controlo da história e abrimos a possibilidade de leitura da informação a partir de mais do que um eixo, facilitando a captação e manutenção do seu foco. Aplicamos ainda o conceito de curiosity gap, dando ao leitor apenas a informação necessária a uma primeira vista, esperando incitar nele a vontade de explorar mais a fundo o protótipo. Uma segunda versão foi posteriormente criada e testada com leitores por meio de um segundo inquérito, de modo a percebermos quais as limitações que ainda possuía. Os resultados finais demonstraram que, apesar de ainda existir espaço para melhorias, o protótipo desenvolvido não só é um método eficaz de transmissão de informação, como também é preferido pela grande maioria das pessoas inquiridas, relativamente à leitura tradicional de notícias.The human being has been using stories to pass on messages since the dawn of time, which proves the importance of storytelling. A particularly interesting technique for telling stories is the use of visual narratives (VN). By making use of visual elements to complement the narrative, we can enrich a "traditional" story and make it easier to read and comprehend. Throughout this project, we have done our best to study the field of visual narratives on an academic, journalistic and artistic level, as well as trying to understand how we can use visual elements, with particular emphasis on multimedia, to attract the reader and maintain their interest in stories that span over several months or years. Using a mixed method methodology, after completing the bibliographic research, we conducted interviews with five journalists, having later complemented this study with a survey made to readers on the subject of VN. According to the interviewees, the future of digital journalism's storytelling is linked to the use of the long-form, multimedia and interactivity, side by side with visual narratives. However, since text is an essential part of a VN, one must never forget to use it, as a visual narrative cannot exist without it. Nevertheless, it is necessary to find captivating options that help to combat the reader's diminishing attention span. Bearing in mind that attention cannot be seen as synonymous with comprehension, it is necessary to rethink our notion of proper ways to convey information and remember that the simplest options are usually the most effective. A narrative visualization survey done to readers allowed us to deepen the issue of information transmission aided by visual elements. The results showed that the timeline remains as the ideal VN format and that people prefer clear divisions of information over more compact formats, such as the wordcloud and photomosaic. It became clear that VN in journalism are seen as an advantage by most scholars, readers and professionals of the field. Based on the gathered information, a first version of a non-functional prototype was created to tell a story over six months, which was later tested in a focus group with five Master's degree students. By applying Canavilhas' Tumbled Pyramid concept to online storytelling, we offer the reader greater control over the story and open up the possibility of reading information from more than one axis, thus facilitating the capture and maintenance of their focus. We also applied the concept of curiosity gap, providing the reader with nothing but the necessary information at first glance, hoping to incite them to further explore the prototype. A second version was later created and tested with readers through a second survey, in order to understand the limitations it still had. The final results showed that, although there is still room for improvement, the developed prototype is not only an effective method of transmitting information, but it is also preferred by the vast majority of surveyed people over traditional news reading

INDCOR white paper on the Design of Complexity IDNs

This white paper was written by the members of the Work Group focusing on design practices of the COST Action 18230 - Interactive Narrative Design for Complexity Representation (INDCOR, WG1). It presents an overview of Interactive Digital Narratives (IDNs) design for complexity representations through IDN workflows and methodologies, IDN authoring tools and applications. It provides definitions of the central elements of the IDN alongside its best practices, designs and methods. Finally, it describes complexity as a feature of IDN, with related examples. In summary, this white paper serves as an orienting map for the field of IDN design, understanding where we are in the contemporary panorama while charting the grounds of their promising futures

A protocol to develop Shared Socio-economic Pathways for European agriculture

Moving towards a more sustainable future requires concerted actions, particularly in the context of global climate change. Integrated assessments of agricultural systems (IAAS) are considered valuable tools to provide sound information for policy and decision-making. IAAS use storylines to define socio-economic and environmental framework assumptions. While a set of qualitative global storylines, known as the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs), is available to inform integrated assessments at large scales, their spatial resolution and scope is insufficient for regional studies in agriculture. We present a protocol to operationalize the development of Shared Socio-economic Pathways for European agriculture – Eur-Agri-SSPs – to support IAAS. The proposed design of the storyline development process is based on six quality criteria: plausibility, vertical and horizontal consistency, salience, legitimacy, richness and creativity. Trade-offs between these criteria may occur. The process is science-driven and iterative to enhance plausibility and horizontal consistency. A nested approach is suggested to link storylines across scales while maintaining vertical consistency. Plausibility, legitimacy, salience, richness and creativity shall be stimulated in a participatory and interdisciplinary storyline development process. The quality criteria and process design requirements are combined in the protocol to increase conceptual and methodological transparency. The protocol specifies nine working steps. For each step, suitable methods are proposed and the intended level and format of stakeholder engagement are discussed. A key methodological challenge is to link global SSPs with regional perspectives provided by the stakeholders, while maintaining vertical consistency and stakeholder buy-in. We conclude that the protocol facilitates systematic development and evaluation of storylines, which can be transferred to other regions, sectors and scales and supports inter-comparisons of IAAS. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

A protocol to develop shared socio-economic pathways for European agriculture

Moving towards a more sustainable future requires concerted actions, particularly in the context of global climate change. Integrated assessments of agricultural systems (IAAS) are considered valuable tools to provide sound information for policy and decision-making. IAAS use storylines to define socio-economic and environmental framework assumptions. While a set of qualitative global storylines, known as the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs), is available to inform integrated assessments at large scales, their spatial resolution and scope is insufficient for regional studies in agriculture. We present a protocol to operationalize the development of Shared Socio-economic Pathways for European agriculture – Eur-Agri-SSPs – to support IAAS. The proposed design of the storyline development process is based on six quality criteria: plausibility, vertical and horizontal consistency, salience, legitimacy, richness and creativity. Trade-offs between these criteria may occur. The process is science-driven and iterative to enhance plausibility and horizontal consistency. A nested approach is suggested to link storylines across scales while maintaining vertical consistency. Plausibility, legitimacy, salience, richness and creativity shall be stimulated in a participatory and interdisciplinary storyline development process. The quality criteria and process design requirements are combined in the protocol to increase conceptual and methodological transparency. The protocol specifies nine working steps. For each step, suitable methods are proposed and the intended level and format of stakeholder engagement are discussed. A key methodological challenge is to link global SSPs with regional perspectives provided by the stakeholders, while maintaining vertical consistency and stakeholder buy-in. We conclude that the protocol facilitates systematic development and evaluation of storylines, which can be transferred to other regions, sectors and scales and supports inter-comparisons of IAAS

Storylines for practice: a visual storytelling approach to strengthen the science‑practice interface

A growing number of scientifc publications is available to promote sustainable river management. However, these publications target researchers rather than water management professionals who are responsible for the implementation of management practices. To bridge this science-to-practice gap, we conceptualize and propose a series of steps to prepare efective storylines targeted at a practitioner audience. We developed this approach within a research program that supports integrated and collaborative river management. We prepared three storylines, each based on one scientifc publication. The storylines combined text and interactive visuals using the ESRI StoryMaps tool to make them available online. Via focus groups with 44 participants from research and practice, we evaluated the perceived usefulness of and engagement with the content and design. We collected feedback from participants using a survey as well as via audio and screen recordings. Our fndings show that we should narrow down the audience of the storylines by tailoring them to the needs of project managers rather than specialized advisors. Therefore, the content should ofer more than a visual summary of the research by showing examples of the management application. A more engaging sequence with a clear protagonist is further required to better relate to the problem and the potential application. Although visuals and interactive elements were considered attractive, a multi-disciplinary editorial team is necessary to better complement the visuals’ design to the text. The level of detail of participants’ feedback shows that involving project managers to co-create storylines can be an important step for improvement.Peer reviewe

Scenarios as channels of forecast advice

Today's business environment provides tougher competition than ever before, stressing the important role played by information and forecasts in decision-making. The scenario method has been popular for focused organizational learning, decision making and strategic thinking in business contexts, and yet, its use in communicating forecast information and advice has received little research attention. This is surprising since scenarios may provide valuable tools for communication between forecast providers and users in organizations, offering efficient platforms for information exchange via structured storylines of plausible futures. In this paper, we aim to explore the effectiveness of using scenarios as channels of forecast advice. An experimental study is designed to investigate the effects of providing scenarios as forecast advice on individual and group-based judgmental predictions. Participants are given time series information and model forecasts, along with (i) best-case, (ii) worst-case, (iii) both, or (iv) no scenarios. Different forecasting formats are used (i.e., point forecast, best-case forecast, worst-case forecast, and surprise probability), and both individual predictions and consensus forecasts are requested. Forecasts made with and without scenarios are compared for each of these formats to explore the potential effects of providing scenarios as forecast advice. In addition, group effects are investigated via comparisons of composite versus consensus predictions. The paper concludes with a discussion of results and implications for future research on scenario use in forecasting

Zašto baš binge-watching? Istaknuti motivi i analiza motivirajućih hedonističkih i eudamonijskih elemenata emocionalnog zadovoljenja u iskustvu binge-watchinga

Binge-watching is a popular form of media consumption, and entertainment is one of the main drivers of this activity. This research aims to examine the prominent reasons for binge-watching by re-examining the established television viewing motives, by deepening the analysis of entertainment motives, and by introducing a new possible motive – the need for narrative understanding. Therefore, the researcher combines the factors of the established television viewing motives, the factors of hedonic and eudaimonic emotional gratification in an entertainment experience and introduces the motive of the ease of following storylines. The results of an online survey with 833 participants over the age of eighteen conducted in Croatia suggest that the motives of relaxation, fun (hedonic), habit, easier following of intricate storylines, escape, and thrill (hedonic) are prominent. Eudaimonic motives are less pronounced than hedonic ones, however, these clusters are positively related, which indicates the complexity of enjoyment in binge-watching entertainment.Binge-watching je popularan oblik medijske konzumacije, a zabava je jedan od izraženih pokretača te aktivnosti. Cilj je istraživanja predočenog u članku istražiti razloge binge-watchinga preispitivanjem etabliranih motiva gledanja televizije, produbljivanjem istraživanja motiva zabave te uvođenjem novoga mogućeg motiva: potrebe za narativnim razumijevanjem. Stoga istraživanje kombinira čimbenike već prije utvrđenih motiva gledanja televizije i čimbenike emocionalnog zadovoljenja hedonističkim i eudamonijskim elementima zabave te uvodi motiv lakšeg praćenja zamršenih linija priče. Rezultati internetskog istraživanja provedenog u Hrvatskoj na 833 sudionika starija od 18 godina pokazuju da su istaknuti motivi binge-watchinga: opuštanje, dobar provod (hedonistički), navika, laganije praćenje zapetljanih linija priče, bijeg i uzbuđenje (hedonistički). Eudamonijski motivi su slabije izraženi od hedonističkih, ali te su skupine motiva u pozitivnoj korelaciji, što upućuje na složenost uživanja u zabavi binge-watchinga

ReelFramer: Co-creating News Reels on Social Media with Generative AI

Short videos on social media are a prime way many young people find and consume content. News outlets would like to reach audiences through news reels, but currently struggle to translate traditional journalistic formats into the short, entertaining videos that match the style of the platform. There are many ways to frame a reel-style narrative around a news story, and selecting one is a challenge. Different news stories call for different framings, and require a different trade-off between entertainment and information. We present a system called ReelFramer that uses text and image generation to help journalists explore multiple narrative framings for a story, then generate scripts, character boards and storyboards they can edit and iterate on. A user study of five graduate students in journalism-related fields found the system greatly eased the burden of transforming a written story into a reel, and that exploring framings to find the right one was a rewarding process