Exploring digital comics as an edutainment tool: An overview

This paper aims t oexplore the growing potential of digital comics and graphic novels as an edutainment tool.Initially, the evolvement of comics medium along with academic and commercial initiatives in designing comicware systems arebriefly discussed. Prominent to this study, the methods and impact of utilizing this visual media with embedded instructional content and student-generated comics in classroom setting are rationallyoutlined.By recognizing the emerging technologies available for supporting and accelerating educational comic development, this article addresses the diverse research challenges and opportunities of innovating effective strategies to enhance comics integrated learning across disciplines

Smart Humans... WannaDie?

It won't be long until our prostheses, ECG personal monitors, subcutaneous insulin infusors, glasses, etc. become devices of the Internet of Things (IoT), always connected for monitoring, maintenance, charging and tracking. This will be the dawn of the Smart Human, not just a user of the IoT but a Thing in the Internet. How long would it then take for hackers to attack us like they have been attacking IoT devices? What would happen if hackers were able to blackmail us threatening our IoT body parts? Smart Humans may become victims of the devastating attack of WannaDie, a new ransomware that could provide the plot-line for a possible future episode of the Black Mirror TV series.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Accepted at the "Re-Coding Black Mirror" workshop of the International Conference Data Protection and Democracy (CPDP

Influence of Comics Characters as Pedagogical Agents in a Multimedia Learning Environment of Calculus for Thai Students

Die Arbeit soll den Einfluss von Pädagogischen Agenten in Form von Manga-Comicfiguren auf den Lernprozess bei der Vermittlung von Algebra/Funktionen („calculus“) untersuchen. Dazu werden zunächst theoretische Grundlagen zu den Themen „Pädagogische Agenten“, multimediales Lernen, Lernmotivation und Instruktionsdesign dargestellt und Hypothesen für die empirischen Studien aufgestellt. In einer ersten Studie (Vorstudie) wurden die Präferenzen von Studierenden für bestimmte Merkmale von Manga-Comicfiguren als Pädagogische Agenten erfragt („niedlich“ vs. „reputierlich“ bzgl. Des Aussehens und mit „ruhiger“ vs. „lustiger“ Stimme). Die verwendete Figur ist in Asien sehr populär. In Studie 2 wurden Lerneffekte und Präferenzen „pro“ order „contra“ die beiden Versionen der Manga-Pädagogischen Agenten erfasst und mittels t-Test verglichen. Wie schon in der Dissertation von Domagk (2008) zeigten sich keine Lerneffekte. Da bei Domagk einige Ergebnesse den Einfluss der Stimme des Pädagogischen Agenten nahe legten, wurden in einer dritten Studie die beiden Figurtypen („Newton“ und „Conan“) mit Jeweils „Ruhiger“ und „lustiger“ Stimme kombiniert und die vier Bedingungen mittels ANOVA verglichen; zur Berücksichtigung der Präferenzen wurde eine MANOVA gerechnet. In einer vierten Studie wurde der Einfluss der bevorzugten Mangafigur mit einem menschlichen Video-Agenten verglichen. Hier zeigten sich Unterschiede derart, dass die Studenten mit den Manga-Figuren etwas bessere Lernergebnisse aufwiesen, inbesondere schwächere Studenten (mit geringerem Vorwissen) schienen von der bevorzugten Mangafigur leicht zu profitieren. Die Arbeit bestätigt insgesamt die Ergebnisse von Domagk: Die Verwendung von Pädagogischen Agenten hat generell keine durchschlagenden Ergebnisse für den Lernerfolg, offensichtlich wird das Lernen aber auch nicht behindert. Der Einsatz von Pädagogischen Agenten in Form von Comicfiguren verspricht bestenfalls unter bestimmten Bedingungen (Studienanfänger) leichte Vorteile, denen der finanzielle Aufwand bei der Entwicklung der Figuren gegenüber steht.The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of Japanese comics characters (manga) as pedagogical agents and the effect of prior knowledge on students’ learning and perception in calculus multimedia. Initially, 56 undergraduate calculus students were asked for their preferences, with 84% of them preferring to have animated manga agents integrated. These students then studied calculus multimedia with and without manga. The results were compared by “Student's t-test”. It was revealed that the use of manga did not enhance knowledge, despite their use being rated by the students as satisfying. Secondly, two manga character types (“cute” and “prestigious”), and two narration voice styles (“calm” and “amused”) were investigated. 89 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to classes in one of the four conditions. The results were analysed by ANOVA, it showed no effects of manga characteristics and voice style on learning, while prefer-ences were analysed by MANOVA, which indicated (significance as hypothesized) that the amused voice style was prominent. The combined factors of cute with an amused voice, and prestigious with a calm voice, were the most distinguished. Finally, a cute manga agent was compared with a human video agent. The results from 121 students were analysed by ANOVA, showing that they learned better when using the comics character. Overall, the students with more prior educational knowledge learned better regardless of the agent type

The Atomic Bomb: Reflections in Japanese Manga and Anime, 2012

This study examines post-World War II anime and manga based on the bombs after-effects and changes in Japanese mindsets resulting from the War, especially as inspired by Osamu Tezuka and later artists influenced by his works. This study theorized that Japanese political culture elements, through particular plotlines, could be traced in manga and anime themes carrying hidden messages repeatedly referencing the bombs effects on Japan, citing Tezukas influence, in the 1945-65 and 1985-95 periods, in the post-apocalyptic, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Case studies were used to qualitatively assess data for historical evidence of Tezukas influence across specific genres, from scholarly studies and reviews of manga, comics, and related media. Evidence of Tezuka-inspired themes, such as hope out of endless devastation (the phoenix analogy) and mans destructive obsession with technology by conquering nature (dependent variables), were analyzed from a comparativist, historical viewpoint, as influenced by atomic bomb-related themes. The researcher explains the Japanese fascination with technology and why many anime show status quo disagreements. Japan absorbed trauma from the bomb, was invaded by foreigners, and faced a complete overhaul. Post-war, the economy grew rapidly, but Japan must reduce rigidity and social conformity. The Japanese are aware of the US role in their dual defense arrangement; Japan felt discomfort as a junior-partner in the 1950s-60s. The US monitored Japan on defense and foreign policy as it rebuilt itself. Tezukas work show insight into the defense arrangement and technologys societal role. Conclusions suggest manga artists drew from Tezukas works that the bombs devastation changed Japan significantly, launching powerful themes referencing these events in postwar science fiction, fantasy, and futuristic post-apocalyptic genres, relating to Japanese history, political components from ethical technology perspectives, relations between nations, and conducting foreign policy (independent variables). Japan must look to the future, as after the war, rising from the ashes. Balancing Mother Nature, technologys place in society, and hope for rebuilding relate to the 2011 nuclear crisis and survival. Japan prevailed once before, recovering from a disastrous early 1900s earthquake; if Japan once survived devastation, certainly it could again. Just as manga and anime unite fans globally (especially once US Comics Code restrictions were lifted), mankind assists others in crisis and settles disagreements; we can universally transcend nation. Tezukas message of bettering humanity to avoid a dark future depends on our ability to settle differences, respecting nature for its simple beauty in our lives

Exploring the Design Space of Extra-Linguistic Expression for Robots

In this paper, we explore the new design space of extra-linguistic cues inspired by graphical tropes used in graphic novels and animation to enhance the expressiveness of social robots. To achieve this, we identified a set of cues that can be used to generate expressions, including smoke/steam/fog, water droplets, and bubbles. We prototyped devices that can generate these fluid expressions for a robot and conducted design sessions where eight designers explored the use and utility of the cues in conveying the robot's internal states in various design scenarios. Our analysis of the 22 designs, the associated design justifications, and the interviews with designers revealed patterns in how each cue was used, how they were combined with nonverbal cues, and where the participants drew their inspiration from. These findings informed the design of an integrated module called EmoPack, which can be used to augment the expressive capabilities of any robot platform

Fall 2017

Changing with the Times; A Triple Win; A Ticket to Sundance; Sports Stats; Technology for Tomorrow; City Lights; Combination Artis

Robotics in Germany and Japan

This book comprehends an intercultural and interdisciplinary framework including current research fields like Roboethics, Hermeneutics of Technologies, Technology Assessment, Robotics in Japanese Popular Culture and Music Robots. Contributions on cultural interrelations, technical visions and essays are rounding out the content of this book

“It’s not just old jokes that get recycled.”:science communication and entertainment in the cartoon Introduction to climate change

Abstract. Educational and informational comics have many advantages to other learning tools, especially traditional textbooks, and not the least of them is making learning engaging and enjoyable. For this reason, the objective of this research is to discover which are the specific ways in which science comics communicate scientific facts and theories and entertain their readers. The following questions are answered: 1) How is science content presented in and adapted into comic form? 2) How has the comic book The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change been designed to make learning and reading entertaining? More specifically, what are the ways through which the comic entertains the reader? To answer these research questions, a triangulation of methods and data was used. The methods used in this research are content analysis and multimodal analysis, and they will be used to examine the multimodality of the science comic book The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change. Moreover, the study contains an ethnographic and autoethnographic approach: an interview with a science comic creator was conducted and the answers are used to consolidate the findings from the analysis of The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change; also, the writer’s own knowledge of comics as an avid comic reader and creator is employed. Furthermore, the results of the interview and analysis were compared to previous research on science comics, science communication, autonomous learning, and entertainment. The results indicate that in her working process, the science comic creator’s approach to science communication concurs with modern approaches to autonomous learning and science communication. Similarities between the interview results and the analysis of The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change were identified. In The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change, both the individual modes (visual and verbal) and the interplay of modes provide plenty of opportunities to make learning enjoyable and gratifying and to adapt science content into the comic form. The elements of the comic book in question (speech bubbles, drawings, and textboxes), narration, characters, and the fundamental ability of comics to both visually show and verbally tell about events, processes, phenomena, and abstract concepts that are outside the reader’s reach are used to communicate and teach science effectively. Moreover, the target audience of The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change has been taken carefully into account. These matters make the learning experience different from learning from other educational tools, allegedly benefitting many students.Tiivistelmä. Sarjakuvat ovat monin tavoin hyödyllisempiä opetusvälineitä verrattuna muihin välineisiin, erityisesti perinteisiin tekstipainotteisiin oppikirjoihin, ja etenkin kun oppimisesta halutaan tehdä mukaansatempaavaa ja nautittavaa. Näistä syistä tutkin tässä pro gradussa tiedesarjakuvien keinoja opettaa ja viihdyttää lukijaansa. Pyrin vastaamaan seuraaviin kysymyksiin: 1) Miten tiedesisältö on esitetty The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change -sarjakuvassa ja miten se on sovitettu sarjakuvamuotoon? 2) Miten sarjakuvan on tarkoitus tehdä lukemisesta ja oppimisesta viihdyttävää? Millä keinoin sarjakuva pyrkii viihdyttämään lukijaansa? Lähestyn tutkimuskysymyksiä useasta lähtökohdasta. Käytän tutkimusmetodeina sisällönanalyysia ja multimodaalista analyysia tarkastellessani multimodaalisuutta The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change -sarjakuvassa. Lisäksi tutkimukseen liittyvät etnografinen ja autoetnografinen menettelytapa: vahvistan analyysin päätelmiä tiedesarjakuvien tekijän haastattelun avulla ja käyttämällä omaa kokemuksen kautta kertynyttä sarjakuvatietouttani. Vertaan tuloksia myös tiedesarjakuvista, tiedeviestinnästä, itsenäisestä oppimisesta sekä viihteestä aiemmin tehtyihin tutkimuksiin. Haastattelun tulokset viittaavat siihen, että tiedesarjakuvien tekijän lähestymistavat tiedesarjakuvien tekemiseen ovat yhteneväisiä modernien tiedeviestinnän ja itsenäisen oppimisen teorioiden kanssa. The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change -sarjakuvassa on hyödynnetty sekä yksittäisten moodien (sanallinen ja kuvallinen) ilmaisuvoimaa erikseen että niiden yhdistelmää sarjakuvana, jotta oppimisesta tulisi viihdyttävää ja tyydyttävää; lisäksi tiedesisältöä voidaan moodien avulla muuntaa sarjakuvamuotoon monin eri tavoin. Tiedeviestinnässä ja tiedesisällön opettamisessa hyödynnetään sarjakuvan elementtejä (puhekuplat, piirrokset ja tekstilaatikot), kerrontaa, hahmoja sekä sarjakuville ominaista kykyä näyttää lukijan kokemusmaailman ulkopuolisia tapahtumia, prosesseja, ilmiöitä sekä abstrakteja käsitteitä visuaalisesti sekä kertoa niistä sanallisesti. Kohdeyleisö on myös otettu tarkasti huomioon sarjakuvan suunnittelussa. Näiden tekijöiden avulla oppimiskokemuksesta saadaan erilainen kuin muunlaisista oppimateriaaleista opiskellessa, mikä hyödyttää monia opiskelijoita

"All The World's A Stage": Takarazuka Revue And Its Theatralisation Of Culture(S)

Founded in 1913 by Kobayashi Ichizō, one of the most significant entrepreneurs in prewar Japan, Takarazuka Revue proved itself along its centennial existence both a faithful mirror of and an influential model for the Japanese society. Simultaneously conservative in its gender representation and progressive in its performance practice, a contradictory symbol of the Japanese modernity and Japan's leading figure in entertainment industry, emerged from the syncretic, cross-gender tradition of the centuries-old classical Japanese stage arts and challenging that very tradition through the creative employment of Western music and dramatic plots, Takarazuka Revue reconstructs in a specific way asymmetric interactions between identity and alterity, model and copy, history and geography, obtrusively displayed in sparkling tunes, fairy-tale-like sceneries and gorgeous costumes. While taking into account the multiple layers in Takarazuka Revue's administration and self-orchestration such as performance politics, the economical supervision of brand-related consumption, the socio-cultural management of actresses and fandom (fans and fan communities) as well as the performances itself, this paper focuses on some of Takarazuka Revue's strategies to construct cultures—indigenous as well as alien—by means of theatrical reproduction. Especially the last 20 years—since the opening of the Grand Theater in Takarazuka in 1993—marked an unexpected tendency in Takarazuka Revue's public appearance, visible, on one hand, in the increasing lavishness of its performances and the intensified commercialisation of the increasingly androgynous otokoyaku figures, and on the other hand, in the highlighting of individuals, societies and empires as key entities in structuring the dramaturgic flow. This paper's aim is, thus, to analyse Takarazuka Revue's position as cultural institution within the Japanese late modernity, possibly carrying deep-going and wide-reaching messages of a new identity paradigm based of "love" in its body as a local mass medium