Baby Mama – Baby Daddy Drama An Ethnography of Communication on Black Co-parenting Talk on YouTube

As co-parenting research continues to emerge, it is important that we include the experiences of Black families in the literature. This project attempts to explore co-parenting talk among Black mothers and fathers on YouTube through Ethnography of Communication (EOC). This EOC analyzed the genres, topics, purposes, settings, keys, participants, message form and content , and act sequences of 100 YouTube videos. From this analysis, a list of recommendations for optimal co-parenting were presented as well as four co-parenting communication roles; Aggressor, Cooperator, Supervisor, and Shifter. This project concludes with a discussion on some of the key observations made during the EOC, and how research on co-parenting communication through a cultural lens, could benefit families directly

Analysis of over 1,600 chemistry YouTube channels from 2005 to 2023

Chemistry – “the central science” – has found broad appeal on the freely available global video-sharing platform YouTube. Given that YouTube is now almost universally accessible and may be the first place people look to engage with science topics, and that chemistry YouTube videos are now even being cited in the peer-reviewed literature, it is important to know what sort of chemistry YouTube content is available, who is producing it, and who the target audiences are. By applying both manual and semi-automated search methods, we identified and analysed publicly available data for 1,619 chemistry YouTube channels that were available in 2023. We found that (1) the majority of chemistry YouTube channels (84%) were being produced by independent content creators with no clear affiliation to institutions, corporations, or any other body; (2) the background of the majority of chemistry channel creators was not readily apparent (57%); (3) that the majority of videos were aimed at students (71%); (4) that the majority of videos (71%) were focused on chemistry theory or exam revision. The USA, India, and the UK were the top three countries for producing English-language chemistry YouTube content (19%, 11%, and 5% respectively). 51% of chemistry YouTube channels had not posted a video in the 12 months prior to the sampling period in 2023. We also examined the number of videos produced, channel lifespans, the use of features such as playlists and short-form videos, apparent revenue streams (outside of default advertising), the use of other social media, and whether or not channels were exclusively producing chemistry content. We note that chemistry YouTube video production massively increased in 2020, concurrent with the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic. This study and its associated dataset provide the first large-scale ‘census’ of how YouTube is being used for chemistry communication and education worldwide. We expect our findings to be of interest and use to policy makers, funding agencies, educators, content creators, and the public

Video-Interaction on YouTube: contemporary changes in semiosis and communication

La tesi ha per oggetto la \u2018video-interazione\u2019, ossia una nuova forma di comunicazione che ha luogo sul sito YouTube grazie all\u2019introduzione \u2013 nel maggio 2006 \u2013 dell\u2019opzione di \u2018video risposta\u2019, tramite la quale un video pu\uf2 fungere da risposta ad un altro video. Questa funzionalit\ue0 consente agli interagenti di costruire scambi comunicativi attraverso dei video. Il suo impiego genera intere catene comunicative, costituite appunto da video che rispondono l\u2019un l\u2019altro. In considerazione dell\u2019assenza di studi su questo nuovo tipo di comunicazione, la ricerca mira a fornire una descrizione accurata della video-interazione, sia in termini di processi che di prodotti. Nello specifico, l\u2019analisi del processo si focalizza su (a) i tratti distintivi e le caratteristiche strutturali della video-interazione in quanto forma di comunicazione, (b) le \u2018affordances\u2019 semiotiche (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2001: 67), in termini di ci\uf2 che il mezzo consente o impedisce (e promuove o stigmatizza) sia a livello materiale (tecnologico) che di convenzioni sociali, e (c) le pratiche semiotiche diversificate (e spesso conflittuali) secondo cui le affordances vengono attualizzate dagli interagenti. D\u2019altra parte, l\u2019analisi dei testi della video-interazione s\u2019incentra su video-threads (filoni d\u2019interazione video), che prendono avvio dai video che hanno ricevuto il maggior numero di video risposte e esamina i patterns multimodali \u2013 in termini di regolarit\ue0 e di variazione \u2013 dei processi di segnificazione nella catena della semiosi, cio\ue8 le modalit\ue0 con cui le video risposte si relazionano al video iniziale e tra loro nel filone. Il capitolo teorico rivisita alcune delle pi\uf9 influenti teorie di comunicazione, quali i modelli comunicativi di codifica-decodifica (Shannon and Weaver, 1949) e quelli inferenziali (Grice, 1957, 1975; Sperber and Wilson, 1986), insieme alle nozioni di coerenza e coesione tradizionalmente utilizzate nell\u2019analisi testuale (Beaugrande and Dressler, 1981; Fairclough, 1992; Halliday and Hasan, 1976; van Dijk, 1985). Mediante un confronto con le pratiche semiotiche in uso nella video-interazione, il capitolo evidenzia le inadeguatezze di tali teorie per la descrizione della video-interazione, essenzialmente in ragione del fatto che, in quest\u2019ultima, la reciproca comprensione del significato intenzionale degli interagenti non \ue8 essenziale perch\ue9 scambi comunicativi di successo abbiano luogo. In considerazione di ci\uf2, viene presentato il quadro di riferimento adottato per l\u2019analisi, ovvero l\u2019analisi multimodale socio-semiotica (Hodge and Kress, 1988; Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996, 2006; Kress and van Leeuwen, 2001). All\u2019interno di tale quadro e sulla base della nozione socio-semiotica di \u2018interesse\u2019 (Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996, 2006: 13), lo studio introduce l\u2019euristico di \u2018relazione di prompt-response\u2019 dettata dall\u2019interesse del sign-maker (segnificatore). Tale euristico, derivato dall\u2019osservazione stessa delle pratiche di segnificazione nei filoni d\u2019interazione video, viene adottato come strumento analitico e descrittivo sia del processo che dei testi della video-interazione. Il capitolo metodologico discute delle problematiche della raccolta di dati online, in termini di rappresentativit\ue0 del corpus e di significativit\ue0, riproducibilit\ue0 e verificabilit\ue0 dei risultati, e illustra il criterio di popolarit\ue0 che \u2013 per ovviare a tali problematiche \u2013 ha guidato la selezione dei dati. Una riesamina dei metodi di trascrizione esistenti ne evidenzia l\u2019inutilizzabilit\ue0 per gli scopi del presente lavoro e motiva la trascrizione ad hoc formulata per i testi del corpus. Successivamente il capitolo illustra la metodologia d\u2019analisi, che ha coinvolto in maniera ciclica ogni stadio della ricerca, dalla selezione dei dati, alla loro trascrizione, allo studio pilota e alla conseguente messa a punto del quadro teorico di riferimento e degli strumenti analitici. L\u2019analisi segue un processo ad \u2018imbuto\u2019, che, dall\u2019identificazione di regolarit\ue0 e \u2018eccezioni\u2019 ai livelli pi\uf9 generali, si focalizza su livelli d\u2019analisi sempre pi\uf9 dettagliati. L\u2019analisi integra metodi di tipo quantitativo e qualitativo con l\u2019interpretazione testuale incentrata sui significanti (sulle risorse semiotiche presenti nei testi piuttosto che sui significati). Il capitolo discute, infine, la posizione etica alla base della scelta di una metodologia di osservazione nascosta delle pratiche in atto sul sito, senza la previa richiesta di consenso ai partecipanti. Tale scelta \ue8 motivata dall\u2019esplicito status pubblico del sito (e dal criterio di popolarit\ue0 che ha guidato la selezione dei dati) e dalla volont\ue0 di evitare atteggiamenti paternalistici nei confronti degli autori dei video, considerati qui come veri e propri film-makers. Tale presa di posizione apporta nuovi contributi all\u2019acceso dibattito attualmente in corso sull\u2019etica della ricerca online.This thesis investigates the interaction by means of videos on YouTube Website. Video-interaction is a new form of communication which has been taking place on YouTube since May 2006 thanks to the introduction of the \u2018video response\u2019 option. The functionality enables (You)Tubers to reply to any given video by means of another video; hence whole communication threads are built composed of videos interacting one with another. Given that so far no study has investigated this new type of communication, the general aim of the research is to provide a thorough description of video-interaction, in terms of both its process and products. Specifically, the analysis of the process of video-interaction focuses on (a) its distinctive features and structural characteristics, (b) its semiotic \u2018affordances\u2019 (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2001: 67), in terms of the material and social constraints and possibilities which the medium imposes over the semiosis, and (c) the diversified (and often conflicting) semiotic practices with which the affordances are actualized by the interactants. The analysis of the texts of video-interaction focuses on video-threads which start from some of the most responded videos on the Website and investigates the multimodal patterns of regularities and variations of sign-making in the chain of semiosis, that is to say, how videos establish relatedness in the thread while differentiating themselves. The theoretical chapter reviews some of the most influential theories of communication, namely the coding-decoding and inferential models of communication (Grice, 1957, 1975; Shannon and Weaver, 1949; Sperber and Wilson, 1986), together with the notions of coherence and cohesion traditionally used in text analysis (Beaugrande and Dressler, 1981; Fairclough, 1992; Halliday and Hasan, 1976; van Dijk, 1985). Furthermore, it confronts these models and notions with the practices of video-interaction; finally, it discusses the inadequacies of these theories for the description of video-interaction, crucially because, in video-interaction, the interlocutors\u2019 mutual understanding of their intended meaning is not essential for communication to succeed. On these grounds the framework adopted for the analysis is introduced, i.e., social semiotics multimodal analysis (Hodge and Kress, 1988; Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996, 2006; Kress and van Leeuwen, 2001). Within this framework and on the basis of the social-semiotic category of \u2018interest\u2019 (Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996, 2006: 13), the heuristic notion of an \u2018interest-driven prompt-response relation\u2019 is devised as an analytic tool used for the description of both the process and the texts of video-interaction. The methodological chapter discusses the issues of representativeness, significance, reproducibility and verifiability implied in collecting a corpus of online data. It illustrates the criterion of popularity which has driven the selection of the data in order to overcome the aforesaid hardly solvable issues. A review of the current practices of transcription highlights their inaptness for the purposes of the present research and motivates the ad hoc transcription devised for the threads. Then the chapter illustrates the analytical methodology, which, in a cyclic process, has involved all stages of the research, from the selection of the data and their transcription, to the pilot study and up to the consequent refinement of the theoretical framework and of its analytic tools. The analysis follows a funnel process; indeed, from the regularities and variations detected at more general levels, it zooms in to more fine-grained levels of analysis. The analysis combines quantitative and qualitative methods with a textual interpretation focused on signifiers (on the semiotic resources present in the texts, rather than on their signifieds). Finally, the chapter discusses the ethical stance which has grounded the choice of conducting a covert observation on the Website, with no prior consent asked to the participants. This choice is motivated by the manifest publicity of the Website (and by the criterion of popularity driving the data selection) and by the intention of avoiding any patronizing attitude towards the authors of the videos, considered here as film-makers. This standpoint adds to the debate currently ongoing on online research ethics

Taking Sides

Is there an option to oppose without automatically participating in the opposed? This volume explores different perspectives on dissent, understanding practices, cultures, and theories of resistance, dispute, and opposition as inherently participative. It discusses aspects of the body as a political instance, the identity and subjectivity building of individuals and groups, (micro-)practices of dissent, and theories of critique from different disciplinary perspectives. This collection thus touches upon contemporary issues, recent protests and movements, artistic subversion and dissent, online activism as well as historic developments and elemental theories of dissent

Diskurse – digital

The aim of this publication is to expand the program and methodological inventory of discourse linguistics in two ways: firstly, by systematizing the specific descriptive categories and analytical tools available for discourses in digital media (e.g., hashtags). Secondly, it seeks to evaluate and develop digital methods and the methods and tools of corpus linguistics to meet the requirements of discourse linguistics

Las audiencias como garante de la calidad de la información en los cibermedios

La Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y de la Comunicación a través del Departamento de Periodismo II viene organizando desde hace cinco años el Congreso Internacional de Ciberperiodismo y Web 2.0, un evento relacionado con el Periodismo e Internet, en general y con la Web 2.0, en particular. Un concepto éste, el de la Web 2.0, en el que el verdadero protagonismo recae en las audiencias. El público se está convirtiendo en el editor de información; es él el que define cómo quiere ver la información; y está constituyendo comunidades en este proceso. La Web 2.0 refuerza la idea del usuario como creador y no sólo como consumidor de medios. Aquellas personas que antes eran clientes de información se convierten paulatinamente en editores, y muchas de las aplicaciones asociadas con la web 2.0 pretenden ayudarles a organizar y publicar sus contenidos. El Congreso de este año, que se celebra los días 17 y 18 de noviembre en el Bizkaia Aretoa lleva por título "¿Son las audiencias indicadores de calidad?". La edición de este año del Congreso intentará responder acerca de cuáles son las estrategias de los medios de comunicación considerados de referencia, están adoptando ante el hecho de que las audiencias demanden más participación y, como consecuencia, estén cada vez más aceptando contenidos generados por los usuarios (User-Generated Content). Se explorarán características, herramientas, impacto y consecuencias para comprender, desde un punto de vista crítico, la naturaleza o el alcance de estos nuevos modelos. El objetivo es nuevamente reunir a especialistas en el área para analizar y debatir cuestiones centradas en la práctica del Ciberperiodismo actual a la luz de las nuevas realidades empresariales, profesionales y de formación. Los desafíos y los cambios provocados por la convergencia y la multitextualidad, por el también llamado “Periodismo ciudadano”, por las innovaciones tecnológicas y las experiencias emprendedoras en esta área serán temas a destacar. Se pretende, igualmente, que el congreso constituya un momento ideal para la actualización de conocimientos científicos sobre el Ciberperiodismo. Para ello, se cuenta con la presencia de académicos, tanto nacionales como extranjeros, que constituyen un referente en la investigación