Haptic Transit: Tactile feedback to notify public transport users

To attract people to use public transport, efficient transit information systems providing accurate, real-time, easy-tounderstand information must be provided to users. In this paper we introduce HapticTransit, a tactile feedback based alert/notification model of a system, which provides spatial information to the public transport user. The model uses real-time bus location with other spatial information to provide feedback about the user as their journey is in progress. The system allows users make better use of „in-bus‟ time. It allows the user be involved with other activities and not be anxious about the arrival at their destination bus stop. Our survey shows a majority of users have missed a bus stop/station whilst undertaking a transit journey in an unfamiliar location. The information provided by our system can be of great advantage to certain user groups. The vibration alarm is used to provide tactile feedback. Visual feedback, in the form of colour coded buttons and textual description, is also provided. This model forms the basis for further research for developing information systems for public transport users with special needs – deaf, visually impaired and those with poor spatial abilities

Multi-Platform Film-Viewing: Taipei Audiences and Generational Variation

Thanks to the evolution of modern audiovisual technology, film audiences nowadays can enjoy the flexibility of watching movies at venues ranging from multiplex theatres to living rooms and bedrooms at home through various film-viewing platforms from broadcast television, cable movie channels, VCR, VCD, and DVD to internet downloading. With the increased amount of transnational audiovisual products imported over the years, Taiwanese audiences can also consume different types of films from different places in these ways. This thesis focuses on the relationship between different generations of film audiences and their 'film-viewing' practices via various viewing platforms, attempting to reveal the social, cultural and economic significance of their everyday practices, and frame them in the structure of the local film industry and the increasingly transnational local cinema culture. The project employs various qualitative research techniques to collect Taipei film audiences' own accounts of their quotidian film-viewing practices through currently available viewing platforms. This multi-platform approach to contemporary film audiences in today's digital-rich media environment contributes to this understudied field of film audience research. Furthermore, the empirical data on the 'film-viewing' practices of five age groups yields an understanding of the complicated interrelationships among film audiences, film texts and viewing platforms. On this basis, it is argued that the conventional 'audience-film' relationship studied in audience research should be reframed as the study of the 'audience-film-viewing platform' relationship

Attachment Theory as a Framework to Understand Relationships with Social Chatbots: A Case Study of Replika

With increasing adoption of AI social chatbots, especially during the pandemic-related lockdowns, when people lack social companionship, there emerges a need for in-depth understanding and theorizing of relationship formation with digital conversational agents. Following the grounded theory approach, we analyzed in-depth interview transcripts obtained from 14 existing users of AI companion chatbot Replika. The emerging themes were interpreted through the lens of the attachment theory. Our results show that under conditions of distress and lack of human companionship, individuals can develop an attachment to social chatbots if they perceive the chatbots’ responses to offer emotional support, encouragement, and psychological security. These findings suggest that social chatbots can be used for mental health and therapeutic purposes but have the potential to cause addiction and harm real-life intimate relationships

A Culturally Aware Approach to Learning System Interface Design

This mixed methods research explored interface design strategies for users from different cultures and localized settings. Guided by the cultural-historical development theory and HCI research, four critical factors—navigation design, information organization, layout design, and visuals—were investigated in designing culturally relevant interfaces for Americans and Taiwanese. American and Taiwanese groups—both contained two sub-groups of 30 participants—were recruited for the quantitative phase. Each participant was exposed to only one interface with content composed in their native language. However, one sub-group in each ethnic group was exposed to a culturally relevant interface and another was exposed to an alien interface. MANOVA on overall performance in both American and Taiwanese groups were significant. Americans performed better using the American interface (Wilks’s Λ=.85, F= 5.15, p< .01). They had significantly shorter performance time in the American (M=775) than the Taiwanese (M=1003) interface (F=6.29, p<.05), but differences on performance accuracy were not significant (F=2.74, p=.103). Taiwanese performed better using the Taiwanese interface (Wilks’s Λ=.67, F=14.06, p< .01). They had shorter performance time in the Taiwanese (M=743) than the American (M=1353) interface (F=6.29, p<.05), and they also had higher performance accuracy on the Taiwanese (M=11.7) than the American (M=10.0) interface (F=7.94, p<.01). In addition, t-test on overall preference in both American and Taiwanese groups were significant. Americans preferred the American (M=58.5) over the Taiwanese (M=53.0) interface (t=2.11, p< .05). And Taiwanese preferred the Taiwanese (M=58.7) over the American (M=46.9) interface (t=3.48, p<.01). Qualitative interviews of six American and six Taiwanese participants revealed three themes: First, when searching, Taiwanese were explorative and relied on hierarchical relationships; while Americans relied on prior experiences and analytical categorizations. Second, both groups have higher affiliation with design features matching their preferences. Finally, matching design features with users’ expectations and needs promotes positive perceptions and enhances interface usability. Both quantitative and qualitative Results imply that user interface designers should consider cultural perspectives when designing interfaces for online learning systems. Further studies might consider the relative impacts of the navigation, information structure, layout, and visual design on a broad range of user differences might have on learning

Hong Kong cinema under "one country, two systems" : production, reception and policy

Since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the unprecedented ―one country, two systems (OCTS) policy has been put into practice. While this policy is usually considered from political, economic and legal perspectives, this study proposes a cultural studies approach to the understanding of this political formula through the examination of post-1997 Hong Kong cinema, particularly its production and reception in relation to the policies of both the central and local governments. Crossing and combining the disciplines of cultural studies and film studies, this dissertation has two primary aims: to understand this ―OCTS era as a peculiar cultural-historical conjuncture through the lens of Hong Kong cinema; and to explore the impact and influence of the OCTS policy on Hong Kong cinema as a social, economic and cultural institution. Embedding a textual analysis within contextual inquiry, this study will unravel the interplay between the reflection of the OCTS in the Hong Kong cinematic imaginary and its impact on the industrial operation, commercial performance, and critical response to post-1997 Hong Kong cinema. This thesis will address the production and reception of post-1997 Hong Kong cinema, and its significance for the analytical understanding of the OCTS policy through a number of perspectives. First, in its newly-claimed PRC market, Hong Kong cinema tends to be censored or self-censored. The resulting ―one movie, two versions phenomenon illustrates how Hong Kong and the PRC collaborate economically on the basis of ―one country while, at the same time, they diverge politically under the ―two systems. Second, the prominent presence of Mainland actresses in the thriving film co-productions is an indication of the changing dynamics in the Hong Kong-PRC relationship as a result of China’s economic takeoff. However, in an effort to retain a xv distinct local identity, some Hong Kong filmmakers are deliberately ignoring the lucrative PRC market in order to keep Hong Kong cinema unchanged. These ―not for the PRC‖ films are instrumental in monitoring the fulfillment of the ―no change in Hong Kong for fifty years promise made by the OCTS arrangement. Furthermore, either through the cinematic portrayals of Macao and Taiwan, or through the industrial linkages to Singapore and Malaysia, Hong Kong cinema has demonstrated a variety of ―Chineseness-es outside the PRC. The unshakable connections between Hong Kong cinema and Chinese diasporas have posed a serious challenge to the notion of equating ―China to the PRC as defined in the OCTS policy. Finally, the economic integration of Greater China has brought about the emergence of a pan-Chinese cinema mainly based on the Hong Kong martial arts genre. Taking advantage of their common history, cultural heritage and anti-imperialist Chinese nationalism, these pan-Chinese martial arts films have made a significant contribution to an imaginary ―unified cultural China, although the ultimate goal of the OCTS policy— the grand political reunification under the rule of the PRC — is still a dream yet to be fulfilled. By addressing the complexity of the PRC’s ―split reunification‖ with Hong Kong under the OCTS, this study challenges the simple dichotomy of ―PRC socialism vs. Hong Kong capitalism, probing overlapping concepts of ―China— the PRC, the Greater China or the imagined cultural China. Finally, it makes a broader contribution to research on ―national‖ cinemas in the context of dynamic geo-political and socio-cultural change within regions and across the globe

The Film Industry in Taiwan: A Political Economy Perspective

Abstract The main purpose of this thesis is to critically analyse the film industry in Taiwan from a political economy perspective and to compare Taiwan’s film industry with that of Hong Kong. The thesis will examine the development of the film industries in Taiwan and Hong Kong in the 1990s and analyse the decline of these film industries. The study takes into account how the governments’ policies have been framed and examines the interaction between the governments and the industries in the 1990s. This thesis will start by expounding the approach of political economy and explain how it will be applied to the study of Taiwan’s film industry. The approach of political economy will provide a historical analysis of the film industry and review the industry’s development in terms of both political influence and economic factors. This approach will provide a more comprehensive study of these film industries. The framework assumes that the development of the film industry in Taiwan has been influenced by government policy and especially government subsidies and that this policy has directed the industry. A film in Taiwan is regarded as an art form, perhaps with a diplomatic purpose, rather than as a commercial cultural product. A film in Hong Kong is mainly made for the commercial market with the purpose of entertaining audiences. The distinction between Taiwanese cinema and Hong Kong cinema provides a diverse view of the Chinese-language film market. After examining the development of the film industry in Taiwan and Hong Kong from a political economy perspective a new image for the Chinese- language film sphere will be discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of the film industry in two places will be summarised and used to provide some suggestions for the future development of “New Chinese Cinema” in the twenty-first century

Travelling for Becoming a ‘Normal’ Gay Man: Liminality, Sexual fields, and Gay Taiwanese Men’s Sex Tourism to Bangkok

This thesis investigates gay Taiwanese men’s engagements in sex tourism in Bangkok. It bases on an one-year fieldwork conducted in Taiwan and Bangkok, involving an ethnography and follow-up interviews. I played multiple roles– researcher, peer, tour guide and a sexualised subject in the research process. The combination of methods and my different identities offers an intervention into methodological debates concerned with challenging the possibility of ‘the singular truth’ in research and the appropriateness of a researcher’s ‘sexual participation’. Thus, this has elicited an alternative rationale and praxis for studying sexual practices. Through the theoretical lens of liminality sexual fields, this thesis argues that gay Taiwanese men intensively engage in different sexual practices in Bangkok not simply because they are switching to the ‘Bangkok mode’, a particular hypersexual state generated by the specific liminal time-space of traveling to this city. Also, their engagements in these sexual practices are due to their understanding of Bangkok as either an advantageous or democratic sexual field that enhances their sexual desirability. Thus, travelling to Bangkok becomes a synonym of having more opportunities of socio-sexual interactions with other gay men. As fieldwork for this research shows, gay Taiwanese men engage in socio-sexual interactions for more than just sex, but also for accruing sexual capital in its multiple forms. This thesis argues that these gay men accrue sexual capital in order to enhance their (images of) sexual desirability and hence becoming a ‘normal’ gay man. The thesis concludes that Taiwanese gay men undertake sex tourism to escape from, submit to, and as a form of re-negotiation with the normalisations relating to sexual morality and sexual desirability of gay men in Taiwan

Alleviating Academic Stress Among 18-19-year-old Older Adolescents Through The Use Of Natural Elements In Indoor Spaces

Mental stress is particularly prevalent among adolescents between the ages of 13-19, and long-term stress can lead to more serious problems such as anxiety and depression. The link between nature and adolescent health has long been a subject of interest. This research study is an exploration related to the theme “mental health protection,” exploring how a design intervention could inject natural elements into the interior spaces where stressful adolescents spend their time. This research paper reviews previous literature regarding mental health and adolescents, expounds on the causes and effects of adolescents’ stress, how adolescents are exposed to the natural environment, and multiple correlations between natural factors and adolescents’ psychological well-being. Based on student feedback, this study proposes a strategy for a prototype design that makes use of gutta-percha, a kind of bio-material from Eucommia Ulmoides. In order to verify the reliability of the design, alternative yet similar structural material was used for assembly and testing. The result of my testing was positive. In addition, I was able to define a research gap that separates this work from previous scholarship. Through my work, I also proposed a speculative prospect of integrating plant-human interaction and biofeedback through plant bionics responses to stress