A NEW CIVICS IN THE DIGITAL AGE: CONNECTING ONLINE AND OFFLINE ACTIVISM IN LITHUANIA

Political participation is critical for the legitimacy of democracy, yet the majority of Lithuanians refrain from participating 20 years after the restoration of independence. Low rates of participation have been reinforced by adverse mass beliefs, including deep-rooted mistrust and political powerlessness. Given that the development of civic culture in a democratic Lithuania is occurring simultaneously with the spread of new information and communication technologies, Lithuania serves as an interesting case study of the potential of online spaces for facilitating participation. Empirical knowledge regarding the relationships between online engagement, civic attitudes, and offline activism would strengthen campaigns to promote democracy through digital literacy. This study explored Lithuanian young adults\u27 grassroots participation, within the political and cultural contexts of society. It used a cross-sectional design to survey 580 18- to 30-year-olds from five Lithuanian universities in 2012, through a web-based questionnaire. The purpose of the study was to examine the types of Internet engagement and the civic values that contribute to offline participation in organizations, local community activities, and political discourse among self-selected Lithuanian students. Results indicated three primary factors of Internet engagement: social networking, information exchange, and political expression. Family socio-economic status measures were positively associated with more frequent Internet engagement, as were positive perceptions of government responsiveness and higher confidence in public institutions. Internet engagement dimensions were positively associated with only some civic attitudes. These findings have important implications for reaching out to disengaged and disaffected youth. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, using background characteristics, structural features, Internet engagement dimensions, and civic attitudes as predictors, explained 20% of the variance in the sample\u27s organizational participation, 41% of the variance in community action, and 45% of the variance in political discourse. Internet engagement variables displayed powerful relationships with rates of offline activism above and beyond background characteristics and structural features. Results point to the many layers of social and psychological experiences that affect civic development in a cultural context, with individuals as active agents in creating their own environments. The study supports an alternative conception of citizenship based on networking, information exchange, and individual expression online, which may contribute to political efficacy and catalyze broader civic reform. The findings may inform programs that aim to promote civil and political rights in young democracies such as Lithuania

Psyche as a Playable Construct in Video Games

The aim of this master’s thesis called Psyche as a Playable Construct in Video Games is to explore how the human mind is reflected in video games and how thus the psyche becomes a playable environment. This study also analyzes whether video games as a medium can promote self-reflection and empathy by portraying the psyche and developing narratives around this theme. These set objectives are achieved by performing medium-specific multimodal discourse analysis of three case studies, as well as comparative game analysis. The purpose is to discover how the psyche nowadays becomes an accessible, interactive, and embodied virtual environment through various modern modes of expression. In addition to the topic of the psyche as a game setting the research also looks at the reflection of the psyche in the theories of psychoanalysts, the principles of creating playable virtual spaces and mental landscapes, and the unique manner of video games in representing phenomena. This thesis includes a review of relevant scholarship into game studies, psychoanalysis and multimodal discourse, as well as an examination of three video games of different scales and genres, all of which render the human psyche psyche a playable construct: Nevermind (2015), When the Darkness comes (2019) and Psychonauts 2 (2021). By showing distinctive approaches to representing the psyche and interaction with it, this research highlights the enormous potential of video games to offer their users experiences that cannot be delivered through any other channel. As well, my thesis demonstrates how game design reflects scientific discoveries about the psyche to the present day: as independent but influenceable; chaotic and multi-layered but deterministic. It also proposes future research suggestions in this context on how likely are games set in the human mind to promote compassion, empathy, and self-analysis in a wide audience.Master's Thesis in Digital CultureDIKULT350MAHF-DIKU