Mass media and the web in the light of Luhmann’s media system

The aim of the article is to observe the contemporary media system in the light of Luhmann’s media system, namely a specific function system of society which has witnessed ever greater internal complexity vis-a-vis an environment marked by the spread of the web and social network sites. From the viewpoint of sociocybernetics, the question of increased complexity can be addressed through an ecological approach in order to analyse the distinction between the mass media and the web – in its specific 2.0 evolution, characterized by user-generated content and algorithms. This approach allows to observe the reciprocal relations by preserving the autonomy of the two spheres without resorting to explanations that have to do with hybridization or the blur of the boundaries. In this sense the article analyses Facebook – as an example of web 2.0 operational logic – as a social system distinct from that of the mass media, where the first substantial difference depends on the role played by individuals in reproducing communication and on the role of the algorithm. In this sense mass media and the web are treated on the basis of their relationship of structural coupling by observing how they irritate, or disturb, each other and at the same time maintain their autonomy

Networked amateur: performing arts and participatory culture in the continuum professionals-amateurs

The main goal of this contribution is to observe the relationship be- tween culture, communication and creativity as a complex phenomenon that requires us to follow the forms of co-evolution between a specific system of society—the art system—and the forms of communication. From the point of view of social system theory, and in particular that of Niklas Luhmann (2000), the art system is the place in which creativity is institutionalized and produces cultural forms such as communicable movements and artistic currents. Moreover the art sys- tem operates thanks to its specific institutions—art galleries, muse- ums, magazines, theatres, etc.—that is, through those social contexts that produce and circulate artistic communication. Nevertheless and inside the general theory of functional social dif- ferentiation it’s important to consider the relationship between the art system and its environment and the mutual irritability1 among the different functional systems of the society. The main systemic rela- tionship to observe, and the one that concerns us here, is between art and media. From its beginnings art has interacted with technology and has undertaken a continuous exchange with the media which has as- similated languages, aesthetics and logics. On this basis, the reflection on creativity and culture must take account of changes in communication. More precisely, we face a change of scenario and read it in a systemic and mediological key. From the systemic perspective we must observe the change of scenario from the point of view of social complexity; from the mediologic perspective, we must highlight the complexity of communication. In other words, the social complexity— which in our terms is the complexity of communication—is closely linked to the evolution of the media. That’s why the world-society (Luhmann 1997), which is the society formed by all possible communi- cations, emerges in a relation of homology with the context of global communication of the world-media (Boccia Artieri 2004). In this sense, the media should be considered as contexts of individual and collective experience and not “simple” tools for the transmission of information. This character of the media concerns the communication of the whole society and the way in which individuals participate in the communication and it is highlighted by the art system and the creative processes in the broadest sense. In fact, we will try to see how creativ- ity is a process that has spread culturally in relation to the evolution of the media and even more evidently with the digital culture. There are many contexts of the society in which it is possible to observe this trend. As mentioned above, however, art and creativity are the privi- leged places to observe this process and its steps. In the first section we will show how the evolution of the relationship between media— in its digital perspective—and society has changed individuals’ per- ception of their positioning in communication, even at the collective level as audience, public, consumers and citizens. This process created a suitable context for the emergence of a figure we call networked amateurs. This figure becomes central to the analysis of the system of art and creativity. The art system, as explained in the second section, evolved under the influence of the artistic avant-garde who conceived public participation as the goal of art. This principle is now being en- couraged by the language of the digital offering a spreadability of the artistic gesture in connection with the spread of the reality of the net- worked amateurs. A series of examples of projects and artistic works—both in visual art and in the field of theatre performance—in the third section show how the engagement of the spectator has be- come a central element in the creative process. But this type of crea- tive process remains internal to the art system, showing the self- 64 The Network Amateur reference and closing operation of the system. At the same time the artistic gesture, such as aesthetic widespread gesture, finds a way to express itself and be seen in the digital environment, in particular, as we explain in the fourth section, in the social network sites— especially those based on images, such as Instagram—and online worlds—such as Second Life

Viaggi possibili e paesaggi immaginati. Le frontiere mediali dell’esperienza turistica

Imagination, travel, communication, experience. The landscape as a media construction associated with the practice of travel. The essay explores the interactions and reciprocal influences in relation to society and its changes and helps to understand the evolution of the meanings we attach to travel and landscape.

Gradienti di liveness. Lo shaping socio-tecnico delle arti performative tra online e offline. Introduzione

The present article introduces the third issue of the journal entitled Gradients of liveness: socio-technical shaping of performing arts between online and offline. After situating the issue of liveness within the process of mediatization of society, and the challenges fuelled by the pandemic, we discuss the statute of the field of liveness studies. We then defend the necessity of an approach that understands liveness in terms of the “gradients” with which this phenomenon manifests itself. In the second part, the articles of the issue are presented, showing the multiple branches of the “liveness problem” through heterogeneous performative, technological and theoretical fields, thus highlighting the relevance of this theoretical tool in understanding how the sense of presence and connection is constructed in the context of mediatization. Il presente articolo introduce il terzo numero della rivista dal titolo Gradienti di liveness. Lo shaping socio-tecnico delle arti performative tra online e offline. Dopo aver inquadrato il tema della liveness all’interno del processo di mediatizzazione del sociale e delle sfide alimentate dalla pandemia, viene discusso lo statuto del campo di studi sulla liveness. Si difende quindi e la necessità di uno sguardo che intende la liveness nei termini di “gradienti” con cui tale fenomeno si manifesta. Nella seconda parte vengono presentati i contenuti del numero, i quali mostrano le molteplici diramazioni della questione liveness attraverso ambiti spettacolari, tecnologici e teorici eterogenei, evidenziando la rilevanza di questo strumento d’indagine nel comprendere la costruzione del senso della presenza e della connessione nel contesto della mediatizzazione.&nbsp

Understanding Engagement and Willingness to Speak Up in Social Television: A Full-Season, Cross-Genre Analysis of TV Audience Participation on Twitter

The widespread use of digital platforms has changed the way people watch television. Despite an abundance of empirical studies, full-season, cross-genre analyses of different TV formats are rare. Based on a data set of 1,383,414 tweets, this study aims to close this gap by comparing Twitter commentaries around the 2012–2013 seasons of the Italian edition of The X Factor and the political talk show Servizio Pubblico. For each episode, we identify peaks of Twitter engagement and analyze the corresponding TV scene, revealing the role played by suspense and surprise in catalyzing the engagement of online audiences. A content analysis of 12,640 tweets created during peaks of engagement reveals how willingness to speak up varies when the topic is politics rather than entertainment

Desecrating Celebrity. Italian Cases in Cinema, TV Series, Music and Social Media

The theme of “celebrity”, its cultural origins, its social meaning and media propagation, and its effects on the audience, has interested scholars of various disciplines for a long time. Just recently, however, an academic research area called “Celebrity Studies” has been established, with a consolidated tradition mostly in the Anglo-Saxon countries.The article discussed the Italian contribution to this extensive area of investigation started to appear in the second half of the last centur

L’artivismo. Forme, esperienze, pratiche e teorie. Introduzione

Introduzione al numero 2 della rivist

Design and characterization of textured surfaces for applications in the food industry

The aim of this work is to design, manufacture and characterize surface morphologies on AISI 316L stainless steel produced by a custom designed laser-texturing strategy. Surface textures were characterized in terms of areal parameters compliant with ISO 25178 and correlations between these parameters and processing parameters (e. g. laser energy dose provided to the material, repetition rate of the laser pulses and scanning velocity) were investigated. Preliminary efforts were devoted to the research of special requirements for surface morphology that, according to the commonly accepted research on the influence of surface roughness on cellular adhesion on surfaces, should discourage the formation of biofilm. The topographical characterization of the surfaces was performed with a Coherence Scanning Interferometer. This approach showed that increasing doses of energy provided to the surfaces increased the global level of roughness as well as the surface complexity. Moreover, the behavior of the parameters Spk, Svk indicates also that, due to the ablation process, an increase in the energy dose causes an average flattening of the hills and of the dales of the surface. The study of the density of peaks Spd showed that none of the surfaces analyzed here seems to perfectly match the conditions dictated by the theories on cellular adhesion to confer antibiofouling properties. However, this result seems to be mainly due to the limits in the resolving power of Coherence Scanning Interferometry, which does not allow to resolve sub-micrometric features expected to be crucial in the prevention of cellular attachment

Int. J. Mol. Sci.

To face the increasing demand for organ transplantation, currently the development of tissue engineering appears as the best opportunity to effectively regenerate functional tissues and organs. However, these approaches still face the lack of an efficient method to produce an efficient vascularization system. To answer these issues, the formation of an intra-volume channel within a three-dimensional, scaffold free, mature, and cell-covered collagen microfibre is here investigated through laser-induced cavitation. An intra-volume channel was formed upon irradiation with a near-infrared, femtosecond laser beam, focused with a high numerical aperture lens. The laser beam directly crossed the surface of a dense and living-cell bilayer and was focused behind the bilayer to induce channel formation in the hydrogel core while preserving the cell bilayer. Channel formation was assessed through confocal microscopy. Channel generation inside the hydrogel core was enhanced by the formation of voluminous cavitation bubbles with a lifetime longer than 30 s, which also improved intra-volume channel durability. Twenty-four hours after laser processing, cellular viability dropped due to a lack of sufficient hydration for processing longer than 10 min. However, the processing automation could drastically reduce the cellular mortality, this way enabling the formation of hollowed microfibres with a high density of living-cell outer bilayer