Independent Television Commission Research Articles

Indicators of Scene Changes in Persian and English Audio Descriptions: A Comparative Study

This study investigated the audio description (AD) of scene changes indicators in English and Persian ADs to determine the degree to which they conform to ITC Guidance on Standards for Audio Description and their similarities and differences. The Persian ADs included Persian dubbed versions of Casablanca, On the Waterfront, Psycho, and Citizen Kane, audio described in Persian, and the Iranian film Sorkhpust. The English ADs consisted of Bruce Almighty, Seven, and Fury films. Twenty minutes of each film were randomly selected to be analyzed with respect to the ITC[1] (2000). ITC suggests that appropriate indicators must signal scene changes. The results showed that scene changes in both English and Persian ADs were at times signaled by appropriate indicators and were also ignored at times. In the English ADs, the percentage for signaling scene changes was 62.83%; the number was 53.33% in the Persian ADs. This difference was caused by a higher frequency of short, simple temporal, and spatial scene change indicators in the English ADs. Also, another possible reason that can account for the difference is the potential differences in the subjective interpretations of change of location, which can lead to different perceptions of scene changes and the differences in the percentages of using indicators. 
 
 [1] Independent Television Commission

A cross-platform application for the ecological and remote assessment of memory impairment in aging: ECO-MEMORY

AbstractThis work aims to present the first step of a creation of an instrument to assess memory deficits responding to the needs imposed by the inability to access clinical care, such as physical or geographical constraints or still limitations imposed during the pandemic era. The older population, who would benefit from these services, may be at risk as access to services that support psychological and neuropsychological needs, which are not considered essential, has frequently been restricted in recent years. Moreover, because deficits are commonly mistaken for the effects of physiological aging, the early signs of cognitive decline might be ignored. On these bases, we used the potential of 360-degree media to create an application for memory assessment without the physical presence of clinicians: ECO-MEMORY. Firstly, we developed the application and evaluated its usability. ECO-MEMORY is divided into four sections, each addressing a different memory task: recognizing objects and faces, learning a path, and creating an allocentric map. Thirteen older adults who used the tablet application provided usability data as well as qualitative feedback on their experience. After the performance, the System Usability Scale, the Senior Technology Acceptance Model, and the Independent Television Commission Sense of Presence were administered. We performed a qualitative analysis and descriptive statistics, which showed that ECO-MEMORY is a usable instrument. Also, it was enjoyable for users who generally accepted technology in their life. ECO-MEMORY may therefore offer a promising approach to memory evaluation by including real-world scenarios.

Exposure to an unpleasant odour increases the sense of Presence in virtual reality

While olfactory cues affect the everyday human experience in the physical world, few studies have empirically examined the effect they could have on the human experience in virtual reality (VR). This project's goal was to determine whether the exposure to olfactory stimuli would affect the senses of Presence (primary measure), Reality and Realism (exploratory measures) in VR. In a virtual kitchen devoid of obvious visual cues linking the visual scene to an odour, three groups of 20 randomly assigned participants (12 females and 8 males per group), unaware of the potential exposure to olfactory stimuli, were exposed to either ambient air, a pleasant odour, or an unpleasant odour. The results reveal that the unpleasant odour had a statistically significant effect on the sense of Presence (as measured by repeated brief measures of Presence and the Independent Television Commission Sense of Presence Inventory), but the pleasant one did not. The lower perceived intensity of the pleasant odour may have contributed to its lower detection rate which, in turn, may have contributed to the pleasant odour's lack of effect on the sense of Presence. Neither of the olfactory stimuli had an effect on either the sense of Reality or the sense of Realism.

Crocodile Tears? Authenticity in Televisual Pedagogy

Crocodile Tears? Authenticity in Televisual Pedagogy

“The Sickest Television Show Ever:” Paedogeddon and the British Press

This paper explores the controversy caused by Paedogeddon, a one-off special of the Channel 4 series Brass Eye broadcast on July 26, 2001. Although the program sought to satirize inconsistencies in the way the British media treats and sensationalizes child sex offenders and their crimes (Clark, 2001), it offended many viewers and caused considerable controversy. More than 900 complaints were made to the Independent Television Commission, almost 250 complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Commission, and 2,000 complaints to Channel 4, “officially” making Paedogeddon the most complained-about television program in British television history at that time. This paper examines the nature of the objections to Paedogeddon as played out on the pages of the British national press and contributes to debates about morally acceptable television. Three themes are identified in the press objections to the mock-documentary: aesthetic arguments; moral and ethical implications; and consequences of ministerial intervention. The nature of these press objections served to prevent an engagement with Paedogeddon's critique of the media. Further, the analysis illustrates how media discourses and scripts can fix and limit debates surrounding controversial television programming.

The Rise and Rise of the Regulatory State

The Political QuarterlyVolume 77, Issue 2 p. 247-254 The Rise and Rise of the Regulatory State PATRICIA HODGSON, PATRICIA HODGSON Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge. She was a director of the BBC and then Chief Executive of the Independent Television Commission, and is currently a nonexecutive director of the Competition Commission and a Governor of the Wellcome Trust.Search for more papers by this author PATRICIA HODGSON, PATRICIA HODGSON Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge. She was a director of the BBC and then Chief Executive of the Independent Television Commission, and is currently a nonexecutive director of the Competition Commission and a Governor of the Wellcome Trust.Search for more papers by this author First published: 07 September 2006 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-923X.2006.00767.xCitations: 2Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume77, Issue2April–June 2006Pages 247-254 RelatedInformation

The Clean Audio Project: Digital TV as assistive technology

Technology used in Digital TV has the potential to enhance the viewing experience for millions of hard of hearing people. The Clean Audio project commissioned by the Independent Television Commission (ITC), and continued by Ofcom, looks at methods by which the extra information contained in 5.1 surround sound broadcasts may be used to improve the intelligibility and enjoyment of television audio for hard of hearing viewers and shows that audio processing can effectively turn a digital TV set top box into an assistive device to make digital TV more accessible. Listening tests were carried out which showed benefits in clarity and in perceived overall sound quality for hard of hearing participants by altering levels of centre and left and right channels. Further testing has shown average improvements in intelligibility of up to 9.4% by using surround sound equipment with a discrete central loudspeaker compared to stereophonic reproduction.

Content analysis of children's television advertising in relation to dental health

This paper provides some disturbing facts and figures about the amount of television being watched by children. In addition, it reports on the volume and type of television advertising aimed at young people, both in the United Kingdom and other developed countries. In view of recent public and professional concern as to the possible adverse effects of food advertising on children's health, this study set out to examine what proportion of television advertisements, directed at children, promoted products potentially harmful to dental health. Forty-one hours of children's television programming broadcast on ITV1, the main UK commercial channel, were recorded on to videotape for subsequent analysis. Almost 1,000 adverts were analysed; each was timed and broadly categorised as relating to a food/drink product or non food/drink product. Advertisements for food and drink were further subdivided according to their sugar and/or acid content. We found that, on average, 24 adverts were shown per broadcast hour, which accounted for 15.8% of the total schedule time. 34.8% of adverts related to food/drink products, and 95.3% of these promoted products that were deemed potentially cariogenic or erosive. The most frequently promoted food/drink products included breakfast cereals with added sugar (26.3%), confectionery (23.7%) and non-carbonated soft drinks (18.1%). It is very concerning that, despite recent specific codes of practice outlined by the Independent Television Commission for Children's Advertising, many food and drink products promoted during children's programming are potentially damaging to dental health.

Evaluating digital “on-line” background noise suppression: Clarifying television dialogue for older, hard-of-hearing viewers

It is known that older people have disproportionately greater difficulties perceiving speech embedded in noise or otherwise degraded than do younger people. The Independent Television Commission (ITC) receives a number of complaints about programmes having excessive background “noise”. The Broadcasting Act 1990 gives the ITC responsibility for addressing the needs of elderly and disabled viewers of all independent television in the UK, and thus established a research consortium with the aim of reducing the impact of background noise. The findings presented in this paper are drawn from DICTION, a multi-disciplinary project partially funded by the DTI-LINK initiative, which has developed digital signal processing technology that identifies and suppresses the background noise of television programmes in real-time. A sample of elderly volunteers (63–84 years) underwent pure tone audiometry and provided data based on objective tests of intelligibility per se, and on their subjective impressions of the auditory material (e.g., clarity of dialogue, intrusiveness of background noise, etc.). The findings illustrate the effects of age and hearing loss and the dissociation of objective and subjective measures. They also show that under certain noise conditions clear-cut improvements in intelligibility are beyond current signal processing techniques although apparent improvements in clarity (etc.) are not.

Characterizing the Flashing Television Images that Precipitate Seizures

Television is by nature a flickering medium. It is also designed to convey images that flash or flicker. This paper seeks to characterize the stimulus parameters of broadcast materials that have been responsible for triggering epileptic seizures. Three sources of evidence are considered: the characteristics of flicker and pattern predicted to induce seizures on the basis of clinical studies; the statistics of broadcast images; and the characteristics of video sequences that have been associated with anecdotal reports of seizures. The results of these studies have contributed to a revision, in mid-2001, of a Guidance Note issued by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) in the U.K. seeking to protect, so far as is reasonably practicable, the section of the population that is liable to photosensitive epilepsy.

Pressing the red button: Consumers and digital television

The government intends to switch over all UK television transmissions from analogue to digital by 2010. But where do consumers stand on digital? Currently less than 60 per cent of the population claims to be aware of the plan for switchover. The key driver of take‐up for viewers who have already made the change is the desire for multichannel television rather than for digital per se. Between one‐tenth and one‐fifth of the population say they will never go digital. A key tool for digital television viewers is the electronic programme guide (EPG), which enables them to navigate around the many channels available and access interactive services. Concerns about the power of EPG operators to control the way in which programme information is made available to viewers led the commercial television regulator, the Independent Television Commission (ITC), to commission research into how EPGs influence viewing. This found that over a third of digital viewers (38 per cent) often used the EPG to decide what to watch. But respondents were not always aware from the EPG which channels were new: over three‐quarters (77 per cent) were interested in having them placed in their own section on the EPG or otherwise highlighted. A much‐quoted feature of digital television is interactivity, but this has not been a main driver of take‐up. Text and games appear the most popular interactive features. In the digital future, public service channels must be given due prominence on EPGs. However, digital technology may spell major changes for public service broadcasting. And it is still not clear how fully many viewers have grasped the implications of the digital television age. The chapter explores the notion that the very nature of channels may change as devices such as personal video recorders enable viewers to assemble their own programme schedules from the wide range of services available.

Legal and Regulatory Update: A light touch — The ITC's consultation paper on interactive television services

On 29 February 2000 the Independent Television Commission (ITC) published its long-awaited consultation paper on the regulation of interactive television services. Following discussions with broadcasters and various interested parties, the ITC has set out its flexible approach to the emerging new services. Rather than increasing the regulation of interactive services, it is proposing a more streamlined approach which will operate within the existing ITC regulatory framework. Responses are being sought to the consultation paper and a further report is scheduled to be published by the end of the summer.

Are children seeing through ITC advertising regulations?

Television advertising in the UK is regulated by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) who have published guidelines for advertisers regarding, among other things, the manner whereby advertisements may communicate with children. This paper aims to illustrate that children of ten and eleven years of age are able to understand the meaning of a selection of regulations, and are able to recall advertisements that they believe to be in contravention of ITC guidelines for a variety of reasons.

Overview of the Second International Workshop on Presence: April 6-7, 1999, Colchester, England

On the 6th and 7th of April 1999, the Second International Workshop on Presence was held at the University of Essex. The event was organized by Jonathan Freeman (currently at Goldsmiths College, University of London and at the University of Essex during the workshop) and Wijnand IJsselsteijn (IPO, Center for Research on User-System Interaction) as part of the European Commission ACTS TAPESTRIES project. The TAPESTRIES project was managed by the UK Independent Television Commission (ITC) and the workshop was sponsored by SONY, BT, and the ITC. The workshop program is followed by a brief introduction to presence and then by short summaries of each of the papers.

Cartoon Crazy?

The Independent Television Commission (ITC) regulates all commercial television in the UK, with the exception of S4C in Wales. Where the younger audience is concerned, it has a special duty to ensure that “material unsuitable for children must not be broadcast at times when large numbers of children may be expected to be watching”.

Religious broadcasting on UK television: Policy, public perception and programmes

This chapter assesses the developments in UK religious broadcasting over the last 20 years in both the BBC and independent television. Debate about the role and purpose of religious broadcasting is nothing new. However, the debate has taken on new significance recently in the light of wider consideration by broadcasting bodies and the government about the meaning and purpose of public service broadcasting in a multi‐channel television environment. The first part of the chapter maps developments in broadcasting policy, with particular reference to statements issued by the BBC's and Independent Television Commission's advisory body, the Central Religious Advisory Committee. The chapter also highlights the impact of the changing religious make‐up of the UK, and the advent of dedicated religious television channels on the content of religious broadcasting. The second part looks at the audience. Research findings may initially suggest that religious programmes are seen primarily as being for ‘other people’. However, closer examination of the audience shows that religious programmes are still watched by the majority of the adult population. And although viewers over 55 are well represented in the audience for many programmes, the audience for religious television is in reality more diverse than public and broadcasting industry perceptions would suggest. Programmes are the focus of the third part of the chapter. While the amount of time devoted to religious programmes on BBC1 and ITV has remained at similar levels, the scheduling of religious programmes has moved away from peak time on both channels, but particularly so on ITV. Both channels have reduced the amount of religious programme time devoted to acts of worship. The official figures for amounts of religious broadcasting do not tell the whole story, however. Discussion continues both about the definition of ‘religious’ programmes and the future of religious broadcasting departments. The challenge for religious broadcasting is to redefine itself for the digital age, without narrowing its scope.

Approaches to broadcasting regulation: Australia and United Kingdom compared

Delivering the 1995 Goodman Lecture, David Glencross, the then Chief Executive of the Independent Television Commission (‘ITC’) commented that the Broadcasting Act 1990 did not contain sufficient flexibility to allow the ITC to deal effectively with unforeseen developments such as changing technology and media ownership and control issues. This is an interesting comment on the legislation because the Broadcasting Act 1990 represented a deliberate move towards a rule-based form of regulation away from the flexible, non-specific and discretionary style of the Broadcasting Act 1981 which it replaced. The White Paper which set out the Government's proposals for the new regulatory system emphasised this:‘The ITC would apply lighter, more objective programme requirements. …The ITC would therefore adopt a less heavy handed and discretionary approach than the IBA necessarily does at present’.However, the Government recognised that ‘[a] new enabling framework must be flexible enough to allow for technological change’.

R v Independent Television Commission, ex p TSW Broadcasting Limited

R v Independent Television Commission, ex p TSW Broadcasting Limited

No more sexist images

I am writing to draw your attention to two advertisements which are currently being screened on television with disturbing frequency. The adverts in question are for Dr Pepper drinks and Vauxhall cars. I have written to both the Independent Television Commission and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission concerning these adverts, and have included a request for their withdrawal.

R v Independent Television Commission ex p TVNi Limited: R v Independent Television Commission ex p TVS Television Ltd

R v Independent Television Commission ex p TVNi Limited: R v Independent Television Commission ex p TVS Television Ltd