China's digital cultural products have gained significant achievements in the foreign market over recent years, and their successes are reflected not only by business data but also by consumers' reputation. Intercultural communication in the digital age, however, seems to have deviated from traditions. The reason why China has achieved such accomplishments naturally becomes an issue that deserves intense debate. Based on traditional Laswell's 5W communication model, this article will combine traditional communication and intercultural communication theories to analyze the reason why China can reach such achievements and what traditional communication theories, also communcaition mechanism, have been reconstructed by the digital age. This article concludes that the term "cultural discount" has been turned from a barrier blocking intercultural communication to a controllable, exploratory, and participable "variable" through strategic encoding facilitated by digital media technology. Additionally, Laswell's 5W model somewhat bears certain changes, resulting in a brand-new methodology for the conversion between "high-context culture" and "low-context culture".

As mobile and social media technologies become central to cultural production and dissemination, intangible cultural heritage (ICH) brand logos are increasingly designed, evaluated, and shared within mobile interaction contexts. This study proposes a mobile-oriented multimodal framework for ICH logo generation, integrating visual, textual, and user behavioral data to support human–computer collaborative design. Users interact with multiple logo alternatives through mobile interfaces, while real-time feedback on recognition, aesthetics, and interaction behaviors is collected for iterative optimization. Results from a mobile-based user study show that the proposed approach improves recognition consistency, aesthetic acceptance, and engagement compared to conventional methods. The findings demonstrate the value of multimodal interaction for culturally sensitive brand visualization and contribute empirical insights to mobile human–computer interaction research.

ABSTRACT Technology has played a critical role in the evolution of mediatised live sport as a participatory leisure experience. This study examines not only how and why media technologies are adopted and implemented, but also how organisational adoption processes shape leisure design, innovation practices, and audience-facing experiences and expectations. Drawing on the Technology – Organisation – Environment framework and socio-technical systems theory, we analyse 20 semi-structured interviews with sport, media, and technology stakeholders across Australia and South Korea to identify drivers and barriers influencing technology adoption. Findings highlight key factors and synthesise these into three key themes: Mediatised Sport Leisure Design, Organisational Practices of Leisure Innovation, and Leisure as a Socio-Technical Expectation. Together, these findings reframe mediatised live sport as not only as a technological or commercial endeavour, but also as a form of innovative leisure.

Recent research has shown that information about sexuality is increasingly prevalent on social media. At the same time, it is well-documented that sexual health content shared or created by laypeople can be misleading or inaccurate. This study investigates who consumes sexual health knowledge on these platforms and tests whether social media technologies have a compensatory (i.e., making up for a lack of sexual education elsewhere) or complementary (i.e., enhancing sexual information individuals obtain elsewhere) function for sexual education. Results from a survey conducted in early 2023 among N = 1,245 adult social media users living in Germany (age: M = 41.94 years, SD = 14.47; gender identity: 50.3% identified as female, 49.3% as male, 0.4% as other) indicated that young, male, and highly educated individuals are more likely to be exposed to sexual education on social media. Among participants, 54.1% indicated that they encounter sexual misinformation at least sometimes. Findings further provide evidence for both mechanisms—educational compensation and educational enhancement: Individuals with stronger sexual communication apprehension, as well as those who tend to engage in sexuality-related talk in everyday life, expose themselves more frequently to sexual education. These findings have implications for theory building in the field of informal education processes through contemporary technologies and for the design of sexuality-related educational interventions.

The rapid advancement of digital media technologies has led to a significant increase in the dissemination of misinformation in the form of fake news and deepfake videos. These manipulated contents pose serious threats to public trust, social stability, and information authenticity. This paper presents an integrated deep learning–based framework for detecting fake news and deepfake videos. The proposed system employs a transformer-based Natural Language Processing model to classify textual news content, while a Convolutional Neural Network–based model is used to analyze video frames for detecting facial manipulation. Additionally, a real-time detection module is implemented to analyze live video streams using face detection and temporal smoothing techniques. Experimental evaluation demonstrates that the proposed approach effectively distinguishes real and fake content with reliable accuracy. The system is designed to be modular, scalable, and suitable for real- world deployment in media verification and social networking platforms.

The Special Issue “Technological Convergence in Visual Arts: Integrating AI, Data-Driven Systems, and Immersive Media for Creative Transformation” invites original research, reviews, and creative–critical works that examine how rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, data-driven systems, and immersive technologies are reshaping visual arts. It focuses on the evolving intersections of computational intelligence, virtual and augmented environments, and artistic practice—highlighting shifts in creation, curation, authorship, ethics, and audience experience. Emphasizing interdisciplinary inquiry across visual arts, media studies, design, and cultural studies, the issue seeks theoretically rigorous, methodologically innovative, and practice-based contributions that explore new forms of storytelling, interactive installations, virtual exhibitions, and digitally mediated cultural expression, ultimately advancing discourse on the transformative impact of technological convergence on contemporary creative practices. Issue Editor: Dr. Chaitanya ShinkhedeAssistant Professor, School of Media and Communication, MIT World Peace University, PuneEmail: chaitanyashinkhede@gmail.com Dr. Tejee IshaHead of Department & Assistant Professor, Faculty of Mass Communication & Media Technology, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Gurugram, Haryana – 122505, IndiaEmail: totejeeisha@gmail.com Dr. Harish BarapatreYadavrao Tasgaonkar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Karjat, Maharashtra, IndiaEmail: Jksa.Saudi@gmail.com Dr. Balkrishna K. PatilAssistant Professor & Head of Department, PhD in Computer Science, Former Tech Lead, Nashik, Maharashtra, IndiaEmail: balkrishnapatileng@gmail.com Dr. Bayram ÇAĞLARLecturer, Kocaeli University Ömer İsmet Uzunyol Vocational School,Department of Auditory Techniques and Media Production, TurkeyEmail: bcaglar@kocaeli.edu.tr

Advances in media technologies have afforded audiences greater control over how, and to what extent, they engage with brand content and advertising. In response, brands have pursued more immersive and participatory ways of reaching consumers, with transmedia storytelling—the coordinated communication of a narrative across multiple platforms with each medium contributing unique elements—emerging as one such approach. While scholarship has examined transmedia storytelling in brand contexts, research has largely centred on case studies of completed campaigns or conceptual investigations, leaving the dynamics of practice underexplored. Drawing on 21 interviews and a cross-national survey of 256 brand communicators, this study investigates the challenges of adopting transmedia storytelling, the industry categories perceived as most suited, and whether obstacles vary across sectors or are broadly consistent. Findings suggest that the most significant barriers tend to arise from external and organisational constraints rather than creative limitations. Although obstacles were largely consistent, sectors such as fashion, health and beauty revealed distinct implementation challenges, while categories like automotive and education showed more uniform patterns. Informed by these findings, the Transmedia Brand Storytelling Model for Practice is reframed to emphasise the organisational and relational conditions shaping the practice in contemporary brand communication.

The article analyzes how globalization, high population mobility, and digital technologies are reshaping consumer behavior in the funeral industry. The topic gains relevance due to the expansion of remote participation in farewell ceremonies, wider adoption of cremation and memorialization practices not strictly tied to a specific location, the diffusion of environmentally oriented burial formats, and the accelerated “digitization of memory” through digital-legacy management services. Research originality lies in integrating findings on transnational death, online rituals, the digital-afterlife market, and demand for sustainable death care into a unified interpretive framework that explains a shift in consumer choice from body-centered procedures toward the governance of remembrance, biographical traces, and access to the deceased person’s digital data. Special attention is given to online funeral services, digital cemeteries, platform-based memorialization, VR, and media technologies for preserving personal representations, as well as to inequality-related factors shaping families’ preparedness for post-mortem digital traces. The study aims to identify how demand and service-selection logic change under mobile lifestyles. The methodology combines a review of scholarly publications with a comparative interpretation of empirical results. The conclusion outlines implications for funeral providers’ product policy and for ethical and legal agendas in data governance. The article addresses researchers of consumer behavior, service management specialists, and funeral industry practitioners.

ABSTRACT Rural population aging presents a critical demographic challenge in China, where older rural women face triple marginalization through geography, age, and gender. This disadvantage diminishes their ‘sense of security in aging’ – a vital yet underexplored determinant of well-being. While media technology offers potential benefits, the mechanisms linking digital engagement to this sense of security remain theoretically underdeveloped. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications Theory, this study investigates a dual-pathway framework wherein media use influences security via social support mobilization and health literacy enhancement. Using primary survey data (N = 851) from rural Shaanxi Province, we employed structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-group analysis to test the model. Results reveal a significant positive association between media use and the sense of security in aging. This relationship comprises a substantial direct link (β = 0.156, p < .001; accounting for 61.42% of the total effect) and significant indirect pathways via social support and health literacy (collectively 38.58%). Notably, social support emerged as the primary mediator (22.44%), surpassing health literacy (11.81%) and highlighting media’s emotional buffering function. Heterogeneity analysis further indicated that these pathways vary significantly by education, chronic illness, and financial status, revealing a ‘second-level digital divide.’ This study illuminates how digitally facilitated resources foster security among older rural women. The findings underscore the necessity of moving beyond generic digital access toward tailored interventions addressing specific vulnerabilities, offering insights for inclusive policy strategies in developing countries facing the intersection of rural aging and digital exclusion.

Scholars of the 1994 Rwandan genocide agree that media technology and propaganda played a role in mobilizing ordinary Rwandans in 1994 to commit genocide. Underappreciated in these inquiries is the history of the introduction of media technology and propaganda in Rwandan society by missionaries, technologies Rwandans later appropriated and applied to a pursuit of self-determination, but also in support of perpetrating genocide. A close examination of the social and political context of Rwanda’s colonial era and Catholic evangelism reveals a variety of motives for adopting propaganda as a strategy for evangelizing and rallying support for decolonization. This article casts light on the actors’ conviction that propaganda would work, to underscore the value collectively placed on propaganda’s ability to influence human behavior.

Against the backdrop of cultural revival and the rapid development of new media technologies, the cultural connotations of the intangible cultural heritage "Fuzhou Jasmine Tea Scenting Process" face the problem of inappropriate extraction and over-consumption by capital through cultural labeling, leading to cognitive dilemmas among adolescents. This study analyzes the internal logic of the transformation of this intangible cultural heritage tea-making technique from cultural capital to economic capital, based on David Throsby and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital. Finally, this paper explores the reasons why cultural labels hurt adolescents during the dissemination process, using Lasswell's 5W communication model. The study found that businesses, based on the tangible and intangible cultural value of intangible cultural heritage, simplify core terms such as "scenting" into cultural labels for commercial operations. This distorted cultural concept is disseminated to adolescents through digital channels such as milk tea ordering mini-programs, leading to conceptual ambiguity, product misjudgment, or a complete lack of understanding of the scenting process among this group. Based on the above issues, this article suggests strengthening cooperation between industrial and commercial administration departments and cultural departments, and incorporating cultural heritage-related courses into the education stage to avoid deviations in the dissemination of traditional culture.

Responsible design and use of social media technology: A reflective case study on raising awareness towards social sustainability

Research on strain-responsive Arsenene/SnSeS heterojunction for digital media technology: A first-principles calculations

With the rapid development of new media technology, returning to their hometown for employment has gradually become an important choice for college students, alleviating the employment pressure in big cities and injecting new impetus into regional economic development. This paper takes 287 college students from three universities in the northern district of Zhengzhou as the survey objects, collects data through a questionnaire survey and uses descriptive statistical analysis, chi-square test and logistic regression analysis to explore the current situation and influencing factors of college students returning to their hometown for employment under the background of new media. The study found that: first, college students have a low willingness to return to their hometown for employment, which is mainly affected by insufficient infrastructure in their hometown, low policy awareness, and unclear career planning; second, college students prefer stable jobs and have a weak willingness to start a business; third, satisfaction with hometown development, family support and the practice of “three going to the countryside” are key influencing factors.

The teaching of English First Additional Language (EFAL) in the Intermediate Phase presents persistent challenges, particularly during learners' transition from the Foundation Phase. Integrating modern media technologies into the curriculum offers potential solutions to support both teachers and learners during this critical stage. This study examines how media technologies can be utilized to overcome barriers in EFAL teaching and learning, particularly in resource-constrained and rural school contexts. A qualitative research design was adopted, using purposive sampling to select 16 participants with lived experiences in EFAL instruction. Data collection included semi-structured face-to-face interviews, non-participant classroom observations, and a review of teaching and learning documents to support triangulation. Findings reveal that teachers' awareness and use of media technologies are limited, primarily restricted to laptops, smartphones, and smart TVs. Few participants referenced the pedagogical value of audio, visual, or audio-visual media. The study also highlights a lack of strategic prioritization by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in promoting the integration of media technology, particularly in rural schools. The study recommends targeted teacher training programmes that encompass a broad spectrum of media tools. Furthermore, investment in infrastructure, which includes reliable Wi-Fi access and learner devices, is essential. Developing strong policy frameworks, offering ongoing professional development workshops, and fostering collaborative learning environments are also necessary to enhance EFAL instruction through media technology integration.

From the perspective of Marxist theory, this paper explores the ethical dimension of moral education in colleges and universities and the construction path of its value guidance system. Against the backdrop of the new era, the diversification of values and the rapid development of new media technologies have exposed moral education in colleges and universities to practical challenges such as the weakening of value identity and the disconnection between theory and practice. At present, the moral education work is also plagued by prominent problems including the superficial integration of moral education into curricula and inadequate effectiveness of practical transformation. On the basis of systematically sorting out existing relevant research findings, this paper puts forward targeted optimization strategies that integrate the core essence of Marxist ethics from four dimensions: the reconstruction of curriculum systems, the empowerment of practical education, the development of teaching faculty, and the innovation of educational carriers. These strategies are intended to provide theoretical and practical support for breaking the development predicament of moral education in colleges and universities and constructing a scientific value guidance system, thus helping colleges and universities fully implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education and cultivating new people of the era who are capable of shouldering the mission of national rejuvenation.

This study analyzes the business models adopted in Omani journalism in the context of digital transformation. It employs a qualitative approach that includes semi-structured in-depth interviews with a number of journalists and newspaper management teams, alongside an analysis of institutional practices. The findings indicate that ensuring the sustainability of journalism in the Sultanate of Oman requires adopting new business models grounded in diversifying revenue streams, fostering digital innovation, strengthening journalists’ professional independence, and building editorial competencies capable of engaging effectively with the digital environment. The study concludes that Omani journalism possesses human resources, institutional standing, and a large audience that enable further development; however, achieving sustainability requires an integrated effort encompassing editorial leadership, administrative reform, and organizational development. By embracing innovation and rebuilding the relationship with audiences, Omani newspapers can not only withstand digital disruptions but also become more relevant and influential within the local and regional media landscape in the coming years. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the requirements for sustaining Omani journalism in light of the political system, market size, and institutional culture associated with the adoption of modern media technologies.

Digital media technologies have become integral to local governance in India, particularly within Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs). This study investigates how digital platforms—including mobile phones, social media, messaging applications, and e-governance systems—affect the empowerment, participation, and administrative capacity of women representatives in the Gram Panchayats of Ramanagara, a district in Southern Karnataka. Using a mixed-methods approach that integrates surveys, interviews, and field observations, the research highlights both the transformative potential of digital media and the persistent structural constraints that limit women’s full participation in rural governance. Findings indicate that digital tools enhance access to information, transparency, mobility, and citizen engagement, yet barriers such as digital illiteracy, gender norms, and infrastructural limitations continue to restrict the depth of empowerment

ABSTRACT This research investigates the adoption, integration, and everyday use of social media by married, stay-at-home, conservative Muslim migrant women who followed their husbands from Turkey to the UK, living in Sussex. It explores how gendered power relations, embedded in a patriarchal culture of familial surveillance, shape and regulate the social media use of this rarely studied group. It provides insights into how social and cultural dynamics, familial relations, and gendered and religious identities shape the perceived relevance and specific uses of social media technologies. Framed as qualitative case study, the research draws on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 31 women. Thematic analysis highlights a central theme of familial control, with sub-themes addressing restrictions, interventions, and negotiated boundaries in women’s digital engagements. Given the difficulty of accessing this group and their domestic lives, this study presents a rare opportunity to examine how gendered power relations and culture of surveillance and control, function synergistically in the milieu of Islamic religion and traditional Turkish culture, exerting their influence through their embeddedness in women’s social media use. By examining these dynamics, the research contributes to domestication and digital media research by showing how social media, though often regarded as a ‘modern’ technology, is embedded in conservative households in ways that reproduce traditional gender identities and reinforce patriarchal domestic relations.

This study explores how the domestication of media for people living in diaspora embeds the double consciousness of a “home away from home.” The domestication process reveals certain patterns of media practices in which the complex relationship between people in a diasporic situation and media technologies emerge as part of a transnational lifestyle. Interrogating this lifestyle opens a study of media that focuses on socio-cultural transformations where the interplay of media dependency or agency serves as a site of discourse as diasporic people re-appropriate discrete features of media into their everyday lives. Drawing from interviews with and participant observation of Filipino Americans coming from different professional backgrounds and experiences of migration, this study argues that active relationship with The Filipino Channel or TFC, a transnational media company, articulates a “mediatized” behavior that imbricates the dialectical tension between dependency and agency. It is a behavior where everyday struggles and aspirations of Filipino Americans are now performed with and in media as they navigate the double consciousness of a “home away from home” in the context of their de-territoriality.