Media Technologies Research Articles

Book Review: How Machines Came to Speak: Media Technologies and Freedom of Speech

Book Review: How Machines Came to Speak: Media Technologies and Freedom of Speech

Application and advancement of digital teaching materials in teaching epidemiology

This study aims at examining the application and development of digital teaching materials in the field of epidemiology, encompassing both China and international contexts. The research involved conducting search on websites and literature databases to assess the status of digital teaching materials in epidemiology, nationally and internationally. At present, in China, digital teaching materials used in epidemiology are primarily presented in the form of printed books with added QR codes, providing teaching resources such as videos and exercises. However, issues with the level of interactivity have been identified. In foreign countries, with stronger emphasis placed on personalization, interactivity, and the use of rich media technologies in the digital teaching materials, epidemiologically. Enhanced digitization regarding materials and learning outcomes is achieved through features such as real-time notes, interactive animations, and quizzes. These approaches are considered worth considering for adoption. This study provides valuable insights for the digital transformation of epidemiology education.

Twitter Chats as an Alternative to Discussion Boards in Graduate Nursing Courses.

Health care is increasingly dependent on technology and social media for communication. Nurse educators are tasked with developing a nursing workforce equipped with digital literacy to deliver safe, quality patient care. Twitter (now X) chats are an alternative social engagement opportunity for online nursing education students that can facilitate digital literacy. The instructor of an 8-week online nursing education course revised three required discussions as Twitter chats. Written instructions for the Twitter chats were provided, as well as a podcast. Self-report data and Twitter analytics were analyzed. Findings identified the benefits of incorporating a social media platform into traditional coursework. Chats helped students view course objectives in a new light and increased understanding of class content. Twitter is a social media technology that can help nursing students educationally and professionally. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(10):709-712.].

Development and investigation of salt based composite phase change material containing diatomite as skeleton substance by cold sintering technology for medium and high temperature thermal energy storage

This work concerns the development of a nitrate salt based form-stable composite phase change material by cold sintering technology with the employment of diatomite as skeleton substance. Such fabrication strategy has never before been reported in the literature and we demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of salt-diatomite composite production through a cold sintering process by means of sodium hydroxide solution as sintering additive. The microstructural characteristics and development mechanism, chemical and physical compatibility, mechanical strength, phase change behaviour, thermal and shape stability of the composite are investigated to reveal the structure formation and densification mechanism of salt and diatomite. The results show that the composite could be sintered at a temperature of 180 °C, far lower than that required in the traditional hot sintering approach. Due to the congruent solubility of the salt and diatomite in aqueous alkali, a rigid and dense structure induced by a so-called dissolution-precipitation process could be generated in the composite, which provides solution to accommodate the salt, endowing the composite with splendid capacity to maintain the structure stability and restrain the liquid leakage over the phase change process. An excellent chemical and physical compatibility has been achieved between the salt and other components, and over 60 wt% salt could be encapsulated in the composite by which a melting temperature around 278 °C and an energy storage density over 650 kJ/kg at a temperature range of 50–600 °C are attained. The results also reveal that the composite exhibits preeminent mechanical strength and excellent thermal cycling performance. For a given cycling temperature range of 50–500 °C, a stable macroscopic shape with a compressive strength over 210 MPa could be achieved in the composite even after 100 times of thermal cycles.

THE IMPACT OF MODERN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ON UGANDAN RADIO BROADCASTING: A CASE STUDY OF CAPITAL RADIO

Media organizations in Uganda are not exempt from the media industry’s ongoing efforts to digitize its operations, particularly in developing nations. Global change is effectively sparked by the advancements in new media technologies. The method, precision, and speed of message generation and transport have all been greatly enhanced by these technologies, and they have also completely changed the definition of broadcasting. Still, in an information-overloaded world, figuring out where broadcasting fits in is getting harder and harder. The survey research approach was employed to gather pertinent data for the study in order to develop data for it. The results of the data analysis showed that the production of the station under investigation has been significantly impacted by new media technologies. Lack of technical expertise and the expense of purchasing necessary equipment continue to be major obstacles to their efficacy. According to the study’s conclusions, the government should lower the value-added tax on new media equipment as doing so will lower the equipment’s overall cost and ease the financial strain on the station. The use of new media technologies can expand the broadcasting industry’s reach and elevate Uganda’s broadcast sector to a global player. This is only possible if there are no barriers preventing the broadcast media sector from effectively acquiring new and improved infrastructure. Workshops, symposia, seminars, and training courses should all be used to try and educate current and future broadcasters. Keywords: Media, Information Communication Technology (ICT), Radio Broadcasting

“Freedom is not free”: Visual activism and dispersed resistance in Hong Kong’s anti-extradition bill protests

Graffiti is widely used in social movements globally, yet media and communication research disproportionately focus on the role of social and new media technologies in protest movements. In this paper I ask why university students – a tech-savvy generation – resorted to graffiti and why campus graffiti were not widely circulated on social media during the Hong Kong anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (ELAB) protests. I argue that graffiti enables dispersed resistance and is one way to mobilize, voice dissent, and preserve memory in an increasingly surveilled and evolving repressive media environment. I pursue this argument by analyzing graffiti photographed on university campuses during the anti-ELAB protests. Situating graffiti within protest culture in Hong Kong, I conclude that graffiti are not always circulated on digital/social media to reach a broader audience. In times of crises, not reaching a wider audience is a manifestation of dispersed resistance in a hybrid media environment.

The Communication and Development of Cultural Variety Shows in the Context of New Media: A Case Study of "Readers Season Three"

The continuous upgrading of new media technology has propelled traditional media in China towards an innovative development path. Against the backdrop of the steady growth of new media, a large number of new cultural variety shows have emerged to adapt to the changing times. "ReadersSeason Three" is an outstanding representative of new cultural variety shows in the era of new media. The program adopts the format of "interview + reading" and introduces a special segment called "One Square Meter" on new media platforms. While the program has gained widespread attention, its excessive emphasis on entertainment has led to a lack of cultural depth. Insufficient innovation in the program's format has resulted in a serious problem of homogenization, and the failure to fully leverage the advantages of new media platforms during the broadcast process has constrained the program's dissemination effectiveness. It is evident that cultural variety shows in China still face issues such as a lack of cultural depth and outdated program formats. Therefore, based on the shortcomings of cultural variety shows in China, this paper proposes strategies to enhance the cultural depth of such programs, innovate program formats, and make optimal use of new media for dissemination, presenting prospects for the innovative development of cultural variety shows in China.

Mimicry of European Football Commentary: Arap Uria’s Comic Lip-Sync Impressions in Kenyan Social Media

ABSTRACT The popularity of football in Africa is evident in the widespread viewership of televised top world league matches across the continent. Entertaining as they are to African fans, the broadcast images raise significant questions regarding the political implications of sports television as a medium for conveying cultural content. The matches are often played in far-off places and feature hardly any African commentators. New media technologies present African users with a host of technological affordances that enable them to challenge the hierarchical logic of industrial media production and the restricted communicative space of sports television. Comedy is a common form of political engagement with televised football images. This article analyses lip-sync impressions by a Kenyan comedian, Arap Uria, who records short parody videos that comment on iconic moments in football matches and posts them on social media platforms. Reading the audiovisual texts as politically motivated comic performances, this article argues that Uria’s lip-sync commentaries are a significant part of the contemporary sports television consumption culture in Kenya. The article discusses the place of the football commentator as a cultural mediator as well as how lip-sync performances can generate protest through artistic truth, remixing and parody.

دور التدريب على تكنولوجيا الإعلام الجديد في تعزيز احترافية الصحفيين الاستقصائيين العرب

The rapid development in the field of digital world has affected many disciplines. Media industry is one of the most affected fields. Hence, journalists need to cope with the ongoing technological evolution and its latest updates. Investigative journalists need to pay attention to this even more than their colleagues in the field. Investigative journalism has in general been remarkably growing in recent years; yet, it still faces significant challenges in the Arab world in terms of the right to access information and the use of open sources. This study focuses on Arab investigative journalism and particularly studies the importance of training on using digital technology and its effects on professionality and high-quality investigative journalistic production. From this standpoint, this study aims to explore the impact of training on new media techniques on Arab journalists' professionalism. To achieve this goal, this study followed a qualitative methodology through in-depth interviews with twelve Arab journalists who are practitioners and interested in investigative journalism. This study concluded important results about the positive effects of training on new media technology: Gaining more theoretical knowledge and practical skills to apply the acquired knowledge. This would enhance the efficiency of journalists and improve the quality of their work and their competitiveness in the journalistic work sector.

Development of Weebly-Based Website Learning Media Containing Ethnochemical Acid-Base Material

Technological disruption causes relatively rapid and even uncontrollable social change, while the pace of education moves at a super slow speed. Weebly is an alternative media technology that can be used as a learning medium. This research aims to produce Weebly-based learning media that contains ethnochemistry that is valid and suitable for use in the learning process and as a student learning resource. Weebly-based learning media is an innovation that teachers can use to facilitate the learning process through presenting culture related to chemistry on the website. This research uses an R&D approach with the ADDIE model. The instruments used in this research were validation sheets and product assessment sheets. The product was validated by one material expert and one media expert and assessed by three chemistry teachers and thirty high school students. The expert validation results show that the learning media is very valid in terms of material and media. The results of the learning media assessment by three chemistry teachers obtained an average score of 110.3 with a percentage of 91.9% in the very good category. Student responses to the learning website were also positive with an ideal percentage of 96.7% in the very good category. The results of expert validation, teacher assessments, and student responses show that the website is valid to use as a chemistry learning medium and as a learning resource.

Religion, healthcare, and social media use in urban Tanzania: an ethnographic study of faith-based organizations

ABSTRACT The relationship between religion and social media has been critically discussed on potential benefits and opportunities the work of faith-based organizations (FBOs) enjoys in relation to the growing social media technology. Using ethnographic approaches, this study focuses on the use of social media by the new generation of FBOs in their healthcare interventions in urban Tanzania. In particular, the study examines the types of social media used and the messages they carry and explores why FBOs prioritize the use of social media in their healthcare interventions. The findings show that FBOs use Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, local social media platforms and YouTube to broadcast and share recorded videos, testimonies, and messages of their healthcare interventions. FBOs select social media platforms for their healthcare interventions based on the targeted audience and desired outcomes, while simultaneously addressing both religious and non-religious needs and obligations. This in turn may have an impact on the public recognition of their work and strengthening their influence in society in terms of attracting more beneficiaries to their religious ideologies, inspiring, and motivating followers in meeting their religious and social obligations and attracting government support and recognition.

Toward a Datafied Mindset: Conceptualizing Digital Dynamics and Analogue Resilience

This article explores the ways in which what we call the analogue and the datafied mindsets perceive the functioning of the datafied world. Based on a qualitative interview study of two generations of media users in Estonia, Portugal, and Sweden, we present and analyze underlying patterns in participants’ media attitudes and related practices. We show that belonging to a media generation does not always produce a homogeneous mindset or a uniform attitude toward media technologies. These mindsets, being ideal-typical constructs, are not bound to individuals: the same person can display features of the analogue and the datafied mindset in relation to different parts of the datafied world. One mindset does not replace the other but rather adds another layer to the social action of the individuals. The mindsets are multi-dimensional and molded by contrasting understandings, indicating that the tenacious structures of the analogue world linger on in the datafied social space.

Different Engines: Media Technologies From Latin America by Andrés Burbano (review)

Different Engines: Media Technologies From Latin America by Andrés Burbano (review)

Racial Excess: Black Labor and Media Technology in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

Racial Excess: Black Labor and Media Technology in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

Study on the Translation and Application of Hakka Cultural Symbols in Heyuan Tourist Food Packaging

According to the present situation of tourism food packaging design in Heyuan area, the problems such as lack of creativity, lack of cultural connotation and single function are found out. Color elements, modeling elements and decorative elements from Hakka culture are extracted and translated into tourist food packaging by means of design semiotics, and digital media technology is integrated to focus on functional innovation of food packaging. The design strategy of Hakka cultural translation in Heyuan tourist food packaging is proposed: “Modeling transplantation and theme narrative” highlight regional characteristics. “Visual presentation and emotional resonance” gives spiritual connotation. “Hakka culture and technology integration” highlights cultural inheritance, and applies it to the design of tourism food packaging, which is conducive to the dissemination and development of traditional culture. It helps to shape a good brand image, and further realizes the cultural value and economic value of tourism food packaging.

Social Communicative Contexts between Technological Determinism and the New Media

The advent of the new media is a major paradigm shift in human communication and the traditional media that sustained communication from the earliest times till today. Human social progress is almost entirely dependent on the nature of communication that exists in the society. No society survives without a good system of managing information within it as no meaningful encounter and engagement that can drive growth and development can occur without the media. The 21st century brought in its wake several innovations in the information and communication technologies that totally changed the nature of communication, its processes, practice and management. This paradigm shift has given birth to new orientations and attitudes which have combined to create the notion of technological determinism which is the belief that technology is the principal initiator of the society’s transformation. This view of the society is usually attributed to the American sociologist, Thorstein Veblen, who argued that there is a causal link between technology and the society. He opines therefore that all social transformations in the society are controlled by technology and the new media orientation it has birthed. Using content analysis as its main methodological tool, this paper examines the nature of communication, its role in the human society and the interaction between it, its media and the society which is its theatre of action. It argues that the new media technologies and the society have a symbiotic relationship that has altered, redefined, refashioned and redirected social communicative contexts in such a way that has changed the way the human society and individuals act and react leading to a total overhaul of the ways everything is done-trading, teaching, learning, paying taxes, interacting and negotiating. It concludes that social communicative contexts are not distorted by the new media but are rather recontextualised by affirming existing identities and creating new roles in stimulating specialised communication.

Application, Development, and Innovation of Educational Technology in the New Media Era

With the development and progress of information technology, people have gradually entered the digital information age, and the Internet has become a platform for information dissemination and the development and proliferation of new media. Simultaneously, relying on the advancements in mobile Internet technology, new media has emerged as a crucial medium for communication. The integration of digital new media technology into education has introduced fresh characteristics and developmental trends to educational technology, providing education with corresponding opportunities for development and innovation. The extensive adoption and dissemination of computer technology have propelled the amalgamation and advancement of new media technology and educational technology. This paper examines how Chinese college instructors apply, develop, and innovate educational technology in the era of new media, and explores methods to enhance educational technology.

THE USE OF MEDIA SPACE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WORK THE MUSEUMS OF ARCHEOLOGY AND EDUCATION

The article examines examples of using media technologies in museums of archeology and education. The authors emphasize that the use of media technologies in museums of archeology and education can significantly increase the accessibility of knowledge on ancient history and archeology and attract a new audience. However, it is necessary to take into account that such an approach may be ineffective without proper preparation and organization. An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages was carried out. Factors influencing the increase in interest in ancient history and archeology in Central Kazakhstan, including the quality of training and education, have been identified. The results described in the article are based on a survey of more than 600 university students on their level of awareness of the historical and cultural heritage of Kazakhstan. The summary assessment, by analyzing the opinions of respondents published on the Internet in museum podcasts and storytelling, allows us to conclude about the high sociocultural, motivational, and educational potential of this content in the cultural and educational work of the archeology museum and in educational activities. Thanks to multimedia technologies, the «museum-student» dialogue has intensified on a long-term basis, which has become an additional incentive for excursions to the Museum of Archaeology.
 Materials and methods of research: The authors of the article used data from a sociological survey they conducted of 194 university students who studied in Kazakh and 439 students who studied in Russian. The anonymous interview included ten questions revealing the respondents’ attitude toward the historical and cultural heritage of our country, the degree of their awareness of the discoveries of archaeologists in Central Kazakhstan, and their participation in museum activities. Statistical methods made it possible to analyze the data from these interviews and use them when introducing media technologies in the museum. To select material when compiling scripts for museum podcasts, an integrated and systematic approach, the analysis-synthesis method, and the principles of logic were used. A detailed historiographical analysis of more than one hundred and fifty scientific sources contributed to the formation of quality content. The comparative historical method made it possible to specify information on the selected topic about the cultural heritage sites of Central Kazakhstan. Thanks to the use of QR codes as a digitalization tool, museum podcasts have been integrated into educational and methodological manuals, maps, postcards, and other souvenirs, which indicates the importance of a combination of technical and humanitarian knowledge in museum work. The collaboration of museum staff with teachers from the Faculty of Foreign Languages has expanded the use of interdisciplinary methods in cultural and educational activities.

Chinese scientists' mediated participation in public outreach: Multiple direct and personal norm-mediated predictors.

The rise of new media technologies has reshaped the landscape of science communication. There is little research on scientists' outreach participation and its possible predictors in different media contexts. Based on a national survey of 8,533 scientists in China, this study examined multiple direct and personal norm-mediated predictors of scientists' intentions to participate in public outreach via legacy media versus social media. Our findings revealed two consistent direct predictors (past outreach participation and personal norms) and two inconsistent direct predictors (descriptive norms and intrinsic rewards) that are significant only for participating via social media in the Chinese context. Moreover, our findings suggest a significant mediation effect of personal norms on the influence of various social norms (descriptive and subjective) and rewards (intrinsic and extrinsic) on Chinese scientists' intentions to participate in public outreach via media. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The Role and Impact of the Combination of New Media Technology and E-Commerce

With the continuous promotion of China's reform. and opening up, China's social and economic levels have achieved significant improvements, the rate of economic growth is very rapid and the people's material living standards have also achieved a substantial increase. People's lives are more affluent and comfortable life. During this period, the e-commerce environment has been continuously optimized and improved, laying a solid foundation for the vigorous development of e-commerce. With the support of new media, the development trend of new media e-commerce has risen rapidly, becoming an important opportunity for many small and medium-sized enterprises to seek development. In order to understand the main problems of new media e-commerce, the author combines the current development status of new media and e-commerce platforms, uses observation method, experience summary method, and literature research methods to carry out an in-depth research and analysis of the actual situation of new media e-commerce. Through the generalization and summary of a large amount of data and information, the main problems of new media e-commerce are revealed. On this basis, the author further explores the role and influence of combining new media with e-commerce, and proposes a series of targeted solutions and countermeasures, aiming at providing some useful references and suggestions for the development of new media ecommerce.