Story Topics Research Articles

So Easy to Write a Story With a Mind Map: An Experimental Study

This study aimed to determine the effect of mind mapping on story writing skills of the students. A pre-test, a post-test, and a semi-experimental research design were used in this study. The study group consisted of a total of 86 third-grade students; 33 students from the experimental group, 23 students from the control 1 group, and 30 students from the control 2 groups. Stories were written by the students in the experimental group by using the mind map method during 18 lesson hours. In the control 1 group, story topics were given to the students, and they were asked to write stories about them as homework during one lesson hour for 9 weeks. In the control 2 group, the researcher did not intervene in their lessons during the term. As a result of the research, there was an increase in the post-test writing skill scores of the experimental and control 1 groups. The mind map method and story writing with homework exercises improved students' writing skills.

Audience evaluations of news videos made with various levels of automation: A population-based survey experiment

The use of automation in news content creation is expanding from the written to the audio-visual medium with news organizations including Reuters turning to video automation services provided by companies such as Wibbitz. Although researchers have explored audience perceptions of text-based news automation, to date no published study has examined how news consumers perceive automated news videos. We conducted a between-subjects online survey experiment to compare how a socio-demographically representative sample ( n = 4200) of online news consumers in the UK perceived human-made, partly automated, and highly automated short-form online news videos on 14 different story topics. Our findings show that human-made videos received on average more favourable responses on some evaluation variables, although the differences were not large. We also found some significant differences in the relative evaluation of automated and human-made news videos across different individual stories. For practitioners our results suggest partly automated news videos with post-automation human editing can be well received. For researchers our results show the need to use reasonably large sets of experimental stimuli, and suggest that ensuring socio-demographic variation within samples of respondents is worthwhile.

Teaching data storytelling as data literacy

PurposeData storytelling courses position students as agents in creating stories interpreted from data about a social problem or social justice issue. The purpose of this study is to explore two research questions: What themes characterized students’ iterative development of data story topics? Looking back at six years of iterative feedback, what categories of data literacy pedagogy did instructors engage for these themes?.Design/methodology/approachThis project examines six years of data storytelling final projects using thematic analysis and three years of instructor feedback. Ten themes in final projects align with patterns in feedback. Reflections on pedagogical approaches to students’ topic development suggest extending data literacy pedagogy categories – formal, personal and folk (Pangrazio and Sefton-Green, 2020).FindingsData storytelling can develop students’ abilities to move from being consumers to creators of data and interpretations. The specific topic of personal data exposure or risk has presented some challenges for data literacy instruction (Bowler et al., 2017). What “personal” means in terms of data should be defined more broadly. Extending the data literacy pedagogy categories of formal, personal and folk (Pangrazio and Sefton-Green, 2020) could more effectively center social justice in data literacy instruction.Practical implicationsImplications for practice include positioning students as producers of data interpretation, such as role-playing data analysis or decision-making scenarios.Social implicationsData storytelling has the potential to address current challenges in data literacy pedagogy and in teaching critical data literacy.Originality/valueCourse descriptions provide a template for future data literacy pedagogy involving data storytelling, and findings suggest implications for expanding definitions and applications of personal and folk data literacies.

Abstract 4241: Reducing your risk cancer-focused health events to meaningfully engage the medically underserved and diminish future cancer disparities

Abstract Lack of access to cancer prevention education, early screening, and timely treatment, particularly in low socioeconomic, underserved communities, are cited as substantial barriers to improving survivorship. Outreach educational efforts with on-site screenings offered in partnership with community groups are known to be valuable in encouraging community members’ uptake of healthy behaviors and adherence to screening recommendation. To create more engaging events, a community-academic partnership, We Engage 4 Health (WE4H), co-created 11 unique 4-panel comic-style stories designed to be read aloud together as attendees visit each event table. These colorful stories are shared on boards that stand on each table and are offered in both English and Spanish at this time. Many tables also have an accompanying hands-on activity. Together, they lead to meaningful “low stakes” discussions which support understanding of seemingly complex health information. Story topics include the cause of cancer (Cells Gone Wrong), cancer risk factors (Reducing Your Risk), the role of primary care in cancer screening (Primary Care for Prevention), the purpose of research (short Research Ready) and details about specific cancer types (Combatting Colon Cancer, Blocking Breast Cancer, Looking for Lung Cancer, Silencing Skin Cancer, Hindering HPV, and Professional Prostate Protection) and COVID-19 (Take Your Best Shot FAQs). A health passport is used to facilitate table visitation and survey collection at each table enables meaningful evaluation of the event as well as provides the community hosts and their partners baseline cancer data to inform future programing. In 2022, WE4H and the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center partnered with three different communities to co-host pilot events that served over 100 adult residents. Community, research interns and university students volunteered to work the tables at the event and received training prior. Post event surveys and discussions indicated that community partners appreciated the different take on a health fair event. Most volunteers indicated that they would enjoy volunteering again. Attendees indicated that they liked the graphic-style story format used and most preferred it to text and text with graphics approaches. Taken together, the data indicates that Reducing Your Risk events are useful in meaningfully engaging hard to reach, at risk attendees. Additional in-person and virtual events are being planned for 2023 as an approach to reach the medically underserved throughout our region. Citation Format: Melinda Butsch Kovacic, Susan Gertz, Lauren Bates, Susan Hershberger, We Engage 4 Health Community-Academic Partnership. Reducing your risk cancer-focused health events to meaningfully engage the medically underserved and diminish future cancer disparities. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 4241.

Topic and Content of Personal Narratives of Children from Three East Asian Cultures and Three English-Speaking Cultures: A Collaborative Qualitative Analysis.

Narrative language skills are critical for effective social interactions and academic success. Consequently, narratives are regularly an aspect of assessment and intervention for children with communication impairments, supporting the need for information about typical development from children across cultures. Development of coherent personal narratives is associated with growth of both one's individual identity and cultural identity which are linked to psychological well-being. The topics and contents of children's personal stories can provide insight into cultural influences on what children consider important, how they interpret experiences, and their values and beliefs, which in turn contribute to their developing individual and cultural self-identity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the topics and content of personal narratives told by typically developing 10-year-old children from East Asian and Western English-speaking cultures. There were 20 children in each of three East Asian language groups - Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean; and 62 children in the English-speaking groups (22 in the USA and 20 each in the Australian and New Zealand groups). In each group, half were boys and half were girls. Children responded to prompts from the Global TALES protocol to elicit personal narratives. All language samples were transcribed, translated, and coded for topic choices using qualitative content analysis in collaborative discussions by the four authors, who included an English-speaking author from the USA (C.E.W.), and three authors, who are native speakers of the three East Asian languages, Mandarin (K.-M.C.), Cantonese (A.M.-Y.W.), and Korean (J.P.L.). Results on topics in stories from East Asian and Western English-speaking cultures are described in relation to literature on anthropology. English-speaking children and East Asian children in this study talked about similar topics in their personal narratives, but the frequency of these topics within their stories varied. Possible explanations for differences in story topics are discussed within a framework on cultural dimensions. Evaluation of the topics of children's personal narratives provides insight into what is important to the children and the way they view their worlds. This information may inform clinical approaches to assessment and intervention with children with communication impairments, encouraging clinicians to go beyond analysis of language structure to consider multiple factors that influence communicative competence.

No Access, No Travel, and No Relationship Building: Sportswriters’ Assessments of Content Production in the Absence of Live Sports Due to COVID-19

When the sports world abruptly shut down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sports journalists were left without live events to cover. To better understand how sports reporters adapted to these unforeseen circumstances, 23 in-depth interviews were conducted with American sports journalists working at local and national newspapers to acquire firsthand accounts of story topics, newsgathering procedures, and impacts on the industry moving forward. Three main themes emerged from the interviews: lack of access to players and coaches, remote newsgathering, and a temporary move to other departments in the newsroom, which required the sportswriters to be more creative. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The Impact of 280 Characters: An Analysis of Trump’s Tweets and Television News Through the Lens of Agenda Building

Twitter impacts what is covered by journalists, which affects what viewers think is important. This article explores the association between Trump’s tweets and cable and network television news coverage through the theoretical framework of agenda building. During a 3-week period in January 2020, a content analysis of story topics and publication times of Fox News, CNN, ABC, and NBC (N = 1,436) was conducted in conjunction with Trump’s tweets (N = 277). The findings showed a strong correlation between Fox News and @realDonaldTrump ’s tweets and a moderate correlation with CNN. About half of Trump’s tweets reflected Fox News stories, hosts, or guests. More than 40% of news stories mentioned Trump, while his tweets were in stories at least 10% of the time. The results showed that Trump and Fox News had a strong influence over agenda building in the United States’ television news landscape.

Intraday Intermedia Agenda-Setting in the Manic World of Online News Reporting

ABSTRACT This research explores the changing landscape of intermedia agenda-setting as it occurs over the course of a single day. Specific attention is given to the attenuated influence of elite legacy media (The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal) on the online news reporting of other types of media. Using a content analysis of 16 news media outlets, results suggest that elite legacy media are no longer the sole agenda setter within United States media. Data were analyzed using both the traditional method of identifying first-level agenda categories, but also analyzing second-level story topics within the broader agenda categories. As the intermedia agenda-setting process occurs more rapidly than ever, a 1-hour time lag is used to capture the process more precisely.

УСНІ НАРАТИВИ ПРО АКЦІЮ «ВІСЛА» 1947 РОКУ: ТРАДИЦІЯ ТА СУЧАСНІСТЬ

The definition of the subject and sphere of folklore investigation depends on the understanding of folklore, which in turn requires the harmonisation and definition of certain theoretical concepts. In the 21st century, studies of folklore have gone beyond the village, and since then it is worth talking about different approaches and expansion of semantics of this term. The modern context of folklore differs significantly from the traditional one, since its specificity is determined by the media, which not only became one of the ways of transmitting and spreading folklore, but also significantly influence the transformations taking place in folklore. In addition, they exhibit with exceptional strength the functions of folklore, which are constantly expanding, and are the main source of productive (folklore) situations. They inspire natural situations, stimulate and create narratives, and influence the transformation of traditional forms of oral storytelling. Today researchers call such stories spoken (everyday) folklore, the most important feature of which is the image of life and thinking of society, its mass, which cannot monopolise a separate group or social layer, but which can change depending on circumstances and environment. Analysis of modern memories clearly shows that individual statement is not so much an individual form, but a peculiar essence of the group in which the person lives. Individual memory is always socially and culturally due mainly to the narrative tradition of this society, practicing specific ways of using motives and story topics. It is also worth noting that often the memories that arise from the existential need to tell (speak) give us much more information about the interlocutors as such than about specific facts from the past. The folklorist is sometimes more interested in how these facts appear in the story, how they exist and are verbalised, what emotions the narrator experiences, what means he uses to verbalise / depict them, and what emotions he wants to evoke in the listener. The modern context of folklore differs significantly from the traditional one, since its specificity is determined by the media, which not only became one of the ways of transmitting and spreading folklore, but also significantly influence the transformations taking place in folklore. Today researchers call such stories spoken (everyday) folklore, the most important feature of which is the image of life and thinking of society, its mass, which cannot monopolise a separate group or social layer, but which can change depending on circumstances and environment. Analysis of modern memories clearly shows that individual statement is not so much an individual form, but a peculiar essence of the group in which the person lives. Individual memory is always socially and culturally due mainly to the narrative tradition of this society, practicing specific ways of using motives and story topics.

Creating engagement with solutions visuals: testing the effects of problem-oriented versus solution-oriented photojournalism

An increasing number of news organizations are reporting stories about responses to persistent societal problems, a reporting form known as solutions journalism. While this type of reporting practice is typically text-based, visual reporting can also be solutions journalism. Photojournalism theory and practice pose particular insights for advancing academic understanding of solutions journalism. This study uses an experiment to examine effects of exposure to problem-oriented versus solution-oriented photojournalism for three different story topics. The study examines important variables such as narrative engagement, interest, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions. Study data suggest that narrative engagement can play an important role in involving audiences in visual solutions reporting, with data showing that solutions visual reporting is more engaging on average. Further, when audiences are more engaged in the visual solutions reporting, participants report more positive outcomes for interest, self-efficacy, and behavior intentions. Study findings have implications for both journalism theory and for the practice of visual solutions journalism.

Children’s news in Australia: content for young readers in Crinkling News

ABSTRACTChildren have traditionally been neglected in the study of news. The emergence of Crinkling News, the only national newspaper specifically produced for young Australians, drew widespread attention before it closed after 20 months of publication in 2018. With the Australian media in a state of flux, the initial success of this newspaper highlighted the importance of introducing children to media literacy. This paper explores the characteristics of the presentation of news for children through the pages of Crinkling News. Utilising news values, this study also investigates the selection of angles and how stories and information are packaged for young audiences. It will examine how traditional content is mixed with user-generated contributions. Drawing on a content analysis of 12 months of issues, the paper outlines the type of coverage and story topics used to engage children in journalism. By providing key insights into generational access to news, this paper develops further understanding into children’s media literacy and provides recommendations for future scholarship. It also highlights the importance of enabling children’s participation in news as part of the critical public sphere.

Pen Pal Books: A Problem-Solving Challenge

Using children's literature to stimulate mathematics learning is by no means a novel idea. Myriad books by wellknown authors, such as Stuart Murphy and Cindy Neuschwander, not only engage the readers but also spark students' interest in learning mathematics. The combination of literature, mathematics, and well-developed classroom activities with discussion can transform a student into a problem solver who engages in conceptually driven learning (NCTM 2000). In our article, we discuss the use of a pen pal book project that began with the creation of mathematics-themed children's books by pre-K-8 preservice teachers. The intended audience for the books was sixth-grade students. In this collaborative partnership, the books created by the preservice teachers were then presented to sixth-grade students who read the stories; solved the problems posed; and critiqued the overall content, readability, and relevance of the story topics.

Coverage of Abortion in Select U.S. Newspapers.

News coverage can shape public understanding of policy issues in important ways. In the last decade, many new state-level abortion restrictions have been passed, often based on claims about the safety of abortion care, yet little is known about recent news coverage of abortion. This study analyzes a sample of news on abortion in the United States and explores the implications for reproductive health policymakers, practitioners, and advocates. We analyzed a sample of news and opinion articles containing the term "abortion" published in three major U.S. newspaper sources in 2013 and 2016. The total sample was 783 unique pieces. We coded for story topics, references to fetal personhood, women's stories, and basic abortion facts. Three trained coders conducted the coding, with intercoder reliability rates ranging from 0.777 to 1.0. Most of the time abortion appears in the news, it is merely mentioned, rather than discussed substantively. Abortion is covered as a political issue more than a health issue. The personal experiences of people who get abortions are present in only 4% of the sample, and language personifying the fetus appears more often than women's abortion stories. State abortion restrictions are newsworthy, yet basic facts on the commonality and safety of abortion are virtually absent. This study suggests that the news does not support public understanding of abortion as a common, safe part of reproductive health care. Such framing may undermine public support for policies that protect access to this common health care service.

News Media Presentations of Electronic Cigarettes: A Content Analysis of News Coverage in South Korea

Analyzing newspaper articles and television news transcripts, our study examines the quantity and the nature of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) coverage in South Korea. In terms of the quantity, we found that news coverage of e-cigarettes significantly increased in the most recent 2 years (2014 and 2015). Our analysis of story topics indicated that South Korean news media were more likely to present e-cigarettes as a policy issue than a health issue, talking primarily about how to regulate this new product. When it comes to potential benefits and drawbacks of e-cigarettes, news coverage was unbalanced and more likely to talk about health risks than benefits. Overall, the tone of news stories was largely unfavorable, suggesting that public sentiment in South Korea has been rather negative than positive toward e-cigarette vaping. We also found that such journalistic practices as relying heavily on established routine sources and focusing on the stories that can attract larger audiences might have affected the way e-cigarettes were presented in the news.

Using EEG to Examine the Role of Attention, Working Memory, Emotion, and Imagination in Narrative Transportation

Purpose: This paper presents a study using encephalography (EEG) to investigate consumer responses to narrative videos in energy efficiency social marketing. The purpose is to 1. assess the role of attention, emotion, working memory, and imagination in narrative transportation, 2. Understand more about the temporal stages of narrative transportation. Design/methodology/approach: Consumers took part in an EEG experiment during which they were shown four different narrative videos to identify brain response during specific epochs of each video. Findings: The study found that at the start of the narrative videos attention, working memory, and emotion was high before attenuating with some introspection at the end of this segment. During the narrative segment of the videos attention, working memory and emotion were also high, with attention becoming lower but memory, imagination, and cognitive processing occurring. However, some differences in consumer responses across each of the four videos suggest that story topics and their fit with story receivers may be an important factor in narrative transportation. Practical implications: Marketers should attempt to gain focus attention and invoke emotional response, working memory and imagination to achieve a greater intensity of narrative transportation with consumers. The fit between story object and story reviewer should also be considered when creating consumer narratives. Finally, the study suggests that narratives can be a useful approach in energy efficiency social marketing. Originality/value: This research contributes to theory by identifying brain response relating to attention, emotion, working memory, and imaginative response during specific stages of narrative transportation. The study considers the role of attention, emotion, working memory and imagination during stories, and how these may relate to narrative transportation.

Citizen sources in the news: Above and beyond the vox pop?

Both within journalism and academia it is argued that citizen voices should have a greater prominence in news to counterbalance the virtual monopoly of elite sources. This study extends previous studies – showing increased presence of citizens in news – by investigating relevant but unanswered questions, namely, (1) whether there has been a change in their prominence relative to elite and civil society sources and (2) in which capacity citizens have been present in the past two-and-a-half decades. Moreover, (3) citizens’ contribution to different story topics is explored. In this study, 1425 television news stories broadcast between 1990 and 2014 ( N = 2413 sources) are analyzed. Results show that citizen sources became more prominent at the cost of elite sources. However, elite sources still remain the primary definers in news. Citizens do not get a more substantive, relevant voice as they are primarily used as vox pops, regardless of story topic.

WitchHunter: Tools for the Geo-Semantic Exploration of a Danish Folklore Corpus

Abstract Researchers of traditional storytelling are largely limited to existing indices for the discovery of stories. These indices rarely include geo-indexing, despite a fundamental premise of folkloristics that stories are closely related to the physical environment. Consequently, it is often difficult for folklore researchers to address questions that relate story topics to geographic location. To address this problem, we propose WitchHunter, a suite of tools for the geographically based exploration of a large folklore corpus (>30,000 stories). WitchHunter presents visual representations of the latent semantic connections between stories in a map-based navigation and discovery environment. These visualizations of the relationship between places and a first-level approximation of story topics can be used by researchers to build and refine research questions. We illustrate the usefulness of this environment through a series of experiments related to legends about witches, cunning folk, ghosts, revenants, hidden folk, and other supernatural phenomena.

Constructing hegemonic masculinities

In this article we draw upon the notions of heterosexuality, heteronormativity, agency and responsibility in order to investigate the construction of hegemonic masculinities through stories produced by Greek male adolescents. Our data are part of a broader set of narrative data collected in the context of a research project aiming to record and analyse naturally occurring talk of Greek youths. We adopt the model of narrative positioning in order to explore how young men narratively construct their identities as heterosexual human beings. The narratives at hand deal with sexually related encounters in which our male narrators are involved with women who hold senior, institutional roles. The story topics are presented as unconventional, and our narrators diminish their agency and responsibility for the sexually related acts, which, in turn, are attributed to female characters. We explore and unpack the subtle ways in which our narrators position themselves in relation to heterosexuality and heteronormativity, and how this contributes to the construction of their (hegemonic) masculine selves. To this end, we attempt to probe deeper into the notion of hegemonic masculinity.

Contest Over Content

This study examines how participatory journalism reshapes the field of journalism in the case of Cable News Network (CNN) iReport. Participation is conceptualized on a continuum, ranging from participants as providing comments to news stories to participants as constructing news. Using a textual analysis combined with a content analysis of CNN's broadcast transcripts and articles posted online on CNN.com (N = 668) over a period of six years, this study investigates CNN iReporters' positions in the organization's news content as part of its overall news culture. Findings suggest that CNN assigns three major positions to iReporters: commentator, eyewitness, and co-worker. Positions of iReporters vary in story topics and contexts over time. Results show that CNN repositions itself and legitimizes its position as an agenda setter and moderator in relation to citizens' contributions. In the context of CNN iReport, participatory journalism as integrated in corporate media content may reinforce the organization's cultural capital—their independence from external influences—while letting citizens and ultimately free labor be part of news as well as, more recently, sharing with citizens the process of constructing news.

Watchdog, Voyeur, or Censure?

One of the longest-running ethical debates in visual journalism is the extent to which graphic and/or violent photographs should be present in our news media. The current research is designed to elicit further understanding about this complex topic from a framing effects perspective. The research uses a 2 (level of graphicness) × 3 (story topic) experimental design to test for media effects of graphic photos in regard to such variables as attitude toward the situation and attitude toward continued US involvement in the situation. The three story topics are the 2011 Somalia famine, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the 2003 war in Iraq. In addition, the research integrates eye-tracking data—a unique approach to understanding the effects of graphic photographs on participants. The research did not find across the board significant effects in regard to level of graphicness; however, a key finding emerged: the nature of the news story did lead to significant effects. In addition, the inclusion of eye-tracking data showed that the highly graphic photos more quickly attracted participants' attention and that participants' fixated on highly graphic photos for a longer amount of time.