Story Structure Research Articles

Interactive Documentary as Form of Public Narrative in Digital Age

This paper examines how migration crises in North America are represented in two award-winning interactive documentary projects—Borderland and Roxham. Through various combinations of images, texts, video, surface designs and visual presentation, those two both portray detailed stories and imply critical point of views. Based on reflection on interactivity, hypertextuality, multimediality that afforded by digital technology, this project is guided by the main research question: how do features of interactive documentary enable this non-linear storytelling structure to be a new form of public narrative? With the analysis of Borderland and Roxham as case studies, remixes of multimedia visual elements, narrative structures, contributions from users and variation in user’s narrative routes are also discussed within sub-questions: how does the story of individual open emotional dialogue in those two projects? In what way users can experience the shared values through emotion that may lead to moral choice?
 
 Two projects are analyzed by Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis to evaluate the structure of stories and interactivity constructed by moving images, perspectives, and storytelling. By tapping into the interlocking plots and the power of narrative, I argue that interactive documentary forms a unique public narrative when tackling social issues, allowing self-experience to intertwine with collective experience, and let individuals meet in this temporal public sphere through authorial expressivity, narrative routes and interactive participatory.

Retelling as a means of story structure and story content understanding

ABSTRACT This study examined whether particular practices in story retelling improve children’s comprehension of story structure and enables them to further comment on the story content. Eighty-three (83) kindergarten children (M = 5.4) years old composed the experimental (N = 43) and the control (N = 40) groups. For 6 weeks, one time per week, six well-structured books were read to the experimental group as follows: Before reading there was a brief discussion, while after reading children were trained in story retelling. The intervention programme in retelling consisted of five levels, which began from total teacher assistance to the point where children were able to retell the story freely and completely. The same six books were simply read to the control group and after the reading the children discussed the interesting parts and made drawings based on the story. Children’s retellings were taped and analysed by a series of measures. Results confirmed the experimental group children’s achievements in almost all measurements indicating that the multilevel training programme in retelling enhanced children’s ability for deeper comprehension and further commentary.

Personal and fictional narratives development in kindergarten children. The effects of an intervention programme

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study examines the impact of an instructional strategy on kindergarten children's narrative skills. The strategy was based on Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) principles and was adapted for kindergarten children. The sample consisted of 85 children aged 5-6, attending six kindergarten classes in Crete, Greece. The intervention programme was implemented over an eight-week period. After book reading, the experimental group was trained in narrating fictional stories, whereas the control group was led in a brief discussion where they expressed their thoughts about interesting parts of the story. The results showed that the SRSD as a model of instruction helped children assimilate story structure and enabled them to apply it effectively when asked to create a personal or fictional story. The results suggested that the multilevel intervention programme engaging children in various ways (linguistically, cognitively, emotionally) have a positive impact on the development of children's narrative skill.

Analisis Unsur Naratif sebagai Pembentuk Film Animasi Bul

Animated films that are interesting and beautiful can be created if an animator or creator, and the audience understand the elements that make up an animated film. Even more so for animators or creators as creators of animated film art. The audience cannot understand the animated film being shown, if the creator himself does not understand the elements that make up the animated film. The animation, entitled Bul, is the best animated film in the 2D animated film category. Therefore, it becomes interesting to be explored or researched. This research was conducted by observing the animated film Bul. This research is a field research designed to study, and reveal how the aesthetics of an animated film Bul is formed by film-forming elements, one of which is the narrative element. The critical paradigm is used as a basis for thinking in the hope of being able to comprehensively reveal and answer the problem of narrative elements in the animated film Bul. This research uses qualitative research methods in the area of ​​art studies, which is a research procedure that produces descriptive data in the form of written words or expressions from a person and studies the behavior of the artist and the object being observed. The results showed that the narrative element which is one of the elements that form a film, especially in this case the animated film entitled Bul, has a very important role. Narrative elements consist of elements of theme, story, story structure, and character/character. Each element is interrelated, supports each other, needs and influences each other so as to create a unity that is able to create a beautiful feeling and the message can be received by the observer or the audience.

Beyond the Story Structure: Qualitative Aspects of Retelling

In this study particular practices in story retelling ware examined, these improved children’s comprehension of story structure and enabled them to made comments within and beyond the story. One hundred fifteen (115) kindergarten children composed the treatment and alternative condition. For 8 weeks and for one time per week, 8 well-structured as following: Before reading a brief discussion was carried out, while after reading children were trained in story retelling. The intervention program in retelling consisted of five levels, which began from total teacher’s assistance to the point where children were able to retell the story freely and completely. The same 8 books were simply read to the control group and after the readings children made drawings from the story.. Children’s retellings were taped and analyzed according to a series of quantitative and qualitative measures. Results indicated that guided practice in retelling enhance children’s ability for deeper comprehension and thus resulted in further comments about and beyond the text.

Adaptive Playback Control: A Framework for Cinematic VR Creators to Embrace Viewer Interaction

Content creators have been trying to produce engaging and enjoyable Cinematic Virtual Reality (CVR) experiences using immersive media such as 360-degree videos. However, a complete and flexible framework, like the filmmaking grammar toolbox for film directors, is missing for creators working on CVR, especially those working on CVR storytelling with viewer interactions. Researchers and creators widely acknowledge that a viewer-centered story design and a viewer’s intention to interact are two intrinsic characteristics of CVR storytelling. In this paper, we stand on that common ground and propose Adaptive Playback Control (APC) as a set of guidelines to assist content creators in making design decisions about the story structure and viewer interaction implementation during production. Instead of looking at everything CVR covers, we set constraints to focus only at cultural heritage oriented content using a guided-tour style. We further choose two vital elements for interactive CVR: the narrative progression (director vs. viewer control) and visibility of viewer interaction (implicit vs. explicit) as the main topics at this stage. We conducted a user study to evaluate four variants by combining these two elements, and measured the levels of engagement, enjoyment, usability, and memory performance. One of our findings is that there were no differences in the objective results. Combining objective data with observations of the participants’ behavior we provide guidelines as a starting point for the application of the APC framework. Creators need to choose if the viewer will have control over narrative progression and the visibility of interaction based on whether the purpose of a piece is to invoke emotional resonance or promote efficient transfer of knowledge. Also, creators need to consider the viewer’s natural tendency to explore and provide extra incentives to invoke exploratory behaviors in viewers when adding interactive elements. We recommend more viewer control for projects aiming at viewer’s participation and agency, but more director control for projects focusing on education and training. Explicit (vs. implicit) control will also yield higher levels of engagement and enjoyment if the viewer’s uncertainty of interaction consequences can be relieved.

Человек на границе: поэтика контраста в рассказах И. А. Бунина «Над городом» и «Часовня»

The paper is the first to come up with a comparative analysis of I. A. Bunin “Above the city” (1900) and “Chapel” (1944). The author aims to trace the creative and ideological evolution of I. A. Bunin. The grounds for comparison are the similarity of the key plot situations and likeness of the motive and figurative structures of the stories. The stories are based on the same key plot situation — a man on the border. At the same time, the motive structure of both stories is formed on the basis of the poetics of contrasts. The study reveals key antithetical motifs that create the “two worlds” of stories: children — adults; top — bottom; “here” — “there”; light — darkness; cold — warm; “past” — “present”; “living” — “dead”. The paper establishes that the contrast manifests itself in the key oppositions of the texts of both stories and realizes at all levels of the works (ideological and thematic, the level of the figurative system, the motive level) and turns out to be the most important property of Bunin's poetics, both “early” (pre-revolutionary) and “late” (emigrant) periods. At the same time, the comparative analysis shows that, despite the similarity and “evolutionary nature” of the motive and figurative structures of the stories, they have an opposite compositional orientation, so that the same plot situation receives a diametrically opposite resolution in the stories. It appears that I. A. Bunin goes through the “reverse” worldview evolution from the story “Above the city” (1900) to “The Chapel” (1944).

A Design Space for Applying the Freytag's Pyramid Structure to Data Stories

Data stories integrate compelling visual content to communicate data insights in the form of narratives. The narrative structure of a data story serves as the backbone that determines its expressiveness, and it can largely influence how audiences perceive the insights. Freytag's Pyramid is a classic narrative structure that has been widely used in film and literature. While there are continuous recommendations and discussions about applying Freytag's Pyramid to data stories, little systematic and practical guidance is available on how to use Freytag's Pyramid for creating structured data stories. To bridge this gap, we examined how existing practices apply Freytag's Pyramid by analyzing stories extracted from 103 data videos. Based on our findings, we proposed a design space of narrative patterns, data flows, and visual communications to provide practical guidance on achieving narrative intents, organizing data facts, and selecting visual design techniques through story creation. We evaluated the proposed design space through a workshop with 25 participants. Results show that our design space provides a clear framework for rapid storyboarding of data stories with Freytag's Pyramid.

Erato: Cooperative Data Story Editing via Fact Interpolation.

As an effective form of narrative visualization, visual data stories are widely used in data-driven storytelling to communicate complex insights and support data understanding. Although important, they are difficult to create, as a variety of interdisciplinary skills, such as data analysis and design, are required. In this work, we introduce Erato, a human-machine cooperative data story editing system, which allows users to generate insightful and fluent data stories together with the computer. Specifically, Erato only requires a number of keyframes provided by the user to briefly describe the topic and structure of a data story. Meanwhile, our system leverages a novel interpolation algorithm to help users insert intermediate frames between the keyframes to smooth the transition. We evaluated the effectiveness and usefulness of the Erato system via a series of evaluations including a Turing test, a controlled user study, a performance validation, and interviews with three expert users. The evaluation results showed that the proposed interpolation technique was able to generate coherent story content and help users create data stories more efficiently.

Finding the Story.

Story is the oldest known way of sharing knowledge and information and engages us in our collective humanity. In research settings, story brings meaning to complex ideas, making them feel palpable and connects us with our audience. Historically, the disciplines that take a research interest in the importance of narrative have been largely in fields like the philosophy of science/medicine, medical humanities, and sociology though story is "always already" a part of scientific research. Humanities have gained traction in medical and science education, and researchers are seeking such curricula to communicate more effectively with the public and their students. We believe that story is an effective tool to enable CTS investigators to be effective educators and communicators of translational science. Story-based interdisciplinary pedagogy emphasizes an approach encouraging clinical researchers to keep the human story as the driving force of research design, dissemination, and application of research to diverse audiences. In this article, we provide backgrounds on successful programs that have used story in science communication and education as well as a tool researchers can use to incorporate the structure of story into their own work.

ANALYSIS ON THE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ STRATEGIES IN TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION AT SMP LABSCHOOL PALU

The objectives of this research are (1) to find out the strategies that the English teachers use in teaching reading comprehension at SMP Labschool Palu, (2) to find out the reasons why the English teachers chose the strategies in teaching reading comprehension. The subject of this research all the English teachers at SMP Labschool Palu. This research was descriptive qualitative research. The technique of collecting data were questionnaire and interview. The researcher analyzed the data by using descriptive qualitative research. The result of this research showed that there were five strategies mostly used by the English teachers in teaching reading comprehension to be applied in the classroom. There were (monitoring comprehension, recognizing story structure, question answer relationship, graphic and semantic organizers, and summarizing). Based on the analysis of interview to the teachers, those strategies can help the teachers because the students more active and the students could exchange their opinion with their friends.

Comparative analysis of seismic response of buildings with different base isolation systems

When a structure is subjected to earthquake forces, vibrations are setup in the structure leading to severe damages to the structure and results in loss of property and life. Now a days, keen attention is given to research and development of vibration control devices to mitigate the seismic effects. The present duty of civil engineer is to discover earthquake resisting design approach to reduce structural damages. The basic technology used to protect the structure from damaging earthquake effects is “base isolation”. The base isolation system decouples the super-structure from the substructure by means of flexible devices through which seismic energy is dissipated. In the present context G+15 storey structure situated in zone V is modeled and analyzed using ETABS-2017 software by providing different base isolation systems namely a) RC structure having fixed base b) RC structure with Fluid Viscous Damper (FVD) and Lead Rubber Bearing (LRB). Response of the structure is studied in terms of story displacement, story drift, base shear, natural time period and design lateral forces. It is found that the provision of Fluid Viscous Damper (FVD) and Lead Rubber Bearing (LRB) in a same structure shows better performance in story displacement, base shear, story drift, natural time period and design lateral forces as compared to fixed base model.

Kemampuan Menulis Teks Cerita pada Mahasiswa Program Sarjana Pendidikan Bahasa Indonesia Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Universitas Bengkulu

The purpose of this study is to describe the ability to write story texts for students of the Indonesian Language Education Undergraduate Program FKIP Bengkulu University. The scope of this research covers aspects of (1) the suitability of the theme with the content, (2) the structure of the story text, (3) the choice of words (diction), (4) the use of story-style sentences, and (5) the Indonesian Language spelling and handwriting. This research uses descriptive method and quantitative approach. The research population was all students of the Indonesian Language Education Study Program FKIP Bengkulu University in the odd semester of 2018/2019 and the sample was purposive sampling, determining that there were 34 students in semester III-A. Collecting data uses test techniques and instruments in the form of instructions for writing stories with the theme of "love" and guidelines for assessing the ability to write stories based on five components, including content, text structure, diction, sentences, and mechanics. Data analysis used descriptive statistics to find the mean and determined qualitative results. The results showed that the ability to write story texts for the students of the Indonesian Language Education Undergraduate Program, FKIP Bengkulu University, was categorized as good. This is based on the score of all components with an average of 73.97. These results still require efforts to improve to be better. The results of each aspect of the ability to write story texts, namely aspects (1) the suitability of the theme with the content, good category (18.94), (2) story structure, good category (16.09), (3) accuracy of diction in good category (score 14 ,3), (4) narrative language style sentences are in good category (17.24), and (5) mechanics (BI spelling and handwriting) are in good category (7.32).

Criteria of Using Optimum Size Approach for Reduction of Axial Forces in Column in Multi Storied Building under Seismic Zone III

Abstract: In India, every industry has its own importance to make the country shift towards its future goal. The construction industry plays a very significant role with the introduction of high-rise structures that has been increasing regularly. Beside this, the structure should be strong enough that each element should be economic and strong. The criteria of using optimum size approach for reduction of axial forces in column in multi storied building under seismic zone is a new idea. It reduces the size of beams and columns at the different levels of the building. On other hand, the structural weight should be minimized when the self-weight of the same will be reduced and proved to be an economic structure. In this project a G+13 Storey structure is analyzed using six different cases named as AFR Case A to AFR Case F assumed to be situated in seismic Zone III. The plinth area is in use as 625 m2 and all the cases have compared with each parameter. The project concluded that efficient Case is AFR Case C on comparing 6 maximum axial force reduction cases that ultimately reduce the overall cost of the project. Keywords: Axial forces, Columns, Strength, Durability, Software Models, High-Rise Structures

Digital Affordances and Evaluative Stance: Redefining Hard News Orbital Structure

This study approaches the question of how text generic structure acts as semiotic instantiations of evaluative stance, particularly in the online context. In this respect, it explores the generic structure of online reportage stories with its multitude modes, distinctive rhetorical structure and layout with a view to differentiating them from their printed counterparts and extending the theoretical tools in this area by introducing slight modifications to Iedema, Feez and White’s (1994) model for hard news generic structure. Doing so, the study employs Mann and Thompson’s (1988) approach to genre so as to determine reportage nuclearity and Thompson and Hunston’s (2000) model of evaluation to relate evaluation to text organisational structure. It takes a case study of one of New York Times online reportage stories criticising Egypt’s sugar crisis (2017) to trace how the schematic structure of this story influences and multiplies the evaluative stance. The delicate modifications intend to help in digging deep into the embedded evaluative stance of the online news reportage stories. The study concludes that online reportage can be recognized as a macro genre that includes two interrelated yet independent sub-genres with two nucleus-satellites unites. As for the underlying evaluative stance, the analysis reveals how the NYT reportage story under discussion evaluates the Egyptian sugar crisis along with negatively attributing it to the current government.

A Classroom-Based Training Program Involving Preschool Children for Developing Prerequisite Learning Skills and Social Skills: Ready to Learn

Social skills training is a good way of intervention for preventing social skills deficiencies and emotional-behavioral problems and academic deficiencies that may arise from these deficiencies. Different activities, different methods-strategies and different approaches from theory to practice can be included in intervention programs for social skills. In this study, it is aimed to introduce a classroom program called “Ready to Learn” developed by Brigman, Lane, and Lane (1994), the scientific effect of which has been proven, and to adapt it to Turkish, thus put forth in an available story-based social skill training program for Turkish children. This program was developed for the children aged four to seven in order to promote the learning skills and social skills that are needed for school success. The program called “Ready to Learn” includes social cooperation activities to contain the use of “big books” that are read aloud, storytelling by teachers and children, activities of drawing, dramatic play, puppet, and song, activities on listening and attention, practices for understanding directions through story structures, as well as discussion and interaction. The program, which consists of a series of stories, includes five teacher strategies: (1) modelling-coaching-cueing, (2) student story-telling, (3) student story re-telling, (4) peer reporting, and (5) encouragement council activities. Within the scope of the study, a social skill training program was gained to the literature for Turkish children in preschool period by carrying out phases from the procedures for the provision of Ready to Learn program to the steps required by the adaptation processes. In this context, the study is envisaged to be a guide for social skills training applications and program development studies for preschool children and to provide an intellectual basis for the practices in daily life, meanwhile to be a key resource for improving the problems experienced in preschool period.

Comparative Study of the Wind Codes: An Application to Forty-Six Storied Wall-Frame Structure

"ENGINEER", established in 1973 by The Institution of Engineers, is a Journal for dissemination of Engineering knowledge, published quarterly.Cover DescriptionCover images show a schematic diagram of a Pumped-Storage Hydroelectricity (PSH) facility and one of the promising sites for PSH in Sri Lanka. The latter image was obtained from the publicly available JICA report on “Development Planning on Optimal Power Generation for Peak Demand in Sri Lanka”. The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka acknowledges JICA for the image.If you are interested in contributing an Original Technical Paper based on research by the author(s) (intended for Section I) or an Original Article of Professional or Technical interest related to Engineering. (Section II) to this journal please go through the publication checklist which can be downloaded from here.

Numerical analysis of safety distances of reinforced concrete structures subjected to blast loading by Perform-3D

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop the performance model of buildings designed by the seismic code 2800 against the explosion wave and determination of safety distance. Design/methodology/approach Analytical models of three-, five- and ten story structures that used moment frame system and also a ten-storey building with shaer wall designed based on the seismic code 2800 in term of design and nonlinear analysis were generated for use with Perform-3D software. Extensive parametric analysis is executed on different explosive loads with 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 Trinitrotoluene, soil types 2 and 3, models eqs and eqbs, the number of story buildings and the effect of shear wall to determine the safety distance based on collapse threshold performance (CP) level criterion. Findings The results indicate that by increasing the explosives mass from 100 to 5,000 kg and the number of the stories three and five induce increasing the safety distance of CP level in buildings to 4.5 meter and 3 meter times, respectively. Ten-story structures modeled on shear wall show very good performance because of stiffness rising and high energy absorption. In addition, by increasing the stories from five to ten, the amount of the safety distance reduces the CP level to 3.9 meter times. Originality/value The results of this work are meaningful for explosion-resistant design and damage assessments of reinforced concrete moment framed structures subjected to explosive explosion.

Practices for comprehension strategy instruction: Helping kindergarteners improve their listening comprehension

Helping young children improve their listening comprehension throughout the preschool years is significant for their literacy and academic achievement in the subsequent school years. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a comprehesnion strategy intervention program on kindergarteners’ listening comprehension skills improvement. The sample consisted of 14 children aged 4 to 6 years enrolled in a classroom of a public kindergarten school located in a rural area of Crete. The children participated in appropriate practices to develop strategies which are significant for listening comprehension. For that purpose, the classroom teacher was trained to: (a) implement dialogic reading with an emphasis in applying direct instruction techniques which foster vocabulary learning and text comprehension and (b) conduct post reading activities which aimed at helping young children improve their questioning skills and retelling abilities as well as their knowledge of the story structure elements. Children’s parents were also trained to read the selected stories by using appropriate materials to guide children in the text comprehension process. Story reading sessions were recorded, transcribed and analyzed through content analysis to describe any possible development in their comprehenasion skills. The results provide indications about children’s response to the implemented program regarding as well as the difficulties they faced in deriving text meaning and improving the targeted comprehension skills.

A new perspective on referentiality in elicited narratives: Introduction to the Special Issue

This special issue investigates the use of referential expressions in elicited picture-based narratives by children with and without developmental language disorders, across a range of languages and language combinations. All contributions use the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN, Gagarina et al. 2012, 2019). The studies featured in this issue cover monolingual and bilingual children aged 4–11 years, but focus mainly on age 4–7, a period in a child’s life where great strides are made in the development of narrative skills. This collection of papers offers a new perspective on referentiality for several reasons: all studies use the same stimuli and by and large the same procedure for the elicitation of narratives. The stimuli, four picture-based stories, are controlled for comparability of protagonists, plot and story structure. They were designed as a ‘visual’ representation of a multidimensional model of story grammar. This methodological and theoretical base allows for a comparative investigation of referentiality (including reference introduction, maintenance and reintroduction) in narratives, across languages and populations. This introduction addresses theoretical aspects of referentiality in decontextualised discourse and reviews the literature regarding the impact of language-specific referential systems and the age and path of acquisition in typically developing children and children with developmental language disorders. We also discuss methodological aspects of eliciting referentiality in narratives in detail. This introduction thus seeks explanations for the diverse and sometimes contradictory empirical results regarding children’s mastery of referentiality. Finally, an overview of the contributions in the special issue is given.