Traditional Audience Research Articles

Analysis of the Success of the "Central Kitchen" All-media Platform in the Context of Media Fusion

Media fusion has become an important trend in the contemporary news and communication industry, which benefits from the rapid development of technology and the push for digital transformation. Media fusion has not only changed the way and form of news dissemination, but also profoundly influenced the way and habits in which the public obtains information. Drawing on the context of media fusion, this paper examines the practical conditions of media fusion from the perspectives of positive and negative factors, and integrates the specific concept of a "Central Kitchen" to explore its innovative performance on the all-media platform. Through analysis, it is found that innovative performance encompasses cross-media integration, reengineering of news production processes, data mining, and intelligent processing, as well as socialization and decentralization. This paper also synthesizes the experiences and insights gained from the all-media platform "central kitchen" in today's media integration. As media convergence progresses, traditional audience identities are gradually transformed through interactions between production and consumption, impacting news content production methods. Furthermore, with deepening levels of media integration, there is an increasing demand for higher capabilities among media practitioners, necessitating collaboration across all forms of media to minimize news production costs while enhancing communication effectiveness.

"I Felt Everyone Was a Streamer": An Empirical Study on What Makes Avatar Collective Streaming Engaging

A novel participatory livestreaming genre, Avatar Collective Streaming, is gaining traction. Beyond traditional audience participation mechanisms, such as chat messages or commands, these livestreams allow viewers to join, socially interact, and participate through avatars in a software-driven virtual scenario without requiring the presence of a human streamer. From observations of livestreaming sessions and interviews with regular users (n=23), we define the main features of this novel form of livestreaming and we analyze what makes it engaging for participants, as well as factors that limit the user experience. The use of avatars affords a strong sense of presence and participation, and together with the absence of a streamer, it shapes new forms of sociability, being together, and belonging. Challenges include repetitive content and overcrowding. We provide design implications for synchronous collective participation scenarios and opportunities for software-driven content generation.

Digital Marketing, Brand Image and Customer Loyalty at Kopi Kenangan in Pekanbaru

Coffee has become one of the most renowned beverages globally, particularly gaining prominence in Indonesia as a significant commodity. In recent times, the appeal of coffee has expanded among young people, particularly women, broadening its consumer base beyond its traditional audience of men and adults. With the growing popularity of coffee, coffee shop initiatives have surged, each employing various strategies to attract customers. This study aims to explore the impact of digital marketing on enhancing the brand image and customer loyalty of coffee shops, Kopi Kenangan in Pekanbaru. The qualitative research method employed a descriptive approach with case study research, incorporating surveys and interviews with employees of Kopi Kenangan in Pekanbaru. The results indicate a positive and substantial influence of digital marketing on the brand image of coffee shops, with a similarly positive and significant impact on customer loyalty.

Designing for Audience Engagement Exploring the Use of Online Metrics in the GLAM Sector

Many heritage and cultural professionals have emphasised the ability of online content to reach beyond museums’ traditional audiences, yet one of the largest surveys to date shows no significant change in the demographic breakdown of online and on-site visitors. This paper aims to investigate the discrepancy between the data and the narrative, using two case studies to illustrate the pitfalls of using common social media metrics such as ‘views’, ‘likes’, and ‘shares’. Drawing from the authors’ previous sector-wide study, the paper highlights what shapes these numbers, and questions how useful they are as a measure of ‘audience engagement’. Finally, it looks to computational methods to explore nuanced alternatives that could supersede these metrics in the coming decade.

Does Values-Based Interpretation Make a Difference? Testing Impacts on Visitors’ Environmental Learning and Reported Adoption of Environmentally Responsible Behaviors

This experimental field study tests the impact of values-based interpretive materials on zoo/aquarium visitors’ engagement, learning and self-reported adoption of environmentally responsible behaviors after their visit. Participants were randomly assigned to a control group (who experienced a normal visit) or a treatment group (who received additional values-based interpretive materials). A total of 719 participants in North America and 455 in Australia completed two surveys – one immediately after their visit and one four weeks later. Three hypotheses were supported by the data: Providing values-based interpretive materials influences visitors’ engagement during their visit; improves visitor learning; and increases visitors’ adoption of environmentally responsible behaviors. A fourth hypothesis was partially supported: Providing values-based interpretive materials is most beneficial for those who prioritize values other than self-transcendence. It is concluded that values-based interpretation can broaden the reach of zoos beyond traditional audiences and widen their impact on visitor uptake of environmental behavior.

United Kingdom. By Adrian Bingham

History writing is performative and most effective if it targets a specific audience in its structure and reach. Judged thus, the book is a triumph as it implicitly sets out to appeal to a wider, more diverse, and younger readership without recourse to the temptations of simplification or the well-worn clichés of the national story. Extending the resonance of history to less traditional audiences is an ambition embraced by professional historians from schoolteachers through university lecturers to archivists and media producers. This imperative is appreciated by many organizations including the Historical Association and was neatly encapsulated in the Annual Newsletter of the Royal Historical Society (2022) where its chair of the membership committee, Andrew Smith, rationalizes a broader membership: … This reflects both the realities of the historical profession and fosters closer collaboration between practitioners across sectors. While certainly not neglecting the need for deep-mined, original research, there is also scope for skilfully constructing informative assessments of the modern world that take new audiences beyond the rampaging cynicism of contemporary politics or the pessimism of much that passes for debate on the UK’s place in the world, centring the discussion on the UK’s historical context. This is the perfect time for a book such as Bingham’s.

How social are open-access debates: a follow-up study of tweeters' sentiments

PurposeDespite the widespread studies on the attitudes about OA, there exists little comparative evidence about the opinions of author and non-author parties at a global level in a social context. To bridge the gap, this study first investigated the opinions of the users who posted at least one tweet about OA in 2019. Then, it zoomed in to explore the views of the OA-interested tweeters, i.e. the users who have posted five or more tweets about OA.Design/methodology/approachUsing a content analysis method, with an opinion-mining approach, this study examined a sample of 9,268 OA-related tweets posted by 5,227 tweeters in 2019. The sentiments were analyzed using SentiStrength. A threshold of at least five tweets was set to identify the OA-interested tweeters.FindingsAcademics and scholars, library and information professionals, and journals and publishers were the main OA-interested tweeters, implying that OA debates have not been widely propagated from its traditional audience to the general public. Despite an overall positive attitude, the tweeters showed negative perspectives about the gold and hybrid models, validity and quality, and costs and funds. The negativity depended on the OA features tweeted, the tweeters' occupations and gender, as well as the trends.Research limitations/implicationsThe low societal impact of the OA debates calls for solutions to attract the public's attention and to exploit their potential to achieve the OA ideals. The OA stakeholders' divergence necessitates finding solutions to remedy the pitfalls. It also underlines the need for scrutiny into social layers when studying society's opinions and behaviors in a social network.Originality/valueThis is the first study in estimating the extent of the societal impact of OA debates, comparing the social OA stakeholders' opinions and their dependence on the OA features tweeted, the tweeter roles and gender and the tweet trending status.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-09-2022-0502

COVID-19 AND DATA: CRISIS MITIGATION TOOLS

The cultural and creative sector (CCS) is one of the hardest-hit sectors due to COVID-19. The rapid decline in audience and revenues makes it impossible to create and offer financially demanding cultural products and services. This will be a long- term effect – it will affect the supply and demand of cultural services for at least two to three years to come. A realistic forecast suggests that this period will be characterized by a narrowed audience market, a decline in the purchasing power of the population and reduced leverage of funding. Decisions about performances, productions and investments in new content can no longer rely on traditional audience behavioural patterns, historical demand data, or an organization’s institutional memory. Cultural institutions need to make decisions about the future without being able to predict it even two weeks ahead. The article examines the open data arrays available in Latvia on and the potential of their use in the cultural and creative sector to alleviate the crisis.

An Evaluation of the use of Audio Guidance in Augmented Reality Systems Implemented at Sites of Cultural Heritage

Recently, museums and historic sites have begun reaching out beyond their traditional audience groups, using more innovative digital display technology to find and attract a new audience. Virtual, mixed, and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies are becoming more ubiquitous in our society and “virtual history” exhibits are starting to be available to the public. There are numerous studies focusing on AR, however a scant amount of research is being done at historical sites. An initial experiment used repeated measures (ANOVA) to compare and rank three different types of AR devices used at a site of cultural heritage. A further experiment was then undertaken to observe participants using two different AR devices with and without sound to determine if which device used or the presence of sound impact the usability of the device, or the user’s satisfaction/preference of specific devices. Several surveys, including demographic and usability surveys, were provided in order to collect a range of user data. A two-way repeated measures (ANOVA) were used to analyze the quantitative data gathered. No significant effects were observed based on the quantitative data provided by the surveys, indicating that all devices were equally usable and satisfactory, and that sound did not have a significant impact in this instance. However, the qualitative data indicated that users may prefer using AR technology on a smartphone device and preferred to use this device paired with sound.

Reaching out to early-career astrobiologists: AbGradE's actions and perspectives

AbstractAstrobiology Graduates in Europe (AbGradE, pronounced ab-grad-ee) is an association of early-career scientists working in fields relevant to astrobiological research. Conceptualized in 2013, it was initially designed as a mini-conference or workshop dedicated to early-career researchers, providing a friendly environment where early-career minds would be able to present their research without being intimidated by the possibility of facing a more traditional audience, composed mainly of senior scientists. Within the last couple of years, AbGradE became the first point of call for European, but also for an increasing number of non-European, early-career astrobiologists. This article aims to present how AbGradE has evolved over the years (in its structure and in its way of organizing events), how it has adapted with the COVID-19 pandemic, and what future developments are considered.

Women and Gender in Iraq: Between Nation-Building and Fragmentation

Women and Gender in Iraq: Between Nation-Building and Fragmentation

The impact of COVID-19 on digital data practices in museums and art galleries in the UK and the US

The first quarter of 2020 heralded the beginning of an uncertain future for museums and galleries as the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the only means to stay ‘open’ was to turn towards the digital. In this paper, we investigate how the physical closure of museum buildings due to lockdown restrictions caused shockwaves within their digital strategies and changed their data practices potentially for good. We review the impact of COVID-19 on the museum sector, based on literature and desk research, with a focus on the implications for three museums and art galleries in the United Kingdom and the United States, and their mission, objectives, and digital data practices. We then present an analysis of ten qualitative interviews with expert witnesses working in the sector, representing different roles and types of institutions, undertaken between April and October 2020. Our research finds that digital engagement with museum content and practices around data in institutions have changed and that digital methods for organising and accessing collections for both staff and the general public have become more important. We present evidence that strategic preparedness influenced how well institutions were able to transition during closure and that metrics data became pivotal in understanding this novel situation. Increased engagement online changed traditional audience profiles, challenging museums to find ways of accommodating new forms of engagement in order to survive and thrive in the post-pandemic environment.

Journal editors and journal indexes: Internationalization pressures in the semi‐periphery of the world of science

AbstractPeer‐reviewed journals are routinely monitored in the world of science, especially on the basis of their performance in international scholarly indexes such as Web of Science and Scopus. While critics have highlighted the bias and 'unintended consequences' of these instruments, it is not at all clear how these indexes are changing the ways in which research takes place. In this paper, we discuss the opportunities and problems facing scientific journals within this environment. By means of 12 qualitative interviews with editors‐in‐chief of WoS‐indexed journals edited in Chile, we analyse the editors' perceptions and strategies to surf within this environment. The article highlights the current tensions that indexation brings for the journals and some strategies to cope with them, the negotiation processes with their traditional audiences, and the conflicts that emerge in the current internationalization processes led by international scientific indexes. Finally, the paper concludes by reflecting on the possibilities and pitfalls that index‐led internationalization has for journals, especially in so‐called semi‐peripheral communities.

Vivian, the graphic novel: using arts based knowledge translation to explore gender and palliative care

ABSTRACT This research explores how the graphic novel Vivian served as the medium for an Arts-Based Knowledge Translation (ABKT) project in the field of palliative care. ABKT seeks to accomplish the goal of disseminating research-based knowledge through the use of the arts. It is regarded as useful for raising awareness about social issues, fostering a deep engagement with audiences and giving new perspectives on topics at hand. The paper describes the process the researchers undertook to create the graphic novel and embed within it empirical evidence about gender and palliative care, thereby extending its reach beyond traditional academic audiences. The paper also explains how Vivian, as an example of a pūrākau (Māori story) serves as a means for foregrounding the values and perspectives of Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. Viewed through this lens, Vivian operates as a critique of western societal values at odds with the fundamental Māori principles of care and hospitality (manaakitanga), relationships (whanaungatanga) and prestige or status (mana).

Resolving the Equation of Domestic Violence: Is There Any Protection for the Male Victims in Nigeria?

Domestic violence, though not novel in Africa, has failed to attract the necessary attention or empathy due to a myriad of social, cultural, legal, economic, and religious factors. Violence conjures in our minds an action or behavior involving physical force and intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. The notoriety of “domestic violence” has given it a generic status and can be described as violence or other abuse by one person against another in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or other forms of cohabitation. While being considered by more traditional audiences as being physical, in reality, it includes psychological, sexual, financial, emotional aspects, etc. With the prevalence of available literature and reported cases projecting women as the major or only victims of domestic violence, there has been a neglect of other possible victims. The article argues that domestic violence is like an equation that includes women and men as parts of its variables. The writers consider whether the legal and regulatory arrangements in Nigeria are effective to offer any measure to alleviate the plight of men who are victims of domestic violence. This article was based on a doctrinal approach, personal interviews, and a compilation of informal data. The article concludes that male victims constitute a significant portion in the equation of domestic violence and therefore require more proactive and inclusive actions from all stakeholders to address the situation.

SSH researchers make an impact differently. Looking at public research from the perspective of users

Abstract With the rise of the impact assessment revolution, governments and public opinion have started to ask researchers to give evidence of their impact outside the traditional audiences, i.e. students and researchers. There is a mismatch between the request to demonstrate the impact and the current methodologies for impact assessment. This mismatch is particularly worrisome for the research in Social Sciences and Humanities. This paper gives a contribution by examining systematically a key element of impact, i.e. the social groups that are directly or indirectly affected by the results of research. We use a Text mining approach applied to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) collection of 6,637 impact case studies in order to identify social groups mentioned by researchers. Differently from previous studies, we employ a lexicon of user groups that includes 76,857 entries, which saturates the semantic field, permits the identification of all users and opens the way to normalization. We then develop three new metrics measuring Frequency, Diversity and Specificity of user expressions. We find that Social Sciences and Humanities exhibit a distinctive structure with respect to frequency and specificity of users.

The Axiology and Symbolism of the Motif System in Novgorod Bylinas

This article carries out an axiological analysis of Novgorod bylinas about Sadko and Vasily Buslayev, which leads the author to interpret epic motifs as a semantic unity that help reveal the hero’s motives, his actions, and their consequences. The borders of the motif as part of the plot are determined by the hero’s central values and his resulting (and, as a rule, altered) state. The elements of the epic motif are studied through the prism of the character’s evaluations, as well as those of the epic bard and the listener. As a result, the author develops a principle of value classification for bylina motifs. The motifs of the Russian epic are also divided depending on whether they make part of parallel constructions with other motifs of the same type, and according to the presence of an opposition in the form of an antipode motif. The author reveals the function of the motif in bylina plots which, according to the author, the bard could easily keep in his memory, as it is connected with simple causal logic and is based on the hero’s motives and moral state (pride, lechery, greed, etc.). Targeting a traditional audience, the bard could combine, rearrange, and contaminate motifs, creating a unique version of the song for a particular spiritual and therapeutic purpose of communication. The author concludes that micro-topics, termed “epic motifs” by adherents of the structural and semantic approach, have a “semantics”, but this meaning is not enough for the bard to realise and remember the functional effect of the motif, i. e. the correcting effect produced on the listener.

Publishing in the Shadow of Larger Neighbours: Opportunities and Challenges of Digitisation for Small Publishing Houses in Austria and Scotland

Trade publishing houses in small nations operate in a challenging market environment: digitisation and the spread of the internet have lowered the market entry barriers and increased the international competition. This is especially prevalent in English-language markets and increasingly so in the markets with a high English language proficiency amongst second language speakers due to the amount of English content readily available online. Moreover, traditional audiences are eroding, and global players push for multi-platform publishing for a global audience. However, the impact of digitisation on small nation publishers operating in large lan­guage markets lacks scientific exploration. Hence, the impact on small trade publishing houses in Austria and Scotland is explored through qualitative case study research. An overview of the state of the publishing industry in those nations is presented, followed by an analysis of the opportunities and challenges of publishing in an online world where borders are disappearing, thus changing the competitive situation of publishers competing with larger entities in neighbouring nations with the same language.
 The research found that small nation publishers are benefiting from the possibilities offered by digitisation to reach a wider readership abroad, but at the same time it is becoming increasingly difficult for these pub­lishers and their products to stand out amongst the abundance of content online. Thus, small publishers choose market niches and collaborations to create sustainable business practices. Furthermore, these results provide a basis for further research into e-publishing in other small na­tions. Additional comparative research is needed to better understand the cultural specificities of small book markets and how to best support publishers in and for those nations.

Hidden gems? The cultural contribution of independent libraries in the United Kingdom and the United States

Independent libraries are important cultural assets for their communities yet have largely been overlooked in mainstream library research. This research seeks to bring these libraries into the limelight by building a profile of their cultural contributions. Through a content analysis of the websites of the libraries of the Independent Libraries Association (UK) and Membership Libraries Group (US), it demonstrates that independent libraries preserve and facilitate access to a variety of important cultural assets and, while often characterised as ‘hidden gems’, are proactively working to increase engagement beyond traditional audiences, whilst also making significant contributions to the cultural sustainability agenda.

Insight Into Adult Classic Theatre Audiences’ Perceptions and Behaviour

Many cultural institutions are experiencing challenges to implement different types of market-oriented behaviour in order to ensure their existence. Classic theatres are faced with many challenges related to their audience. One of the challenges is related to traditional audience that is declining and ageing. The aim of this research was to identify and analyse the key factors that contribute to understanding of attitudes and behaviour of 35+ theatre audiences in order to suggest appropriate marketing strategies for the classic theatre in Croatia. The research was conducted on altogether 438 participants. Statistical techniques of univariate analysis (frequency distribution, central tendency measures), bivariate (ANOVA and t-test) and multivariate analysis (reliability analysis, linear regression) were used. The results have identified attitudes and audience behaviour in relation to HNK Osijek. Three major factors were identified: theatre marketing profile, theatre people and stereotypes. This study seeks to provide a deeper understanding of classic theatre audiences’ perceptions and behaviour as a basis for theatre marketing strategy development. Since no other research has tested the influence of stereotypes on theatre attendance, the major contribution of this paper is its proven negative influence on theatre attendance.