scholarly journals THE SOCIO-TECHNICAL ENTANGLEMENTS OF LIVE STREAMING ON TWITCH.TV

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Richard Johnson ◽  
Jamie Woodcock
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Live Streaming ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Audience Engagement ◽  
Online Networks ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Many

The website and platform Twitch.tv is the overwhelming market leader in the live broadcast (“streaming”) of user-created videos over the internet, known primarily for the streaming of video game play. In both 2016 and 2017 over two million people regularly broadcast on the platform, resulting in over a million years of video content in total viewed by over one hundred million people (Twitch, 2017). The deep newness of this phenomenon, alongside the many elements that constitute it, make it an important site for studying digital labour, co-production, and gaming culture. In this paper we focus on three elements of the conference theme: the shifting political and creative economies of streaming media, in our case Twitch; social media, platforms, podcasts, and actors in online networks; and the materialities of data, in our case a million years of video content. Specifically, we consider the entangling of the technical and social dimensions of the Twitch phenomenon: how these elements shape the labour of Twitch streamers, audience engagement with the platform, and Twitch’s wider position in contemporary media production. To do so we draw upon semi-structured interviews with over one hundred professional streamers on the Twitch platform, lasting between ten minutes and one hour, alongside at least one hour of ethnographic observation from over two hundred Twitch channels and ethnographic work from almost a dozen gaming events in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Poland in the past two years.

Understanding the Social Influences on Engaging Key Populations With HIV Prevention: A Qualitative Study With Men Who Have Sex With Men in Three Indonesian Cities

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elan Lazuardi ◽  
Christy E. Newman ◽  
Irma Anintya Tasya ◽  
Emily Rowe ◽  
D. N. Wirawan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Service Access ◽  
Key Populations ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Outreach Workers ◽  
Hiv Prevention Strategies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sex With Men ◽  
The Many

The globally recognized test and treat approach underpins Indonesian national strategies to reduce and prevent HIV among key populations, including men who have sex with men. More comprehensive understanding of how engagement with HIV prevention is shaped by social and community practices will support these efforts. Between 2015 and 2016, focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 54 men who have sex with men in three urban settings in Indonesia to elicit their views on, and experiences of, HIV prevention and care. Focused on data relating to testing, findings documented the important influence of informal peer networks, community-based organizations and outreach workers. Some social dimensions of service access complicated this, particularly fear of stigma or lack of confidentiality in large service settings. The many differences between men challenges assumptions that a single set of HIV prevention strategies will work to engage all men who have sex with men living in Indonesia.

“Just watching”: A qualitative analysis of non-players’ motivations for video game spectatorship

2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482198935
Author(s):  
Stephanie Orme
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Live Streaming ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Video Game Play ◽  
Gaming Culture

This study explores the phenomenon of video game spectatorship from the perspective of a population I refer to as “just watchers.” Previous studies have tended to focus on game spectatorship from turn-taking “non-players” or live-streaming audiences, specifically. “Just watchers” are individuals who express no desire to play video games themselves, yet are avid spectators of others’ video game play, both virtually and in-person. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 27 participants, this study explores their motivations for gaming spectatorship, as well as their aversion to playing games themselves. Findings suggest the “work” of playing games, lack of skill, access to games, and toxic online communities are deterrents to playing games. Participants expressed that games spectatorship offers them narrative engagement that is distinct from traditional media, and that despite “just watching,” they tend to consider themselves as part of gaming culture.

scholarly journals Managing Diverse Online Networks in the Context of Polarization: Understanding How We Grow Apart on and through Social Media

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 205630512097571
Author(s):  
Cigdem Bozdag
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Interest ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Online Networks ◽  
Network Diversity ◽  
Communication Space ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Cross Platform

Social media enable their users to be connected with a diverse group of people increasing their chances of coming across divergent viewpoints. Thus, network diversity is a key issue for understanding the potentials of social media for creating a cross-cutting communication space that is one of the premises of a functioning democracy. This article analyzes the strategies social media users adopt to manage their network diversity in the context of increasing polarization. The study is based on 29 semi-structured interviews with diverse social media users from Turkey and qualitative network maps. Furthermore, the study adopts a cross-platform approach comparing Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp in relation to the diversity of their users’ networks. The study shows that social media users adopt different strategies interchangeably in specific contexts. These strategies include visible (unfriending, blocking) and invisible (muting, unfollowing, and ignoring) forms of disconnection, debating, observing divergent opinions, and self-censorship. Political interest of social media users, political climate, issue sensitivity, and “imagined affordances” of social media platforms play a role in users’ choices about which strategy to choose when they are confronted with divergent viewpoints through their diverse online networks. Building on the unfriending literature that points out to rather partisan users, who unfriend, unfollow or block others, this article demonstrates that in peak moments of polarization, also the politically disengaged or moderate users disconnect from diverse others.

scholarly journals 346 How Do we Increase Adherence to Home Exercise Programmes? Interviews with Older Adults and Physiotherapists

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii17-iii65
Author(s):  
Siti Khalijah ◽  
Suzanne Timmons
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
Home Exercise ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Timed Up And Go ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Improve Compliance ◽  
Exercise Programmes ◽  
Purposive Sample

Abstract Background Regular exercise and physical activity can maintain function and cardiovascular health, and prevent cognitive decline, in older adults. However, studies show that there is often poor adherence to home exercise programmes (HEP). The purpose of this study was to explore how HEP are perceived by both older adults and physiotherapists. Methods A convenience sample of 28 older adults attending outpatient physiotherapy clinics were given an exercise journal to record their adherence to the HEP prescribed by their physiotherapists for six weeks. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample, and the corresponding prescribing physiotherapists, to achieve maximal variation in terms of HEP adherence, age and sex. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and simple content analysis performed. Results Fourteen participants returned their exercise journal. Median age was 80; half were female; median Berg Balance Score and Timed-up-and-Go-Test were 49 and 16 seconds respectively. Participants exercised a median 79.8% of the prescribed dose, or 5.6 days per week. Seven older adults were interviewed; about half had a positive attitude towards exercise. They were also moderately positive about their HEP (comments ranged from “doable” and “nothing bad about it” to “enjoyable”). Barriers included time, mood, boredom, remembering to do the HEP, and variable health status. Enablers included simple instructions and design, family encouragement, and sense of achievement. Physiotherapists (n=5) perceived that many older adults aren’t compliant with HEPs, but there was some therapeutic nihilism (“you can’t force them”). Their HEP instructions varied from verbal to written instructions/diagrams; one physiotherapist used individualised video content. Notably, participants with good adherence understood their HEP well in terms of content and purpose, although this may be cause or effect. Conclusion To improve compliance with HEP, healthcare professionals need to take time to motivate the recipient, simplify their instructions, and trouble-shoot potential barriers at the time of prescription.

scholarly journals Women, Exercise, and Eating Disorder Recovery: The Normal and the Pathological

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232199204
Author(s):  
Hester Hockin-Boyers ◽  
Megan Warin
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Affect Regulation ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Theoretical Frame ◽  
Intensity Of Exercise

The appropriate form, regularity, and intensity of exercise for individuals recovering from eating disorders is not agreed upon among health care professionals or researchers. When exercise is permitted, it is that which is mindful, embodied, and non-competitive that is considered normative. Using Canguilhem’s concepts of “the normal and the pathological” as a theoretical frame, we examine the gendered assumptions that shape medical understandings of “healthy” and “dysfunctional” exercise in the context of recovery. The data set for this article comes from longitudinal semi-structured interviews with 19 women in the United Kingdom who engaged in weightlifting during their eating disorder recovery. We argue that women in recovery navigate multiple and conflicting value systems regarding exercise. Faced with aspects of exercise that are pathologized within the eating disorder literature (such as structure/routine, body transformations, and affect regulation), women re-inscribe positive value to these experiences, thus establishing exercise practices that serve them.

scholarly journals Providing multilingual logistics communication in COVID-19 disaster relief

Multilingua ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 517-528
Author(s):  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Yuqin Wu
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Disaster Relief ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Important Means ◽  
National Emergency ◽  
The Impact

AbstractTranslation is an important means of enabling access to information in an emergency response. Increasingly, volunteer translators have been using social media platforms to self-organize and carry out urgent translation tasks that effectively complement official disaster relief efforts. However, the role of crowdsourced translations and the capacity of volunteer translators in reducing the impact of disasters remain underestimated and therefore understudied. Based on semi-structured interviews with five volunteer translators and online observation of their translation practices, this study investigates the role of a volunteer-driven crowdsourced translation effort in facilitating the donation and procurement of medical supplies between Wuhan and the world. By addressing the real challenges of urgent crisis communication in Wuhan in the early stages of the pandemic, this study draws attention to the need to integrate information and communication technologies with multilingual resources for disaster relief. In addition, it calls for the inclusion of multilingual logistics in national emergency preparation, response and recovery plans.

scholarly journals Can Watching Online Videos Be Addictive? A Qualitative Exploration of Online Video Watching among Chinese Young Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7247
Author(s):  
Zeyang Yang ◽  
Mark Griffiths ◽  
Zhihao Yan ◽  
Wenting Xu
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Online Video ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Online Videos ◽  
Chinese Young Adults ◽  
Qualitative Exploration

Watching online videos (including short-form videos) has become the most popular leisure activity in China. However, a few studies have reported the potential negative effects of online video watching behaviors (including the potential for ‘addiction’) among a minority of individuals. The present study investigated online video watching behaviors, motivational factors for watching online videos, and potentially addictive indicators of watching online videos. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 20 young Chinese adults. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Eight themes were identified comprising: (i) content is key; (ii) types of online video watching; (iii) platform function hooks; (iv) personal interests; (v) watching becoming habitual; (vi) social interaction needs; (vii) reassurance needs; and (viii) addiction-like symptoms. Specific video content (e.g., mukbang, pornography), platform-driven continuous watching, and short-form videos were perceived by some participants as being potentially addictive. Specific features or content on Chinese online video platforms (e.g., ‘Danmu’ scrolling comments) need further investigation. Future studies should explore users’ addictive-like behaviors in relation to specific types of online video content and their social interaction on these platforms.

scholarly journals Identifying a space for young Black Muslim women in contemporary Britain

Ethnicities ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146879682110018
Author(s):  
Sheymaa Ali Nurein ◽  
Humera Iqbal
Keyword(s):  
Black Community ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Black Muslim ◽  
And Coping

Young Black Muslim Women (BMW) have complex, intersectional identities and exist at the margins of various identity groupings. Given this, members of the community can face societal relegation across, not only race and gender lines, but across religious ones, too. This paper explores the lived experiences of intragroup discrimination, identity and belonging in 11 young Black Muslim Women in the United Kingdom. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants and thematically analysed through the lens of intersectionality. The use of an intersectional framework facilitated an understanding of the manner in which the sample was multiply marginalised. Two key themes emerged from the interviews: firstly, around experiences of intragroup and intersectional discrimination and, secondly, around the challenges of responding to and coping with the negative effects of such discrimination. Participants discussed the cross-cutting nature through which they faced discrimination: from within the Black community; from within the Muslim community; and as a result of their gender. The non-exclusivity of these three identities result in constant encounters of discrimination along different dimensions to their personal identity. They also developed diverse means of coping with this marginalisation including drawing from religious beliefs and mobile identifications, i.e. performing different aspects of their identities in different contexts. The present study contributes to existing knowledge in its focus on an under-researched group and emphasises the negative effects of intragroup discrimination. The paper importantly highlights the diversity within the Black community and considers the (in)visibility of Black Muslim Women within society.

scholarly journals Teaching innovations in Asian higher education: perspectives of educators

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.M. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
The Many

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 educators who were affiliated with 23 higher education institutions in ten Asian countries/regions. The interviews covered information about the teaching innovations of the participants’ institutions, the characteristics of the innovative practices and the participants’ views on them. The relationships between the characteristics of institutions and their teaching innovations were also examined. Findings The results showed that the teaching innovations included two main categories, namely, those which involved the use of advanced technologies and those which did not. The innovations that involved the use of advanced technologies were mainly from larger institutions, while the other category was mainly from smaller ones and had been practised for less than 1.5 years. Differences were also identified between the two categories in terms of the aims and importance of innovations, innovative features, the evaluation of innovations and improvements needed for them. Originality/value The results highlighted that technology is only one of the many aspects of teaching innovations, which is different from the view prevailing in the literature. They also suggested that differences in the scale of institutions (in terms of number of students) possibly influences the kind of teaching innovations adopted.

scholarly journals Covid-19 and Korean Buddhism: Assessing the Impact of South Korea’s Coronavirus Epidemic on the Future of Its Buddhist Community

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Cheonghwan Park ◽  
Kyungrae Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Financial Difficulties ◽  
Korean Buddhism ◽  
Protestant Christianity ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Religious Landscape

While the Covid-19 pandemic has altered many aspects of life in South Korea over 2020, its impact on South Korea’s religious landscape has been enormous as the country’s three major religions (Catholicism, Buddhism, and Protestant Christianity) have suffered considerable loses in both their income and membership. Despite these challenges, however, Buddhism’s public image has actually improved since the start of the epidemic due to the rapid and proactive responses of the nation’s largest Buddhist organization, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (K. Daehan bulgyo jogyejong). This article critically examines the Jogye Order’s response to the epidemic and its impact on the order thus far, along with discussions regarding the order’s future. In particular it will examine the results of three conferences held by the order in response to the epidemic and the resulting recommendations on how Korean Buddhism should adapt to effectively address the many challenges brought by the pandemic. These recommendations include establishing an online Buddhist education system, further engaging the order’s lay supporters through various social media platforms, upgrading the current lay education program with virtual learning options that directly address problems faced by the general public during the pandemic, and distributing virtual meditation classes world-wide for those who remain in quarantine or social isolation. By adopting these changes, the Jogye Order will be able to play a crucial role in promoting mental stability and the cultivation of positive emotions among the many suffering from anxiety, social isolation and financial difficulties during the pandemic.

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