Video games in the context of screen technoculture and media education: new rhetorical strategies and educational potential

Video games have become a prominent part of on-screen technoculture today, breaking the purely entertaining social labelling framework. They contribute to the generation of new social activities, and also become an innovative media space for the explication of artistic and aesthetic values, political meanings and educational practices. The aim of the study is the reconstruction and analysis of the cultural constitution of video games, revealing the features of their screen rhetorical capabilities, as well as revealing the educational potential of gamification practices and Digital Game Based Learning strategies. This is intended to form the competence-thematic framework of video games as a platform for modern media education. The methodological basis of the work is the cultural-historical and dialectical approaches, as well as the methods of systemic and structural-functional analysis. The study made it possible to trace the genesis of the cultural formation of video games, which demonstrated many strategies for their integration into the space of mass media culture. The main rhetorical models implemented in video games are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the comprehensive consideration of procedural rhetoric as an original way of convincing the user through gameplay, interactive involvement in virtual practices. The foundations of the practice of gamification and the strategy of Digital Game Based Learning in education are considered. It identifies the possibilities of gamification as an innovative methodology for organizing incentives and rewards, and also identifies the range of difficulties and risks of total gamification of the educational process. Based on the results of the study, it was determined that video games use an original complex of rhetorical techniques that combine both traditional audiovisual formats of narrative, characteristic of other on-screen media, and procedural-interactive techniques. They made it possible to directly integrate the user into virtual narratives, turning them from a passive recipient into an actor. The importance of gamification as a tool for building strategies of internal stimulation with elements of entertaining practices in the dynamics of learning is also revealed, which increases the effectiveness of education. It has been revealed the significant educational potential of video games as a promising media platform in the framework of the implementation of the Digital Game Based Learning strategy. They can act both as carriers of knowledge and as a virtual environment for the formation of competencies in the field of history, economics, literature and social management. Procedural and rhetorical tools allow a person to become a part of an interactive scenario, which greatly increases the likelihood of assimilating information and developing professional skills.

Theoretical aspects of digitalization in social management

The paper discusses the issues of digitalization of modern society. Within the framework of the system analysis of the subject of research, the author highlights the theoretical aspects of digitalization in social management, examines the historical background for digitalization; social management is represented through the categories of selfgovernment, organizational order, goal-setting, subject-subject interactions, management tools. In the system of social communications, digital technologies and artificial intelligence are presented by the author as a new socio-digital reality that transforms the environment of interaction. The author’s review of the main stages and markers of the development of digitalization made it possible to update the list of positive aspects in social management, as well as problems caused by the digitalization process.

Visualization and Virtualization of Art as New Dimension of Communicative Interaction and Social Management System

Introduction. “Visual turn” in art has determined the specifics of the civilized development of modern society. Information technology and virtual nature of the visual space development have influenced not only the language of communication but in general the entire system of social management. Purpose and methods. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the influence of modern visual art on our everyday life, opportunities for self-expression, communication, and social management. Methodological basis of the study is presented by historical, axiological, comparative, system and structural, formal and logical methods. Results. The article considers the modern reading of the visual image, its demand in modern culture, the reasons, and backgrounds of the “visual turn” in art, which has led to the diffusion of high and low in art, synthesis of creativity, and everyday life. The influence of communication virtualization, urbanization of the society and massification of culture on the formation of the individual's visual space and picture of the world are proved. Conclusions. Both positive and negative aspects of such social and cultural transformation in the process of contemporary art visualization are substantiated. The article proves that visualization of art through advertising, fashion, performance, industrial design is becoming the most important factor in social management and determination of consumers', social and cultural, ideological matrix of individual behavior. Under conditions of this hypertrophied visual component of everyday life, constructing and modeling of the newest methods of visual literacy and culture formation are justified.

Topical Agenda for the Study of Values in Foreign Sociology: Topics, Theories, Methodologies

Research on values is important both for the development of sociology and for. practices of social management, they provide the necessary basis for effective public policy.The purpose of this article was to analyze the current agenda for the study of values by building theoretical and methodological thematic clusters. An optional task was to describe the thematic thesaurus used by the authors of the articles on values. The hypothesis was tested that the theory of social status in relation to economic topics received the greatest recognition in the current agenda. The study was carried out in a quantitative design, the method of content analysis was used, followed by the calculation of the c-correlation coefficient between the three semantic components of the study: topic, theory, methodology. The empirical material was the abstracts of 132 articles published in 21 sociological journals, included in the 1 quartile of Scopus in 2016–2020. Articles were selected according to the author’s search method. The limitations of the study are the 5-year time period, the language of the article (English), the use of only abstract texts for analysis, and not the articles themselves, the author’s method of building clusters (it is possible to build clusters on other grounds).Results. The main hypothesis was confirmed. The strongest connection was recorded between the theory of social status and economic topics (c-correlation coefficient — 0.62). The smallest connection was found between family values and theories about values as ideal representations (0.21). At the same time, the coefficient of connection between theories and research topics is, on average, lower than that of methodologies and topics. Qualitative methodology is mentioned by authors of articles on values a little more often than quantitative one. (114 qualitative versus 103 quantitative). In the thematic thesaurus, the greatest diversity is recorded in the research area “Labor and Economics”, the least — in the areas “Family” and “Education”. Despite the fact that the group of articles dealing with values in the sphere of politics is the second largest in the sample with 87 articles (66%), only 15 frequently used terms were included in its thematic thesaurus. In the area of “Labor and Economics”, 65 significant terms were identified; in total, materials of 111 articles (84%) were attributed to this area.The directions of further research are related to the study of the isomorphism of the agenda for the study of values in international and Russian sociology, as well as the analysis of substantive discrepancies in the study of values in the same sphere of life between Russian and foreign sociologists.

The Role of Interests in Social Management

This study analyzed the category of “interest” in the structure of the sociological theory and practice of modern management. The importance of interest in such a scientific field as the sociology of management is described and its role in the study of social management, considered as a specific sphere of human activity, is substantiated. As a result of the analysis, the place of interests in the activities of the subject of social management is revealed, characterized by the internal inconsistency of his interests and the need for their coordination. The importance of interests in the formation of the activity of the object of social management is determined and the main indicators of their state are described: social integration, cohesion, solidarity, social consensus. Particular attention is paid to the consideration of the effectiveness of management decisions described both from the standpoint of the effectiveness of resource use and from the standpoint of achieving the goals of social management. The technological aspect of taking into account interests in the process of social management is considered, which manifests itself in the use of social technologies that contribute to the optimization of managerial influences. The article describes the importance of taking into account interests (personal, group, social) in the process of social technologization. The connection of interests with the methods and principles of social management reflecting the social essence of its social mechanism is explained. Among the principles, the most significant ones are considered from the perspective of taking into account interests: the principles of social orientation of management, humanization of management, consistency of personal and organizational goals, delegation of authority and management through the team.

Bumbometer digital crowd game: collaboration through competition in entertainment events

The use of mobile devices, especially smartphones, is widespread across all social strata and age groups, helping to ensure faster access from anywhere, data collection, and more regular and frequent control to aid urban, environmental, and social management. In this scenario, the entertainment industry has benefited from this powerful individual technological resource in cultural and sporting events. In this way, this work presents a proposal for interaction and engagement in entertainment events in a more prosperous and more technological way, through the development of a collaborative and competitive mobile-­web crowd game, intended for enhancing interaction between the crowd and as a unified group, whether physically co-­located or online. The application, called Bumbometer, uses motion sensors during an interactive dynamic with the crowd applying concepts from Mobile Crowd Sensing and User eXperience. We conducted two experimental studies to evaluate the proposed technology, the first in a real scenario of a folk cultural festival and the second in a controlled environment, simulating an event considering a scenario in which users were geographically distant. The results indicate that people feel immersed and engaged during the interaction through the proposed game, which reinforces the statement that the game meets an increasingly growing need to use technologies to ensure more significant interaction and audience immersion at crowd entertainment events, a creative and far­-reaching form.

PRISM 2.0: A Technology System to Support Resource Access and Social and Cognitive Engagement

Social isolation and lack of engagement are common among older adults and present a risk for emotional, physical and cognitive decline. Technology offers the potential of remediating these risks and enhancing opportunities for connectivity. In this paper we present an overview of the PRISM 2.0 multi-site RCT, which evaluated a simple to use Personalized Reminder Information and Social Management System (PRISM) among a sample of two hundred and forty-eight adults age 65+ in diverse contexts (Rural Locations, Assisted Living Communities and Senior Housing). PRISM 2.0 is a tablet-based system, intended to provide support for access to resources and information, new learning, social and cognitive engagement, and memory. We describe the goals and content of PRISM, the user-centered design process, and measurement strategies. We also discuss the challenges of conducting the trial during the COVID-19 pandemic and the strategies used to adapt the trial protocol within the three contexts.

SensoMan: Social Management of Context Sensors and Actuators for IoT

Sensor networks that collect data from the environment can be utilized in the development of context-aware applications, bringing into sight the need for data collection, management, and distribution. Boards with microcontrollers, such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi, have gained wide acceptance and are used mainly for educational and research purposes. Utilizing the information available via sensors connected to these platforms requires extended technical knowledge. In this work, we present a sensor management framework, SensoMan, that manages a collection of sensors spread in the environment connected to microcontroller boards. We present the framework’s architecture, a method for sensor data management, and a prototype system. Sensor data can also trigger the execution of actions on actuators. Thus, we further propose a rule engine as well as social connectivity following a scheme where sensors and their data can be shared among users. Our work shows that the creation of such a system is feasible and can use simple equipment (e.g., sensors, controller plugs) that can be replicated in other environments. The use of SensoMan is demonstrated via two scenarios that show its potential in combining simple tools that do not require an extended learning curve. A small-scale user study was also performed.

Ikatan Relasi Suami-Istri: Dinamika Keputusan Menikah saat Pandemi COVID-19

Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi respon psikologis dan dinamika pengambilan keputusan menikah saat pandemi COVID-19. Penelitian yang didesain dengan metode kualitatif eksploratif ini melibatkan 266 subjek yang menikah saat masa pandemi. Data digali dengan kuesioner open-ended dan dianalisis dengan analisis konten. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa respon psikologisketikadihadapkan pada pandemi meliputi respon afektif (58,7%), kognitif (19,9%), psikomotorik (8,6%), dan netral (8,6%). Keputusan menikah saat masa pandemi didasari pertimbangan faktor teknis (alokasi sumber daya, kesiapan acara), faktor sosial-psikologis (kesiapan personal, dukungan keluarga, agama), dan faktor situasional (ketidakpastian kapan pandemi berakhir). Tantangan terbesar yang dialami ialah perihal teknis penyelenggaraan resepsi, diikuti ketidakhadiran keluarga besar, pengurusan administrasi, dan pembatasan sosial. Penelitian ini berimplikasi pada kebijakan publik yang mendorong kesiapan materi maupun psikologis calon suami-istri apabila menikah saat pandemi.This study aimed to explore the psychological response and the dynamics of marriage decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an exploratory qualitative method that involved 266 subjects who were married during the pandemic. The data were collected with an open-ended questionnaire and analyzed with content analysis. The results showed that the psychological responses toward marriage during the pandemic included affective (58.7%), cognitive (19.9%), psychomotor (8.6%), and neutral (8.6%) responses. The decision to marry during a pandemic is based on technical factors(allocation of resources, event readiness), social-psychological factors (personal readiness, family support, religion) and situational factor (uncertainty about when the pandemic will end). The biggest challenges are about organizing a reception, following the presence of a large family, administrative management, and social management. This research has implications for public policies that encourage psychological and material readiness of married couples during the pandemic.

Bulls for sacrifice, cows for work? Morphometric models suggest that female cattle were used for traction in the Chinese Bronze Age Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300–1046 BCE)

Training animals to pull agricultural equipment and wheeled transport significantly shaped and advanced human economic systems. In this context the use of large domestic animals such as cattle was a milestone event in human history, part of what Sherratt memorably termed the Secondary Products Revolution: the use of the products of live animals such as milk, wool and traction power. It is commonly assumed that male cattle were generally preferred for traction because of their greater strength compared with females, and the importance of the latter for breeding and, in some societies, for milk and for dairy products, but surprisingly little is known of this aspect of the Secondary Products Revolution in prehistoric China. Here we apply established morphometric models to 10 assemblages of cattle bones from Chinese Bronze Age (ca. 2000–221 BCE) contexts. Our results indicate a process of intensified cattle labour exploitation at this time and, intriguingly, we also observe the earliest labour employment of female cattle during the Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300–1046 BCE). It is proposed that female cattle may have been required for traction because of the large numbers of male cattle, especially bulls, that were sent for ritual sacrifice. Such a strategy reveals a sophisticated social management, upon which the Late Shang civilisation eventually developed.