Against a backdrop of videogame producers keen to promote themselves as a 'serious' adult entertainment industry, and persistent media reports on the 'dangers' of videogame play, this research examines the lived experiences of adult videogame players. I start with aconsideration of the nature of play and of consumption in order to assess the ways in whichour consumer society may be seen as becoming more playful, or experiential. I also consider the development of key discourses on videogame use and in particular the problematic waysin which we understand real, virtual and digital spaces. These theoretical contexts provide a background against which I consider a phenomenology of adult videogame consumption. Drawing from extended discussions with 24 adult videogame players I review: the biographical and domestic contexts in which adults play videogames; the various practices that they develop relating to buying, owning and using videogames, and; the nature of experiences produced through play. Adults may have started playing videogames as a result of an educational agenda, or peer pressure whilst as school, but may have continued playing intermittently into adulthood and now find that friends, and especially family influence how and what they play. As a result they have developed a variety of practices that I describe in detail including managing the amount of time and money spent on games and negotiating spaces to play. Within these contexts players aim for 'ideal' experiences of skill and achievement, of escape though the management of their imagination, and of social interaction with family and friends. However these largely positive experiences need to be carefully managed against a risk that their behaviour may be seen as childish, and against the potential for play to cause disruption to work or domestic life. Following these detailed first-person descriptions I consider the 'discourses in practice' during the use of videogames. I note the persistent framing of videogame play as frivolous, but also the way in which games are used to manage everyday life by providing a space that is an escape from routines of work and family life and in particular a space in which the imagination may be actualised. In doing so I also consider the transformatory potential of videogames, concluding that although they may be seen to serve a conservative role, and may be critiqued as part of an over-experienced, yet'futile' life, their ability to aid the management of everyday life is significant.

There is growing concern amongst observers of the media that news coverage of politics has moved away from a focus on issues, and instead towards political strategy. This emphasises the tactics employed by politicians in pursuing policy goals, as well as their performance, styles of campaigning, and personal battles in the political arena, whether it be in office, opposition, or during elections (de Vreese & Elenbaas, 2008). Strategically framed news is problematic because it portrays politicians as manipulative, power hungry and Machiavellian, and therefore invites audiences to attribute cynical motives to their actions. As a result, this type of news has been found accountable for increasing levels of political cynicism in the US electorate, which erodes civic engagement and depresses electoral participation - a process described as a media-induced 'spiral of cynicism' (Cappella & Jamieson, 1997). This dissertation examines this type of news. Despite much concern that – driven by a number of changes to the working practices of journalists – political issues are increasingly being undermined by a narrative of strategy, there is little evidence of either the presence or effects of strategy news in the UK, especially outside of elections. This study fills some of this gap by conducting a content analysis of a non-election issue in the news media (press and TV news) over a 3 month period, whereby strategy news as a frame was examined. The issue chosen for case study was the ‘euro debate’ of May-June 2003. The second part of the study is a framing experiment, where a sample of young people were randomly exposed to either a ‘strategy’ or ‘issue’ framed account of the euro debate, and then asked about their political attitudes. Content analysis findings showed the euro debate to fulfil many typical characteristics of EU reporting in the British media, with coverage cyclical and driven by events. Although there was a roughly equal balance of issue and strategy framed stories in the press, the strategy frame was more prominent in the news agenda and was more consistently spread throughout the time period. When broadcast news did cover the euro, it was usually to cover a development in the manoeuvring of political elites. Although some qualifications emerged, much of the content analysis findings confirmed the worries of media critics. Experiment findings found evidence of a ‘spiral of cynicism’ but only for those who were less politically engaged, and their cynicism was confined to the motivations of politicians, not of the political system writ large. For the less engaged, the presentation of the euro debate through the strategy frame also suppressed their support for the euro compared to the issue version. Although some of the experiment findings should concern observers of news media performance, the evidence of this study does not support a full-blown ‘spiral of cynicism’ in the UK.

Motion capture technology is recognised as a standard tool in the computer animation pipeline. It provides detailed movement for animators; however, it also introduces problems and brings concerns for creating realistic and convincing motion for character animation. In this thesis, the post-processing techniques are investigated that result in realistic motion generation. Anumber of techniques are introduced that are able to improve the quality of generated motion from motion capture data, especially when integrating motion transitions from different motion clips. The presented motion data reconstruction technique is able to build convincing realistic transitions from existing motion database, and overcome the inconsistencies introduced by traditional motion blending techniques. It also provides a method for animators to re-use motion data more efficiently. Along with the development of motion data transition reconstruction, the motion capture data mapping technique was investigated for skeletal movement estimation. The per-frame based method provides animators with a real-time and accurate solution for a key post-processing technique. Although motion capture systems capture physically-based motion for character animation, no physical information is included in the motion capture data file. Using the knowledge of biomechanics and robotics, the relevant information for the captured performer are able to be abstracted and a mathematical-physical model are able to be constructed; such information is then applied for physics-based motion data correction whenever the motion data is edited.

The BBC's 'flagship' current affairs series Panorama, occupies a central place in Britain's television history and yet, surprisingly, it is relatively neglected in academic studies of the medium. Much that has been written focuses on Panorama's coverage of armed conflicts (notably Suez, Northern Ireland and the Falklands) and deals, primarily, with programmes which met with Government disapproval and censure. However, little has been written on Panorama's less controversial, more routine war reporting, or on the programme's more recent history, its evolving journalistic practices and place within the current affairs form. This thesis explores these areas and examines the framing of war narratives within Panorama's coverage of the Gulf conflicts of 1991 and 2003.' One accusation in studies looking beyond Panorama's more contentious episodes is that the series has, traditionally, (over)represented 'establishment' or elite perspectives in its reporting. This charge has been made by media scholars (Williams 1968; Hall et al. 1981; Born, 2004), champions ofrival current affairs programmes (see Goddard et al. 2007) and even by a number ofsenior figures within the BBC and Panorama itself (Day 1990; Dyke 2004a). This thesis tests that view in relation to an archive ofPanorama programmes made between 1987 and 2004, with particular reference to its coverage of the First and Second Gulf Wars. The study aims to establish if Panorama has, in fact, patrolled the 'limits ofdebate', largely confined itself to 'elite views' and predominantly reflected the 'Westminster consensus' in its coverage of conflict. The thesis is supported by interviews with current and former Panorama staff and contains discussion of working practices at Panorama, particularly as they relate to reporting conflicts involving British armed forces. There is an assessment of the BBC's journalistic culture and developments within the News and Current Affairs directorate in the period under discussion; the legal and institutional constraints under which the series operated; challenges and threats to the current affairs tradition; wider concerns relating to television's coverage ofwar in general, and the two wars against Iraq specifically. Questions of indexing and framing are foregrounded in textual and content analysis of forty-two episodes dealing with the Gulf Wars to assess whether Panorama's coverage was overdetermined by official sources and elite perspectives or if it gave adequate space to a diversity of opinions and explanations for the conflicts and thereby fulfilled its legal obligations and Public Service role.

What am I seeing? What does it mean? This thesis addresses the transformations in cultural life in the 21st century due to the cultural dominance of the image, which resulted from the radical change and enormous progress in the media, communication and the development of information systems in the world. All this has led to changes in the intellectual structure, and an increased tendency to drift in all areas, and the emergence of a society and a culture governed by the culture of shock. The fundamental issue concerning the image is an epistemological issue, as we cannot distinguish between the visual image and the semantic product. We live in a world surrounded with stunning and spectacular visual images. We are overloaded with images from all types in our everyday life. We probably see images more than we read words. This thesis provides an analytical framework for understanding how images produce meanings using the semiotic approach. Semiotics is the most important approach that can be used to analyze all types of images. Semiotic analysis addresses images as signs which communicate meaning. The symbols used in signs are often culturally specific. This thesis indicates the focus of the receiver to adapt to this visual cultural situation, to be able to grasp the content of the new cultural discourse as it is present in all the details of the receiver’s daily life. There have been a number of questions that pushed me to accomplish this research, including: what are the elements of the culture of the image? What is its impact on the mental perception and production of semantic meaning? What is its reflection on the nature of social networking in general? The thesis discussed all of these issues.

This thesis examines the potential power of internet users to use the internet in the conduct of their everyday lives by discussing the impact of state and non-state actors on cyberspace. The debate about ‘who controls the internet?’ has avoided the question of the power of internet users, which is needed to understand the character of cyberspace. Theoretical debates identify the overwhelmingly territorial nature of cyber governance through nationally developed and enforced legislation, which is in direct opposition to the power of transnational ICTs. This thesis contributes to this theoretical debate through the use of the concepts of alternative and radical media, which are usually categorised as anti-establishment resistance strategies. I use Michel de Certeau’s notion of the heterological practice of everyday life to develop a perspective on the power of the powerless on the internet. I also adopt Franklin’s theoretical stance on the relations between state, non-state, and social actors, which is influenced by de Certeau’s ideas about the plurality of space. In order to illustrate this argument, I discuss the Korean ‘cyber asylum seeker’ phenomenon, which arose when Korean internet users migrated from local web portals to global corporations, such as Google and YouTube, who had refused to comply with the restrictions that the Korean government policies imposed on the local internet. This development allowed Korea cyber asylum seekers to become power holders, thus expanding the reach of Korean cyberspace. The Korean cyber asylum phenomenon was a result of both the Korean government’s cyber intervention following the 2008 Candlelight protest and Korean web portals’ compliance. I therefore understand the Korean cyber asylum seeker phenomenon from the perspective of a tripartite inter-relationship between the Korean government, the web portals, and internet users. This tripartite approach sheds new light on current debates about the questions: ‘Who controls the internet’, ‘Why is it controlled?’ and ‘How is it controlled?’ by adding the question, ‘What other groups have had an impact on power formations in cyberspace?’ My field research points to the significance of internet user mobility for a more complete understanding of the effect of the Korean government and the web portals on the expansion of Korean cyberspace. The research project is based on an analysis of the Korean government’s internet policy, business reports of Korean web portals, and interviews with officials from government bodies, the Korean internet industry, activists, citizens and online community members, as well as online community observation.

Contemporary democratic discourse places emphasis on accountability as the basis of power legitimacy and the scholarly literature across disciplines has reserved a special space for the media in that process, for better or for worse. But exactly who is held to account, when, how and by whom, remain troubling questions in the study of media, politics and power. Amidst displays of adversarial journalism without fear or favour, how far are powerful interests still able to control the agenda and manipulate outcomes? The research undertaken here set out to interrogate the notion of media spectacle in a different way from which it has been commonly applied in critical media theory. In particular, its intimate association with sensationalism and tabloidisation threatens to obscure the role of spectacle in what are considered the mainstays of ‘serious’ or responsible news. The Sun might still be the most popular newspaper in Britain, and online news the fastest growing platform, but it is the serious news outlets of traditional media – public service broadcasting, broadsheets, weeklies etc – which remain by far the most credible sources of news and information. And it is credibility which holds the key to ideological power. The research involved extensive analysis of archived television news programmes, supplemented by 50 interviews with a cross section of news producers and actors including journalists, news executives, politicians, campaigners, press officers, lawyers and civil servants. The core subject is terrestrial television news in the UK – a public service regulated platform with a longstanding reputation for high quality journalism. My overall concern is not so much with scandal involving official misconduct or misdemeanour, but rather controversies that point to systemic institutional corruption of the kind that transcends individuals and party politics. These controversies are no longer rare exceptions in the contemporary newscape and their existence raises profound questions about the scope of accountability through the media. There has, however, been surprisingly little critical assessment of such coverage. This provided the overarching motivation for the research; a core premise being that only by examining those instances where mechanisms of accountability appear most far reaching, can we gain a new understanding of ideological power in the age of transparency.

This thesis considers the importance to democracy of online spaces where citizens can engage in dialogue on issues of public concern. Specifically, it evaluates the BBC's news and features provision on its website dedicated to the 2005 UK Parliamentary General Election, entitled Election 2005. Particular attention is given to sections such as the Election Monitor, the UK Voters' Panel and Have your say, to which people were encouraged to submit their views and comments for posting. Given the leading status of BBC News Online in the UK (the remit for which is defined, in part, by its Royal Charter obligation to provide a public service), it is vital to examine the Election 2005 website and its role in the democratic process. The principal aim of this thesis is to analyse the ways in which BBC News Online deployed its website to facilitate spaces for citizens to engage in dialogue during the 2005 UK General Election. To achieve this aim, the thesis makes use of web dialogue analysis, which is a method proposed and defined for the purpose of this project. The case study is divided into three chapters: the first dealing with online news in which citizen voices were found to be marginalised; the second concerning different genres of online feature articles, wherein citizen voices was the most prominent source; and the third focussing on sections where people were encouraged to submit comments. Through analysing the nature of source utterances (quotations and paraphrases), and comments submitted to debate sections, the thesis found little dialogue taking place in any of the sections on the BBC's Election 2005 website. It argues this was caused by a) the deliberate intention of BBC staff to discourage dialogue, and instead facilitate a 'global conversation', b) the manual process used to publish comments to the site, and c) people being at the time unaccustomed to participate in any meaningful debate using online forums. In this way, the thesis seeks to contribute to a developing area of scholarship concerned with news media representations of national elections, online journalism and citizenship.

International meetings such as the G8 Summit have evolved from the sequestered gatherings of the economic elite to full-scale political media events. Using the 2005 Gleneagles G8 Summit as a case study, and focusing on one specific ‘autonomous’ activist network – Dissent! – this thesis investigates how the process of mediation is articulated in activists’ practices in preparing and enacting acts of contention. Dominant approaches to such events in the field of media and communications are often text-centred, focussing on the media’s framing of protest, overlooking the actions against and interactions with the media at such sites. This oversight is significant given that contemporary political struggle occurs on the ground, as well as with and through the media. The theoretical framework applies past media/movement scholarship to emerging discourses on mediation which view media – its content, producers, users, technologies, culture and rituals – as an ongoing and reflexive process, actualised through analysing activists’ media-oriented practices (Couldry, 2004, Silverstone, 2005). The methodological approach follows Burawoy’s (1998) “extended method” drawing on a year of participant observation and 32 in-depth interviews. Analysis is undertaken on an activist, group and network level; before and at the Summit. The findings show that activists demonstrate a reflexive awareness of media, including lay theories of media which inform their actions. On a networklevel, Dissent! established a policy abstaining from media interaction. Yet, despite this, on a group-level, the CounterSpin Collective formed within Dissent! to manage media interest. The Collective’s media practices are shown to be characterised by a strategy of dual adaptation; adapting to both Dissent!’s political limitations and the media’s demands. The analysis of the site of protest in Scotland – Hori-Zone eco-village – and the protest actions undertaken from it, further demonstrates the way in which media orients and permeates activists practices. The concept of spectacular action is developed to analyse a shift in the type of protest activities conducted at a media event from direct action to the simulation of direct action, valuing symbolic over physical disruption. This thesis contributes to a growing interest in the concept of mediation through the emerging field of media practice, offering both empirical evidence and revised theory. Moreover it addresses the largely neglected role of the media in social movement literature. Research undertaken also demonstrates how the logic of media now permeates the practice of activism, marking the rise of spectacular action as a cause for concern for both activists and academics.

Practices commonly termed participatory or citizen journalism, such as blogging and publishing content in participatory news media, have triggered interest in academic and media discourses alike. The discussion has centred on the significance of participatory journalism and whether it leads to democratisation of media and to redefining journalism and its ethics. This thesis examines online participatory journalism practices and what enhances or impedes them by drawing on a close and systematic analysis of qualitative interviews with reporters and facilitators of participatory media. The research considers both the meso level of media organisations in their socio-cultural context and the micro level of reporters, and is comparative and transcultural in scope. The focus is on the international edition of the South Korean news organisation OhmyNews and on two Indymedia collectives, namely, Indybay in California in the USA and the no-longer active Vaikuttava Tietotoimisto in Finland. The study employs Dahlgren’s (2009) analytic frame of civic cultures that, although it downplays skills and somewhat problematically assumes equal weight of all dimensions, proved valuable in addressing several key aspects to participatory journalism as a mode of civic engagement. The research demonstrates how reporters’ journalistic activities do not exist in a vacuum, but are shaped by participatory media organisations, for example, through the values they promote and the type of journalism, the access to sources and training they facilitate. Furthermore, the thesis argues that participatory media practices are less distinct from those of mainstream media than may have been assumed. Underpinning the analysis of media organisations are the theories of alternative media and of voluntary associations, whereas Mouffe’s (2000a) political theory of agonistic pluralism is applied to assess the viability of an agonistic space online. The findings, apart from the instances of its constructive uses, point toward the difficulties in sustaining an agonistic online space.