This thesis is an analysis of the use and impact of digital communication technology (DCT) in the Gay pub scene in the Kemptown neighborhood of Brighton, East Sussex, UK. The purpose of this work is twofold: to create a snapshot record of the everyday activities in pub spaces at a particular point in the neighborhood's history from the point of view of an American gay man, and to develop an understanding of the impact of digital communications technology (DCT) on the activities in these spaces by investigating the impact of DCT on the idea of 'gay space'. This analysis is broken down into three distinct areas of enquiry: the implementation of DCT in pub spaces by the landlords/owners of the space, the use of DCT by the patrons of these spaces, and an analysis of those spaces that have not directly engaged DCT, neither implementing DCT as a feature of the location, nor limiting its use within the space. This thesis utilizes participant observations, auto ethnographic observations, and interviews made over a period of two years and engages with the theoretical arguments around gay space: its history both within the broad context of UK history, and also with Brighton's special historical status as a gay centre within the UK; its current uses; and the potential for its evolution. This investigation of hof DCT is impacting on gay space also questions to what extent 'gay space' is maintaining a sense of physicality and to what extent an extension of DCT-enabled virtual spaces is altering our relationship to these spaces. The work examines the notion of nostalgia, ownership, and control of space and attempts through its focus on several locations in Kemptown to catalogue the many changes in structure, clientele, locale, and business success that these spaces have gone through in a fairly short time and to determine to what extent the use and influences of DCT has driven these changes. The project includes interviews with landlords and patrons of eight current and former venues in Kemptown and encompasses a group of three key participants in detail through a series of scheduled interviews and group discussions conducted during the duration of the project, and details their particular relationships to the spaces in Kemptown as well as their uses of DCT in these spaces. These participants act as a focal point for the research by helping to create a frame of reference within the work balancing the author's auto ethnographic analysis with the point of view of a local Brighton gay male, as well as contribute to and support the broader narrative of the vicissitudes of smaller pub venues by helping to highlight the historical changes in the pubs being looked at. The specific questions that this research sets out to answer are: • How is digital communicative technology (DCT) affecting self defined gay spaces in Kemptown, Brighton? • How is DCT affecting the behaviours of the patrons and owners/operators in these spaces? • How are the owners/operators of these spaces adapting to DCT? Is there evidence of owners/operators conforming to Winston's theory on the suppression of disruptive potential of new and emerging media technology (1995)? • What are the implications, challenges and opportunities presented to those spaces which are not engaging with DCT in their spaces? • Are “gay spaces” in Kemptown still relevant with the intersection of digital and physical spaces? Do these spaces meet the same requirements as they have in the past? Does DCT have the ability on its own to maintain the relevance of a venue on its own when faced off against other pressures (such as commercial or demographic pressure)? The conclusions reached in this thesis draw attention to the potential for DCT: • Acting as a form of disruptive potential of new communication technologies (Winston, 1995). • The concerns that DCT is suppressing interpersonal communications in favor of mediated discourse (Turkle, 2011, 2012, 2015). • That automobility is creating a privatization of pub spaces, along with the creation of ‘non-places' (Bull, 2004) However, in the author's analysis, there is evidence of cohabitation, and adaptation towards DCT which is reminiscent of Winston's theory of the suppression of disruptive potential of emerging communication technology, as well as a resistance response with nostalgic overtones. The conclusions are also grounded in the larger narratives of pub culture within the UK and note the challenging culture that smaller, brewer-tied and non-tied gay venues have within these changing demographics and cultural acceptance of homosexuality in general. This research adds to the broader field of research into the adaptation of communications technology by drawing attention to the effects of DCT on both spaces and their users and also highlights their effects on a subculture.

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劉晨. / "2008年10月". / "2008 nian 10 yue". / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-100). / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Liu Chen. / Chapter 第一章 --- 導言 --- p.1 / Chapter 第二章 --- 文獻綜述 --- p.5 / 民主、民主化與大眾媒介/民主政治與公共領域 --- p.5 / 作為一種民主理念的公共領域 --- p.8 / 公共領域與媒介 --- p.15 / 當代中國的公共領域與媒介環境 --- p.21 / Chapter 第三章 --- 研究設計 --- p.28 / 研究問题 --- p.28 / 研究個案 --- p.32 / 案例´ؤ´ؤ廈門PX項目事件 --- p.32 / 為什麽是廈門PX項目事件？ --- p.33 / 研究方法 --- p.35 / Chapter 第四章 --- 研究發現之一：當代中國公共領域的現狀 --- p.38 / Chapter 第五章 --- 研究發現之二：公共領域背後的動因和條件 --- p.68 / Chapter 第六章 --- 總結與討論 --- p.83 / 參考文獻 --- p.90 / 附錄 --- p.101

In the so-called postmodern era, when networked media are increasingly ubiquitous in everyday life, where the ‘real’ and the ‘simulation’ become ever more indistinguishable; the physical and virtual intertwine; machines and man merge, and audience and stars transpose. To understand consumption in a time when realness and authenticity are no longer relevant, this thesis draws attention to the consumption and production of media content through case studies of consumer participation and social trends in Japan. The work begins in a themed shopping mall, Venus Fort in Tokyo Bay; continues with the reproduction of Audrey Hepburn‘s image; expands to the dramatised ‘realness’ of television; and finally moves to the omnipresent mobile phone and the impact of networked personal media on our idea of the ‘real’. First, through an analysis of a themed consumption environment, it is suggested that a transition is taking place in consumption from objects to experiences, services and spectacle. Secondly, by showing Audrey Hepburn‘s transition from a Hollywood star to a virtualised idol, technologically-aided illusions are shown to make hierarchical realness irrelevant. Thirdly, via Reality TV dating programs, the focus shifts to the role of audience participation in the consumption of media content. These themes are demonstrated individually, then merged into the last example – the social and cultural evolution induced by the mass consumption of networked media, that promise to revolutionise the way we consume, communicate and connect between people, machines and consumer goods.The thesis grounds its analysis of contemporary trends in the culture of consumption in Japan in theories of commodity and culture, the real and the simulation, speed and reality, the spectacle and the self in mediated spaces, and probes further into the collapse of demarcations between the virtual and the real, the event and the everyday and media and the self in the network society / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The presentation of the thesis comprises the Dissertation component (66%) along with the Practice Component and the Practice Report (33%). In this Video Chaos dissertation, through an examination of current video practices, I note an emerging trend towards disseminating audio-visual content simultaneously in the form of poly-sequential narrative structures. I argue that this is a significant development within the video medium, and that this is an effect of video new media artist-practitioners' engagement with the relationships between art and technology. Two extensive case studies are investigated and, whilst a number of issues come to the fore in this research, exploring the issue of narrative structuration is the primary focus and exploration of this dissertation. The presentation of the thesis comprises the Dissertation component (66%) along with the Practice Component and the Practice Report (33%). The Practice Report documents the nature and development of the research undertaken during the course of the study. The culmination of the Practice Component takes the form of an exhibition and archiving of video works from June 2003 to the date of submission, January 2005. The Practice Component has been based in the following locations and used resources from Central Queensland University (Bundaberg campus), and The Australian National University, Centre for New Media Arts in Canberra. The practice has examined the topic through the production of the audio-video installation Sugartown and three video works The Hazzards, Nodal Dialectics 1 and boomsplatbangwhack. While these video works exist as discrete media artworks, they also operate as a type of practice process diary for working through the ideas explored in the written dissertation. Even though the video works are not meant to literally 'illustrate' those ideas, they nevertheless explore ways of integrating the theoretical concepts into my own research practice. In this Video Chaos dissertation, through an examination of current video practices, I note an emerging trend towards disseminating audio-visual content simultaneously in the form of poly-sequential narrative structures. I argue that this is a significant development within the video medium, and that this is an effect of video new media artist-practitioners' engagement with the relationships between art and technology. Two extensive case studies are investigated and, whilst a number of issues come to the fore in this research, exploring the issue of narrative structuration is the primary focus and exploration of this dissertation.

This thesis reports on research examining the habituation of emotional variables to filmed violence. The following subjective emotional variables were assessed: positive feelings, anxiety, disgust, entertainment and anger. In addition, an objective measure of emotional response was recorded physiologically, using the startle eyeblink response. The mediating influence of personality, individual differences and contextual features on an individuals’ perception of and reaction to filmed violence were also explored. Study one was exploratory in nature served to identify and select the film stimuli to be employed in the subsequent studies. The primary aim of the study was to allow for the identification of violent stimuli considered to be most socially and culturally relevant. The present research builds on existing scientific literature which has began to appreciate that differences in the context of a portrayal holds important implications for its impact on viewers. Thus, a secondary and more specific desire of study one was to obtain an evaluation of the contextual features of the violent film segments. A sample of 30 participants viewed and rated the film stimuli on the variables of realism, fantasy and violence. From this exploratory study four violent film stimuli were subsequently employed. Study 2 used the eyeblink startle response proposed by Vrana, Spence and Lang (1988) to explore the habituation of emotional variables to a realistic depiction of filmed violence. Emotional response was assessed both objectively, using the eyeblink startle response and subjectively through individuals self-reports. In addition the study investigated the significance of individual differences as mediators of emotional response. Questionnaire and physiological data were obtained from 30 participants. Overall, repeated exposure to filmed violence resulted in a decline in both objective and subjective emotional response. Differences were identified in the manner in which men and women responded to the film. Women reacted initially and over time with more intense physiological and psychological reactions to the violent film than males. Specifically, men displayed more curiosity and reported greater entertainment and positive feelings in response to the film, whilst women found the violence more disgusting and reported higher levels of anger and anxiety. It was found that the eyeblink startle magnitude paralleled the subjective emotional processing of the violent film, thus providing further confirmatory evidence of its validity in the investigation of emotional reactions to a stimulus. Personality factors were found to mediate emotional response to filmed violence, with neuroticism most powerfully implicated. High levels of neuroticism were found to be associated with greater anger and anxiety and less positive feelings whilst viewing violent film. A high score on extraversion was correlated with higher levels of anger and lower levels of curiosity and entertainment. Whilst the aims of study 3 were identical to that of study 2, a variation in the contextual feature of the violent film stimuli under investigation was the distinguishing and pertinent feature. Study 2 provided data on the habituation of emotional response to a realistic depiction of filmed violence. Study 3 was concerned with emotional response over repeated exposure to a fantasized violent depiction. Therefore, allowing for a comparison regarding the effects of context on emotional response. The results of study 3, with respect to habituation of emotional response, personality and individual differences, were similar to that obtained in study 2. A comparison of the two studies, however, revealed that individuals responded significantly different to the contextual features of the violent portrayal. Compared to the fantasised portrayal the realistic film stimulus was reported to be more digusting, anxiety provoking and less entertaining. In addition, and not surprisingly respondents reported that the realistic portrayal resulted in the production of more anger and less positive feelings.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-147).

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.