This diploma thesis deals with the distinction between fiction and reality in the film using the theory of fictional worlds. It analyzes the effect of fictional worlds and their characters on the viewer's perception and interpretation of fiction. It emphasizes the difference of the impact of fiction on reality, depending on whether the recipient evaluates the fictional work by its relation to reality or realizes that the film doesn't refer to the actual world. The thesis describes the main concepts and problems of the theory of fictional worlds and applies them to the examples of films to show the importance of distinguishing the line between fiction and reality.

This thesis describes and explains rumours as sociological phenomenon. It deals with circumstances under which rumour arises, how it spreads and how it persists in society. It also deals with the prerequisites for understanding the transmission and any believing in rumour. Emphasis is placed on understanding the rumours without negative connotations which is mostly attributed to it. The theory of fictional worlds brings idea that rumour should not be always fictional, fictitious and a priori negative, but rather should be considered as possibly true, especially in terms of the phenomenon, which it refers. It does not matter how many different variations of the rumour story exist, since all create a frame of reference through which is better spread the rumour; adoption of the rumours is not a sign of fiction, but rather a prerequisite to embed among people. The thesis promotes the view that a rumour is spread mainly due to its content and message, which is mainly a warning. The aim is not to pass the exact story, but to warn about a phenomenon that occurs in society. It is not important wheather the rumour is true in each detail, because the only important aspect is truth of phenomenon which the rumour refers to. Keywords Rumour, theory of possible worlds, conspiracy theories, contemporary legend,...

CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Department of Electronic Culture and Semiotics Bc. Jakub Turčan Phenomenon Almodóvar (The Interdigitation of "Small Worlds" in the Work of Pedro Almodóvar) Thesis Supervisor: Mgr. Josef Fulka, Ph.D. Thesis Abstract Prague 2013 Abstract The paper focuses on the problem of authorship by means of an in-depth analysis of the film work of the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. The analysis is preceded by setting the author's work in the context of its origin, introduction of its so far existing content, as well as the concepts this work employs. Due to the hypertextual character of this postmodern oeuvre, the study is based on the concept of small worlds by Umberto Eco, hence the worlds of fiction with limited content in comparison to the actual world. The complete film work is perceived as a self- contained, yet within its character an ever open Text. The interdigitation of its small worlds is understood as a series of intratextual references, however the work also monitors its intertextual and, as a blend of these two, the transtextual content. Presenting the directors unique signature, combining several known approaches of the film creation with his own style- constituting elements, the analysis adduces the auteurist character - first described by the film...

This master thesis researches parallel digital world design in computer games in the setting of An Ended World. The main focus of the research is the touchpoints between two or more worlds and how the inputs from a designer can influence the type of experience received by the player.The overall research takes inspiration from both game and interaction design and follows a very user-centric approach with numerous play sessions and a workshop. The final outcome is presented in the form of attributes and a prototype built as a modification for an existing game.

The topic of this thesis is visual art as a constitutive element of fictional worlds. The methodological basis is comparative semiotics, or more precisely intermediality research. The aim is to capture some of the possible realisations of intermedial relationships between literature and visual art. The constituent case studies are focused on the ekphrasis represented in the novel Witch Hammer by Václav Kaplický, on the transmediality as a transfer of aesthetics of one medium into another on the example of Josef Čapek's Three Proses which are traditionally perceived as cubist, and on the illustrative relationship between text and picture in František Hrubín's lyrical poems The Night of Job. The first study concerning the ekphrastic relationship confirms the ability of visual art to enrich the possibilities of literary expression thematically but also semantically through introspection into the inner lives of the characters which contributed to the overall interpretation of the work. The second study focused on the transmedia transfer in Čapek's proses does not have such an unequivocal conclusion. Given the complexity of each reader's receptive process, it is difficult to attribute the status of a literary pandanus of Cubism to the Three Proses, even with an awareness of its historical context. By...

Das Thema dieser Ausgabe von Medienwelten – Imaging TU Dres­den – ist angelehnt an ein gleichnamiges Seminar von Ralf Voll­brecht im Sommersemester 2018, in dem Studie­ren­de image­bildende Maßnahmen der Technischen Universität Dres­den analy­sieren und aus medienpädagogischer Sicht einschätzen sollten. Die­­ses weite Untersuchungsfeld wurde dann beschränkt auf Image-Filme, wobei in dieser Medienwelten-Ausgabe nicht die ge­samte Fülle an Filmen einbezogen werden kann, die sich bei­spiels­weise auf dem YouTube-Kanal der TU Dresden finden lässt, son­dern nur einige derjenigen Filme diskutiert werden, die von der TU Dresden selbst in besonderer Weise herausgestellt werden.

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The Influence of On-line Identity from the World of Damokles on Everydayness Abstract The doctoral thesis focuses on on-line world Damokles and its users. It investigates how their on-line identity influences their everyday off-line life. It also focuses on the way the social ties and networks are created among its users and how on-line community is constructed. I especially focus on the mutual impact of on-line and off-line activities of Damokles users. I based the research on qualitative methodology, especially engaged observation of members of Damokles community in the on-line realm as well as during their off-line activities; informal, semi-structured dialogues with the members of the community; and analysis and interpretation of texts from the world Damokles and about the world Damokles. I classify my work under the new anthropological sub- discipline, cyberanthropology, which studied humans and changes of human existence in the context of modern computer information and communication technologies (Soukup 2009, 138). I also deal with the specifics of this anthropological sub- discipline and issues connected with research in the on-line realm. Key words: cyberanthropology, on-line worlds, everydayness, on- line community, ethnography, time, identity

This study investigated what factors come into play when looking at the user experience involved with the commercial video game Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition), and sought to determine if the unique combination between sandbox and smart toy based gameplay present in gameplay offers an additional level of immersion. This study analyzed the effect of Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition) on immersion utilizing a Game Immersion Questionnaire modified to analyze play preference as well as video game experience. The study methodology analyzed 48 users while playing in "Toy Box" mode both with and without the associated smart toys, or Disney characters. Results show that while there was no significant difference in immersion for either group, nor were there any significant correlations between variables, there was a preference for playing the game with the associated smart toys in both groups. Recommendations were made for continued research building on modifications to this study as well as future research exploring the potential for smart toys in other areas.

When discussing games and the experience of gamers those with disabilities are often overlooked. This has left a gap in our understanding of the experience of players with disabilities in virtual game worlds. However there are examples of players with disabilities being very successful in the virtual world video game World of Warcraft, suggesting that there is an opportunity to study the game for usability insight in creating other virtual world environments. This study surveyed World of Warcraft players with disabilities online for insight into how they used interface addons to manage their experience and identity performance in the game. A rubric was also created to study a selection of addons for evidence of the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The study found that World of Warcraft players with disabilities do not use addons more than able-bodied players, but some of the most popular addons do exhibit many or most of the principles of UDL. UDL principles appear to have emerged organically from addon iterations over time. The study concludes by suggesting that the same approach to user-generated content for the game interface taken by the creators of World of Warcraft, as well as high user investment in the environment, can lead to more accessible virtual world learning environments in the future.