Search Results (58)

This paper presents a conceptual and methodological framework for using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to “deep map” cultural heritage sites along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, with a focus on the 1588 Spanish Armada wrecks in County Kerry and archaeological landscapes in County Sligo’s “Yeats Country.” Drawing on interdisciplinary dialogues from the humanities, social sciences, and geospatial sciences, it illustrates how digital spatial technologies can excavate, preserve, and sustain intangible cultural knowledge embedded within such palimpsestic landscapes. Using MAXQDA 24 software to mine and code historical, literary, folkloric, and environmental texts, the study constructed bespoke GIS attribute tables and visualizations integrated with elevation models and open-source archaeological data. The result is a richly layered cartographic method that reveals the spectral and affective dimensions of heritage landscapes through climate, memory, literature, and spatial storytelling. By engaging with “deep mapping” and theories such as “Spectral Geography,” the research offers new avenues for sustainable heritage conservation, cultural tourism, and public education that are sensitive to both ecological and cultural resilience in the West of Ireland. Full article

This paper examines how Marley Dias’ activism on Instagram promotes racial justice, Black feminist thought, and youth mobilization through digital storytelling, representation, and audience engagement. Using a mixed-methods analysis of 744 posts published between 2016 and 2025, the study combined critical thematic coding, temporal mapping, and engagement metrics to analyze the discursive and emotional strategies behind Dias’ activism. Five key themes were identified as central to her activist work: diversity in literature, lack girl empowerment, racial justice, Black representation, and educational advocacy. The findings reveal that Dias strategically tailors her messages to suit Instagram’s unique features, using carousels and videos to enhance visibility, foster intimacy, and provide depth in education. Posts that focused on identity, aesthetics, and empowerment garnered the highest levels of engagement, while posts that concentrated on structural issues received lower, yet still significant, interaction. The paper argues that Dias’ Instagram account serves as a dynamic platform for youth-led Black feminist resistance, where cultural production, civic education, and emotional impact converge. This case underscores the political potential of digital literacies and encourages a reconsideration of how youth-driven digital activism is reshaping contemporary public discourse, agency, and knowledge production in the social media age. Full article

Gamification has the potential to significantly enhance student engagement and motivation in educational contexts. However, there is a lack of empirical research that compares different guiding strategies between AI-driven gamified and non-gamified modes in virtual learning environments to scaffold language learning. This paper presents an empirical study that examines the impact of AI-driven gamification and learning strategies on the learning experience and outcomes in virtual environments for English-language learners. A gamified English learning prototype was designed and developed. A between-group experiment was established to compare different gamified scaffolding groups: a traditional linear group (storytelling), an AI-driven gamified linear group (task-based learning), and a gamified exploration group (self-regulated learning). One hundred students learning English as a second language participated in this study, and their learning conditions were evaluated across three dimensions: engagement, performance, and experience. The results suggest that traditional learning methods may not be as effective as the other two approaches; there may be other factors beyond in-game interaction and engagement time that influence learning and engagement. Moreover, the results show that different gamified learning modes are not the key factor affecting language learning. The research presents guidelines that can be applied when gamification and AI are utilised in virtual learning environments. Full article

Immersive technologies (IMTs) have significantly impacted the tourism sector by offering experiences that enhance engagement with destinations. Although previous research confirms that IMT affects travelers’ behavioral intentions, there is a lack of studies specifically focusing on the post-experience context of agritourism and the factors contributing to technological resistance. This study introduces a conceptual model that combines the Diffusion of Innovation framework, the technology acceptance model, and the psychological factors related to innovation resistance to examine the decision-making processes of IMT users in the post-experience context of agritourism. The research model is evaluated through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) techniques involving 400 users who engaged with IMT for a duration not exceeding 3 months. The findings indicate that the amount of storytelling content, which enhances engagement in agritourism, significantly affects users’ perceptions of IMT and their intentions to revisit and continue using IMT. Additionally, factors related to compatibility, along with privacy and security risks, influence the reluctance or readiness to adopt IMT and the decision to revisit a destination. These findings contribute to the understanding necessary to develop content and apply IMT in the agritourism sector to promote long-term sustainability. Full article

Intersectional oppression and invisibility are primary drivers of cognitive and mental health disparities that affect Black women’s wellness. Older Black women additionally experience compounding effects of ageism, which may place them at increased risk for a decline in cognitive functioning and mental wellness. To date, limited strengths-based, culturally relevant programming has focused on aging Black women. Fewer have incorporated Black women elders into conversations on Black liberation and the transformational change needed to create possible futures rooted in equity, healing, and health. This manuscript describes the inception and development of Radical Imagination, a creative aging program for Black women in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over ten weeks, 42 Black women (M age = 73.6, SD = 6.20; range: 58–85 years old) participated in the program, which incorporated brain and mental health education, art-making, storytelling, and photography. Grounded in principles of Afrofuturism and radical healing, participants explored past narratives of Black women and created a collective vision for a future that centers on Black women’s needs. Approximately 54.8% of participants attended more than one workshop. Upon program completion, exit surveys indicated that participants reported a moderate level of hopefulness about their ability to shape the future. Respondents reported overall satisfaction with the workshop series. We conclude with reflections on our process and recommendations for ways to support aging Black women using Afrofuturism and the arts. Full article

This study proposes a design method for the evaluation and redesign of product–service systems (PSSs) from the perspective of social sustainability, one that applies Max-Neef’s framework of fundamental human needs. The proposed method systematically connects PSS functions and requirements—identified through service blueprints and value graphs—to “satisfiers” and “barriers” extracted via needs-based workshops. This connection enables the identification of functions that either contribute to or hinder the fulfillment of fundamental human needs and guide the generation of redesign proposals aimed at sufficiency-oriented outcomes. A case study involving a smart-cart system in Osaka, Japan, was conducted to demonstrate the applicability of the method. Through an online workshop, satisfiers and barriers related to both physical and online shopping experiences were identified. The analysis revealed that existing functions such as promotional information and automated checkout processes negatively impacted needs such as understanding and affection due to information overload and reduced human interaction. In response, redesign concepts were developed, including filtering options for information, product background storytelling, and optional slower checkout lanes with human assistants. The redesigned functions contribute to the fulfillment of fundamental human needs, indicating that the proposed method can enhance social sustainability in PSS design. This study offers a novel framework that extends beyond traditional customer requirement-based approaches by explicitly incorporating human needs into function-level redesign. Full article

Recent national and international emergencies have repeatedly highlighted the role of information, and local information in particular, in synthesising various social and cultural policies proposed by public authorities and providing a correct representation of the living conditions of citizens on the ground, overcoming national media logics that are often based on the speed and spectacularisation of disasters. In fact, citizens have an “innate need” to know what is happening beyond their direct experience, to be aware of events that affect them or that are not happening in front of their eyes. A sociographic approach can be a supportive methodology to remember victims and report on disasters, but also to reconstruct new narratives by socially anticipating future environmental emergencies with the support of the media. Sociography as social narrative weaves together scientific analysis and journalistic storytelling, an old qualitative method that needs to be rediscovered, updated and integrated with new tools and methods. In this study, disaster narratives and analyses are supported by visual journalistic sources. In part, it takes up the gauntlet that Bruno Latour throws down to sociologists in Down to Earth, arguing that the latter should shift the focus of inquiry from theoretical analyses of social problems to descriptions of the existence of problems in experimental contexts, local shared spaces and common practices. This paper considers the description of (and within) the journalistic field as a methodological problem, examines the strengths and limitations of existing descriptive approaches and develops a different way of using a sociographic imagination in an attempt to make sense of changing journalistic practices with reference to specific Italian crisis events. Full article

Oral diseases and conditions affect children’s oral health and negatively influence their overall health. Early detection and intervention are important in mitigating these negative consequences. However, dental fear and anxiety (DFA) regarding dental procedures often hinder children from seeking necessary dental care. Non-pharmacological behavior management strategies, such as distraction techniques, are commonly adopted to manage children’s behaviors. Distraction techniques have been developed rapidly in recent years and are widely accepted by both health professionals and parents due to their noninvasive and low-cost nature. This concise review aims to summarize current distraction techniques applied during dental treatments, especially for children. The most commonly reported techniques for children are audio distraction, audio-visual distraction, tactile distraction, olfactory distraction, and gustatory distraction. Audio distraction techniques involving music and storytelling help children relax. Audio-visual distraction techniques help to divert children’s attention from the dental treatment. Tactile stimuli can reduce the transmission of pain signals. Olfactory stimuli can help children feel comfortable and relaxed. Gustatory distraction involving sweet substances can create a positive environment. These distraction techniques effectively reduce DFA in children and improve their satisfaction with dental procedures. As technology continues to develop, further research is needed to provide more robust, evidence-based guidance for dentists using distraction techniques. Full article

Disabled people are uniquely positioned in relation to the digital turn. Academic ableism, the inaccessibility of digital space, and gaps in digital literacy present barriers, while, at the same time, disabled, Deaf, and neurodivergent people’s access knowledge is at the forefront of innovations in culture and crip technoscience. This article explores disability, technology, and access through the concept of crip digital intimacy, a term that describes the relational and affective advances that disabled people make within digital space and through digital technology toward accessing the arts. We consider how moments of crip digital intimacy emerged through Accessing the Arts: Centring Disability Perspectives in Access Initiatives—a research project that explored how to make the arts more accessible through engaging disabled artist-participants in virtual storytelling, knowledge sharing, and art-making activities. Our analysis tracks how crip digital intimacies emerged through the ways participants collectively organized and facilitated access for themselves and each other. Guided by affordance theory and in line with the political thrust of crip technoscience, crip legibility, and access intimacy, we argue that crip digital intimacy emphasizes the interdependent and relational nature of access, recognizes the creativity and vitality of nonnormative bodyminds, and understands disability as a political—and frequently transgressive—way of being in the world. Full article

The sustainable development of tourism in cultural heritage sites benefits from the active participation of tourists in the co-creation process. Location-based AR games show great potential in tourists’ participation in creation and positive experiences. This study explores the relationship between the stage factors of the co-creation experience and the overall co-creation. Combining the service-dominant logic and process perspective of value co-creation theory, this research proposes a conceptual framework for co-creating experiences in cultural heritage tourism using augmented reality technology through two studies. In the first phase of the study, quantitative research was conducted on 256 visitors to measure the impact of factors in the three processes of pre-co-creation experience, on-site experience, and post-co-creation experience on the overall co-creation experience. In the study’s second phase, follow-up qualitative interviews were conducted based on multiple linear regression analysis results to expand the interpretation of the relationship and importance of factors affecting the co-creation experience process. The results show that psychological engagement, awareness, knowledge, and social relations during pre-visitation help enhance the overall co-creation experience. In contrast, the overall co-creation experience is enriched by real-time storytelling, interaction, and emotional resonance in both on-site and post-experience processes. The proposal of this framework model advances the discussion of augmented reality technology and co-creation experience to the empirical level. It provides a basis for further tourism co-creation experience design practice. Full article

Three generations of women creators of Georgian cinema belonging to the same family, the Gogoberidze family, will form the basis for this research, which aims to explore the notion of female genealogy through a multimodal ethnography. What type of memories does this female genealogy shape and how is it shaped by them? My research combines bibliographical research, interviews, and film analysis. By doing so, I examine how family memories as story-telling cross different expressive media and bridge generations by postulating the role of affective memory as key factor for the formation this genealogy. In addition to that, I pinpoint to the fact of the creative resignification of genealogy as part of these women’s engagement with cinema but also the social struggles of their times (feminism, anti-Russian politics, etc.). Full article

Adopting strategies to reduce meat consumption can help overcome environmental problems associated with meat-based diets, including water scarcity and pollution, soil erosion, and global hunger. Increasing vegetarian diets can result in significant environmental benefits and has been focused on as a way to mitigate environmental changes. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the antecedents affecting customers’ storytelling and subjective well-being in vegetarian restaurants from an eco-friendly perspective. For the surveyed vegetarian restaurants, the four most frequently used by restaurant consumers were selected through a pilot test. Data collection was conducted online through a research company, and a sample of Koreans who responded that visiting at least one of the four selected vegetarian restaurants was selected. Among the 297 questionnaires, a total of 262 valid questionnaires were used for analysis. As a result of the verification, among the respondents, the proportion of women was higher, and the number of individuals in their 20s and 30s who responded was higher than that of people in their 40s and 50s. Affective quality showed the greatest positive influence on experiential quality, followed by physical environmental quality and interaction quality. However, the effects of the outcome quality on the experiential quality were not significant. Additionally, experiential quality was found to have a positive effect on experiential satisfaction, and experiential satisfaction was found to have a positive effect on storytelling and subjective well-being. These results provide useful insights for enhancing customers’ storytelling and subjective well-being in vegetarian restaurants. The design and results of this study contribute to the literature on eco-friendly vegetarian restaurants in the food service industry through theoretical and practical implications. Full article

Tourist maps provide tourists with destination information that reflects their unique characteristics and cultural connotations and play an important role in attracting tourists and serving marketing purposes. However, existing designs of tourist maps often ignore the importance of cultural resource selection and the relationship between maps and structural linguistics, thereby affecting the narrative function and representativeness of tourist maps. This study utilizes the local chronicle as a data source and proposes a novel visual narrative framework (VNF) for tourist maps. The VNF combines Todorov’s narrative hierarchy and Roth’s visual storytelling tropes to establish a mapping between map elements and narrative elements. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the VNF, the Songshan Scenic Area was selected as a case study. By applying the VNF, highly characteristic and meaningful colors, figurative hand-painted symbols, and scene symbols are selected and integrated into the map design to enhance the artistic value and narrative of the map. This framework reveals the potential cultural value of local chronicles and can serve as a reference for other historical tourist cities, contributing to the preservation of local cultural heritage. Full article

This essay discusses the virtues of hagiology-driven teaching and the pedagogical value of the saint in the religious studies classroom, focusing on how a series of class assignments and activities centered on the Indian devotional saint Kabir function in an undergraduate introductory-level religious studies course to effectively engage student learning, and develop students’ understanding of the politics of religion and the crucial interplay of affect, memory, and storytelling in religious life. Full article

This article discusses some of the long-term tendencies of the Paraguayan political economy, focusing, in particular, on impacts on indigenous peoples and, because of the ongoing agribusiness expansion in the northeast of the country, on the Paĩ Tavyterã nation. This analysis is warranted because of the growing recognition of the importance of land-related disputes affecting indigenous peoples, particularly in countries such as Paraguay that rely heavily on agribusiness exports and on the exploitation of natural resources. It is based on more than six years of research dedicated to the land struggles of the Paĩ Tavyterã (and members of the same ethnic group in Brazil, called Guarani-Kaiowa). Instead of a comparative study, this is a relational storytelling text that draws insights from various actors, communities and situations that were obtained through a qualitative and participative methodology, involving indigenous communities as co-participants and co-investigators in the study. Empirical results demonstrate that, despite the fact that Paraguay is a major exporter of agribusiness commodities the accumulation of multiple forms of subtraction is a prevailing geographical force. The reaction of indigenous peoples is in the form of anti-subtraction. The main implication of this research is that the process of decolonisation is, first and foremost, an anti-subtraction movement that aims to revert the deficit caused by the systemic subtraction of socio-economic and socio-ecological opportunities. Full article