Search Results (180)

StoryMapping has emerged as an accessible geotechnological approach that combines spatial analysis, interactive cartography and digital storytelling to communicate urban landscape transformations. This study aims to demonstrate the methodological potential of StoryMaps for integrating historical cartography, GIS-based analysis and narrative visualisation to explain long-term urban landscape change in an accessible and scientifically rigorous way. Using a case study of Madrid, the research integrates more than 150 years of historical maps, georeferenced images and thematic GIS layers to visualise shifts in blue–green infrastructures, land-use patterns and morphological configurations. The methodology includes the compilation of historical cartographic sources, GIS processing of contemporary datasets, georeferencing of archival materials and the construction of an interactive narrative using ArcGIS Pro 3.6 StoryMaps. Results show that StoryMapping enhances public understanding of complex urban processes, supports participatory planning, and provides a bridge between technical analyses and community engagement. The study concludes that StoryMapping is not only a powerful communication tool but also a valuable geotechnological solution for sustainable landscape planning, complementing traditional GIS approaches and promoting interdisciplinary perspectives in urban studies. Full article

Augmented Reality (AR) has been found to produce significant effects on individual learning outcomes but its impact on collaborative applications remains moderate. Existing AR frameworks emphasize individual instructional design, whereas frameworks for collaborative learning rarely engage with the spatial and device-mediated affordances of mobile AR. In response to this inadequacy in the literature, we introduce the Mobile Augmented-Reality Storytelling for Vocational Education and Training (MARS-VET) framework, a four-dimensional conceptual architecture that integrates Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) scripting principles with mobile AR affordances for collaborative English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing in Vocational Education and Training (VET) settings. MARS-VET synthesizes theoretical perspectives across four dimensions: contextual anchoring, which embeds activities within authentic workplace scenarios; collaborative orchestration, which structures group interaction through macro- and micro-level scripts; competency cultivation, which sequences writing progression from model-based reproduction toward autonomous professional text production; and capacity building, which addresses the professional-development requirements of implementing educators. Content validity was established through expert panel evaluation involving international specialists (N = 11) who rated the framework against 36 items using a four-point relevance scale and provided additional qualitative feedback. The Scale-level Content Validity Index (S-CVI/Ave = 0.91) exceeded established thresholds, with all four dimensions achieving satisfactory item-level indices. Experts reached unanimous agreement on items addressing workplace scenario identification and co-located access to linguistic resources. Qualitative feedback led to terminology refinements and clarification of orchestration mechanisms. The framework offers VET institutions and educators a reference for the design and evaluation of collaborative AR experiences in an area where integrative frameworks have so far been lacking. Full article

The integration of digital technologies into cultural heritage tourism has created new opportunities for enhancing visitor experience while supporting sustainable heritage interpretation. Among these innovations, Spatial Augmented Reality (SAR) enables non-invasive and site-sensitive storytelling. Drawing on experiential psychology, this study examines how scene interactivity in SAR-based heritage exhibitions influences tourists’ word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions, with a focus on the mediating roles of sense of presence and mental simulation. Data were collected through a survey of visitors to a multimedia Han culture exhibition at the Mawangdui heritage site between 1 March and 16 May 2025, yielding 870 valid responses, and were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that scene interactivity significantly enhances both sense of presence and mental simulation, which in turn positively affect WOM intention. Furthermore, processing fluency positively moderates the relationships between scene interactivity and the two experiential mediators, while perceived cultural authenticity strengthens the effects of scene interactivity and presence on WOM intention. This study contributes to the understanding of technology-mediated heritage experiences by identifying the psychological mechanisms through which interactive SAR environments influence tourist behavioral intentions. The findings also provide practical insights for heritage managers seeking to design engaging and culturally authentic digital experiences that support sustainable tourism development. Full article

This paper examines DisAbitanti, a participatory cultural initiative developed in Corigliano d’Otranto (Grecìa Salentina, Southern Italy) to explore how performative and community-based practices may contribute to sustainable and proximity tourism in small heritage towns. The study adopts an exploratory qualitative case study design, combining participatory action research and artistic research, drawing on participant observation, reflective field diaries, semi-structured interviews with local actors and participants, and analysis of project materials and relevant local planning documents. The analysis identifies a set of emerging patterns suggesting that the reactivation of abandoned or underused spaces through site-specific performances and collective storytelling is associated with forms of resident participation, reconfiguration of resident–visitor roles, and off-season cultural activation. These dynamics contribute to strengthening local identity and social cohesion, while highlighting the role of cultural practice in place-based governance processes. The analysis indicates that performative interventions can act as catalysts for the emergence of informal governance dynamics within the case study, connecting local associations, artists, residents, and cultural organizers. This claim is supported by empirically observed indications, including the number and diversity of actors involved and the emergence of new collaborative interactions. While the findings are not intended to be generalizable, they provide analytical insight into how performative practices may enable forms of place-based coordination around heritage use and spatial activation, linking heritage experience to habitability and spatial equity. The paper concludes that DisAbitanti offers a context-sensitive approach for translating sustainability principles—consistent with the UN 2030 Agenda—into situated tourism governance practices, with potential relevance for other small inner peripheral towns facing seasonality and spatial marginalization. Full article

This paper presents a dataset collected through a visitor questionnaire survey conducted at the Archaeological Site of Ancient Dodona, Greece, a large-scale, spatially complex open-air archaeological site. The dataset documents visitors’ experiences, perceptions, and information needs, as well as their attitudes toward the use of digital technologies for heritage interpretation and engagement. The questionnaire was administered in printed form to adult visitors at the entrance and exit of the archaeological site. A total of 99 valid responses were collected. The dataset includes information on visitor demographics, visit characteristics, perceptions of existing interpretive material, spatial behavior within the site, and attitudes toward digital applications such as augmented reality, digital storytelling, and interactive tools. All data are fully anonymized and contain no personally identifiable or sensitive information. The dataset supports research in the fields of visitor studies, cultural heritage interpretation, digital heritage, and cultural tourism, and may be reused for comparative studies or for the design and evaluation of digital mediation applications in archaeological contexts. The dataset enables cross-tabulation analyses exploring associations between visitor characteristics and attitudes toward digital mediation, thereby supporting visitor segmentation and the evidence-based development of digital interpretation strategies in archaeological contexts. Full article

This study presents a focused review of digital storytelling research in industrial heritage using a bounded Scopus-indexed corpus covering the period from 2011 to February 2026. It examines whether regeneration-relevant interpretive claims in urban renewal contexts are supported by traceable research structures. As post-industrial landscapes undergo restoration and urban redevelopment, digital storytelling is frequently used to frame issues of memory, responsibility, and heritage legitimacy; however, the evidentiary basis of such claims remains insufficiently scrutinized. Adopting an outcome-traceability perspective, the study evaluates whether interpretation-related outcomes are supported by traceable links between mechanisms, constructs, measurement approaches, and evaluation design. A two-stage synthesis is conducted: Stage 1 provides a bibliometric profile of the Scopus-indexed corpus, revealing a fragmented publication landscape dominated by conference papers and prototype-oriented studies, while Stage 2 audits evidence chains across the screened analytical studies to assess whether commonly cited mechanisms, such as narrative meaning-making, affective engagement, and interactive exploration, are operationalised into explicit constructs and measurable indicators. Findings suggest that reported outcomes most frequently concentrate on immediate experiential responses, while higher-level outcomes such as awareness, attitudes, and learning are less consistently supported by robust evaluation designs. The study identifies recurring traceability gaps and outlines priorities for improving evidentiary consistency and comparability in industrial heritage digital storytelling research. Full article

Scholars across disciplines are urging a rethinking of human–nature relationships beyond anthropocentrism, but these ideas remain difficult to convey to broader audiences and to implement in environmental management practices. This study analyses the design and performance of a serious game (used in 12 sessions with 99 participants in total) developed to encourage participants to reflect on modes of attention and relationships with non-humans in an everyday environment. The game draws on storytelling and art-based approaches to guide players through a thought experiment in which humans and non-humans can gradually communicate and coordinate. A series of game features have been designed to challenge players’ perception of ownership, stakeholders and agency beyond humans. In the sessions played, players initially competed against each other. The revelation, throughout the game, of non-humans’ presence in the landscape, and among the game’s characters themselves, led players to cooperate. Yet they mostly cooperated among human characters to address the needs of non-humans, but they rarely engaged directly with the non-human characters themselves through voluntary interactions. Engaging participants to act as, and interact with, non-humans through role-play allows questioning established interpretations and power dynamics in land or resource management. It offers an imaginative yet embodied experience for exploring what happens if non-humans are treated as active partners with whom we can directly communicate and coordinate to address environmental challenges. Full article

Newsgames integrate journalism and digital game design to communicate news through interactive storytelling. This study examines how narrative journalism can function as a design framework for newsgames by exploring how its storytelling techniques—such as characterisation, scene construction, and narrative structure—can inform the design of interactive journalistic experiences while maintaining factual integrity. Using a narrative literature review, the research synthesises scholarship from journalism studies, narrative theory, and game studies to analyse how narrative structures and gameplay systems shape the communication of news in digital games. The paper proposes a conceptual model that integrates narrative journalism and newsgames with Symbolic Interaction Theory (SIT) and the Values at Play (VAP) heuristic, providing a theoretical framework for interactive journalistic storytelling. Within this framework, gameplay operates as a narrative structure through which players engage with journalistic content by interacting with simulated environments, characters, and decision-making processes. The analysis indicates that the communicative capacity of newsgames depends on how journalistic information is embedded within gameplay mechanics and narrative systems, where interactivity, player agency, and ethical design shape how audiences interpret complex social and political issues. The study concludes that newsgames function as interactive narrative systems of journalism, in which gameplay serves as a storytelling mechanism that enables audiences to engage with news through participation and interpretation. By positioning narrative journalism as a design framework for interactive news experiences, this research contributes a theoretical foundation for analysing and developing narrative-driven newsgames. Full article

This study investigates the impact of sustainable destination marketing on enhancing tourists’ intention for responsible visitation in Saudi Arabia by fostering destination trust through two manageable digital levers: the quality of sustainability storytelling and the interactivity of smart tourism. Based on a trust-based S-O-R framework and supplemented by signaling and uncertainty reduction theories, the research posits that high-quality, credible sustainability narratives and responsive, two-way smart touchpoints serve as trust indicators that lead to enhanced responsibility-oriented intentions. An online survey of digitally engaged tourists and potential tourists (N = 420) was used to gather the data. We used SmartPLS, version 4.1.1.7 (SmartPLS GmbH, Monheim am Rhein, Germany), with bootstrapping (5000 resamples) to assess the measurement and structural models. The findings demonstrate that the quality of sustainability storytelling significantly predicts destination trust (β = 0.418, p < 0.001), as does smart tourism interactivity (β = 0.347, p < 0.001). Destination trust positively affects responsible visit intention (β = 0.318, p < 0.001) and partially mediates the impacts of storytelling quality (β = 0.133, p < 0.001) and interactivity (β = 0.110, p < 0.001) on responsible visit intention. The model elucidates 40.9% of the variance in destination trust and 40.6% in responsible visit intention, underscoring trust as a pivotal mechanism by which credible sustainability storytelling and efficient smart interactivity can promote more responsible visitation. Full article

Cultural heritage, in all its tangible and intangible expressions, is undergoing a process of renewal driven by the integration of digital technologies and participatory approaches. This study presents a pilot project developed within the SAMOTHRACE Fundation, focused on the design of a Serious Game dedicated to the Norman Castle of Aci Castello in Sicily. The project explores how game-based learning and interactive storytelling can enhance visitor engagement, accessibility, and understanding of small-scale heritage sites that are often excluded from major cultural circuits. Using Unity and Blender, the prototype combines historical research, 3D reconstruction, and narrative interaction to transform the castle into an immersive educational environment. This initial phase also served as the basis for an academic thesis, laying the methodological groundwork for future expansion and evaluation. The results of this pilot provide preliminary quantitative evidence that serious games can support cultural communication strategies, foster emotional engagement, and stimulate curiosity toward minor heritage sites, while remaining compatible with the constraints of modest institutions. Ultimately, the project illustrates how even modest institutions can leverage digital innovation to revitalize their heritage assets, promote inclusive participation, and explore new models of interactive archaeology and community-centered cultural engagement. Full article

The goal of the article is to demonstrate the common threads and methods of studying digital storytelling as a unified, second-order aesthetic code. Just as the category of translation, when applied to digital literature, was expanded into a more complex set of methods known as media translation, the article applies similar logic to the notion of intertextuality and proposes an augmented form of “digital“ or “media intertextuality“. Games, interactive fiction, hypertext fiction, story generators, and other born-digital forms are all “texts” that share evolutionary poetics and intertextual strategies extending beyond language into multimodal, procedural, and embodied affordances. Drawing on the concept of structural quotation and semiotic calques, this article suggests that intertextuality should operate across multiple extra-linguistic registers: visual, procedural, and embodied. Neither evolutionary continuity nor broad intertextuality have been sufficiently emphasized in current game studies outside the literary angle. In several examples and case studies—from Zork II to World of Warcraft—this paper demonstrates how repetition with difference, brought about by intertextual links, generates evolutionary continuity and intertextual richness. In this dialogical ecology, AAA blockbusters and experimental works are worth studying together, even if, within the discourse of digital entertainment, they are currently at war. The former push the boundaries of expressive possibility, whereas the latter accrue cultural capital by reworking and critiquing shared codes. Full article

Immersive virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used to promote ethical engagement and bystander intervention in response to social harms, yet the psychological mechanisms through which immersive experiences motivate intervention remain unclear. The present study examines how psychological presence, humor-based storytelling, perceived intentionality, perceived harm, and perceived efficacy jointly shape bystanders’ intention to intervene in a VR-based microaggression scenario. Participants experienced a humor-infused immersive VR interaction depicting micro-aggressive behaviors, preceded by an experimental framing of the aggressor’s intentionality as unintentional, ambiguous, or intentional. Across analyses, intentionality framing strongly influenced perceived harm, perceived efficacy, and intervention intention. Correlational and regression results revealed that perceived intentionality was the most robust predictor of intention to intervene, whereas psychological presence did not exert a direct effect when interpretive and motivational variables were considered simultaneously. Perceived humor was associated with reduced harm appraisal and emerged as a consistent suppressor of intervention intention, even when discriminatory intent was explicit. Condition-specific regression analyses further showed that intentionality predicted intervention only when intent was ambiguous, psychological presence contributed to intervention readiness only under ambiguity, and humor suppressed intervention whenever it was salient. Together, these findings indicate that bystander intervention in immersive environments is driven primarily by interpretive judgments of intent rather than by immersion alone. The results underscore the importance of narrative framing and attributional clarity in the design of VR-based ethics training, diversity education, and public-facing simulations. Full article

Developing children’s number sense is an important aspect of early mathematical education and has been the focus of multiple studies targeting the kindergarten stage. We investigated the impact of reading mathematical stories on the number sense of kindergarten children. A small-scale intervention study was conducted with 46 kindergarten children aged 5–7 years. The study employed a non-equivalent quasi-experimental design involving comparison and intervention groups. The intervention involved eight mathematical stories presented in interactive reading environments during their class storytime. Therefore, both the books and the interactive reading style were considered core components of the intervention in this study. A pretest, posttest, and delayed test measured the children’s number sense, and the resulting data was analysed with ANCOVA. The results showed the intervention to have a promising effect on their number sense: the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group on both the posttest and delayed test. We consider it important that teachers be encouraged to make the maximum use of kindergarten storytelling sessions to further children’s early mathematical understanding. With acknowledgement of the limited sample size and its implications for the statistical generalisability of the findings, this study should be regarded as an exploratory investigation that can inform and encourage future large-scale research. In addition, the findings offer meaningful pedagogical implications that may support teachers and curriculum designers in early childhood education and provide valuable insights into the potential effects of reading mathematical stories interactively with children in kindergarten in authentic classroom contexts. Full article

Digital storytelling (DST) is an innovative pedagogical approach that integrates multimedia creation, personal narrative, and autonomy in L2 education. Yet, its influence on learner engagement remains underexplored in asynchronous delivery modes and non-conventional language learning settings, common in post-pandemic instructional practice. This study thus examines the engagement patterns of 34 student-teachers of English in an afterschool asynchronous DST task about teacher identity. The study further scrutinises their emotional engagement, given its impact on other engagement domains, and its relevance for online instructional design. Data were collected through a background information questionnaire, a validated student engagement questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews that focused on emotional engagement. Questionnaire data were analysed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA, and interview data were examined qualitatively using thematic analysis and specific emotional engagement-related frameworks. Results indicated participants’ higher cognitive and behavioural engagement, and lower emotional engagement. Their emotional engagement comprised positive emotions and anxiety, which emerged from specific subjective task values, autonomy, and task affordances in interaction with self-imposed personal standards and perceived digital skills. These findings challenge the common conceptualisation of emotional engagement merely as positive affect in L2 tasks and signal the importance of task- and learner-related factors in an engagement-driven online L2 pedagogy. Full article

Background: Influencer marketing has become one of the most effective strategies in digital communication due to its capacity to generate trust, credibility and endorsement within segmented online communities. Within the tourism sector, travel influencers have been progressively integrated as key agents in destination and brand promotion, contributing to both the construction of tourism-related perceptions and travel decision-making. This study aims to analyse how travel influencers communicate and promote tourist destinations, focusing on their profiles, content formats, commercial transparency and audience engagement. Methods: The research is based on a quantitative content analysis of publications by leading Spanish travel influencers identified through the Forbes Best Content Creators 2025 ranking. The observation period covered March to July 2025. Analysis was structured around four analytical blocks comprising 17 variables related to influencer profile, format and content, commercial transparency and ethics, and interaction. Results: The results reveal consistent behavioural patterns associated with gender, destination type and narrative style. Male influencers are more frequently linked to adventure-oriented storytelling and natural landscapes, whereas female influencers tend to emphasise urban and cultural experiences. Short-form video emerges as the dominant format, generating higher interaction levels, while engagement proves to be a more informative indicator of effectiveness than follower count. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of prioritising specialisation, narrative coherence, authenticity and transparency when integrating influencers into their communication strategies. Full article