Can texting habits be seen as a compatibility trait? Especially in newly progressive relationships, can ignoring messages be seen as a ‘red flag’. Or, is it just the “pandemic of over-communication that’s led to an absence of intimacy” (The Politician, 2019).

Check out my video to find out more:

Sources:

Brian A. Hoey, PHD. 2019. What is Ethnography?. Available at: https://brianhoey.com/research/ethnography/. [Accessed 30 September 2019].

BusinessDictionary. 2019. Demographic Factors. Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/demographic-factors.html. [Accessed 8 October 2019].

Buzzfeed. 2016. Are Your Texting Habits Actually Weird?. Available at: https://www.buzzfeed.com/alicemongkongllite/how-basic-are-your-texting-habits. [Accessed 10 November 2019].

Chapman, G. 2019. The 5 Love Languages; The Five Love Languages Defined. Available at: https://www.5lovelanguages.com/2018/06/the-five-love-languages-defined/. [Accessed 2 October 2019].

Coyne et.al, 2018. I just text to say I love you: Partner similarity in texting and relationship satisfaction. Computers in Human Behaviour, [Online]. 78, 126-132. Available at: https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0747563217305125 [Accessed 10 November 2019].

HigherEdJobs. 2017. Why More Colleges Are Using Social Media to Recruit Students. Available at: https://www.higheredjobs.com/articles/articleDisplay.cfm?ID=1393. [Accessed 10 November 2019].

J. Pettigrew. 2009. Text messaging and connectedness within close interpersonal relationships. Marriage and Family Review, 45 (6–8), pp. 697-716. [Accessed 10 November 2019].

Medium. 2018. Communication at Pernix. Available at: https://medium.com/@dvelasquez/communication-at-pernix-81fcb7f074cc. [Accessed 10 November 2019].

N. Brody, J. Peña. 2015. Equity, relational maintenance, and linguistic features of text messaging. Computers in Human Behavior, 49, pp. 499-506. [Accessed 10 November 2019].

Our World in Data. 2019. The rise of social media. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media. [Accessed 9 October 2019].

The Politician, 2019. Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, United States

SoundCloud. (2016). Pingu63. Nintendo Wii – Mii Channel Theme. 2016. Available from: https://soundcloud.com/user-861152409/nintendo-wii-mii-channel-theme [Accessed: 10 November 2019].

SlideShare. 2015. Technologically/Computer Mediated Communication. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/aabidzafar/technologically-mediated-communication. [Accessed 10 November 2019].

Vinney, C. 2019. ThoughtCo.: What Is Uses and Gratifications Theory? Definition and Examples. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/uses-and-gratifications-theory-4628333. [Accessed 2 October 2019].

Using movement and non-movement-based video games to train professional athletes

I created my digital artefact to explore the possibility of using video games as a form of training in the professional environment. Sport-related video games, such as Madden NFL, NBS and MVP Basketball – to name a few – are increasingly popular in the community. Virtual Reality (VR) has additionally become more accessible, and with proper research conducted by STRIVR, we can determine the future possibility of using gaming as a form of professional training. I additionally wanted to break the couch-potato stereotype that video games are tied to, especially now that more research is being made on this topic.

My digital artefact is presented as two short podcasts. The first one explores movement-based video games focusing on Virtual Reality as a training tool for professional athletes. The second podcast notes the skills that can be obtained through non-movement based sport-related video games and how these skills can be transferred into the real-life games.

My structuralist approach allows me to look at the material elements such as the gameplay which in turn allows me the look into how gameplay can have an impact on game skill and therefore skill in the real-life environment.

I implemented an analytical framework into my digital artefact, focusing on 3 critical frames:

Spatiality

As I focused on both non-movement based and movement-based video games in my podcasts, I explored multiple platforms that players can use to access these games e.g. PlayStation, Xbox and Virtual Reality modes. However, these sport-based games (depending on when released and who released them) can be accessed on multiple platforms from PC’s to mobile devices.

Modality

Sport-related video games are their own genre in the Esports gaming list. The games that I have explored such as Madden are team-based games – just like their real-life inspirations. Therefore, these games can be used in either single-player or multiplayer modes. Either way; it is the individuals themselves that are obtaining the skills that come with playing video games. Multiplayer mode may be more useful in the fact that you are opposing a real-life gamer rather than a computer.

Technical Strata – Development Context

I delve quite deep into how new technology is being implemented into athletes professional training, including new media such as virtual reality which has only been developed quite recently. I also note how realism in our gaming (which has improved over time with new technology) can lead to a better understanding of the game when played professionally in the real athletic environment.

I obtained my research through both academic journals and blog posts as more research is now coming to light regarding video games and their positive benefits. I wanted to make sure that these journals were relevant in breaking the couch potato stereotype by notice the scientifically proven benefits behind playing these games e.g. benefits in reaction time, memory and coordination etc. I also researched companies that were invested in using gaming equipment e.g. virtual reality to prep professional athletes for competition. An example of this is STRIVR – which I mention in podcast 1.

Breaking the couch potato stereotype

My podcasts are the equivalent of 1024 words. I chose to use an audio format (short podcast) because I wanted to explore a different media format that I had never used before. This was also an idea based on my feedback from my peers in the pitch and the beta as originally I was going to create two blog posts. I also believe that podcasts are easier to process at times and can be used while multitasking. These podcasts are suitable for individuals who are interested in the benefits of video games on their athletic capacities. Professional or not – individuals play certain sports because that is what they enjoy to do, so incorporating another ‘hobby’ that they enjoy into their training schedules will not only add more job but allow the individuals to reap the benefits e.g. strengthening their skill set.

Overall, I believe that my project was successful in concluding that video games do have a significant benefit in training for sport, and have already been implemented to some degree in the professional world already. As much as I wanted to include more information and more example, I had a word count limitation and therefore did not delve as deep as I would have liked.

Virtual Reality as a new form of training

You can access my two podcasts by clicking here

Blog Post 1: Anh Thi

Link: https://mokxii.wordpress.com/2019/09/20/exploring-communicating-affect-of-lovers-in-a-dangerous-spacetime/

I contributed to this post by giving constructive feedback as well as an additional source that they could possibly use for their research. I actively engaged by watching her video, reading about her analytical framework and providing further research. My suggestion to consider reviews as a form of secondary research will hopefully offer her the change to obtain different perspectives by users who play the game. I also offered her the possibility of focusing more on the relevant fractions of the analytical framework in order to properly answer her thesis question – which I hope is a useful suggestion. I could have provided more feedback if I was an active gamer of ‘Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime’, however, I had never heard of the game till now. At least I learnt something new, which is what I got out of this experience!

Blog Post 2: Isaac

Link: https://fuze.design/blog/sound-or-emotion-an-update/

Isaac has a very interesting topic involving the research of sounds in gaming, which I found very interesting! I contributed by providing a couple of sources that I thought would be helpful to understand the different kinds of sounds that can be edited to make gaming more realistic (or unrealistic/futuristic). I noted his change of approaches and made sure to check that he isn’t giving himself too heavy of a load in terms of research and application. However, I did note that adding a post-structuralist approach may even make it easier for him in terms of research and information that can back up his previous research. These approaches engage with our lecture material. I suggested for him to explore different types of sounds and techniques such as “Kinetic Gestural Interaction” by providing two links which delve into this. I learnt from Isaac that podcasts and other audio media types are a good way to approach our topics, and I may consider this for my own digital artefact.

Blog Post 3: Isabella

Link: https://isabellaambrosii.wordpress.com/2019/09/21/women-in-video-games-beta-bcm215/

With Isabella, I took a different approach to provide feedback as I had less information on the topic itself and more on her engagement that she has tried to obtain for her digital artefact. I engaged with her post by acknowledging her struggle to find engagement, and offered her the option to change the media format that she is using to reach a wider audience. Additionally, I provided a couple of Youtube channels that explore a similar topic that she intends to research. I wanted to provide her videos rather than blog posts or articles to provide different media formats that could be used – and hopefully, she gains inspiration from this. I hope my suggestions were useful, however, I should have provided feedback that is relevant to our lecture materials – as she did not mention any of it. I learnt a lot from Isabella by hearing her experience on reaching out for engagement, which I will be able to take into consideration when I do this for my own digital artefact.

Further self-reflection:

What did I learn? What did I get out of the experience? How did I improve over the previous round of comments?

Through my comments, I have been able to identify some possible changes that I could make in my own digital artefact e.g. changing my media format and using a different research approach. Each blog was unique and took a different twist on a digital artefact, and it was interesting to see how our lecture material and readings were being applied. This experience has allowed me to think more deeply about my own digital artefact and I like how it has allowed me to think differently in terms of research methods and the possible structural or even analytical approaches that I could take. I believe I improved over the previous round of comments by being able to identify when lecture materials were being used, and as a result, I could more easily refer my own research materials to the student.

For the last year on Instagram, I have been developing my digital art page and hopes to make an actual business out of it. Now that I have a particular style I have decided I want to monetise my works.

In my video, I explore a couple of ways that I have been able to make money off my art. These included;

1. Commissions

I have been increasingly eager in advertising my commissions to my followers in hopes that I can profit off my works. I profited off Father’s day by selling commissions as gifts. I believe this has worked out really well and I am looking forward to making more. I also offer physical prints, which will cost more than just a commission itself, however, I have not sold one yet.

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2. Merchandise

A week or so ago I dropped new merchandise. I have not made a tee since last year in #BCM114 which I still have to this day. Inspired by the popular 2000s movie Superbad, my McLovin’ tees have become a popular part of my page and it has been incredibly positive for engagement and reach for new followers. Having my friends promote my work has allowed for real followers of closer-proximity that are willing to buy my work.

BCM206

BCM114

Through my analytics, you can tell that engaging with the art community online is a successful way to make your own page known – even if it is just liking another page’s photos. Little things like this are what will have a bigger impact on my page later down the track.

Increase profile visits with ‘follower experiment’

Originally, I focused solely on romantic comedies. This semester I have decided not to focus on genres but on the popularity of the films I post – and I can tell people are engaging better because of this.

Instagram: @rwfreckled

Twitter: rachelmayweisz