Veel onderzoeken impliceren dat de lokale journalistiek in zwaar weer verkeert. Voornamelijk gemeenten met minder dan 50.000 inwoners hebben met vele uitdagingen te maken die de huidige problemen...Show moreVeel onderzoeken impliceren dat de lokale journalistiek in zwaar weer verkeert. Voornamelijk gemeenten met minder dan 50.000 inwoners hebben met vele uitdagingen te maken die de huidige problemen rondom de lokale journalistiek met zich meebrengen. Met ongeveer 27.000 inwoners valt de gemeente Aalten onder de zogenoemde kleine gemeenten waar de zorgen rondom lokale journalistiek het grootst zijn. Dit onderzoek is in twee delen gepresenteerd. In dit onderzoek ligt de focus op de staat en de toekomst van de print- en online media in de gemeente Aalten. Het aanpalende onderzoek heeft als focus de staat en de toekomst van de radio en televisie in de gemeente. In dit onderzoek is die vraag vertaald in twee deelvragen: 1. Wat is de huidige stand van zaken van het medialandschap in de gemeente Aalten met betrekking tot print en online media? 2. Welke scenario’s zijn er om een eventuele kwaliteitsverbetering te bewerkstelligen? Aan de hand van een literatuurstudie zijn de ontwikkelingen en bedreigingen van de algemene print- en onlinemedia in kaart gebracht op zowel landelijk als lokaal niveau. Daarnaast zijn er scenario’s geschetst van initiatieven op lokaal en nationaal niveau die opgericht zijn op de kwaliteitsverbetering van de lokale journalistiek. De literatuurstudie geeft basis voor de topiclijst die gebruikt is voor de semigestructureerde interviews. Deze zijn afgenomen bij de stakeholders van de Aaltense media, om antwoorden te kunnen geven op de onderzoeksvragen. De gemeente wordt aanbevolen om met andere gemeenten in de regio Achterhoek of uit de provincie Gelderland te spreken over de mogelijkheden voor een journalistiekfonds. De invulling hiervoor kan afgeleid worden uit andere initiatieven die al gaande zijn in het land. Ook wordt de gemeente aanbevolen om de prijs die ze betalen voor het publiceren van de gemeenteadvertenties te verhogen, omdat deze nu verlieslijdend is voor de media. Daarnaast zou de gemeente samenwerking tussen de print- en onlinemedia en de radio- en televisieomroepen kunnen stimuleren aan de hand van bijvoorbeeld beloningen.Show less
A study published in 2017 about leisure time use of average American citizens depicted the percentage of time Americans read, played video games or did other leisure activities on the computer. On...Show moreA study published in 2017 about leisure time use of average American citizens depicted the percentage of time Americans read, played video games or did other leisure activities on the computer. On an average day, only 21% of respondents in 2015 would read as a pastime, a decrease from the 27% of respondents that would read for pleasure in 2005. As opposed to this, the playing of video games as a pastime increased by 38%. With the preference of time use leaning towards gaming as well as the increasing popularity of smartphones and online devices, most people tend to spend more time reading from a screen rather than from print with the average adult spending around nine hours per day reading, swiping and listening to media. This, however, is claimed to crucially affect our level of text comprehension. Experts on study and learning claim that people remember less when reading something from a screen because of a multitude of factors. It has been argued, for instance, that texts are taken less seriously due to the loss of physical location, as explored in Jabr’s article “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens”, which will be researched in more detail further on in this thesis, and that the loss of physical characteristics, such as pages put up barriers for comprehension and for memorization.Reading from electronic devices such as laptops or tablets can also affect the degree of concentration a reader experiences because of the constant presence of distractions.4 Various scholars have found that readers cannot be immersed as easily in digital texts. The notion of immersion is defined in this thesis as “the feeling of being lost in a story”; one loses track of their surroundings and devotes their full concentration of the story. But to what degree can readers feel immersed in texts that are read in video games? Many video games contain texts as well, next to still and moving images. This thesis concentrates on text-rich video games, which are video games of any genre whose most important feature is text; although text rich video games can be beautifully designed, the reader/player needs to read the text to proceed in the game. Playing a text-rich video game can be considered a hybrid genre, as it entails reading and playing video games simultaneously. It offers individuals the opportunity to do both at once meaning they will not have to choose one of the activities over the other. When considering immersion in text-rich games, Madigan believes that one of the central characteristics of an immersive game is “a strong and interesting narrative, plot, or story”. This statement, as well as research into text rich video games by Catherine Beavis, have spurred my interest in this subject. This thesis will consist of two parts. One part describes the theory behind text rich games. Among other information, this theoretical section will include a clear definition and delineation of the term ‘text rich games’. Furthermore, this part of this thesis will touch upon theories of navigability, reading comprehension, immersion, narrative, and medium to determine whether reading video game text is feasible, desirable and similar to reading from print. The second part discusses research into reading culture and immersion, based on a case study which compares experiences of a printed version of The Shamutanti Hills by Steve Jackson and the video game adaptation of the same book. The concepts that have been researched in the theoretical section will be put to the test in this section of the thesis. The main aim of the case study is to examine whether the act of reading a text in video game format can genuinely be seen as (deep) reading. Alternatively, should this solely be considered playing a video game? The hypothesis is that the degree of immersion in the text of the video game will be similar to the text of the gamebook, this due to the similarity in non-linear form of the video game and the gamebook. A gamebook is a genre of printed book that combines elements of traditional text with elements of games in which readers choose their own stories; by flipping through the pages and following clues in the numbered paragraphs, readers find out what their choices entail. Since the game primarily works with clicks and reading, the distractions are expected to be minimal. Considering reading comprehension, the hypothesis is that participants should read about the same amount of text with similar results for reading comprehension, due to the non-conventional format of the texts, and the visual cues both texts provide.Show less
In this thesis, a state-of-the-art Nanoscribe 3D printer is used to fabricate micron-sized particles. These particles are then partly covered with platinum and suspended in hydrogen peroxide to...Show moreIn this thesis, a state-of-the-art Nanoscribe 3D printer is used to fabricate micron-sized particles. These particles are then partly covered with platinum and suspended in hydrogen peroxide to become chemically propelled, active particles. First, it is shown that 3D-printing can indeed be used to fabricate active particles, by fabricating some relatively simple 4 µm spheres. Subsequently, different helical particles are designed and fabricated to discover that some designs can be printed consistently with the same outcome and that some cannot. A consistently printed helical particle is then analyzed to investigate the relationships between its active motion and its helical shape.Show less
