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
Lebanon's religious institutions have been preserving the country's religious and cultural heritage since they were established several centuries ago. Digitisation is the latest tool in the...Show moreLebanon's religious institutions have been preserving the country's religious and cultural heritage since they were established several centuries ago. Digitisation is the latest tool in the preservation efforts by the country's academic institutions, some established by religious orders initially, though secular now. They are building on a well-established tradition of scholarship and research. The efforts by the country's academic institutions, who have acted as safeguards of their own religious and cultural heritage, are a recognition of the need to preserve that legacy for future generations. These academic institutions have taken up this responsibility in the absence of state efforts to do so, due to wars over the centuries and changes in ruling powers, and a lack of strong government institutions to lead on that front. Digitisation has already brought down barriers and will help the country build digital scholarship and ensure its wealth of cultural heritage is safeguarded as well as shared beyond its borders.Show less
This thesis explores the inverse relationship between Fake News and Deep Reading, considering that the former is growing and the latter is declining. Of its two aims, the first is to explain why...Show moreThis thesis explores the inverse relationship between Fake News and Deep Reading, considering that the former is growing and the latter is declining. Of its two aims, the first is to explain why these trends might be occurring. The second and more important aim is to explore whether reversing the Deep Reading trend - in other words, not only stemming the loss of this skill but promoting it and increasing its prevalence in society - would lead to a subsequent reverse in the Fake News trend, reducing its influence, and, subsequently, its volume.Show less
This thesis examines the relevance of the use of computational methods for literary interpretations on a micro-level. The value of using computational methods on this level is examined partly by...Show moreThis thesis examines the relevance of the use of computational methods for literary interpretations on a micro-level. The value of using computational methods on this level is examined partly by means of a literature review of earlier studies that have incorporated such methods, as well as with the aid of a case study of Hermann Hesse’s 1922 novel Siddhartha.Show less
The mission of the Dutch public library was, and remains to be “the elevation of the people” through the access to information and the culture of reading. Unfortunately, the Dutch public library...Show moreThe mission of the Dutch public library was, and remains to be “the elevation of the people” through the access to information and the culture of reading. Unfortunately, the Dutch public library sector today deals with declining numbers in the number of library members, library visits, library branches, loans, and the scope of the collection. These facts are often assigned to budget cuts, but likewise to societal changes. Dutch citizens are increasingly making use of the Internet and digital media, and are making less and less use of traditional print media. Therefore, the Dutch reading culture is turning more and more into a digital reading culture. That is why Dutch public libraries – to remain relevant in the increasingly digital society – need to think about a new or adjusted realization of their mission. Public libraries in Scandinavia show that success can be found in a combination of the modern and the traditional. Most library visitors like to have a public space where they can physically meet and talk – surrounded by filled bookcases – but, simultaneously, to have access to new digital technology. Therefore, Dutch public libraries should attempt to find a middle way between the modern and the traditional. They should continue to offer a public place for the local community, with the traditional library services, but likewise offer access to digital technology.Show less
Digital technology enables us to access and examine texts in ways that are not possible in printed publications. One of the potential digital enhancements involves making the meaning of texts...Show moreDigital technology enables us to access and examine texts in ways that are not possible in printed publications. One of the potential digital enhancements involves making the meaning of texts machine-readable. This has been referred to as semantic publishing and many scientific publishers have made extensive use of semantic technologies in their publications. Meanwhile, the potential of semantic enhancements for the humanities remains to a great degree unexplored. This thesis examines semantic enhancements in the context of how humanities research is conducted: Which type of humanities publication is best suited for semantic enhancement? Which guidelines should govern how the text is coded? And how can the end-users of the book benefit from the enhancements? These questions are examined through a case study of a single monograph (The Book-hunter in London, 1895) since this is a particularly important form of publication in the humanities. The focus throughout is on the end-user of the enhanced edition.Show less
Medieval manuscripts are our most important sources about more than a millennium of history and culture. Because they are kept in repositories all over the world and because they are valuable and...Show moreMedieval manuscripts are our most important sources about more than a millennium of history and culture. Because they are kept in repositories all over the world and because they are valuable and vulnerable artefacts, access to them has always been very limited. This is changing as a growing number of medieval manuscripts is digitised and made available online for everyone, everywhere. However, it has been claimed that digitisation programmes are often focused more on preservation of the manuscripts than on serving the user community. This thesis explores to what extent online collections of medieval manuscripts currently meet the needs of their main user group, humanities scholars. First, it is investigated which characteristics interfaces of such collections should ideally offer, and then three websites with medieval manuscript collections are analysed to find out whether they meet these criteria. The overall structure and design of the analysed websites were found to meet most of the criteria, but functionalities at the level of the manuscripts can still be expanded a lot. This includes image manipulation tools and tools for extracting, adding and sharing information.Show less
At the centre of the current paper is the battle between e-book formats, which will be discussed from different perspectives. The first two chapters directly deal with the issues of formats by...Show moreAt the centre of the current paper is the battle between e-book formats, which will be discussed from different perspectives. The first two chapters directly deal with the issues of formats by discussing their suitability to being used as formats for academic e-books. The last chapter debates the challenges digital academic publishing is facing today (pricing models for different formats, publishers’ choice of a suitable format, and changes in academic publishing caused by the development of technologies and formats in particular).Show less
