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This article examines how parent–teen texting enables family members to construct family relations and negotiate behavioral and communicative norms while being apart. The analyses of family texting focus on how teenagers and parents deal with issues of teenage independence and how this involves situated negotiations of teenagers being constructed as either able or unable to live up to family norms and the family's communication culture. Based on the analyses, I argue that digitally mediated interactions complement co‐present contexts of family socialization and influence the relation between power‐ and solidarity‐oriented aspects of everyday socialization practices, for instance, by blurring the boundaries between parental care and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swedish welfare organisations have a long history of promoting gender equality and inclusivity, involving implementation of more gender‐inclusive language (e.g., non‐gendered terminology). This study analysed the use of non/gendered expressions at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, as state policy is realised in conjunction with personalised service in textual interaction in screen‐level bureaucracy. We drew on conversation analysis and membership categorisation analysis to analyse 378 email interactions between clients and social insurance officers, focusing on gendered institutional terminology and gendered person references. The findings suggest that social insurance officers avoided a heteronormative language, in line with Swedish official public language policy, but that a gender‐neutral language may come at the cost of formality, standardisation, and de‐personalisation. The study brings new knowledge on the ways in which street‐level bureaucrats manage responsiveness and standardisation in digital text‐based interaction with clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transformations in Business & Economics is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article proposes that WhatsApp can offer insights into couples' relationships. Based on Gottman's therapy model, which mathematically analyzes marital conflicts, this study focuses on couples' WhatsApp correspondence and asks to what extent it reflects the offline relationships of Generation X. The research was conducted over a year using semi-structured interviews with 18 couples who have been in a relationship for at least 5 years. The couples described their discourse on WhatsApp and the dynamics of their relationship offline. The findings indicate that WhatsApp use mirrors offline relationships. The following four types of interaction were identified: (1) technical, (2) practical, (3) casual, and (4) emotional. In addition, the following three patterns of conflictual behavior that correspond with Gottman's distinctions were identified: (1) logical, (2) emotional, and (3) avoidant. The article cites WhatsApp's potential for behavioral observation and the possibility of using it to change relationship dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces an empirical study of the way teachers express emotions during digital communication, both in typing and in video conferencing. The study involved 170 female and 20 male members of school and university teaching staff (mean age = 43.78 y.o). It relied on an authentic multiple-choice questionnaire, grid questions, and case tasks. The participants knew special online means of expressing emotions but seldom used them with students. At video conferences, they referred to the same methods of transmitting emotions as in real communication. The women and the school teachers were more emotional in the digital environment than the rest. The research revealed emotionally limited digital communication between teachers and students, which needs further research on how to develop the lacking competencies.

The integration of digital media art into the public art design of the smart city can enhance people’s participation and sense of identity in the art design of public space and maximize the attractiveness and cultural connotation of the city itself. Based on this, this paper builds a fusion technology framework mainly based on digital projection technology and digital interaction technology, proposes an interactive projection technology integrating digital projection and Kinect, and combines the dynamic scene image splicing and alignment fusion technology to realize the interaction between the user and the digital scene. In the case analysis of Qianjiang New City, the number of visitors reached 31.55 million in 2022. The evaluation score of landscape facilities in the public evaluation of architectural landscape is under 3.5. The overall evaluation grade is only “general,” and the evaluation mean value of the degree of intelligence of landscape facilities is only 3.089. The comprehensive evaluation satisfaction of the digital landscape includes multimedia landscape, architectural landscape, and landscape facilities, and the average value of the evaluation of the degree of intelligence of the landscape facilities is only 3.089. The satisfaction value of the multimedia landscape, landscape of buildings and structures, and water landscape in the evaluation of satisfaction is 4.36, 4.159, and 4.027, respectively, which reaches the level of “good” satisfaction, while the satisfaction value of landscape facilities is 3.479, which is less than 3.5. The satisfaction level only reaches the level of “general.” The satisfaction value of landscape facilities is 3.479, which is less than 3.5, and the satisfaction level is only “fair.”

AbstractThis study investigates Chinese consumers’ interaction with retail employees and the effects on shopping experience, trust, and loyalty. Survey data help articulate brand comparison, digital interactions, and shopping experience as customer-identification change agents. A structural equation model highlights how consumers’ perception of employee identification enhances shopping experience, builds consumer trust, and improves loyalty. The study displays how customer trust mediates the effect of employee identification and retailer adaptability on customer loyalty while digital interaction mediates the effect of brand comparison on customer trust. The theoretical implications of these findings emphasise the importance of consumer-employee interaction in the identification process where the relationships between brand comparison, digital interaction, and shopping experience are highlighted in a retail setting. These results denote that (a) store loyalty is predominantly driven by consumer self-consistence and social conformance and (b) retailer online and offline interaction and coordination influence brand experiences and consumer retention.

Customer experience has been a central component in hospitality management literature since it is pivotal to the success of the service industry. Customer experience facilitates service providers with an effective tool for competitive advantage, differentiation, and generating valuable customer relationships. Based on the customer experience concept and its demonstrated relevance, the study investigates the customer experience dimensions: physical interaction, human interaction, and digital interaction. The moderating role that hotel image has in the relationship between customer experience and brand loyalty is also explored in this study, along with the impact of customer experience and its aspects on brand loyalty. 360 customers/guests were surveyed via both online and offline questionnaires as part of this study using a purposive sampling technique. Using structural equation modelling, the proposed relationships were tested, which suggests that the dimensions of customer experience influence brand loyalty. The main dimension impacting brand loyalty is the human interaction dimension, followed by physical and digital interaction. These results contribute handsomely to experiential marketing literature by adding new insights into the existing body of knowledge and also building a further understanding of the customer experience management concept that assists in managerial decision-making. By emphasising their customers' experiences, this study adds to the knowledge already known about the interaction management approach in the hospitality sector. It makes suggestions for how to consider it when increasing brand loyalty. This study will be immensely useful for marketing practitioners and provide avenues for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the existence of many studies on the identity of language learners in the offline settings, few focus on how English language learners in the expanding circle construct their identity through their use of English and their choices over their first language capital as they enjoy variations of multilinguacultural exposes in the digital space. To fill this gap, this study explores the voices of 267 Indonesian undergraduate students in negotiating their identity as English learners and users. Drawing on the poststructuralist approach and positioning theory of identity, this study shows how socio-cultural values and a hegemony that posits L1 users as the most rightful language model become sensitive factors affecting participants’ choices of languages, accent-preferences and desire to affiliate with diverse multilinguacultural persons in digital interactions. This article calls for the encouragement of translanguaging as discursive practice in the classrooms and beyond. Additionally, societal stigma on the existence and use of English which limits the identity options of Indonesian learners as users of English in the expanding circle should be responded strongly in digital interaction as well as offline encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the literature related to value cocreation and narrative transportation, this study proposes a framework for examining the relationships among consumer and livestreamer value cocreation behaviors, consumers' mentally simulated experiences, and their intention to continue using livestreaming services. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit survey participants. A total of 463 individuals were enrolled to test the research model and its hypotheses. The value cocreation of consumers and livestreamers affects consumers' mentally simulated experiences, which in turn affect their intention to continue using a livestreaming service. To verify this finding, a post hoc in‐depth interview was conducted with an e‐commerce manager with extensive experience in producing livestreaming programs. This study differs from previous works in this area in that it focuses on what drives consumers to use livestreaming services and examines the effects of value cocreation on consumers' mentally simulated experiences, narrative transportation, and their intention to continue using livestreaming services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a review of the literature, the present article outlines the interaction forms that happen on Twitter when the participation is political, intending to show that the conversations made by the most significant collective on Twitter which is formed by ordinary users that post tweets 24/7 any given day with the sole intention to make public its political views, are invisible for the social studies. The actual political conversations attended by the social studies are related to parties, civic organizations, street manifestation, social activism, or some political manifestation that requires organization. The subject is important because these ordinary users with no agendas related to the formal or informal forms of political conversations known by the social studies form the biggest sector in the political social network par excellence, and no one is studying them. We propose the adjective 'detached' users to refer to these Twitter users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amiais is a small Portuguese village located in the Aveiro district. It is also a virtual village1 available in Second Life™. The recreation of Amiais in the metaverse is a part of the LOCUS project, which intends to use digital platforms to promote and disseminate local cultural heritage. Thus, a playful narrative was developed to explore the virtual territory and share cultural aspects of Amiais. The research presented in this article tested the users' response to the narrative, their immersive learning about cultural heritage, and the convergence between virtual and real territories. Users engaged with the narrative, interacted with the characters and scenario elements, and got curious about knowing the real territory after the virtual experience. The results confirm that using a metaverse with playful narratives and interaction encourages learning cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distractions and disruptions of attention, induced by mass and social media, have become an omnipresent part of our everyday lives. Constantly online and with a device at hand, remote and digital technologies seem to shape people's behaviour more than surrounding architecture does. Even our urban tissue has become a tagged metaverse driven by chronic hyper-efficiency, simultaneity and equanimity--an accumulation of lonely humans staring into their phones. Do we still have the possibility of a collective virtual and material urban space, a shared experience, settled in built and unbuilt space alike, both beneficially interwoven into each other? In this article I will present selected works from my artistic and academic practice using Augmented Reality (AR) as a medium in an urban context. On this basis I want to discuss how our cities expand into the virtual realm through digital media and, on the other hand, I would like to demonstrate how urban space could be enhanced through playful virtuality. Conventional digital interactivity, historically rooted in video-games, is driven by protocols and efficiency. Conversely, it seems that the absence of a protocol is what conceptually differentiates playing from gaming: playing implies invention and learning, while gaming is about performing preconceived rules. Playfulness is, therefore, understood as a form of interaction capable of constituting and shaping identity and thus proves a valid method to liberate chronic hyper-efficiency-driven urban fabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Universitas, Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas is the property of Universidad Politecnica Salesiana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study focuses on trivialization as a key strategy for challenging subjects who defend standard language, and for challenging standard language ideology in itself. While previous research has emphasized trivialization as a strategy for perpetuating the status quo, this study exemplifies the opposite function. Drawing on stance theory, the analysis focuses on the formation of the participating subjects and the stance object (linguistic correctness), and the link between them. The data consist of 157 posts from two blog comments sections, 32 of which trivialize linguistic correctness. The analysis shows that interlocutors mainly trivialize linguistic correctness through negative other-positioning, thus avoiding explicit metalinguistic arguments. Furthermore, the study illustrates and underlines how language ideological meaning is created in contention by emphasizing differences. • Trivialization is used as a strategy to challenge the dominant language ideology. • Interlocutors trivialize linguistic correctness through negative other-positioning. • Language ideological meaning is created in contention by emphasizing differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened the inequalities in our societies. In Spain, we observed that the impact on schooling varied according to socioeconomic, gender and sociocultural variables. In this article, we present a case analysis illustrating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schooling in early educational grades (ages 3–6), which leads us to focus on school-family relationship. First, we present some studies that show the inequalities in education during the lockdown period, the digital divide faced by both schools and families and how digital mediation impacts school-family relationships. Then we will introduce our study, which aims to explore the uses, potentials and limitations of an app intended to facilitate the relationship. Our study took place during September 2020-January 2021, when social restriction persisted. It took the form of a telematic ethnography in which we monitored the meetings of the Early Childhood Education teachers and their interaction with the families via an app-based communication tool. Results have allowed us to identify that most conversations are initiated by the school and their aim is to show families the classroom activities. We have also observed some advantages regarding the use of this app: communication can become more direct and immediate, and teachers have developed strategies to foster proximity in this relationship, as well as to respond inclusively to diversity. Regarding the challenges, we identified the lack of involvement of some families, the need to transform the roles played by families and children, and the difficulty to maintain personalized relationships.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened the inequalities in our societies. In Spain, we observed that the impact on schooling varied according to socioeconomic, gender and sociocultural variables. In this article, we present a case analysis illustrating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schooling in early educational grades (ages 3–6), which leads us to focus on school-family relationship. First, we present some studies that show the inequalities in education during the lockdown period, the digital divide faced by both schools and families and how digital mediation impacts school-family relationships. Then we will introduce our study, which aims to explore the uses, potentials and limitations of an app intended to facilitate the relationship. Our study took place during September 2020-January 2021, when social restriction persisted. It took the form of a telematic ethnography in which we monitored the meetings of the Early Childhood Education teachers and their interaction with the families via an app-based communication tool. Results have allowed us to identify that most conversations are initiated by the school and their aim is to show families the classroom activities. We have also observed some advantages regarding the use of this app: communication can become more direct and immediate, and teachers have developed strategies to foster proximity in this relationship, as well as to respond inclusively to diversity. Regarding the challenges, we identified the lack of involvement of some families, the need to transform the roles played by families and children, and the difficulty to maintain personalized relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is aimed at building a conception of transformation of marketing functions of retail trade operators on the basis of innovative economy. It is indicated that in the basis of innovative development of retail trade operators lies the construction of such a marketing model of management, which will facilitate the improvement of efficiency and quality of the services provided. The basic principles and characteristics of the national innovation economy are defined. A conceptual scheme of transformation of marketing functions of the retail trade operators is proposed. The transformation of marketing functions in retail trade with application of the business model by A. Osterwalder is considered. The transformation of marketing activity of retail trade operators is suggested as: transformation of marketing environment; transformation of approaches to management; transformation of marketing technologies in accordance with requirements of the innovative economy. The necessity of development of a business model for implementation of the developed conception is substantiated, the basic functional blocks are presented. The modern marketing instruments are proposed to allow retail trade operators to remain competitive and to look ahead towards the needs of consumers. The basic modern tendencies of transformation of functions of marketing in conditions of innovative development of retail trade are provided.

In the time of COVID‐19, because of travel and meeting restrictions, all kinds of meetings are taking place through videoconferencing. The global experience of continuing to work while observing social distancing guidelines is slowly removing the technological, normative, and required‐knowledge resistance that during normal circumstances would have hindered the global diffusion of videoconferencing we are now seeing. Videoconferencing is a welcome tool that has provided an opportunity for creating a sense of face‐to‐face interaction during a time when physical presence is often not possible. Nevertheless, this tool can present specific challenges to interpersonal interaction. This article discusses the challenges posed by videoconferencing technology in the specific case of ecumenical dialogue. Churches engaged in ecumenical dialogue need to ask how the search for understanding and agreement can succeed in the era of digital interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve high results in building a competitive economy and a responsible civil society, it is important to pay attention to the development of control systems over the adoption and implementation of management decisions. At present, such activities need to be modernized towards the digital transformation of public administration using the capabilities of information and communication technologies in accordance with international standards and international legal acts, most of which have been ratified by Ukraine. To do this, the only criterion of efficiency should be the actual result obtained from the service activities of public authorities, which should be transparent and competitive. It is necessary to develop models of digital interaction taking into account international experience. There is an urgent need in Ukraine to inspect obsolete norms and create on this basis effective models of digital interaction between the government and the citizen in the field of mechanisms for appealing against the service activities of public authorities. The article describes the models of digital interaction in the application of mechanisms for appealing the provision of services by public authorities, identifies the main examples of successful application in practice of European countries. It is established that the influence on the provision of services by a citizen is mostly formal and declarative. The legal framework in this area must be modern and in line with international standards ratified by Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation was focused on exploring the relationship between learning and teaching English through online mode during Covid-19 which were propitious for students and teachers. Judgmental sampling of twenty-five textual units from online news blogs was drawn. Axial coding was applied to analyze thematic patterns in data. Findings flaunted that Internet use was surging during Covid-19. Teachers and students were engaged in digital interaction to overcome the academic loss, and they were not ready for the online shift. Internet speed, connectivity, and availability of laptops to lowincome parents were grim realities questioning universities' capacity to go for online mode of learning and teaching English, which entailed to be devised afresh. Students were experiencing a high level of digital divide and decreasing equity during Covid-19. The study resulted that universities were preparing to cope with learning and teaching English during Covid-19 by shifting online mode even in the dearth of resources, both teachers and students needed to learn necessary software and applications for teaching and learning English through online mode. The usefulness of the study was marked by way of planning the future scheme strategically for learning and teaching English through online mode during Covid-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how a specialised financial institution is addressing Digital Transformation in order to improve customer experience, enhance internal processes and build new services. It describes the ambitions and the roadblocks. It explains the importance of multidisciplinary teams and how new disruptive technologies (AI, Blockchain, data) could help to generate efficiencies and synergies across all operations and geographies, and how indirect material benefits are delivered to customers. It then focuses on data, and how advanced technologies are able to help to produce value, such as what-if simulations, aggregated data and distribution of accurate data to clients through various channels, such as APIs or platforms. It goes on to outline how collaborating with Fintechs/Regtechs, and investing in new market initiatives, helps to create value. It also describes why exploring platform-based business models are a way of delivering a differentiated customer experience. Finally, it reminds how internal ownership of the technology and employee engagement is vital. The paper concludes that digitalisation is an opportunity to reinvent existing processes and can transform the way a business work and serves its clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social imaginaries are frameworks within which people organise their collective world; where imagination, not simply reason, plays a part in the construction of social practices. Through a grounded theory approach, this article asks whether and how social imaginaries of global fairness are present in connective action, a type of digital interaction for advocacy. From January 2014 to June 2015, the study followed the Facebook accounts of five advocacy organisations: Hivos, Oxfam IBIS, Intermon-Oxfam, SSNC and Vredeseilanden. Connective action, more than just accomplishing an expressing function of posting and sharing – which could be considered as ‘slacktivism’– denotes cooperating and acting by means of dialogic learning involving reflection and action. The research suggests that current social imaginaries may be built in connective action involving topics of nature conservation, equality, eco-farming, among others. Thus, the field of connective action remains open to theorizing how these imaginaries could constitute a strong foundation upon which communication for social change (CFSC) strategies may be grounded.

Despite the prevalence of Facebook use, its psychological impact remains unclear. Recent evidence suggests that active Facebook use (i.e., peer interaction) is more adaptive than passive use (i.e., browsing content), predicting increases in affective well-being and social connectedness. However, how individual differences in cognition and belonging may influence these relationships has been largely unexamined, limiting conclusions on whether these findings extend to vulnerable individuals. The present study sought to address this gap by investigating whether active Facebook use loses its benefits in the presence of social-cognitive vulnerabilities (i.e., rumination, interpretation bias, thwarted belongingness) that may be especially relevant to the digital context. Although active Facebook use was associated with feeling better after Facebook use and with perceiving more positive Facebook interactions, cognitive biases and thwarted belongingness predicted feeling worse after active Facebook use and reporting less positive interactions. Additionally, interpretation bias and thwarted belongingness together predicted feeling worse after one style of active Facebook use, through perceptions of less positive interactions. These findings suggest that beyond how one uses Facebook, the individual factors one brings to the Facebook experience may influence perceptions of interpersonal experiences in the digital space and contribute to low mood, rendering even active Facebook use maladaptive. • Active Facebook use (AFU) was related to positive, not negative, FB interactions. • AFU was more strongly associated with better than with worse mood after FB use. • Negative interpretation bias (NIB) and rumination predicted worse mood after AFU. • NIB and thwarted belongingness interacted to predict worse mood after AFU. • Individual differences, not just how FB is used, may influence FB experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has found that students and instructors may be disaffected with many of the most widely used learning management systems (LMS). Other research has found that Millennials and post-Millennials have come to expect open and frequent communication and technologies that facilitate greater teamwork in their business careers. The purpose of this article is to first assess the general attitudes and perceptions of widely used LMS platforms in creating an engaging student learning experience and then present and assess Slack, a business communications tool, as an LMS complement. The author finds that many of the LMS platforms present challenges for students and instructors with respect to course communications, and group communications in particular. The author also finds that Slack positively enhances students' perceptions of the marketing class as a real-world experience, as well as enhances perceived learning outcomes from groupwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I argue that unique locations of digital interactions constitute distinct information‐technological media. I first apply a close reading of Couch's () work to digital sociology, and then analyze three popular social media networks: www.Imgur.com, www.Reddit.com, and www.Twitter.com. I close with a theoretical application of Couch's paradigm for analyzing the qualities of information technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of corporate logo in organisations’ development of corporate e-communication.Design/methodology/approach This research model was designed based on previous studies on corporate logo, its antecedents on e-communication, corporate image and corporate reputation. Online survey was conducted for consumers and followers of the shopping social networking platforms (Facebook and Twitter) in Colombia.Findings Taking into account previous corporate constructs theories, the authors propose a new conceptual framework to explain how corporate e-communication interacts within an organisation’s structure and also to show that the consumer’s interaction in corporate e-communication platforms is based on the corporate logo perception held by consumers; as a consequence, the corporate reputation is affected.Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding and expansion of the organisation’s structure by introducing a new corporate construct, named “corporate e-communication”, defined as the digital interaction that an organisation has with its stakeholders; it involves everything it says, shows and does. However, there are a few other areas of concern with regard to consequences related to corporate image and corporate reputation, particularly in Colombian retail setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses a feminist poststructuralist approach to explore how contributors to a single thread from the discussion forum of a popular British parenting website, Mumsnet Talk, position themselves as ‘good mothers’. The qualitative analysis that is presented here, which draws on both the concept of indexicality and Goffman’s ‘frame analysis’, shows that Mumsnet users are able to negotiate the discursive forces that merge to produce the good mother subject position in innovative ways. They are able to position themselves as good mothers in a way that is both normative and transformative – to both legitimise and subvert the discourses that work to position them in this way. This exploration leads me to suggest that the Mumsnet Talk forum can be seen as a space in which dominant discourses continue to position individuals in restricted gendered subjectivities, but is also a fruitful site for the negotiation, resistance and subversion of cultural norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper places contemporary modalities of digital interaction in an historical context of sixty years of intersections between technological development and artistic experimentation. Specific technological developments are identified as context-defining historical markers and specific works are discussed as exemplars of significant milestones in the engineering and the aesthetics of interaction. The shortage of theorisation of non-instrumental interaction is lamented. The process of naturalisation to increasingly sophisticated digital tools and appliances in the current period of ubiquitous computing is noted. A number of theoretical issues are drawn out and discussed in terms of cognitive and sensorimotor dynamics. Woven through the discussion is the proposal that a synthesis of performance theory and neuro-cognitive studies might provide a basis for a performative ontology around which an aesthetics of interaction might be constructed. As the paper progresses a theoretical framework for an ontologically performative aesthetics of interaction and ubiquity is formulated.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review the digital piracy literature and present the positive impacts of digital piracy and its benefit to businesses. A great deal of the literature discusses the consequences of digital piracy, but, in most cases, the focus is on the negative consequences. Design/methodology/approach - The authors draw on both the theoretical and empirical academic literature on digital piracy so as to analyze the ways in which digital piracy positively contributes to digital businesses. Findings - The paper provides information on the positive consequences of digital piracy and demonstrates that the benefits include product diffusion, network externality, innovation, cost reduction, an effective promotional and publicity vehicle, and technology standardization. Originality/value - This paper investigates potential benefits of digital piracy and provides insights which may offer a fuller picture of the consequences of digital piracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural and Post-Colonial Studies have long identified ocularcentrism, or the privilege of vision in culture and thought, as one of the prime causes behind the tendency to manipulate and categorize matter, bodies and meanings. This paper examines the power of computer-generated images to produce a kind of digital interaction which upsets gendered visual and listening conventions, such as those traditionally experienced in cinema. The article will take into consideration Valve's Portal (2007), a first person videogame which proposes a 'topological' way of seeing relying on the synaesthetic working of the human sensorium. Images do not simply represent objects and places, but allow for countless configurations of space. The visual effort to confront with images of pure potential brings about an affective intensification of sensory faculties, especially of the senses of touch and hearing. As a consequence, images are endowed with tactile qualities which make possible the absorption and propagation of sound stimuli. In the game, the 'haptic' quality of images works together with acousmatic resonances of female voice in order to recreate a hybrid embodied condition which dissolves the male-female binarism and, in so doing, challenges gendered cultural assumptions and established spectatorial positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]