Search Results (31)

As generative AI tools become increasingly embedded in education, their role in supporting student learning remains both promising and contested. These cross-continental multiple case studies explore how integrating AI into classroom-based creative projects can move students from intimidation to meaningful engagement, comprehension, and retention of course content. Drawing on data from four international university classrooms—in the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia—this mixed-methods study examines students’ experiences as they collaboratively created comic books using generative AI. Each instructor embedded the assignment within their own pedagogical context, enabling cross-institutional comparison of AI’s educational potential. Findings highlight a shared trajectory: students initially approached AI with uncertainty or overconfidence, but developed nuanced understandings of its capabilities through experimentation, reflection, and collaboration. The process of creating narrative-driven visual outputs required students to synthesize theoretical material, communicate effectively in teams, and creatively solve problems—fostering both cognitive and interpersonal learning. Students reported deeper comprehension of academic content and greater confidence using AI tools critically and ethically. This study concludes that when framed as a collaborative partner rather than a replacement for human thinking, AI can support deeper learning experiences. It also suggests that creative, team-based projects can demystify AI and build essential future-facing skills. Full article

Love and intimate relations between German men and Norwegian women were a widespread phenomenon during WWII. Like in many other European countries, these women were stigmatized and humiliated both by the authorities and by the civilian population. In this article, I discuss four postmemory literary works that address this issue: Edvard Hoem’s novel Mors og fars historie (The Story of My Mother and Father, 2005), Lene Ask’s graphic novel Hitler, Jesus og farfar (Hitler, Jesus, and Grandfather, 2006), Randi Crott and Lillian Crott Berthung’s autobiography Ikke si det til noen! (Don’t tell anyone!, 2013), and Atle Næss’s novel Blindgjengere (Duds, 2019). I explore how the narratives create a living connection between then and now and how they deal with unresolved questions and knowledge gaps. Furthermore, I discuss common themes such as the fate and identity of war children, national responsibilities versus individual choice, and norms connected to gender and sexuality. I argue that these postmemory interpretations of wartime love affairs not only aim to retell the past but to investigate the normative frameworks within which these relationships took place. My contention is that the postmemory gaze pays primary attention to the power of cultural constructions—of nationality, identity, and gender—as well as their context-related historical changes. Full article

In recent years, many academics have addressed the issue of the intersection of the fields of Biblical studies and Cultural studies. Many academic works have emphasized the importance of the Bible in the building of cultural narratives and the need to reflect on those narratives through interpretation, placing biblical texts within originating cultural contexts. This article attempts to situate itself in that stream of work, exploring the graphic interpretation of the story of Ruth and Naomi in the graphic novel The Book of Ruth by Meredith Finch and Colin Dyer. It begins with an introduction to the characteristics of the graphic novel genre, highlighting how this medium has addressed religion and the Bible, including characters, narratives, and traditions. Subsequently, a comparative methodology is applied to examine the treatment of the biblical text in the graphic novel, contrasting the textual and graphic study conducted by Finch and Dyer. The aim is to demonstrate how the graphic novel serves as a contemporary mode of biblical text reception, creating a dialogue between the Bible and the current culture in which its texts are read. Full article

Modern packaging must be efficient, safe, and attractively designed, while also minimizing unnecessary waste. Eco-design principles, such as material reduction, reusability, and minimal environmental impact, were central to this study. We applied these principles to the development of innovative, multipurpose gift packaging and labels, optimizing material use, eliminating unnecessary printing, and integrating sustainable features such as a structural design which requires no gluing. Alongside choosing eco-friendly materials, namely corrugated cardboard and a biodegradable paper label, eco-design guidelines in packaging and label creation were followed. Packaging of unconventional shape without printing and different versions of labels for bottles and packaging were designed. Graphic elements included on the labels are the logo, illustration, 18th Century font, and lines of varying thicknesses. To provide additional information and enhance product appeal while reducing printing, an interactive element was incorporated. In the conducted study, the respondents of a survey and focus groups evaluated the quality, price range, and visual appeal of packaging and labels. For the augmented reality application, a label with a QR code was created. A scenario and a visual story board were created, and an animation activated via the QR code was produced. The usage experience was tested by the focus groups, who provided feedback on the animation and the overall experience. This iterative process ensured that the packaging and labels met both functional and experiential expectations. Full article

Graphic memoir and feminist mothering theory are at the heart of my research-creation paper “Badass Mom Art: Motherhood Untold in My Kind of Crazy”, which brings feminist mothering theory into conversation with traumatic mothering stories. The research-creation comprises a series of sequential graphic stories from my 2023 memoir My Kind of Crazy and a drawing series, Mothering Myths: (Re)imaginings and (Re)visions. These narratives re-imagine trauma’s impact on my maternal generations and illustrate the feminist shift from the 20th century patriarchal institution of motherhood that creates mothers as powerless and oppressed to 21st century matricentric mothering that empowers mothers through agency, autonomy, authenticity, and authority. Through comic’s conventions of frames, gutters, and the ability to manipulate time, the stories—my grandmother’s, my mother’s, and mine—detail specific traumatic experiences that impact our abilities to mother; they also reveal my perspective on events according to my perceptions and beliefs as an adult creating our stories. These are real stories of mothers unfolding in images and words. The article foregrounds Western patriarchal mothering myths of the ideal mother and the generations of feminist activists and scholars, including Adrienne Rich and Andrea O’Reilly, who have worked to change how society perceives mothers. Feminist poet Adrienne Rich’s seminal text Of Woman Born (1986) differentiates between the idea of motherhood and the concept of mothering; she encourages mothers to be mother outlaws by mothering outside patriarchy’s institution of motherhood’s rules and prescriptions. O’Reilly first questioned why maternity was not understood as a subject position nor theorized as other subject positions regarding the meeting of gendered oppression and resistance in her 2016 text Feminism: Theory, Activism, and Practice. Rich’s and O’Reilly’s proposed mother-centered practice permeates and is key to my art and critical work. Full article

A common problem for interdisciplinary sustainability research is that scientists trained in different disciplines are often not rowing their boat effectively in the same direction. Sustainability tools can aid the implementation of this team-melding process. Here, our purpose is to illustrate our Multi-step Integrated graphical and structured discussion eXercise (MIX) tool that transforms diverse disciplinary experts into an interdisciplinary team. We use a visual puzzle-solving approach based on the blind men and the elephant metaphor (BMEM) because this story illustrates the shortcomings of siloed viewpoints and the need to integrate multiple perspectives. Our six-step MIX tool provides step-specific objectives, group activities, discussion questions, and learning outcomes. Activities promote experiential learning for team problem solving. The step-specific structured discussions are designed to get each individual to change their focus from their own discipline (i.e., an elephant trunk, tail, leg, or other isolated pieces of the whole animal) to the team’s interdisciplinary goal (i.e., the whole elephant or the entire multi-faceted problem). In our example proof of concept, we show that a narrow focus on only economic yield (trunk), ecological conservation (legs), or human values (tail) misrepresents the biologically involved sustainability problem (elephant) and blocks innovative solutions. Full article

Even though classic literature has cultural and educational value in heritage education, students often have trouble becoming interested because of the archaic language, a lack of good learning materials, the idea that the literature is not relevant, and complicated plots. This research aims to enhance heritage education by identifying barriers and drivers in youth engagement with classic Thai literature and exploring how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles could be applied to increase motivation in learning classic literature through multimedia. Ten interviews with experts, 100 on-site questionnaires filled out by students aged 15–25 years, and a multimedia e-book were used together in this mixed-methods study. As a case study, the researchers asked both experts and students to read the Thai classic poem “Phra Aphai Mani: Escaping from the Sea Witch” and make suggestions for how it could be better. The results show that there are barriers to heritage education, such as ‘the story is not connected to the present’ (mean = 4.52/5), ‘archaic vocabulary and language barriers’ (mean = 4.36/5), and ‘learning materials’ (mean = 4.25/5). Surprisingly, Thai students showed more positive attitudes towards literature courses than expected based on international trends. Key drivers for enhancing heritage education include ‘classic literature in modern, easy-to-read language’ (mean = 4.65/5), ‘including multimedia’ (mean = 4.58/5), ‘the plot/story adapted to the current era’ (mean = 4.50/5), and ‘new presenting technologies’ (mean = 4.49/5). Next, as an innovative way to improve heritage education, this study developed a free e-book titled “Phra Aphai Mani: Escaping from the Sea Witch”, which includes motion graphics and other multimedia elements. This research contributes to knowledge by demonstrating how UDL can be applied to classic literature within heritage education, enhancing understanding of student needs, and creating more effective, inclusive multimedia teaching methods for preserving and transmitting cultural heritage. Full article

South Asians living in the United States are frequently underrepresented in health research. Their lack of participation limits the generalizability of research to them and keeps them from receiving the high-quality care and innovation that some studies may offer. “Research Ready” is a five-panel, community co-created graphic-style story that encourages discussion around the purpose of research, safety/protection while participating, and why diverse participation—including South Asians—improves study results and leads to more effective interventions/treatments. This study leveraged trained young adult “cultural insiders” to invite attendees of a Midwestern South Asian Cultural Festival to read the story aloud together as the characters in English or Hindi and used a decision guide to invite discussion. Post-discussion surveys (N = 104) were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Participants spanned from 10 to 79 years, with 42% < 18 years and more females (61%). Only 18.3% indicated having prior research participation. Adults 40+ years (60%) requested the story/discussion in Hindi, compared to 2.3% of adolescents and 6.7% of younger adults. After the discussion, participants indicated their willingness to consider participation, with most being open to participating in surveys/interviews (95.2%); only 52.9% would consider studies requiring the taking of medicines. Adolescents, females, and adults with higher education were more willing to participate in medication studies. Nearly all (97.1%) said they would feel safe participating in research, and 88.5% shared that the discussion would help them better decide about future participation. In conclusion, “Research Ready” discussions shared by cultural insiders effectively encourage South Asians to consider future research participation. Full article

“Are you LISTENING?” may be one of the most frequent questions preschoolers hear from their parents and teachers, but can children be taught to listen carefully—and thus better comprehend language—and if so, what changes occur in their brains? Twenty-seven four- and five-year-old children were taught a language simulation strategy to use while listening to stories: first, they practiced moving graphics on an iPad to correspond to the story actions, and then they practiced imagining the movements. Compared to a control condition, children in the intervention answered comprehension questions more accurately when imagining moving the graphics and on a measure of transfer using a new story without any instruction and with only immovable graphics. Importantly, for children in the intervention, the change in comprehension from the first to the sixth day was strongly correlated with changes in EEG mu and alpha desynchronization, suggesting changes in motor and visual processing following the intervention. Thus, the data are consistent with our hypothesis that a language simulation listening comprehension intervention can improve children’s listening comprehension by teaching children to align visual and motor processing with language comprehension. Full article

Autographics illustrating refugee and migrant experiences are frequently published, proof of the power of comics to engage with representations of trauma and vulnerability. Thi Bui’s graphic memoir The Best We Could Do tells the story of the author and her family as “boat people”, before and after migrating from Việt Nam to the US in the so-called second “wave” of refugees (1978–1980). If, as Judith Butler argues, vulnerable lives are more grievable when exposed and acknowledged, then self-representation of vulnerable lives might offer a site of resistance against precarity. Thi Bui’s graphic memoir is no exception, since she deals with common themes in Vietnamese American literature such as PTSD, inherited family trauma or everyday bordering, inscribing herself and her family in the counterhistory of the US regarding the Vietnam War, while also addressing themes and motifs recurrent in Asian American comics. The author follows a thematic concern present in Vietnamese American narratives, which tends to present the refugee experience from a heroic perspective, but this is limited and antagonised by Bui’s personal story, who feels estranged from her parents, their past in Việt Nam and the war. As this article shows, the recording and commemoration of her parents’ memories help her to identify with the family legacy of heroic vulnerability in her role as a mother. Full article

The creation of imaginary worlds has been the focus of philosophical discourse and artistic practice for millennia. Humans have long evolved to use media and imagination to express their inner worlds outwardly via artistic practice. As a fundamental factor of fantasy world-building, the imagination can produce novel objects, virtual sensations, and unique stories related to previously unlived experiences. The expression of the imagination often takes a narrative form that applies some medium to facilitate communication, for example, books, statues, music, or paintings. These virtual realities are expressed and communicated via multiple multimedia immersive technologies, stimulating modern audiences via their combined Aristotelian senses. Incorporating interactive graphic, auditory, and haptic narrative elements in extended reality (XR) permits artists to express their imaginative intentions with visceral accuracy. However, these technologies are constantly in flux, and the precise role of multimodality has yet to be fully explored. Thus, this contribution to Feeling the Future—Haptic Audio explores the potential of novel multimodal technology to communicate artistic expression via an immersive virtual reality (VR) volumetric music video. We compare user experiences of our affordable volumetric video (VV) production to more expensive commercial VR music videos. Our research also inspects audio–tactile interactions in the auditory experience of immersive music videos, where both auditory and haptic channels receive vibrations during the imaginative virtual performance. This multimodal interaction is then analyzed from the audience’s perspective to capture the user’s experiences and examine the impact of this form of haptic feedback in practice via applied human–computer interaction (HCI) evaluation practices. Our results demonstrate the application of haptics in contemporary music consumption practices, discussing how they affect audience experiences regarding functionality, usability, and the perceived quality of a musical performance. Full article

The Feast of Drunken Dragon is a special intangible cultural heritage of Macau, which is also known as the Drunken Dragon and Lion Dance Gala. Every year, on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, members of the Macau Fish Traders Association hold a drunken dragon and lion dance activity at the Macau Sanjie Guild Hall. Festivals play a part in cultural designing. They not only attract a large number of tourists but also promote local culture. The Drunken Dragon Dance is currently encountering many problems such as the inability to introduce new performance methods as technicians are getting older, and young people are unwilling to inherit it. This cultural heritage tends to gradually decline. The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Government has paid attention to the problem. However, the publicity methods are still mainly based on videos, simple online graphics, and cultural and creative products, and the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic harmed the promotion. With the rapid development of technology, mobile devices provide digital reading and augmented reality (AR) to assist learning. Thus, learning is not limited in space and time, and individuals continue to use it without hindrance. Using the concept of experiential learning, we design interactive teaching materials with dynamic images to advertise the historical stories of the Feast of Drunken Dragon in Macau, folk rituals, and traditional dragon performances through the AR interactive experience of the drunken dragon festival. The concept of learning by doing is an experiential way to understand relevant intangible cultural heritage knowledge. Using digital content, teaching material design is provided based on user experience to achieve sustainable education. Full article

Graphic designers play an important role in producing various types of designs to meet the promotional needs of a business, especially in today’s digital media industry. This is closely related to marketing at Kumparan which requires design execution through the visual marketing team. Kumparan is an Indonesia’s leading digital news media platform, leveraging data and innovation to deliver fresh content to millions of readers daily through world-class storytelling and journalism. This paper shows the role of a graphic designer carrying out creative execution on the Kumparan visual marketing team in meeting the needs of KumparanPLUS premium content that tries to keep up with the times and the transformation of the new media industry with an interactive communication approach. The focus of KumparanPLUS is the provision of premium content to meet the information needs of the various types of Indonesian people with attractive visual presentations in the form of cover collections, cover stories, social media content, and infographics. This research is observational research conducted at Kumparan. The data were obtained from interviews, observations, assessments, and applications of graphic design practices. The contribution of a graphic designer will be seen through the results of creative execution to produce content with high engagement and achievements on the social media platform Instagram which has experienced a drastic increase from the number of followers of 11,000 within 4 months, as well as the interaction of each audience from each post. With the activities of the visual marketing team itself, it is expected to be able to achieve the main goal of premium content, namely brand loyalty. Full article

The Jewish architectural heritage is and will remain an integral part of the local cultural heritage, but part of it still needs to be discovered, rehabilitated, maintained and valued. For Oradea, a Central–Eastern European city, this challenge is very specific because the Jewish communities before World War II were very strong and prosperous and because of the current desire to assert the city in the tourism market through urban regeneration. The Jewish community of Oradea had an important representative in Éva Heyman, a child of the Holocaust, nicknamed “Anne Frank of Transylvania”, which became famous. At the age of 13 years, Éva Heyman kept a diary during the Jewish ghettos in Oradea. In addition to the diary, her story is about the house where she grew up, built in the Art Nouveau style at the center of Oradea. Even though this house is of inestimable value from an aesthetic and cultural point of view, very little is known among the local population. Moreover, it is not listed as a historical monument, and its current state of preservation is precarious. With the increasing importance of preserving cultural heritage and computer graphics development, the digitization of historical buildings began to be used more and more for evaluation, preservation and promotion. This paper attempts to highlight the story of Éva Hayman and the house where she grew up. The paper further presents the innovative methods by which it is desired to achieve the presented goal for this architectural jewel. The results show that three-dimensional digitization methods are powerful tools for preservation and use for the benefit of the general public, education professionals, administrators and investors, art historians, restorers, etc., who are concerned with the collection preservation, exploration and mediation of the Jewish cultural heritage. Full article

The paper presents an interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of the FormaViva collection of wooden sculptures exhibited outdoors in a natural environment near the Božidar Jakac Art Museum in Kostanjevica na Krki in Slovenia. The study focuses on 3D graphic representations of sculptures created with photogrammetry and 3D modelling. The results are photorealistic renderings, interactive presentations, 3D printed reproductions, jewellery, and interpretive animations. The research results show that graphic documentation techniques on 3D models allow for a more detailed investigation of the original structural identity of the sculpture. By incorporating 3D and interactive technologies, we are expanding the usability of cultural heritage objects. By using interpretive techniques that have led to jewellery and interpretive animations in our research, we not only breathe new life into the sculptures, but also enrich the stories of the sculptures with our own experiences of the sculptural work. Full article