Media

Despite the popularity of video games, we still know very little about the motives, responses, and consequences of video game play, especially from a long-term perspective. The study of video games is relatively new to the field of media communication. This talk provides an overview on video game research from a social scientific perspective. Questions like “what are the video games people play?“; "why do people play video games?”; “what do people do with video games, and what do video games do to them?”, and a selection of latest research findings will be discussed.

This talk challenges the myth of information on the Internet: while information may appear excessively easy to find because of quick search results and increased accessibility to materials, locating relevant, high-quality information requires highly sophisticated literacy skills. Monica Bulger shares results of an empirical study for her dissertation that assessed the ways in which students negotiate potentially overwhelming online information options.

Rob Patton is Program Manager of CITS and will present recent research that examines the communication behaviors of student users of the popular online social networking site (SNS) Facebook. Specifically the research analyzed the relationships between antecedent user characteristics and forms of networked interactivity present in Facebook user profile communication.

Cristina Venegas is Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies at UCSB. Her research focuses on international media with an emphasis on “Latin” America, Spanish-language film and television in the U.S., and digital technologies. Her forthcoming book is titled Digital Dilemma about Cuba’s digital media since the 1990s.

Lawrence Lessig, legal professor, author, and digital culture visionary presented the 2008 CITS Distinguished Lecture. The free event took place April 11, 2008 at 12 o’clock at UCSB’s MultiCultural Center theater. Professor Lessig spoke on "Changing Congress: Lessons Learned by a Copyright Activist."

Professor James Frew's talk explores the idea that scientists are increasingly being called upon to publish data as well as conclusions.

Alan Liu 's talk examines how Web 2.0 presents new challenges for research in an area that is variously called information credibility, authority, trust, and quality.

Professor Mayer reviews 10 research-based tactics for how to design Web-based and paper-based multimedia instructional materials.

Professor Lisa Parks of the Film and Media Studies department presents work on wireless telephony in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.

Presidential scholar and Chair of the UCSB Political Science department John Woolley’s current research focuses on change over time in the American presidency and presidential use of unilateral action.