Course Description In this course, we will explore the question of the actual and potential connections between democracy and education. Our focus of attention will be placed on a critical examination of democratic theory and its implications for the civic education roles and contributions of teachers, adult educators, community development practitioners, and community organizers. We will survey and deal critically with a range of competing conceptions of democracy, variously described as classical, republican, liberal, radical, marxist, neomarxist, pragmatist, feminist, populist, pluralist, postmodern, and/or participatory. Using narrative inquiry as a means for illuminating and interpreting contemporary practice, we will analyze the implications of different conceptions of democracy for the practical work of civic education.

Democracy and education.

Simulacra and Simulation

생체의 모델링과 Simulation

Languages of Art: An Approach to a Theory of Symbols

Purpose: In this study we investigate why do people spectate eSports on the internet. We define eSports (electronic sports) as a form of sports where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated by electronic systems; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the eSports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces. In more practical terms, eSports refer to competitive video gaming (broadcasted on the internet).Methodology: We employed the MSSC (Motivations Scale for Sports Consumption) which is one of the most widely applied measurement instruments for sports consumption in general. The questionnaire was designed and pre-tested before distributing to target respondents (N=888). The reliability and validity of the instrument both met the commonly accepted guidelines. The model was assessed first by examining its measurement model and then the structural model.Findings: The results indicate that escapism, acquiring knowledge about the games being played, novelty and eSports athlete aggressiveness were found to positively predict eSport spectating frequency.Originality: During recent years, eSports (electronic sports) and video game streaming have become rapidly growing forms of new media in the internet driven by the growing provenance of (online) games and online broadcasting technologies. Today, hundreds of millions of people spectate eSports. The present investigation presents a large study on gratification-related determinants of why people spectate eSports on the internet. Moreover, the study proposes a definition for eSports and further discusses how eSports can be seen as a form of sports.

/pdf/what-is-esports-and-why-do-people-watch-it-oqv2l7h1pj.pdf

What Is eSports and Why Do People Watch It

This article offers possibly the first peer-reviewed study on the training routines of elite e-athletes with special focus on the subjects' physical exercise routines. The study is based on a sample of 115 elite e-athletes. According to the responses, e-athletes train approximately 5.28 hours every day around the year on the elite level. Approximately 1.08 hours of that training is physical exercise. More than half 55.6% of the elite e-athletes believe that integrating physical exercise in their training programs has a positive effect on esport performance; however, no less than 47.0% of the elite e-athletes do their physical exercise chiefly to maintain overall health. Accordingly, the study indicates that elite e-athletes are active athletes as well, those of age 18 and older exercising physically more than three times the daily 21-minute activity recommendation given by World Health Organization.

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Do E-Athletes Move?: A Study on Training and Physical Exercise in Elite E-Sports

Abstract This article starts with a literary review of the conceptual frames through which esport has been labeled academically. It shows how the concept of “electronic” has been taken as the core term for labelingesport, often accompanied by a strong emphasis on “professionalism.” The literary review is followed by the submission of an alternative conceptual frame based on the economic notion of executive ownership, which provides a theoretical grounding for esport as a cultural phenomenon. In accordance with the above, the article concludes with a reframed look at the history of esport and suggests commercial analog gaming (especially Magic: The Gathering) as its point of origin.

/pdf/reconsidering-esport-economics-and-executive-ownership-3tltdyoyrh.pdf

Reconsidering Esport: Economics and Executive Ownership

This article examines the functions of prank performance and troll performance for the aesthetics of personal live-streaming, i.e. the practice of live-streaming one’s personal performance via platforms such as Twitch.tv. The study is based on a close analysis of personal esport live-streamer Ali Larsen, aka Gross Gore, via a 12-month observation period. With help of Goffmanian frame theory the notions of interview frame and play frame are introduced as the basic cognitive tools for organizing personal esport livestream experiences. The study concludes by proposing three factors that are vital for the aesthetics of personal live-streaming in general: (1) the feeling of affecting live-streams, (2) the suspense that derives from expecting something unexpected to happen in livestreams, and (3) the sharing of dramatic developments that occur in live-streams.

Prank, Troll, Gross and Gore: Performance Issues in Esport Live-Streaming

This chapter is an extended revision of the authors' earlier study (2016) on the training routines of professional and high-level esport players, with added focus on their physical exercise. The study is methodologically mixed with a quantitative survey sample (n=115) and a qualitative interview sample (n=7). Based on this data, high-level esport players train approximately 5.28 hours every day around the year, and professional esport players at least the same amount. Approximately 1.08 hours of that training is physical exercise. More than half (55.6%) of the professional and high-level esport players believe that integrating physical exercise into their training programs has a positive effect on esport performance; however, no less than 47.0% do the physical exercise chiefly to maintain their overall state of health. Accordingly, the study indicates that professional and high-level esport players are physically active as well: those of age 18 and older exercising more than three times the daily 21-minute physical activity recommendation given by the World Health Organization.

/pdf/an-extended-study-on-training-and-physical-exercise-in-47bn2k9yoq.pdf

An Extended Study on Training and Physical Exercise in Esports

Challenge is a key motivation for videogame play. But what kind of challenge types videogames include, and which of them players prefer? This article helps to answer the above questions by developing and validating Videogame Challenge Inventory (CHA), a psychometrically sound measurement for investigating players’ challenge preferences in videogames. Based on a review of literature, we developed a 38-item version of CHA that was included in a social media user survey (N = 813). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed a latent structure of five challenge types: Physical, Analytical, Socioemotional, Insight, and Foresight. CHA was amended in another EFA with USA-based survey data (N = 536). The second EFA suggested a four-factor structure similar to the first EFA. A confirmatory factor analysis was executed after an item screening process with a 12-item version of CHA via UK-based survey data (N = 1,463). The 12-CHA had an acceptable fit to the data, and the model passed construct, convergent, and discriminant validity tests. The usefulness of the validated 12-CHA is shown by connecting the discovered challenges and their preferences to known videogame play motivations and to habits of playing specific videogame genres.

Veli-Matti Karhulahti

Papers

Do E-Athletes Move?: A Study on Training and Physical Exercise in Elite E-Sports

Reconsidering Esport: Economics and Executive Ownership

Prank, Troll, Gross and Gore: Performance Issues in Esport Live-Streaming

An Extended Study on Training and Physical Exercise in Esports

Challenge types in gaming validation of video game challenge inventory (CHA)