Month: February 2012

Community-Based Research and Evaluation

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Source: Wikimedia Commons

A graduate certificate is currently being offered by The University of Alberta’s Community University Partnership (CUP), which focuses on community based research and evaluation. The program brings together researchers, practitioners and community members to share knowledge to develop and refine best practices.

The Community Based Research and Evaluation (CBRE) certificate program requires four courses:

 – INT-D 500 – Introduction to community-based research and evaluation
 – one (*3) graduate-level course in program planning and evaluation
 – one (*3) graduate-level course in quantitative research methods
 – one (*3) graduate-level course in qualitative research methods

Unfortunately for MACT students, COMM 501 (Applied Research in Communication and Technology) cannot be used to fulfill the course requirements. Here’s a description of the course:

Course overview: Introduction to quantitative and qualitative approaches for conducting research into technology-mediated communications. Guides students in their topic selection and development for their culminating project.

Learning objectives

  • Understand the necessity and process of grounding research questions and methodologies within a body of scientific literature
  • Demonstrate a knowledge of the differences and similarities between two main research approaches – qualitative and quantitative
  • Become familiar with a number of specific data collection methods
  • Explore the research process and scientific method
  • Focused the students’ research question for the applied research project, its relation to the appropriate literature, and a choice of suitable research methods.

I find this odd for two reasons:

  1. The COMM 501 course is very heavy on research methods and theory, including quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods.
  2. Both the CBRE certificate program and the MACT program are under the same Faculty. If anything, the two programs should work together to accommodate and benefit both sides.

Potential Benefits

For MACT students: Additional course work seems like a good supplement to a graduate degree, especially for students in the MACT program whose final research project is community focussed.

For the MACT Program: Students complete additional course work that could be applied to the MACT key competenices. 

For the CBRE Program: Potentially more students working towards the certificate.  More students from different fields would benefit CBRE and achieve the goals of the program. 

If any MACT students are interested in putting together a case to get COMM 501 accepted as an approved course, I’d be happy to help. I don’t have interest in completing the certificate any time soon, but figured there might be some interest among current and future MACT students.

Transmedia Storytelling in a Convergence Culture

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What happens when your favorite hockey team is headed for another losing season? When you get sick of following your hockey team’s on-iceperformance, the best thing to do is follow their off-ice activities. When the narrative of the game is getting old, repetitive and boring, it’s time to follow another story.

It’s time to follow the Twitter account of S Horcov.

S Horcov (@SHorcov) is the captain of the Edmonton Oilers. He has experience fighting Chechens, loves bragging about his intimate relationship with his wife Olga, and has some explicit descriptions of his teammates. A true Komrade who enjoys his life as a hockey player.

But alas, S Horcov is not real. He’s a Russian version of Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff but has become more than just a spoof account. Instead, Komrade Horcov has merged himself with the transmedia storytelling the Edmonton Oilers hockey club has used to provide content to their fans. Through the game itself, newspaper articles, their official website and social media, the Oilers create and spread narratives surrounding the team. But now, we have S Horcov who creates a fictional persona for current players who then go through all sorts of experiences and adventures.

On a recent road trip in Ottawa, for example, the Oilers kidnapped the PM.

Update: Backhand Shelf interviews @SHorcov here.

Aside from the narratives created using the Twitter account, it’s the convergence culture that draws attention. Our culture is dispersed across different platforms in the form of content, but merges together to create a unique experience for fans. But here we see the production of that content put in the hands of an outsider who quickly remixes what’s available to them. S Horcov creates characters based on the actual hockey players and uses current events (i.e., trade rumours) and the hockey schedule to extend the narrative.

Jenkins, H. (2007, March 22). Transmedia Storytelling 101. Retrieved from http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html

Hockey Gossip and Blogs

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Saw a documentary called Teenage Paparazzo, which follows the adventures of a 14 year old paparazzo and explores the relationship between celebrities, paparazzis and fans. Adrian Grenier interviews different paparazzos, celebrities and academics, including Dr. Henry Jenkins of MIT, and highlights the celebrity-obsessed culture across different mediums.

In a conversation with Adrian Grenier, Dr. Jenkins had this to say regarding celebrity gossip:

Going from a society of small towns where people gossiped about the town drunk to an era of the internet, who do we choose to talk about? We can’t talk about our aunt and our uncle or the guy down the street because we don’t share that in common.

But we share you in common.

So I would say one of your jobs as a celebrity is to be the subject of gossip. When we gossip about someone, the person we’re gossiping about is actually less important than the exchange that takes place between us. We’re using that other person, the celebrity, the town whore, whatever, as a vehicle for us to sort of share values with each other to sort through central issues that are…

Ironically enough, Dr. Jenkins was interrupted by a fan asking to take a picture with Grenier.

There’s definitely a lot of similarities between those who follow celebrities and those who follow hockey. Aside from both being groups of fans who express their fandom using different outlets, they both engage in gossip.

I remarked last year at the amount of speculation that is prevalent throughout the game of hockey and what causes its generation. Dr. Jenkins’ remarks add another element to the rumor/gossip activity, which is the fan desire to exchange values and ideas with one another. The game itself is the common object to discuss and it’s through the interaction with other fans that allows them to express their own values and ideas.

This opportunity to share is what makes blogging the ideal platform for hockey fans. It’s easy to set up a blog, publish content and discuss with other fans. Blogs also offer a way to keep a running log of fan values and ideas, and have made it possible to link the content across a massive network. Values and ideas are able to develop and evolve over time, which is then used to fuel more gossip and speculation.

Grenier, A. et al. (Producers), & Grenier, A. (Director). (2010). Teenage Paparazzo [Motion picture]. United States: Reckless Productions.