news

Media - Environment - 08.03.2017

Writing group ‘boosts productivity and reduces stress’ at Oxford
Researchers say 'benevolent bots', otherwise known as software robots, that are designed to make articles on Wikipedia better often end up having online fights lasting years over changes in content. Editing bots on Wikipedia undo vandalism, enforce bans, check spelling, create links and import content automatically, whereas other bots (which are non-editing) can mine data, identify data or identify copyright infringements.

Economics - Media - 03.03.2017

Negative coverage of the EU in UK newspapers nearly doubled over the last 40 years, study finds
A study co-authored by researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has revealed that negative coverage of the European Union in UK newspapers increased from 24 per cent to 45 per cent between 1974 and 2013.

Media - Environment - 24.02.2017

’Computer bots are like humans, having fights lasting years’
Researchers say 'benevolent bots', otherwise known as software robots, that are designed to make articles on Wikipedia better often end up having online fights lasting years over changes in content. Editing bots on Wikipedia undo vandalism, enforce bans, check spelling, create links and import content automatically, whereas other bots (which are non-editing) can mine data, identify data or identify copyright infringements.

Media - 16.02.2017

Getting to bed on time requires self-control with the remote control
ANN ARBOR'If you created a schedule to watch television at night, chances are you're not postponing bedtime sleep. Habitual TV viewers are used to starting and quitting their evening viewing at set times, which makes them less likely to procrastinate on bedtime, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan and the Leuven School for Mass Communication Research in Belgium.

Politics - Media - 10.02.2017

Ralina Joseph co-edits special journal issue on race, respectability and the media
Ralina Joseph , University of Washington associate professor of communication, has guest co-edited a special triple issue of the interdisciplinary journal Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society with her former mentor and dissertation adviser, Jane Rhodes of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Media - Computer Science - 03.02.2017

Journalists on their robot pretenders
In spite of its limitations, automated journalism will expand. According to media researchers, this development underlines the need for critical, contextualised journalism. Journalists and editors believe 'robo-journalists' do not have a good nose for news and produce one-dimensional stories, according to new research published today.

Media - 08.11.2016

Big data shows people’s collective behaviour follows strong periodic patterns
New research has revealed that by using big data to analyse massive data sets of modern and historical news, social media and Wikipedia page views, periodic patterns in the collective behaviour of the population can be observed that could otherwise go unnoticed. Academics from the University of Bristol's ThinkBIG project , led by Nello Cristianini , Professor of Artificial Intelligence, have published two papers that have analysed periodic patterns in daily media content and consumption: the first investigated historical newspapers, the second Twitter posts and Wikipedia visits.

Media - Social Sciences - 28.10.2016

Long-term fright reactions extend beyond scary movies, TV shows
ANN ARBOR?Watching a scary movie or TV program can leave some people still feeling frightened years later. But now different media platforms, such as social media and the internet, and nonfictional media (TV news, documentaries, internet news feeds) are creating those frightened reactions that can have long-term effects, according to a new University of Michigan study.

Media - 12.10.2016

When we care about some plane crashes and not so much others
Researchers have analysed data that reveals which plane crashes the public is interested in and why. They show the biases in the coverage of such events, even in open systems like Wikipedia.  The team from the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) counted the number of page views and edits of Wikipedia articles about 1,500 plane crashes around the world to discover that a death toll of around 50 is the minimum threshold for predicting significant levels of public interest.

Media - Computer Science - 08.09.2016

Gender bias in sports journalism
'That was a great game! How's your love life?' A perplexing question, in more ways than one, to ask an athlete. But it happens, and it's worse for women, according to Cornell researchers. A computer analysis of several thousand's with tennis players shows that in post-game press conferences, female players are asked more questions not related to the game.

Media - 08.09.2016

Researcher looks at how software design controls our interactions with technology
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois professor Ben Grosser sees his fingers as engaged in a choreographed dance as he uses the trackpad on his computer or scrolls through a list of on his phone. The software is directing the way he, and all of us, move as we use our technology all day, every day.

Media - 07.09.2016

Friends Help Friends on Facebook Feel Better
CMU, Facebook Study Finds Personalized Communication Can Boost Your Well-Being Personal interactions on Facebook can have a major impact on a person's feelings of well-being and satisfaction with life just as much as getting married or having a baby, a new study by Carnegie Mellon University and Facebook researchers shows.

Media - 01.09.2016

Interactive web features can help -- and hurt -- user’s memory
The researchers suggest that developers of e-commerce sites should carefully consider how they design their pages to make sure that important content is not ignored because it is separated from interactive tools. UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Cool interactive web tools and neat features can boost a user's memory but they may also cause other content on the site to be less memorable, according to researchers.

Media - Health - 26.08.2016

Omega-3 fatty acids against vascular calcification
Atherosclerosis - commonly known as "hardening of the arteries" - occurs when deposits on the inner walls of vessels lead to chronic inflammation and narrowing of the vessels. That can restrict blood flow or block it entirely, ultimately triggering a cardiac infarction or a stroke. Treatment strategies up to now focus primarily on inhibiting the inflammation reaction.

Environment - Media - 02.08.2016

Images in climate change stories spur readers to action
ANN ARBOR'Turn off the lights when not in use. Drive less by walking, biking or taking public transportation. Or write a letter to an elected official to support action on climate change. We're more likely to engage in environmentally friendly behaviors if we read media stories about climate change that include images of renewable energy, a new University of Michigan study found.

Media - Art and Design - 21.07.2016

Media fuels anti-Muslim attitudes and policies
ANN ARBOR'When Americans rely primarily on television shows, movies and the news media for information about Muslims, their attitude toward Muslims may be negatively influenced, a new University of Michigan study finds. But relying on direct with Muslims for information produces the opposite effect. "These findings reflect the importance of media and direct in influencing attitudes towards marginalized groups," said Muniba Saleem, U-M assistant professor of communication studies and the study's lead author.

Media - 24.06.2016

British citizens worry about their online presence amid state surveillance concerns
British citizens are worrying about their online presence in the aftermath of the Snowden leaks amid concerns over state surveillance, new research by Cardiff University has found. The first comprehensive study of its kind to examine the consequences of the Snowden revelations - led by the University's School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies - revealed that citizens have different strategies for coping with it.

Media - Social Sciences - 23.06.2016

Mapping online hate speech
You might think from anecdotal evidence that hate speech on social media by individuals and groups appears quite a lot, but one of first academic studies to examine the empirical data concludes that these extreme forms of speech on Facebook are marginal as compared with total content. Researchers from the University of Oxford and Addis Ababa University examined thousands of comments made by Ethiopians on Facebook during four months around the time of  Ethiopia's general election in 2015.

Social Sciences - Media - 03.06.2016

Data mining of Twitter posts can help identify when people become sympathetic to groups like ISIS
Researchers have shown that data mining techniques can be used to understand when Twitter users start displaying supportive behaviour to radical terror groups such as ISIS. Analysis of 154,000 Europe-based Twitter accounts and more than 104 million tweets (in English and Arabic) relating to Syria show that users of the social media platform are more likely to adopt pro-ISIS language - and therefore display potential signs of radicalisation - when connected to other Twitter users who are linked to many of the same accounts and share and retweet similar information.

Media - 27.05.2016

Small talk: Electronic media keeping kids from communicating with parents
ANN ARBOR-It happens in many households. Kids are tapping on their cell phones or are preoccupied by their favorite TV show as their parents ask them a question or want them to do a chore. It's not just teens caught up in electronic media, but also preschoolers. In fact, there is little mother-child dialogue or conversation while children ages 3 to 5 are using media, such as TV, video games and mobile devices, according to a new University of Michigan study.