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iafor.org/about/partners

IAFOR Partners

International Academic Board Professor Anne Boddington, IAFOR & Kingston University, United Kingdom (IAB Chair) Dr Joseph Haldane, IAFOR & The University of Osaka, Japan Professor Jun Arima, IAFOR & The University of Tokyo, Japan Professor Virgil Hawkins, IAFOR Research Centre & The University of Osaka, Japan Mr Lowell Sheppard, IAFOR & Never Too Late Academy, Japan Professor Umberto Ansaldo, VinUniversity, Vietnam Dr Susana Barreto, University of Porto, Portugal Professor Grant Black, Chuo University, Japan Dr Evangelia Chrysikou, Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London, United Kingdom Professor Donald E. Hall, Binghamton University, United States Professor Brendan Howe, Ewha Womans University, South Korea & The Asian Political and International Studies Association (APISA) Dr James W. McNally, University of Michigan, United States & NACDA Program on Aging

KAMC & MediAsia 2026 Conference Programme Committee Dr Nasya Bahfen, La Trobe University, Australia Dr Thomas G. Endres, University of Northern Colorado, United States Dr Joseph Haldane, IAFOR & The University of Osaka, Japan Professor Bradley J. Hamm, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, United States Professor Virgil Hawkins, IAFOR Research Centre & The University of Osaka, Japan Mr Timothy W. Pollock, Osaka Kyoiku University and Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan Dr Paul Spicer, Hokkaido University, Japan Dr Padma Rani, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India Dr Gloria Khamkar, Bournemouth University, United Kingdom Professor Eric Hawkinson, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, Japan

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Letter of Welcome Dear Friends and Colleagues, 京都へようこそ！ Kyoto e yokoso! Welcome to Kyoto! When people think of Japan, there are usually two competing and somewhat jarring images. One is of futuristic and somewhat dystopian concrete, glass, and neon cityscapes reminiscent of Blade Runner, populated by robots and robot-like inhabitants. Another is a peaceful, meditative, and timeless Zen-like picture, with stunning gardens, beautiful landscapes, and incredible aesthetic and culinary sophistication. If the former is exemplified by the great metropolis of Tokyo, then the latter is most closely associated with its predecessor as the capital of Japan, Kyoto. However, while the east–west, ancient–modern juxtapositions may indeed abound in Japan, and you can find all of the above, the nuanced realities of this great country and its traditions are often lost in caricature, cartoon, cosplay, and anime. Japan is a place of great tradition, but also of innovation, and it is with respect to both that our joint Kyoto Conferences on Arts, Media and Culture (KAMC) and the Asian Conference on Media, Communication and Film (MediAsia) situate themselves. As scholars and practitioners, activists and artists, filmmakers, photographers, and musicians, we are accustomed to a world of competing representations, visions, and narratives. With some 300 people from more than 40 countries in attendance, it is a unique and extraordinary comparative and contrastive space and a place for us to share our ideas, inspirations, and our work. An IAFOR conference engages our delegates at the intersection of the international, intercultural, and interdisciplinary, and encourages research partnerships on a global scale. This begins with the friendships that I hope you will make at KAMC/MediAsia2026, and nurture well into the future. To that end, I encourage your active and open participation throughout the event, and hope you get the chance to explore this great city and country. Warmest regards,

Dr Joseph Haldane Chairman & CEO, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) Professor, European Center for Peace and Development (ECPD), United Nations University for Peace Guest Professor, Osaka School of International Public Policy, The University of Osaka, Japan Visiting Professor, Doshisha University, Japan Visiting Professor, The University of Belgrade, Serbia Member, Expert Network, World Economic Forum

Become an IAFOR Member IAFOR provides an enriching personal and professional environment for academics and scholars of all ages and backgrounds to exchange and contribute to interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue that informs and is informed by their own cultural and disciplinary background and experiences. We are able to do this thanks to our extraordinary network of individuals and institutions around the world who support our work and help shape our events globally. We particularly emphasise the nurturing and support for emerging academics from an array of different backgrounds, and aim to provide opportunities for them to seek advice, support and guidance, as well as offering mid-career and more established academics opportunities to forge working relationships beyond their traditional disciplinary ambitions. In our current world where division and strife are often reinforced and played out in national and local contexts, and political posturing frequently seeks to ostracise and demonise, IAFOR is committed to working across cultural and national borders, and to work to bring people together through dialogue. We believe that mature human interaction and academic and cultural exchange are essential to offering positive versions of the future, where cooperation happens between individuals and institutions who share a commitment to listen, to reach out and bridge divides, and to contribute to good global citizenship, and to making the world a better place. By becoming a member of IAFOR, you will become part of an extraordinary network and a stakeholder in shaping the IAFOR mission and facilitating international exchange, encouraging intercultural awareness, and promoting interdisciplinary discussion in the hope and expectation of generating and sharing new knowledge. Join us now in this growing global organisation, and help make a difference today. To learn more about IAFOR membership, please visit:

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KAMC/MediAsia2026 Key Statistics Date of Creation: October 07, 2026

262

48 169

215

73 8%

58% University Faculty 17% Doctoral Student 9% Postgraduate Student

Occupation

58%

4% Independent Scholar 4% Public Sector/Practitioner

54% Doctoral Degree 38%

Education

38% Masters Degree

54%

8% Bachelors Degree

3% Postdoctoral Fellow/Instructor

17%

3% Other 2% Private Sector

1. Advertising, Marketing, and Public

1. Taiwan (14%)

Relations (14)

2. Philippines (13%)

2. Education/Pedagogy (14)

3. Japan (9%)

3. Film Criticism and Theory (13)

4. United States (8%)

4. Visual Culture (13)

5. India (6%)

5. Cultural Studies (12)

14%

13% 9%

Single-Authored Submissions vs. Multiple-Authored Submissions

242

117

65%

35%

Conference Venue: Monday, November 9 to Thursday, November 12

Kyoto Research Park

Address: Chudoji Minamicho 134, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto

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Conference Venue: Monday, November 9 to Thursday, November 12

Kyoto Research Park

Address: Chudoji Minamicho 134, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto

Kyoto Research Park Building 1

Conference Venue: Monday, November 9 to Thursday, November 12

Kyoto Research Park Suggested Lunch Options and Local Amenities

Please note that lunch is not provided at the conference. This map offers suggestions on where you can eat around the conference venue, as well as the locations of local amenities.

November 8 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Sunday at a Glance

Pre-Conference Event Venue: Future Hub, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies 10:00-15:00

Pre-Conference Event: Future Hub Forum 2026 Hosted at the Future Hub, housed in Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, this invitation-based unconference will bring together a small group of researchers, educators, technologists, and collaborators to explore the future of immersive learning, emerging media, and cross-organisational collaboration. This is a separate pre-conference event. Registration has closed. 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:00

Welcome & Networking Coffee Retrospective: Honouring the MAVR Decade Session Pitching Breakout Rounds Lunch Synthesis Session Closing & Commitments: Laying the New Network’s Foundations Forum Closes

November 9 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Monday at a Glance

Conference Venue: Kyoto Research Park, Building 1 09:30

Conference Check-in & Coffee | Foyer (4F)

10:15-10:45

Welcome Address & Recognition of IAFOR Scholarship Winners | Science Hall (4F) & Online Virgil Hawkins, IAFOR Research Centre & The University of Osaka, Japan

10:50-11:15

Keynote Presentation | Science Hall (4F) & Online TikToking Ourselves to Death: Journalism in Japan in the Age of Social Media David McNeill, University of the Sacred Heart, Japan Q&A Session

11:15-11:30 11:35-12:00 12:00-12:15

Keynote Presentation | Science Hall (4F) & Online A Storied Career: A Photo-Ethnographic Review of Rhetorical Communities Thomas G. Endres, University of Northern Colorado, United States Q&A Session

12:15-12:20

Conference Photograph

12:20-14:30

Extended Break

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November 9 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Monday at a Glance

Conference Venue: Kyoto Research Park, Building 1 14:30-15:30

The Forum | Science Hall (4F) Storytelling in Times of Crisis Virgil Hawkins, IAFOR Research Centre & The University of Osaka, Japan (Respondent) Apipol Sae-Tung, IAFOR, Japan (Moderator) The Forum is a plenary session designed as a platform for international, intercultural, interdisciplinary – and inclusive – discussions, joining experts and practitioners in an open dialogue format. Come share your thoughts and experiences as global educators and researchers.

15:30-16:00

Cultural Presentation | Science Hall (4F) The Sound & Spirit of the Japanese Shamisen Renowned performer and teacher Kuniaki Matsunaga (KUNIAKI) brings the shamisen’s rich history and vibrant sound to life.

16:15-17:15

Welcome Reception & Conference Poster Session | Atrium (1F)

19:00-21:00

Conference Dinner | Yachiyo Nanzenji This is a ticketed event

November 10 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Tuesday at a Glance

Conference Venue: Kyoto Research Park, Building 1 09:00

Conference Check-in | Foyer (4F)

09:10-09:55

Conference Orientation for First-Time Presenters | Science Hall (4F) Mark Kenneth Camilling, IAFOR, Japan Briar Pelletier, IAFOR, Japan This session provides an overview of what to expect at the conference, including guidance on preparing your presentation, publishing opportunities, and ways to engage with IAFOR.

10:00-10:50

Featured Workshop | Science Hall (4F) Luck Is a Skill: A Real-Time Framework for Navigating Uncertainty and Creating Better Outcomes Krystal Chryssomallis, Photographer and Cultural Producer, United States

10:50-11:20

Extended Coffee Break | Foyer (4F)

11:20-12:35 Onsite Parallel Session 1 Room A (4F): KAMC | Sociology and Politics Room B (4F): KAMC | Language and Cultural Studies Room C (4F): KAMC | Development Issues in Design and Communication Room D (4F): KAMC | Arts and Ageing Studies Room G (4F): KAMC | Negotiating Cultural Authority in Contemporary Southeast Asia: Ethnic Resistance, Digital Governance, and Heritage Politics (Symposium) 12:35-13:50

Extended Break

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November 10 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Tuesday at a Glance

Conference Venue: Kyoto Research Park, Building 1 13:50-15:05 Onsite Parallel Session 2 Room A (4F): KAMC | Culture in Architecture and Urban Studies Room B (4F): KAMC | Language and Communication Room C (4F): KAMC | Communication, Education and Pedagogy Room D (4F): KAMC | Communication and Differences Room G (4F): KAMC | Designing the Modern: Japanese Crossovers in Indian Visual Culture (Panel) 15:05-15:20

Coffee Break

15:20-17:00 Onsite Parallel Session 3 Room A (4F): KAMC | Gender, Identity and Culture Room B (4F): KAMC | Media in Language and Cultural Studies Room C (4F): MediAsia | Media and Communication Technology Room D (4F): MediAsia | State, Journalism and Communication Room G (4F): KAMC | Visual Culture

November 11 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Wednesday at a Glance

Conference Venue: Kyoto Research Park, Building 1 09:00

Conference Check-in | Foyer (4F)

09:30-11:10 Onsite Parallel Session 1 Room A (4F): KAMC | Cultural Studies Room B (4F): MediAsia | Communication and Politics Room C (4F): MediAsia | Film Criticism and Theory Room D (4F): KAMC | Media Studies and Sociology Room G (4F): KAMC | Education, Pedagogy and Communication 11:10-11:40

Extended Coffee Break | Foyer (4F)

11:40-12:55 Onsite Parallel Session 2 Room A (4F): KAMC | Literature and Performances in Cultural Studies Room B (4F): KAMC | Design and Care Room C (4F): KAMC | Film Studies Room D (4F): KAMC | Politics and Philosophy Room G (4F): KAMC | Education/Pedagogy 12:55-13:10

Break

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November 11 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Wednesday at a Glance

Conference Venue: Kyoto Research Park, Building 1 13:10-14:50 Onsite Parallel Session 3 Room A (4F): KAMC | Cultural and Media Studies Room B (4F): KAMC/MediAsia | Sustainability in Arts, Media and Culture Room C (4F): MediAsia | Communication Theory and Methodology Room D (4F): KAMC | Media Studies Room G (4F): KAMC | Literature, Language and Cultural Studies 14:50-15:20

Extended Coffee Break | Foyer (4F)

15:20-17:00 Onsite Parallel Session 4 Room A (4F): KAMC | Cultural Studies Room B (4F): MediAsia | Social Media and Communication Technology Room C (4F): MediAsia | Film Criticism and Theory Room D (4F): KAMC | AI in Media Studies

November 12 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Thursday at a Glance

Conference Venue: Kyoto Research Park, Building 1 09:00

Conference Check-in | Foyer (4F)

09:15-10:55 Onsite Parallel Session 1 Room A (4F): KAMC | Aesthetics and Design Room B (4F): KAMC/MediAsia | Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations Room C (4F): MediAsia | Journalism Room D (4F): KAMC/MediAsia | Performances in Critical and Cultural Studies Room G (4F): KAMC | Digital Humanities, Culture and Communication 10:55-11:10

Coffee Break | Foyer (4F)

11:10-12:50 Onsite Parallel Session 2 Room A (4F): KAMC | Visual Culture Room B (4F): MediAsia | Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations Room C (4F): MediAsia | Film Criticism and Theory Room D (4F): KAMC/MediAsia | Visual Communication in Media and Literature Room G (4F): KAMC | Digital Humanities and the Arts 12:50-13:10

Onsite Closing Session | Room G (4F)

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Food for thought. The 7th Southeast Asian Conference on Education (SEACE2027) The 2nd Southeast Asian Conference on Arts and Humanities (SEACAH2027)

February 15-19, 2027 | Bangkok, Thailand, and Online Abstract Submission Deadline: October 30, 2026

Where will your ideas take you next?

November 13 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Friday at a Glance

Conference Venue: Online via Zoom 10:00-10:05

Message from IAFOR

10:05-11:05

The Forum (Online) | Live-Stream Room 2 Storytelling in Times of Crisis Briar Pelletier, IAFOR, Japan (Online Moderator) The Forum is a plenary session designed as a platform for international, intercultural, interdisciplinary – and inclusive – discussions, joining experts and practitioners in an open dialogue format. Come share your thoughts and experiences as global educators and researchers.

11:05-11:20

Break

11:20-13:00 Online Parallel Session 1 Live-Stream Room 2: KAMC/MediAsia | Cultural Studies and Communication Live-Stream Room 3: KAMC/MediAsia | Digital Humanities Live-Stream Room 4: KAMC | Literature, Literary Studies and Theory 13:00-13:10

Break

13:10-14:25 Online Parallel Session 2 Live-Stream Room 2: MediAsia | Film Criticism and Theory Live-Stream Room 3: KAMC/MediAsia | Visual Culture Live-Stream Room 4: KAMC | Area Studies

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November 13 | All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Friday at a Glance

Conference Venue: Online via Zoom 14:25-14:35

Break

14:35-15:50 Online Parallel Session 3 Live-Stream Room 2: KAMC/MediAsia | Communication and Politics Live-Stream Room 3: KAMC/MediAsia | Gender in Media and Films Live-Stream Room 4: KAMC | Cultural Studies 15:50-16:00

Break

16:00-17:40 Online Parallel Session 4 Live-Stream Room 2: KAMC | Film Studies Live-Stream Room 3: KAMC | Education/Pedagogy Live-Stream Room 4: KAMC | Arts and Culture 17:40-17:45

Message from IAFOR

IAFOR’s Conference Themes for 2025-2029

IAFOR’s conference programme provides an essential comparative and contrastive space for people to engage in multidisciplinary research across borders of nation, culture, discipline, and professions. We encourage mixed approaches and methodologies, combining theory and practice between and across the disciplines, and we look to harness the collective intelligence of our International Academic Forum in addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time. Through the implementation of new formats in our conference programme, including Intelligence Briefings, Keynote Interviews, and The Forum, we gathered insights into what has been discussed at the theoretical and policy levels, identified the challenges, and the outlook for best practices in tackling global contemporary issues, which we have identified as the themes for 2025-2029. Our four themes can be seen as standalone themes, but they are also very much in conversation with each other. Themes may be seen as corollaries, complementary, or in opposition/juxtaposition with each other. The themes can be considered as widely as possible and are designed, in keeping with our mission, to encourage ideas across the disciplines.

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1. Technology and Artificial Intelligence Our first theme examines the rapid pace of technological advancements, aided most particularly by those driven by artificial intelligence and its enormous and growing impact in all fields. 2. Humanity and Human Intelligence Our second theme asks us which principles, values, and attributes we wish to encourage, protect, and nurture and how we accomplish this. Technological advancements constantly ask us to reconsider and reimagine what it means to be human, including questions regarding communication, creativity, inclusivity, ethics, and care. 3. Global Citizenship and Education for Peace This theme prompts us to consider our existence and coexistence with each other, within our communities and places of belonging, and with peoples of different countries, cultures, and backgrounds, as well as with our environment and our planet. It includes engagement with enormous issues facing us beyond borders, such as peace and human security, climate change, etc. 4. Leadership The final theme recognises the continuing importance of leadership as a skill, particularly in light of difficult times, where recognising and encouraging best practices in leadership at all levels of society is critical. Encouraging leadership at the government level, in businesses, and within institutions of all sizes represents the engine of change.

Conference Themes in Theory, Policy, and Practice Many theories are born and initially tested in the academy, informing discussions in the public sphere that influence policy. IAFOR represents a unique combination of engagement emerging from the collaborative efforts of senior policymakers, administrators, and individuals working on the ground or in the field. IAFOR has made this rare combination of equitable theoretical and practical exchanges the standard for our organisation and represents a valuable model for how science should be done. We will develop conference and institutional programmes and publications around these themes as well as capacity building sessions for our conference programme over the next five years. It is our aim with the implementation of these themes, alongside the implementation and continuing refinement of new formats, to best harness the unique arena IAFOR and its network have built with regard to pressing issues of today and the future.

General Information This QR code, also located on the back of your name badge, contains the information you need to attend the conference, including: - Full Conference Schedule - The ‘Find a Presentation’ Feature - Conference Survey - Suggested Lunch Options - Online and Virtual Presentations - Presentation and Session Chair Guidelines, and more. Please scan this QR code or visit https://linktr.ee/iaforkyoto

Check-in & Information Desk You will be able to pick up your name badge at the Conference Check-in & Information Desk at the times listed below. If you have any questions or concerns, IAFOR staff and volunteers will happily assist you in any way they can. Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, Foyer (4F) Monday, November 9 | 09:30-16:30 Tuesday, November 10 | 09:00-16:30 Wednesday, November 11 | 09:00-16:30 Thursday, November 12 | 09:00-12:00 Friday, November 13 | No in-person check-in

Name Badges Wearing your badge is required for entrance to the sessions and events. You must wear your badge at all times.

Refreshment Breaks & Lunch Complimentary coffee, tea, water, and light snacks will be available during the scheduled coffee breaks. Please note that lunch is not provided.

Connecting to WiFi Free WiFi is provided at the Kyoto Research Park for light use, like reading emails and web browsing. Streaming video will not be possible. If your presentation includes video, please bring it on a file that can be played without an internet connection. Building 1 Network: CONV-EG Password: 75382krp

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General Information Conference Schedule The full conference schedule (including abstracts) and conference programme are available on the conference website, accessible through the QR code located on the previous page as well as the back of your nametag.

Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations & Virtual Poster Presentations A full list of pre-recorded virtual video presentations and virtual poster presentations will be on the conference website during and after the conference. We encourage you to scan the QR code to watch these presentations and provide feedback through the video comments.

Conference Catch-Up (On-Demand) All Keynote Presentations and live-streamed sessions will be recorded and uploaded to the Conference Catch-Up (On-Demand) page via Vimeo. The Catch-Up page will be publicly available after the conference until Sunday, December 13, 2026.

Certification Corresponding authors will be able to download Certificates of Presentation, as well as Session Chair certification and reviewer certification for Senior Reviewers, for all presenters by logging in to the submission page. Certificates of Presentation will be available from Friday, November 27, 2026. Certificates of Participation for non-presenters, as well as reviewer certification for Review Committee members, will be sent out by email in a PDF format within two weeks of the Conference's conclusion.

Photo/Recording Waiver Human interaction through networking, and dissemination of this knowledge, is at the core of what IAFOR does as an academic research organisation, conference organiser and publisher. As part of the archiving of the conference event, IAFOR takes photos in and around the conference venue, and uses the photos to document the event. This also includes the filming of certain sessions. We consider this documentation important, and it provides evidence of our activities to members, partners and stakeholders all over the world, as well as to current and potential attendees like you. Some of these photos will therefore appear online and in print, including on social media. The above are the legitimate interests of the organisation that we assert under the European Union law on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under this legislation, you have an absolute right to opt out of any photo. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. Read our full privacy policy – iafor.org/about/privacy-policy

iafor.org/publications

IAFOR Publications Conference Proceedings

IAFOR Conference Proceedings are Open Access research repositories that act as permanent records of the research generated by IAFOR conferences. The Conference Proceedings are published online in the IAFOR Research Archive (papers.iafor.org). All accepted authors who present at the conference may have their full paper published in the online Conference Proceedings. For further details on how to submit your paper, please visit the Conference website. Please note that: 1) Papers published in the Conference Proceedings cannot be considered for publication in IAFOR journals. 2) IAFOR's Conference Proceedings are not peer-reviewed and are not ‘Scopus-indexed’. Full text submission is due by Friday, December 11, 2026, through the online system. The proceedings will be published on Thursday, February 11, 2027.

Conference Reports and Intelligence Briefings (ISSN: 2759-4939)

IAFOR produces conference reports that provide concise and coherent overviews of the ideas, conversations, and areas of research presented at our conferences. These include key themes and takeaways, referencing programme(s), speakers and attendees, which are curated and archived for both those who attended the event, as well as those who did not. Readers can stay abreast of many of the developments and insights provided by the conference, and the collective intelligence of its participants. Links to video recordings of the presentations and interview references are included where possible, encouraging readers to engage further with the conference material and presentations. Each report contains photos of the event, as well as key statistics pertaining to general attendance and demographics. Read and download the Conference Reports and Intelligence Briefings, and access Conference Photo Galleries from past conferences using the QR code on the back of your name badge. You will receive a notification email when the Conference Photos and the Conference Report and Intelligence Briefing of this conference are available.

THINK Magazine: The Academic Platform

THINK is an online magazine presenting the latest in interdisciplinary research and ideas from some of the world’s foremost academics and thought leaders. As a publishing platform, THINK makes selected research presented at IAFOR’s international, intercultural, interdisciplinary conferences freely available to a global academic audience. Content on THINK spans everything from the arts to psychology, politics to film, law to education and history to technology, presenting research, ideas and perspectives from every corner of the globe. The format is varied, encompassing full research papers, long-form journalism, opinion pieces, creative writing, interviews, podcasts, video, photography and more. To learn more about THINK, please visit think.iafor.org or access the webpage from the QR code on the back of your name badge.

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iafor.org/publications

IAFOR Journals IAFOR's Open Access Journals IAFOR publishes several editorially independent, Open Access journals across a variety of disciplines. They conform to the highest academic standards of international peer review, and are published in accordance with IAFOR’s commitment to make all of our published materials available online.

How are papers submitted? Submissions should be original, previously unpublished papers which are not under consideration for publication in any other journal. All articles are submitted through the submission portal on the journal website and must conform to the journal submission guidelines.

How does IAFOR ensure academic integrity? Once appointed by IAFOR’s Publications Committee, the Journal Editor is free to appoint his or her own editorial team and advisory members, who help to rework and revise papers as appropriate, according to internationally accepted standards. All papers published in the journal have been subjected to the rigorous and accepted processes of academic peer review. Neither editors nor members of the editorial team are remunerated for their work.

Where are the journals indexed? IAFOR Journals are indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, DOAJ, ERIC, MIAR, TROVE, CiteFactor and EBSCO, SHERPA/ROMEO and Google Scholar. DOIs are assigned to each published issue and article via Crossref. Please note that indexing varies from journal to journal.

What’s the reach? Each of our journal issues is viewed thousands of times a month, and the articles are frequently cited by researchers worldwide, largely due to our dedicated marketing efforts. Each issue is promoted across our social media platforms and to our tailored email marketing lists. On average, each journal is published biannually.

What’s the cost? IAFOR Journals are Open Access publications, available online completely free of charge and without delay or embargo. Authors are not required to pay charges of any sort towards the publication of IAFOR Journals, and neither editors nor members of the editorial boards are remunerated for their work.

How are IAFOR Journals related to IAFOR Conferences and Conference Proceedings? IAFOR Journals reflect the interdisciplinary and international nature of our conferences and are organised thematically. A presenter can choose to publish either in the Conference Proceedings or submit their manuscript to the corresponding IAFOR Journal for review.

Current IAFOR Journal titles include IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies (Scopus Indexed) IAFOR Journal of Education (Scopus & Web of Science Indexed) IAFOR Journal of Literature & Librarianship (Scopus Indexed) If you would like more information about any of IAFOR’s publications, please visit iafor.org/journals Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/iaforjapan | IAFOR Kyoto 2026 | IAFOR.ORG | 29

Networking: Connecting with Other Delegates IAFOR conferences are designed to offer countless networking opportunities to make and consolidate personal and professional connections, reconnect with colleagues, and meet new friends in a spirit of convivial collegiality. Whether in the plenaries, parallel sessions, workshops, information sessions, or cultural events, we encourage your active and open participation throughout the conference, remembering the importance of the spaces in-between: over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, or the continuation of conversations and relationships outside the conference. We encourage you to network at the conference over the Networking Events, the Networking Coffee Breaks, and the Extended Breaks. In addition, you are invited to join the Online Presentation Sessions and the Online Forum discussion to explore even more presentations and opportunities to make connections for future collaborations. While conferences serve as a platform to present your work and make connections, please be mindful of the other delegates’ privacy and their consent to provide personal information.

Networking Spaces Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, features several comfortable spaces, such as the main lobby, coffee area, and the restaurant, which serve as perfect locations for networking during the conference. These spaces provide an excellent opportunity to meet new people, connect with familiar faces, exchange ideas, and explore possible collaborations. We encourage you to make use of these spaces to connect with fellow attendees for a quick coffee or a longer chat to broaden your network and enhance your conference experience.

Missed the opportunity to make connections? You can connect with other delegates by using our ‘Find a Presentation’ feature. This feature can be accessed by scanning the QR code provided on the back of your name badge, and is also available on the conference website. You can search by presentation title, submission number, the presenter’s name, or their affiliation. From there, you can look up the presenter’s bio and connect with them through their preferred contact channel. In addition to the ‘Find a Presentation’ online feature, presentation schedules are also displayed in front of presentation rooms.

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Networking Events Cultural Presentation | The Sound & Spirit of the Japanese Shamisen

Join us for a special Cultural Presentation celebrating one of Japan’s most distinctive traditional instruments: the shamisen. Renowned performer and teacher Kuniaki Matsunaga (KUNIAKI), based in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, brings the shamisen’s rich history and vibrant sound to life, giving delegates a rare opportunity to experience this unique Japanese musical heritage. Time & Date: Monday, November 9, 2026 | 15:30-16:00 Location: Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, Science Hall (4F) Admission is included in the conference registration fee and is only open to registered onsite conference delegates.

Welcome Reception

Join fellow delegates for a drink or two at the conference Welcome Reception, held alongside the Conference Poster Session. This event provides a great opportunity for delegates to network and get to know each other. The event will be held in Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, Atrium (1F). Time & Date: Monday, November 9, 2026 | 16:15-17:15 Location: Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, Atrium (1F) Admission is included in the conference registration fee and is only open to registered onsite conference delegates.

Conference Dinner | Yachiyo Nanzenji

Join us afterwards for the Conference Dinner at Yachiyo Nanzenji, a historical and cultural gem in Kyoto. Nestled near the famed Nanzenji Temple, Yachiyo is renowned for its traditional kaiseki cuisine, which pays homage to Japan's seasonal beauty through artful presentation and delicate flavours. Designed by famed gardener Jihei Ogawa, the traditional, century-old building is surrounded by a lush garden featuring a tranquil pond. Delegates can enjoy a quiet evening together in the storied Nanzenji garden, carrying on conversations and connections from the conference plenaries to the table. Time & Date: Monday, November 9, 2026 | 19:00-21:00 Location: Yachiyo Nanzenji Garden Restaurant, Nanzenji Fukuchicho 34, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto Ticket Price: 15,000 JPY This is an optional ticketed event. Only onsite conference delegates with pre-purchased tickets can attend the Conference Dinner.

Academic Grant & Scholarship Recipients IAFOR's grants and scholarships programme provides financial support to PhD students and earlycareer academics, helping them pursue research excellence and achieve their academic goals through interdisciplinary study and interaction. Our warmest congratulations go to the following scholarship recipients who have been selected to receive grants and scholarships to present their research at the conference.

Stuart D. B. Picken Scholarship Recipient Professor Stuart D. B. Picken was a cherished friend and an inspiration to IAFOR and its community of supporters. In honour of Professor Picken and his dedication to academia, the ideals of intercultural understanding, and the principles of interdisciplinary study, IAFOR created the Stuart D. B. Picken Scholarship, an award supported by the Stuart D. B. Picken Memorial Fund. This award is given to PhD students and early career academics who are in need of funding to complete their research, and whose work demonstrates excellence in the core values of academic rigour, intercultural sensitivity, and interdisciplinarity. Yih Pey Tan (Oral Presentation) 111240 | Selective Heritage Governance in Malaysia: A Comparative Study of the Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Cemetery and the 24 Festive Drums Ms Yih Pey Tan is currently a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at National Chi Nan University, Taiwan. She holds a Master's degree in Southeast Asian Studies from the same institution, where her thesis examined The Restructuring of Malaysia Airlines through the lens of New Institutionalism. Her research interests focus on ethnic relations in Southeast Asia, with particular attention to the Chinese community in Malaysia and the politics of Malay supremacy (Ketuanan Melayu).

About Stuart D. B. Picken (1942-2016) The late Reverend Professor Stuart D. B. Picken began his academic career as a Rotary Scholar in Japan. A native of Scotland dedicated to religious studies, he became fascinated by Japanese culture and the practice of Shinto. Whether in his research or teaching, Reverend Professor Picken devoted much of his life to increasing understanding between Japan and the West, and in 2007 he was recognised with the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure for his contribution to the promotion of friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and the United Kingdom. From 2009, he was the founding Chairman of The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), where he helped nurture and mentor a new generation of academics and facilitate intercultural and international understanding.

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Academic Grant & Scholarship Recipients KAMC2026 IAFOR Scholarship Recipients Ralph Joshua Artugue (Oral Presentation) 108823 | Technology-Supported Reflection: AI-Generated Picture Books as Language Journey Narratives in High School English Mr Ralph Artugue is currently a graduate student in Linguistics with a focus on TESOL at Sophia University, Japan. His research interests incorporate the arts and language in language learning. Putri Sri Aryana (Oral Presentation) 111137 | From Ritual Tradition to Cultural Commodity: The Transformation of Arak Bali in Contemporary Bali Ms Putri Sri Aryana is a researcher specialising in digital culture and comparative studies of East Asia and Indonesia. She holds a Master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Universitas Indonesia. Her work focuses on cultural and literary studies across digital platforms, including social media and interactive media such as video games.

MediAsia2026 IAFOR Scholarship Recipients Shela Kusumaningtyas (Oral Presentation) 110961 | Performing the Politics of Helping: Poverty, Compassion, and Platform Populism in Dedi Mulyadi’s YouTube Videos Ms Shela Kusumaningtyas is an MA student in Communication Science at Universitas Indonesia and an LPDP awardee. Her research interests include media, digital platforms, policy communication, and semiotics. Annapurna Sinha (Live-Stream Presentation) 111504 | Reclaiming the Monstrous: The Female Gaze and Narrative Intervention in Contemporary Indonesian Horror Ms Annapurna Sinha is a PhD research scholar at the Department of Communication, University of Hyderabad, India. Her research forte includes Communication for Development and Social Change and Community Media. She is currently working on community newspapers in her doctoral research work.

IAFOR events are among the most diverse on Earth Bridging divides of nation, culture, and discipline; informing and shaping ideas, research, practice, and policy in a comparative and contrastive space, IAFOR encourages the sharing and nurturing of diverse ideas. Over the past year, more than 5,000 delegates from more than 120 countries have participated in an IAFOR event.

5,000+ Delegates

120+ Countries

Inspiring global collaborations, this diversity of peoples, nations, voices, cultures, and ideas is at the heart of what we do.

It is our greatest strength. Join us.

Keynote & Featured Presentations All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Abstracts appear as originally submitted by the author. Any spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors are those of the author.

Plenary Speaker: Virgil Hawkins

Welcome Address & Recognition of IAFOR Scholarship Winners Monday, November 9, 2026 | 10:15-10:45 | Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, Science Hall (4F) & Online

Virgil Hawkins Dr Virgil Hawkins is a professor specialising in world affairs and the news media, and is based at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), The University of Osaka, Japan. He obtained his PhD in International Public Policy from OSIPP, where he focused on international politics, conflict, the UN Security Council, and the news media. He proceeded to work for five years for a non-governmental aid organisation, primarily in Cambodia and Zambia, before returning to the university as a faculty member. He has written and edited a number of books, including Stealth Conflicts: How the World’s Worst Violence is Ignored (2008), and Communication and Peace: Mapping an Emerging Field (coedited, 2015). His work focuses on furthering our understanding of how and why the vast majority of the world remains relatively uncovered by the news media. To these ends, Professor Hawkins has since shifted his focus to work at a more practical level. He coestablished the Southern African Centre for Collaboration on Peace and Security (SACCPS) [saccps. org] in 2010, which is a network that has brought together researchers and practitioners working on these issues throughout the region. He went on to establish Global News View (GNV) [globalnewsview. org], a large-scale media project that analyses trends and deficiencies in the world news coverage by the Japanese news media, and attempts to compensate for those deficiencies by providing analysis on undercovered global issues.

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Keynote Presentation: David McNeill

TikToking Ourselves to Death: Journalism in Japan in the Age of Social Media Monday, November 9, 2026 | 10:50-11:15 | Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, Science Hall (4F) & Online

In November 2024, Motohiko Saito was re-elected governor of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, an apparently unremarkable event that portends a major shift in the media. Saito quit after a unanimous no-confidence motion over workplace bullying. Lacking any political backing, he was criticised for months in the legacy media. Yet, he won 250,000 more votes than his previous election in 2021. Political comebacks of this kind in the face of a hostile press are exceptionally rare in Japan: the only other governor since 1945 to return to office following a no-confidence motion was Yasuo Tanaka in 2002. Saito’s secret weapon was social media. An NHK survey found that 30% of voters relied on YouTube and other video-sharing sites to source their information, 6% higher than either newspapers or television. It will take time to digest the historical import of the Hyogo election, but there can be little doubt about one underlying truth: the ability of the once all-powerful Japanese media to shape political narratives is declining. The young have largely abandoned their parents’ habit of reading a newspaper every day and shun television for social media. Politicians such as Saito, Shinji Ishimaru, the surprise runner-up in the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi have taken note.

David McNeill Dr David McNeill was born in the United Kingdom and raised in Ireland. He was awarded his PhD from Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1998. He has since taught at universities in Ireland, the United Kingdom, China, and Japan, and is currently Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of the Sacred Heart, Japan. He is an editor and board member of the Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, was previously a correspondent for The Independent, The Economist and The Chronicle of Higher Education, and a columnist for The Mainichi Shimbun and The Japan Times. Dr McNeill is a long-time member of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) and currently edits No1 Shimbun, the FCCJ’s house magazine, while also serving as co-chair of the FCCJ’s Freedom of the Press Committee. He is co-author of Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) and Japanese Rebels: Non-conformists in a Conformist Society (Routledge, 2026).

Keynote Presentation: Thomas G. Endres

A Storied Career: A Photo-Ethnographic Review of Rhetorical Communities Monday, November 9, 2026 | 11:35-12:00 | Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, Science Hall (4F) & Online

How do stories create communities? In an era where AI can increasingly produce convincing simulations of lived human experience, this question takes on new significance, reminding us of the importance of attending to human experience as it is lived, remembered, communicated, and shared. This keynote presentation examines four decades of research applying Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) to the stories and narratives through which rhetorical communities form. This retrospective highlights three major photo-ethnographic projects focused on distinct communities: motorcyclists and bikers, tattooed people, and cosplayers and costume enthusiasts. The talk explores how personal experience becomes narrative, how narratives circulate within communities, and how shared stories create connections among people through photographs and the favourite stories shared by projects’ participants. As AI becomes increasingly capable of producing convincing simulations of human experience, this keynote argues that scholars must remain committed to studying the authentic intelligence of human beings. The lived experiences, memories, stories, and relationships through which communities are created and sustained are vital in chronicling and sustaining the lived communities we research, promote, and distribute through media and the arts. This talk also features related investigations in Japanese research that focus on narratives through which people make meaning of their lives within communities.

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Thomas G. Endres Dr Thomas G. Endres is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Northern Colorado, United States, where he teaches courses in communication theory, popular culture, group dynamics, and leadership. In a career marked primarily by administrative responsibilities, he found time to conduct research using Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) to identify the use of stories in creating rhetorical communities. He is the author and photographer of Sturgis Stories: Celebrating the People of the World’s Largest Motorcycle Rally (Kirk House, 2002) and My Costume, Myself: Celebrating Stories of Cosplay and Beyond (Kirk House, 2001, 2023) and co-author, with Deanna D. Sellnow, of The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture: Considering Mediated Texts, 4th ed. (Sage, 2023). His updated essay on SCT will appear in the forthcoming 2nd edition of Wiley-Blackwell's The International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy. He has delivered more than 250 presentations, workshops, and keynote addresses across the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico) and abroad, including presentations in Austria, China, the Czech Republic, Japan, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom.

The Forum | Storytelling in Times of Crisis Virgil Hawkins (Respondent), Apipol Sae-Tung (Moderator) Monday, November 9, 2026 | 14:30-15:30 | Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, Science Hall (4F) Briar Pelletier (Online Moderator) Friday, November 13, 2026 | 10:05-11:05 | Online via Zoom

Journalism is experiencing a crisis in many parts of the world, although the precise form of that crisis differs across countries and media systems. Common concerns may include declining public trust, political interference, threats to press freedom, financial instability, weakening of local journalism, misinformation, harassment of journalists, inadequate diversity, technological disruption, and difficulty reaching audiences in an increasingly fragmented media environment. Ultimately, the crisis of journalism can be seen as a broader crisis of storytelling: a crisis of the stories through which we make sense of the present and imagine the future. Overwhelmed by information and a constant stream of polycrisis-related news, we struggle collectively to find meaning and increasingly dissociate from collective life. Who has the power to tell stories, and whose stories are told, has always been a challenge for journalism and media, but now, this challenge is magnified. How can we challenge dominant narratives, ensure marginalised voices are heard, and tell stories that help people make sense of the world, trust again, and connect with each other, in a fragmented media landscape often influenced by those in power? The Forum session at KAMC/MediAsia2026 invites participants to explore how journalism worldwide can rethink storytelling and represent global realities.

Virgil Hawkins (Respondent) See full biography on page 36.

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Apipol Sae-Tung (Moderator) Apipol Sae-Tung is the Academic Coordinator at IAFOR, where he contributes to the development and execution of academicrelated content and activities. He works closely with the Forum’s partner institutions and coordinates IAFOR’s Global Fellowship Programme. His recent activities include mediating conference reports for the Forum’s international conference programme and facilitating the IAFOR Undergraduate Research Symposium (IURS). Mr Sae-Tung began his career as a Program Coordinator for the Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. He was awarded the Japanese Government’s MEXT Research Scholarship and is currently pursuing a PhD at the Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University, Japan. His research focuses on government and policy analysis, particularly on authoritarian regimes. Mr Sae-Tung holds an MA in International Relations and Diplomacy from Thammasat University, Thailand, where he studied foreign policy analysis and Thailand-China relations. He also holds a BA in History from the same institution.

Briar Pelletier (Online Moderator) Briar Pelletier is the Editorial and Communications Coordinator at IAFOR, where she works with the academic team on a range of academic projects and initiatives, including the Forum’s Scholarship and Grant Opportunities, Conference Proceedings, and Conference Reports and Intelligence Briefings. She is currently developing IAFOR’s online community content for members and moderates its monthly Academic Advice Surgery sessions. Ms Pelletier is completing her PhD at Nagoya University, Japan, where she was recognised as a Next Generation Research Fellow from 2022 to 2025. Her research focuses on grassroots cultural exchange initiatives and community-led digital archives, with particular attention to projects affiliated with sister-city partnerships. She holds an MA in Cultural Studies from Nagoya University and a BA in Art History from the University of Maine, United States.

Featured Workshop: Krystal Chryssomallis

Luck Is a Skill: A Real-Time Framework for Navigating Uncertainty and Creating Better Outcomes Tuesday, November 10, 2026 | 10:00-10:50 | Kyoto Research Park, Building 1, Science Hall (4F)

At a time of rapid technological, social, environmental, and cultural change, leaders, educators, artists, media professionals, and students are increasingly asked to make decisions in uncertain conditions. When something unexpectedly good happens: a right opening appears, a valuable connection is made, or a creative choice leads to an unforeseen outcome. We often call it ‘luck’. Through years of producing worldwide events and cultural experiences, internationally renowned photographer and cultural producer Krystal Chryssomallis began to notice that these moments were not as random as they appeared. Working with governments, international artists, global institutions, and local communities, she observed how people navigated uncertainty and responded to unexpected opportunities. These observations became the basis for the Mirror Method™, a real-time framework for strengthening perception, recognising possibilities, and creating better outcomes when the path is still unfolding. In this featured workshop session, the Mirror Method™ will be introduced through examples and photographs from her global cultural work before guiding participants through a practical scenario in which they can experience how a shift in perception changes what they notice, how they interpret a situation, and what options become available. The session will explore how the framework can support adaptability, creative confidence, humancentred leadership, meaningful storytelling, and opportunity recognition across cultural, academic, leadership, and humanitarian contexts. The approach also connects with the concept of Adaptability Quotient (AQ), the capacity to respond constructively to uncertainty, change, and complexity, by offering participants a practical framework they can apply when adaptability is most needed. Participants will leave with a Mirror Method™ practice they can apply immediately to a real-world situation, and with a clearer understanding of how perception shapes decision-making and action in uncertain environments.

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Krystal Chryssomallis Krystal Chryssomallis is an internationally recognised photographer, cultural producer, visual storyteller, and educator whose work is devoted to amplifying the good through stories and experiences that foster trust, empathy, connection, and lived impact. Over the past two decades, her work has taken her across more than 60 countries, shaping global productions, largescale live events, and international storytelling initiatives, including projects staged at six UNESCO World Heritage sites. Her collaborations span global brands, humanitarian initiatives, and institutional partners, including UNICEF, NASA, PBS, Boeing, IMAX, Disney, FIFA, and the World Wildlife Fund. Her fine art photography translates this global experience into enduring works held in private collections, cultural institutions and hospitality environments, including an exhibition at Xposure in Sharjah, UAE. She has also served as a judge for the Travel Photographer of the Year Awards and The Drum Awards, and as a Panda Ambassador for WWF. Across her work in cultural production, photography, storytelling, education, humanitarian advocacy, and social impact, she explores how perception shapes human connection, decision-making, creativity, adaptability, and meaningful action across language, culture, and difference. She has recently served as a judge for the Travel Photographer of the Year Awards and has been preparing to travel to Sri Lanka, serving as a mentor for this year’s winners. War intervened, so those plans have changed, and she is now preparing a masterclass via Zoom. See Krystal’s photography portfolio at: https://www.krystalan.com/portfolio

Notes

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Notes

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Monday, November 9 16:15-17:15 | Atrium (1F) Monday Poster Session All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) Abstracts appear as originally submitted by the author. Any spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors are those of the author.

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Monday Poster Session Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations 110923 | Context-Aware Consumer Simulation: Enhancing LLM-based Advertising Evaluation with Retrieval-Augmented Generation I-Ching Hsu, National Formosa University, Taiwan Yung-Li Wang, National Formosa University, Taiwan Traditional advertising evaluation relies heavily on human-centered methods such as focus groups and surveys. While these approaches provide valuable insights, they are costly, time-consuming, and difficult to scale, particularly in early-stage campaign development. Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have opened new possibilities for simulating human-like reasoning and decision-making processes. However, existing LLM-based approaches often lack grounding in real-world knowledge, leading to generic and unrealistic responses. This paper proposes a context-aware consumer simulation framework that integrates Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) with LLMs to enhance realism and decision alignment. By incorporating external knowledge sources such as product descriptions, user reviews, and brand positioning, the proposed framework enables the generation of more informed and context-sensitive responses. We conduct a comparative study between vanilla LLM simulation, RAG-enhanced simulation, and human responses. Experimental results show that RAG significantly improves decision alignment, sentiment consistency, and reasoning quality. The findings suggest that grounding is essential for approximating real-world consumer behavior. This work demonstrates that RAG-enhanced LLMs can serve as a scalable and cost-effective tool for early-stage advertising evaluation, while remaining complementary to traditional human-based methods.

Ageing Studies 112952 | Development and Validation of a Culturally Grounded Well-Being Scale for Older Adults in Taiwan Kuei-Ru Chou, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan With rapid population ageing, reliable assessment of well-being in later life is increasingly important. However, existing well-being measures are largely based on Western perspectives and may not fully capture culturally embedded values such as family harmony, spirituality, social connectedness, and environmental security in Eastern societies. This study developed and validated the Taiwan Elderly Well-Being Scale (EWS-T) for older adults in Taiwan. A cross-sectional psychometric study was conducted with older adults recruited from community care centers. The EWS-T was developed through focus-group discussions, literature review, adaptation of established well-being measures, culturally specific item generation, expert review, and translation/back-translation procedures. Reliability was examined using Cronbach’s alpha and test–retest reliability. Validity was evaluated through content validity, criterion-related validity with the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, convergent and discriminant validity, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. A total of 260 older adults participated, with a mean age of 74.4 ± 6.1 years; 73.8% were women. The EWS-T showed excellent internal consistency, with an overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93 and subscale values of 0.86–0.92. Test–retest reliability was acceptable. Content validity was satisfactory, and criterion-related validity was supported by a strong correlation with the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Factor analyses supported a refined 29-item, five-domain structure covering psychological, physical, spiritual, social, and economic–environmental well-being, with good model fit. The 29-item EWS-T is a reliable, valid, and culturally responsive instrument for assessing well-being among older adults in Taiwan. 112387 | Clowning and Creative Aging: Play, Failure, and Reimagining Later Life Huang Jui Wen, National University of Tainan, Taiwan Creative aging has increasingly emphasised older adults as active participants, learners, and cultural creators rather than passive recipients of care. However, discussions of arts participation in later life are often framed primarily through measurable outcomes such as health improvement, cognitive maintenance, or social well-being. This conceptual literature review examines clowning as a possible form of creative aging, focusing on play, failure, and embodied creativity as alternative ways of imagining later life. The paper brings together literature on creative aging, participatory arts, healthy aging, ageism, and clown performance. It considers how clowning invites participants to engage in improvisation, physical expression, uncertainty, vulnerability, and relational play. Rather than treating mistakes, slowness, or bodily difference solely as signs of decline, clown practice may create an artistic space in which such experiences become materials for expression, interaction, and shared meaning-making. This paper argues that the value of clowning in creative aging should not be assessed only through therapeutic or recreational outcomes. Its broader significance lies in its potential to challenge ageist assumptions that associate later life with passivity, diminished ability, and reduced creativity. By allowing older adults to play, fail, initiate action, be seen, and respond to others, clowning may reposition them as artistic subjects capable of generating new forms of embodied and social experience. The paper therefore proposes clowning as a promising framework for reimagining later life through creativity, participation, and relational possibility.

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16:15-17:15 | Atrium (1F)

Monday Poster Session Communication 113156 | Examining the Effects of Audience Engagement with Arts and Aesthetics via Social Media on Psychological Well-Being and Offline Behavior Cheng-Chieh Hsiao, Shih Hsin University, Taiwan Kuan-Ju Chen, National Chengchi University, Taiwan Recently, the pervasive use of multimedia platforms for communicating artistic and aesthetic content has gained great attention in various organizations, ranging from national museums to private art galleries. Particularly, social media have become popular for these organizations to foster audience engagement effectively. In order to understand the effectiveness of social media in communicating arts and aesthetics, this study bases on theoretical perspectives of audience engagement and aesthetics as information processing, proposing an “engagementbenefit-response” model depicting that users may start with active or passive engagement with artistic/aesthetic information on social media to obtain functional or emotional benefits, which in turn to increase their psychological well-being and offline participation in arts and aesthetics activities. Meanwhile, this study regards social media intensity as a moderator influencing these positive relationships. A representative sample of 1444 social media users is collected via a nation-wide survey in Taiwan to test the proposed model. Our results show that both passive and active engagement affect functional and emotional benefits positively. These benefits are positively related to psychological well-being and offline participation. The moderating role of social media intensity is also confirmed by the data. According to our empirical evidence, this study is the first to extend and integrate the tenets of the aesthetics theory with user engagement and well-being literature for a thorough investigation to fill the research gap. Our findings also contributes greatly to digital communication strategies for arts and aesthetics on social media. 111319 | Algorithmic Echo Chambers: How AI-Driven Social Media Feeds Shape Political Perception Among Filipino Gen Zs Carmi Joice Maniago, Holy Angel University, Philippines This study examined the role of algorithm-driven social media feeds in shaping political perceptions among Filipino Generation Z users. As platforms such as TikTok and Facebook increasingly relied on artificial intelligence to curate personalized content, concerns emerged regarding the formation of “algorithmic echo chambers” that reinforced existing beliefs while limiting exposure to opposing perspectives. In the Philippine context, where political discourse remained highly active and emotionally charged online, these digital environments significantly influenced how young users interpreted political, social, and institutional issues. Grounded in Agenda-Setting Theory, Framing Theory, and Selective Exposure Theory, the study analyzed how AI-powered recommendation systems contributed to the amplification, repetition, and normalization of political narratives in online spaces. Through qualitative content analysis, the research examined selected political discussions, viral posts, comment sections, and shared media content across major social media platforms. The analysis focused on recurring themes, framing patterns, emotional language, and indicators of echo chamber behavior within algorithm-driven environments. Findings revealed that algorithmic curation consistently amplified emotionally charged and ideologically aligned content, resulting in repetitive exposure to similar political viewpoints among Filipino Gen Z users. The study also found that highly engaging content, particularly posts invoking outrage, victimhood, or moral urgency, received greater visibility and interaction regardless of factual depth or source credibility. Furthermore, online discourse frequently reflected polarized interpretations of political issues, with opposing narratives rarely intersecting meaningfully within digital spaces. The study concluded that AI-mediated social media ecosystems played a significant role in reinforcing political polarization and shaping collective perception.

Cultural Studies 112468 | A Study on Workplace Microaggression Experiences Among Assistant Staff Members of Indigenous Student Resource Centers in Taiwanese Colleges and Universities Szu-Fan Chen, National University of Tainan, Taiwan This study aims to explore the experiences and patterns of workplace microaggressions encountered by assistant staff members of Indigenous Student Resource Centers in Taiwanese colleges and universities. This study interviewed five Indigenous assistant staff members, including two males and three females. The findings indicate five major themes, as follows: 1.Instrumentalization of cultural performance: This refers to the tendency of campuses to simplify Indigenous cultures as singing, dancing, welcoming performances, or ceremonial performances, and to regard Indigenous Student Resource Centers as units responsible for arranging Indigenous students’ cultural performances. 2.Ethnic stereotyping: This refers to the tendency of campus personnel to associate Indigenous peoples with fixed images, such as being good at singing, dancing, sports, or drinking, while overlooking individual differences. 3.Cultural appropriation and objectification: This refers to schools’ use of students’ traditional attire, images, bodies, and cultures as materials for student recruitment, institutional publicity, or multicultural achievement displays. 4.Administrative marginalization: This refers to the position of Indigenous Student Resource Centers within campus administrative systems, where unclear organizational status, insufficient budget authority, or ambiguous unit positioning places them in a situation of heavy responsibility but limited power. 5.Professional devaluation and additional cultural labor: This refers to the tendency on campus to misunderstand the work of Indigenous Student Resource Centers as merely organizing activities or taking students on trips, while neglecting their professional roles in student support, cultural translation, cross-unit coordination, rights advocacy, and the continuous education of others.

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Monday Poster Session Digital Humanities 112292 | Digital Transformation of Holistic Health Education: an Automated Knowledge Graph Framework for Art Dialogue, Meridian Bodywork, and Psychological Reflection Tseng Hsien Chih, National Central University, Taiwan This study proposes a digital transformation framework for holistic health education by developing an automated knowledge graph that integrates art-based self-dialogue, traditional meridian bodywork, and Transactional Analysis-informed psychological reflection. Non-clinical mind-body education often relies on the tacit knowledge of experienced facilitators, including intuitive prompts, embodied observation, symbolic interpretation, and relational dialogue. While such knowledge is central to the quality of the learning experience, it is difficult to standardize, transfer, and scale across institutions, facilitators, and cultural contexts. Using the “Dialogue with the Self through Art” workshop as a practice-based case, this research identifies core instructional elements, including emotional prompts, image-making procedures, bodyawareness cues, reflective questions, meridian-related concepts, and post-session interpretation patterns. These elements are structured as nodes and relationships within a knowledge graph linking participant states, educational interventions, traditional bodywork concepts, psychological reflection models, and expected learning outcomes. The framework further explores how automated extraction and scenariobased recommendation mechanisms can support facilitators in generating adaptive workshop designs for different participant needs. Rather than replacing human facilitation, the proposed model aims to transform tacit experiential knowledge into a reusable, traceable, and ethically governed knowledge asset. The study contributes to digital humanities, arts-based education, and preventive well-being by demonstrating how embodied and dialogic practices may be systematized without reducing their humanistic and relational qualities. 105810 | Pioneering Hybrid Multi-scale Forgery Detection: AI-generated Image Discrimination at Early Stages via Adaptive Frequency-CLIP Fusion Ata ul kareem, Allama Tabataba'i University, Iran Jazba Nudrat, Nusrat Jahan College, Pakistan Detecting image forgery in the early stages of production-before post-processing is mature-poses unprecedented risks to media integrity, academia and national security infrastructures, as nascent AI models, including propagation-based generative adversarial networks, produce nearly indistinguishable synthetic content. Contemporary detection frameworks exhibit significant performance degradation when faced with immature production outputs characterized by minimal post-processing artifacts and subtle statistical anomalies. This research shows and introduces EFN (EarlyForgeNet), A methodological framework of standard accuracy Q1 that synergistically integrates multilocal intrinsic dimension analysis (multiLID) with FAA (Forgery-Aware Adapter) and LGA (Language-Guided Alignment) mechanisms derived from transformer architectures, which are significantly improved through quantum-inspired wavelet transforms and achieve sub-1.1% error rates on immature synthetic datasets. The proposed method was subjected to rigorous evaluation across cross-domain benchmarks including CIFAR-10 synthetic subsets and early generations of ProGAN, and demonstrated 98.8% (AUC) area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, outperforming contemporary baseline approaches by 14-22.1 % in low-artifact scenarios. According to a systematic review conducted by the Office of Research Integrity, international epidemiological data shows a 48% increase in undetected academic image fraud between 2020 and 2024. The framework includes future-proof mechanisms including federated learning architectures for real-time deployment scenarios and blockchain-based provenance verification. Statistical validation via paired t-tests confirms significance at p<0.001 levels, with F1 scores reaching 0.98 under heterogeneous testing conditions. This research establishes new paradigms for early-stage detection of synthetic content and directly addresses critical gaps in digital forensics where conventional post-processing detection methods do not demonstrate sufficient sensitivity.

Education / Pedagogy 113450 | Challenging Hearing-Centric Design: Co-Designing ASL–English Literacy Apps with Deaf Children Lynn McQuarrie, University of Alberta, Canada Stephanie Yong, University of Alberta, Canada Eric Lam, University of Alberta, Canada Digital language and literacy resources are commonly organized around spoken-language assumptions, leaving signed languages peripheral or treating them primarily as accessibility additions. This presentation examines the development of a bilingual digital pedagogy through the participatory design of dual-language American Sign Language (ASL)–English literacy applications for Deaf children aged 6–13. Drawing on iterative input from Deaf children, educators, research scientists, and interactive media developers, the project considers how linguistic and cultural responsiveness can be translated into concrete pedagogical and design decisions. The presentation focuses on three features of the applications: the representation of ASL phonological structure through handshape-based activities; separate picture and text modes that support relationships among sign, meaning, and English orthography; and visually accessible feedback that positions ASL as a language of instruction rather than as a supplement to English. Together, these features illustrate how bilingual digital pedagogy can support literacy learning across signed and written modalities without positioning spoken language as the necessary or default pathway to reading. By foregrounding Deaf children and educators within the design process, the project contributes to culturally sustaining bilingual pedagogy and inclusive educational media design. It argues that accessibility alone is insufficient: digital learning environments must also reflect the linguistic organization, cultural knowledge, and learning practices of the communities they are intended to serve. The presentation concludes with principles for designing signed-language educational media that can support more equitable and linguistically responsive approaches to digital literacy instruction.

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16:15-17:15 | Atrium (1F)

Monday Poster Session Language and Cultural Studies 113400 | Expressing Complaints Across Languages: Evidence of Pragmatic Transfer in Croatian EFL Learners Nina Sirkovic, University of Split, Croatia Mira Braovic Plavsa, University of Split, Croatia This study investigates pragmatic transfer from Croatian as a first language (L1) to English as a foreign language (EFL) through the production of the speech act of complaints. Due to its face-threatening nature, complaints provide an appropriate context for examining both positive and negative pragmatic transfer. The analysis focuses on the category Reference to the Object of Complaint and Expression of Disapproval, distinguishing between indirect complaint strategies and direct strategies that explicitly assign responsibility to the hearer. The research involved three groups of native speakers of Croatian and one group of native speakers of English. One Croatian group produced complaint emails in Croatian (L1), while two groups completed the same task in English (L2). These groups were divided according to their English proficiency levels: independent users (B2) and proficient users (C1). The English native speaker group served as a baseline for cross-linguistic comparison. The study aimed to identify the politeness strategies employed by Croatian speakers when producing complaints in their first language and to examine the extent of pragmatic transfer from Croatian into English. The findings indicate the presence of pragmatic transfer in EFL complaint production, although its influence decreases as learners' proficiency increases. The study contributes to a better understanding of cross-linguistic pragmatic similarities and differences and underscores the importance of integrating pragmatic competence into foreign language instruction. 111468 | The Strongman Mythos: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Algorithmic Narratives, Collective Memory, and Media Literacy in Post-truth Philippines Regine Ann Manabat, Trimex Colleges, Philippines This study investigated how algorithmically mediated digital discourse constructs and circulates the mythos of strongman leadership in the Philippines, with particular focus on Rodrigo Duterte and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Set against the backdrop of the 2022 national elections and the rise of post-truth politics, the research examined how platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube function as engines of emotionally resonant and historically revisionist narratives. Employing Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the study analyzed a purposively sampled corpus of English and Taglish digital texts, including captions, thumbnails, hashtags, soundtracks, and user commentaries produced between 2021 and 2023. Findings revealed five dominant themes: the use of a strongman lexicon and heroic framing; nostalgic reframings of Martial Law as a golden age; unity appeals that depoliticized critique; family metaphors and parasocial intimacy; and rhetorical strategies that silenced or delegitimized dissent. These narratives were algorithmically amplified through repetition, hashtag clustering, and emotional aesthetics, producing a discursive environment where strongman figures were normalized as paternal and redemptive leaders. The study responds to these challenges by developing a Critical Media Literacy Toolkit, a pedagogical resource that equips educators and students with analytical tools to decode propaganda, recognize algorithmic bias, and engage responsibly with digital media. By bridging theory and practice, the research contributes both to the scholarly understanding of algorithmic propaganda and to the promotion of democratic resilience in post-truth Philippines.

Media Studies 113504 | Tracing Trends in International Interest Through Multilingual Comments on Anime Theme Song Videos: A Case Study of Jujutsu Kaisen Yuka Shiratsuchi, Bunkyo University, Japan Shinji Okumura, Bunkyo University, Japan Anime theme songs, or anison, are one of the main ways in which audiences outside Japan first encounter Japanese pop culture. The comments section beneath official theme song videos on YouTube has accumulated traces of this contact over many years. However, most research on anison reception draws on small, one-off samples, leaving us with little sense of how interest in a given title actually shifts over time. This study analyzes tens of thousands of multilingual YouTube comments spanning several years to trace how international interest in anison videos has changed over time. It focuses on Jujutsu Kaisen. The series has aired continuously as both a television show and theatrical films from 2020 to 2026, offering a valuable historical span for this analysis. Its theme songs have also drawn attention abroad, from viral dance trends to internet jokes referencing the series, providing abundant material to analyze. We obtained comments from the official video of each theme song. The language of each comment was identified using a Python language-detection library and then manually checked. A quantitative text analysis was then conducted to trace how the content of the comments changed over time. Following comments on the theme songs in this way, the paper considers how international engagement expands, contracts, or diversifies as a franchise unfolds, in dialogue with Iwabuchi's (2002) thesis of cultural odorlessness and Lee's (2021) work on language-based communities on YouTube.

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16:15-17:15 | Atrium (1F)

Monday Poster Session Performing Arts Practices: Theater, Dance, Music 112322 | Storytelling Theatre in Training Rural Church Counselors: A Process and Reflection Tseng Hsin Hsuan, National University of Tainan, Taiwan This action research investigates the process and reflections of integrating Storytelling Theatre into the training of volunteer counselors within a rural Taiwanese church. Facing the challenges of limited educational resources and dwindling youth engagement in rural ministries, this study designed an 18-session training curriculum based on dramatic conventions to enhance counselors’ professional and spiritual companionship capacities. Utilizing qualitative methods—including participant observation, in-depth interviews, and questionnaires—the study explores the multi-dimensional transformation of the participants. The research reveals three core findings. First, the non-theatre-background counselors underwent a distinct three-phase psychological transformation, shifting from initial hesitation and performance anxiety to embodied engagement and enhanced self-efficacy, catalyzed by peer support and structured dramatic instructions. Second, the intervention of theater strategies, such as "Conscience Alley" and "Still Image," effectively broke through the conventional, one-way reading model of biblical texts. It enabled counselors to transition from static knowledge absorption to dynamic, multidimensional interpretations, fostering deep personal resonance and spiritual reflection. Third, the educational efficacy of Storytelling Theatre demonstrated high cross-contextual transferability, as participants subsequently applied these techniques to youth Bible studies and elementary classrooms. In conclusion, this study argues that Storytelling Theatre serves as a contextually appropriate, low-cost, and highly engaging educational medium for rural ministries. It provides a sustainable direction for youth companionship and counselor cultivation in resource-limited areas, successfully bridging the gap between ancient narratives and contemporary life transformation.

Sociology 112823 | On the Way to Be(coming) a Social Worker: The Final Year as a Site of Professional Identity Exploration Menny Malka, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel In the field of social work research and practice, considerable focus has been placed on the preparedness of students as they transition from being students to becoming professionals. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the processes that occur during the final academic year of their training - a critical transition period that requires a deeper examination. Using a qualitative approach, the study examined the phenomenological perspectives of twenty-nine social work students at an Israeli university during the final academic year of their bachelor's degree, employing the photovoice methodology. Content analysis of the results identified four key characteristics of the final academic year: 1) The liminal-transitional nature of identity work during the final year; 2) Separation from the student identity; 3) The doorknob effect; and 4) Entering the professional shoes. The research results are discussed and conceptualized within the framework of the theory of liminality, highlighting its relevance to understanding the transition processes that characterize professional identity work. Additionally, the study explores the implications of liminality in preparing students for entering the job market, particularly considering the distinction between being a professional and becoming a professional.

Critical and Cultural Studies, Gender and Communication 111173 | The Impact of the Commercialization of Taiwanese Independent Bands on the Identity of Indie Music Audiences Yi Han Huang, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan This study examines how the commercialization of Taiwanese independent bands influences the identity of indie music audiences. In recent years, Taiwanese independent bands have increasingly moved from underground live scenes into mainstream markets through record label contracts, music festivals, streaming platforms, media exposure, and commercial collaborations. While previous studies have discussed independent music in relation to industry development, cultural production, and digital media, fewer have focused on how audiences experience and interpret commercialization. This study therefore explores how indie music listeners understand the meaning of independent music, how they emotionally respond through support, disappointment, alienation, or resistance when the bands they support become commercially visible, and how such changes reshape their self-positioning as indie music audiences. Using in-depth interviews with Taiwanese indie music listeners aged 18 to 40, this research investigates the formation of music-based identity, the tension between support and resistance, and possible feelings of alienation or loss of uniqueness. By foregrounding audience experiences, this study contributes to discussions on contemporary Taiwanese independent music culture, musical taste, audience identity, and the changing boundaries between independent and mainstream music.

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16:15-17:15 | Atrium (1F)

Monday Poster Session Political Communication and Satire 111145 | The Effect of Generative AI Image Styles of Political Candidates in Campaign Advertisements Hsuan-Yi Chou, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan Chi-Chun Chang, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan With the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence (AI), political candidates are increasingly adopting AI-generated images to construct campaign personas and enhance visual appeal. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding how different generative AI image styles influence voters’ attitudes and voting intentions, particularly regarding perceived psychological distance. Drawing on construal level theory, this study reports findings from three experiments examining how generative AI image styles (beautified self-images vs. virtual character images) in campaign advertisements affect advertising attitudes, candidate attitudes, and voting intentions. This research investigates the moderating roles of image proximity and depicted movement. The results reveal that: (1) beautified self-images (vs. virtual character images) significantly enhance advertising attitudes, candidate attitudes, and voting intentions; (2) the persuasive effect of generative AI image style operates primarily through reducing voters’ perceived hypothetical distance and inducing lower-level construals; (3) image proximity moderates the mechanism, such that under close-image conditions, beautified self-images enhance voters’ responses through greater processing fluency and message relevance, whereas under distant-image conditions, voters engage in more rational and analytical evaluations; and (4) beautified self-images remain persuasive through processing fluency under low-movement conditions, whereas under high-movement conditions, heightened arousal attenuates the mediating role of processing fluency. Overall, this research demonstrates that the persuasive impact of generative AI visuals in campaign advertising depends on voters’ psychological distance, construal-level formation, and situational cues. By integrating generative AI imagery into a construal level framework, this study advances the understanding of generative AI in political communication and offers practical implications for designing AI-based campaign visuals.

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Notes

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Tuesday, November 10 11:20-12:35 | Onsite Parallel Session 1 13:50-15:05 | Onsite Parallel Session 2 15:20-17:00 | Onsite Parallel Session 3 All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) Abstracts appear as originally submitted by the author. Any spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors are those of the author.

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11:20-12:35 | Room A (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Sociology and Politics Session Chair: Mark Beeman 11:20-11:45 111912 | From Structural Critique to Cultural Renewal: Reassessing Critical Race Theory Rheagan Humphrey, Southern Methodist University, United States This paper examines Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a contemporary intellectual framework that has reshaped discourse on race, power, and identity in the United States, particularly within narratives surrounding Black victimhood. Originating in late twentieth-century legal scholarship through the work of Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado, CRT emerged in response to dissatisfaction with the outcomes of post-civil rights reform and challenged the assumption that formal legal equality marked the end of structural racial inequality. This study begins by clarifying CRT’s core principles, intellectual lineage, and intended scope, distinguishing the framework from common public misinterpretations. Using an interdisciplinary method combining philosophical analysis, intellectual history, and comparative textual study, the paper places CRT in dialogue with critiques of contemporary race discourse advanced by Thomas Sowell and other scholars concerned with culture, agency, and institutional development. The analysis finds that interpretive frameworks centered primarily on structural victimization risk narrowing public and internal self-conceptions of Black identity and inadvertently reinforcing narratives that underemphasize personal and collective agency. While CRT remains historically significant as a tool for examining past injustice, its continued influence as a cultural framework may obscure measurable social progress and weaken emphasis on civic participation, responsibility, and cultural renewal. The paper concludes that a recalibrated approach – one that acknowledges historical inequities while foregrounding autonomy and achievement – provides a more productive lens for understanding Black identity in the twenty-first century.

11:45-12:10 109067 | Art as Advocacy: College Students’ Perspectives on the Philippines’ Socio-political Climate Blenn Nimer, Notre Dame of Kidapawan College, Philippines Gil Henry Aballe, Notre Dame of Kidapawan College, Philippines The Philippines currently faces persistent challenges rooted in systemic corruption which have intensified economic and social insecurity for the Filipino people. With this backdrop, this study examines how Generation Z perceives and interprets the current socio-political climate through creative expression. Utilising a qualitative descriptive research design, the researchers engaged 75 college students enrolled in a Humanities and Art Appreciation course during the First Semester of Academic Year 2025-2026. Participants produced collages reflecting their personal perspectives, followed by written narratives; this corpus was then analysed using thematic analysis. Anchored on Nimer's theory of incremental normalisation to explain how systemic corruption becomes a standard fixture of the socio-political environment, the findings revealed five central themes: (1) a culture of “transactional politics”, where elite figures normalise corruption by buying the silence of the poor; (2) a clash between institutional disillusionment and historical idealism; participants view the Constitution as a shield for the powerful, leaving the marginalised as sacrificial lambs for propaganda; (3) the absence of safety and the presence of state intimidation to the opposition; (4) macro-economic and environmental vulnerabilities are evident, as participants connect a weakening economy and climate-driven disasters to failures in leadership; and (5) the significance of individual agency and reformative action, suggesting that solutions reside in collective Filipino efforts. The study concludes that meaningful change requires a commitment to personal responsibility, informed questioning, and a consistent demand for better leadership. Such actions are deemed essential tools for achieving the societal transformation that the Filipino people deserve.

12:10-12:35 113853 | Banning African American Studies and the Lost Cause Tradition Mark Beeman, Northern Arizona University, United States The recent passage of anti-woke legislation the related rejection of an AP African American Studies course in Florida has been met with condemnation by civil right organizations, free-speech advocates, and academic scholars. The legislation was promoted by conservative politicians and was popular among conservative voters in the state. I argue this legislation lies at the intersection of two salient forces. First, it draws historically upon the lost cause narrative popularized in Southern culture during the Jim Crow Era and reinforced through fundamentalist protestant churches. Second, it serves the political expediency of politicians who portray white voters as being racially victimized by diversity initiatives. This study compares contemporary political legislation with legislation of the past to provide a historical overview of Florida’s educational racial inequities. This study also traces the evolving racial ideology of the Southern Baptist Church which provided a rationalization and political base for Florida’s race-based educational policies. Primary sources used include legislative documents, court cases, and church documents. Secondary sources used include news reports and civil rights organization releases. Theoretically these findings are informed by the work of Derrick Bell on civil rights and convergence interests, and the work of Patricia Hill Collins on racism adapting to changing social conditions.

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11:20-12:35 | Room B (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Language and Cultural Studies Session Chair: Laura de Almeida 11:20-11:45 108823 | Technology-Supported Reflection: AI-Generated Picture Books as Language Journey Narratives in High School English Ralph Joshua Artugue, Sophia University, Japan Kimberly Loren Abella, Kanda University of International Studies, Japan As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent in education, researchers are finding new ways to use technology in language learning that prioritize human reflection. This study investigates a project in which high school students used AI-generated picture books to tell stories about their English learning journeys. The activity was integrated into their English classes as part of a unit on reflection. Students used AI tools to generate visual interpretations of their written reflections on their language learning experiences, including challenges, turning points, and future goals. After receiving feedback, they revised their narratives and some of the images to create a cohesive multimodal picture book. The process emphasized iterative drafting, prompt refinement, visual-text alignment, and narrative coherence, and was supported by a rubric that assessed reflective depth, organization, language clarity, and multimodal design. Data sources included students’ initial and final drafts, completed picture books, classroom observations, and brief unstructured interviews. Preliminary thematic analysis suggests that the multimodal process encouraged deeper emotional expression, clearer narrative development, and greater metacognitive awareness of language-learning experiences. Students reported that visual generation helped them recall memories, conceptualize progress, and express aspects of their learning that were difficult to articulate through text alone, while also recognizing the need to critically refine AI outputs. This study demonstrates how AI can function as a creative partner that supports reflective meaning-making rather than replacing learner agency. The findings highlight the potential of AI-supported multimodal storytelling as a student-centered and sustainable approach to reflective practice in secondary English education.

11:45-12:10 111366 | The Story of Nala in Mahabharata as a Sanskrit Grammar Exercise Nawin Bosakaranat, Chiang Mai University, Thailand This article examines why the story of Nala in the Mahabharata, particularly the first five episodes excerpted in A Sanskrit Reader by Charles Rockwell Lanman, has long still been a widely used exercise text in Sanskrit grammar studies despite the grammatical inconsistencies found in the Mahabharata. The study also evaluates the suitability of the text for contemporary Sanskrit learning within the combination of research methodologies, i.e., textual criticism, grammatical analysis, and pedagogical evaluation. The findings reveal that the text stays popular because its narrative structure as an ancient tale is accessible, holds limited figurative language, and simultaneously proves elements of Indian rhetoric. In addition, the language used in the text gradually introduces most major grammatical topics, making it pedagogically effective for learners. Nevertheless, certain limitations persist, particularly the use of diverse finite verb forms and nonclassical linguistic features. Therefore, effective use of the text requires some guidance from instructors and close reference to Lanman’s explanatory notes and appendix. The study concludes that the continued use of the Nala story as a Sanskrit grammatical exercise is still proper if it is employed under suitable instructional conditions. The author continues to advocate the adaptation of classical texts for grammatical exercises in classical language learning, arguing that this helps demonstrate the inseparable relationship between language and literature, which were not divided in the classical world.

12:10-12:35 113918 | Beyond Entertainment: Crimson Desert as a Platform for English Language Learning Laura de Almeida, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Brazil Robhert Santos, Independent Scholar, Brazil This paper explores the potential of Crimson Desert, an upcoming open-world action role-playing game, as a tool for improving English language skills developed by Pearl Abyss. Players are encouraged to develop vocabulary, reading comprehension, listening skills, and contextual understanding while completing missions, interacting with non-player characters (NPCs), and interpreting game instructions. Unlike traditional classroom methods, Crimson Desert offers a dynamic learning environment where language is directly connected to problem-solving and decision-making. This contextualized exposure helps learners retain new vocabulary and expressions more effectively. Additionally, the game's narrative and exploration mechanics motivate players to engage with English voluntarily, increasing both learning time and intrinsic motivation. Features such as subtitles, voice acting, and interactive dialogue further support language development by combining visual, auditory, and textual input. This study argues that entertainment-based learning through Crimson Desert can complement formal English education by promoting authentic communication, cultural awareness, and learner autonomy. While the game's primary purpose is entertainment, its rich linguistic environment creates valuable opportunities for incidental language acquisition. The theoretical framework is based on Gee (2003), Prensky (2001), Peterson (2016), and Reinhardt (2019), since these authors provide established theories on digital game-based language learning that can support this research. We conclude that incorporating narrative-driven titles into language learning strategies may offer educators and learners an innovative and motivating alternative to conventional instructional methods. Future research should investigate the measurable impact of gameplay on English proficiency and compare its effectiveness with other digital learning resources.

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11:20-12:35 | Room C (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Development Issues in Design and Communication Session Chair: Wann-Ming Wey 11:20-11:45 113111 | Data-Driven Storytelling for Place Identity in Creative City Transformation: Evidence from Nantes, France Ackapol Lamuang, Khon Kaen University, Thailand This paper examines the relationship between data-driven storytelling and place identity in the context of creative city transformation, using Nantes, France, as an in-depth case study. As cities increasingly compete through distinctive cultural identities and narratives, questions remain regarding how data can support authentic and participatory forms of urban storytelling. The study addresses this gap through eight expert interviews with cultural administrators, tourism officials, creative professionals, and urban planners, combined with an analysis of more than 750 datasets available through the Nantes Métropole open data platform. Findings reveal that Nantes has developed a threelayer data ecosystem consisting of institutional metrics, community-generated insights, and collaborative analytics that collectively support the communication of the city's transition from an industrial shipbuilding centre to an internationally recognised creative city. The study further demonstrates that effective urban storytelling depends not only on data availability but also on participatory governance structures that position residents as contributors to, rather than subjects of, city narratives. The paper proposes an integrated framework linking data ecosystems, participatory storytelling, and place identity development, offering practical insights for secondary cities seeking evidence-based and community-centred approaches to identity building.

12:10-12:35 112896 | Climate-Responsive and Culturally Inclusive Transit-Oriented Development: Urban Microclimate Strategies for the Lungshan Temple District in Taipei Wann-Ming Wey, National Taipei University, Taiwan Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is widely promoted as a pathway toward compact, low-carbon, and accessible urban growth. Yet in historically layered station districts, TOD can also intensify redevelopment pressure, pedestrian congestion, heat accumulation, and uneven access to environmental comfort. These challenges are especially significant under climate change, where urban design must address not only mobility efficiency but also social inclusion, cultural continuity, and everyday microclimatic experience. This study develops an inclusive and climate-responsive TOD evaluation framework for the area surrounding Lungshan Temple MRT Station in Wanhua District, Taipei. The district combines high transit accessibility, dense land use, ageing communities, heritage landscapes, informal commercial activities, and strong local cultural identity, making it a valuable case for connecting architecture, geography, urban studies, and climate-related cultural inquiry. The research first reviews literature on equitable TOD, inclusive growth, spatial justice, climate adaptation, urban microclimate, and culturally sensitive place-making. The Fuzzy Delphi Method is then used to identify key evaluation indicators through expert consensus, while the Analytic Network Process is applied to examine interdependencies and relative priorities among mobility, land use, equity, cultural landscape, and microclimate dimensions. By integrating transport accessibility with shaded walking environments, ventilation corridors, bluegreen infrastructure, public-space comfort, heritage-sensitive regeneration, and community-oriented design, the study proposes planning strategies that balance climate resilience with cultural place identity. The findings contribute to a forward-looking framework for TOD that supports not only low-carbon mobility, but also inclusive, liveable, and culturally grounded urban transformation.

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11:20-12:35 | Room D (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Arts and Ageing Studies Session Chair: Tami Gavron 11:20-11:45 112166 | Bodies in Deep Time: Embodied Knowledge, Cultural Memory, and Artistic Practice in Southeast Asia Inessa Kalabekova, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia This paper explores how embodied folklore and cultural memory continue to circulate in everyday life in Southeast Asia and how such memory can be revitalised through performance ethnography and art-based research. Challenging archive models centred on texts, institutional collections, and official historiography, the study argues that cultural memory is also transmitted through bodies, gestures, rituals, material practices, and relationships with place. These forms of transmission are conceptualised as “living archives”: dynamic and relational systems through which knowledge, memory, and cultural values are sustained across generations. Particular attention is given to the embodied knowledge of women, caregivers, and folk heroines, whose contributions are often marginalised within official historical narratives yet remain active through everyday practices of care, making, storytelling, and ritual. Drawing on performance ethnography, arts-based research, and practice-led inquiry, the project investigates how memory circulates between bodies, spaces, materials, and communities through siteresponsive movement practices, collaborative laboratories, studio experimentation, and public performances. Situated across heritage sites, sacred landscapes, domestic spaces, and community environments, the research examines how artistic practice can function as both a method of inquiry and a mode of cultural transmission. By developing the concept of the Living Archive, the study contributes to performance studies, folklore studies, cultural memory research, and artistic research, demonstrating how embodied practice expands understandings of what constitutes cultural knowledge and how heritage can be activated within contemporary Southeast Asian contexts.

11:45-12:10 109723 | Ageless Afterlives: Ageing, Mortality, and the Digital Resurrection of the Dead Bodies in the Era of AI Mytha Eliva Veritasia, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia In 2023, Indonesian songwriter, Melly Goeslaw released a duet featuring the digitally replicated voice of late 1990s singer, Nike Ardilla, on Spotify and YouTube. In similar year, a hologram concert featuring the late musician, Glenn Fredly, was held to introduce him to his baby daughter. Earlier in 2019, a virtual concert “resurrect” deceased pop icon, Chrisye by utilizing advanced holographic technology. These performances, as mentioned by the organizers, were designed to create the illusion that the artists were still alive, healthy, and youthful with full support from the family of the deceased stars. Considerable concerns have mounted regarding the reanimation of deceased individuals as consumable and profitable assets. They provoke ontological questions about the nature of life and death, while advancing the possibility of reproducing ageless bodies through virtual embodiment. The bodies become reconstituted as a site of technological immortality sustained and circulated through digital media. Using Foucault’s concepts of biopower and Membe’s necropolitics, this paper argues that AI is never age-neutral. It enables symbolic resurrection of the dead in ways that privilege youthfulness, perpetuating the invisibility of ageing bodies (Stypinska, 2022). The idealized body is not merely youthful, but importantly ageless and immortal. Therefore, AI infrastructures participate in determining whose lives must be prolonged and whose deaths are rendered permanent, reconfiguring contemporary regimes of visual desirability and power over the ageing bodies. The dead and afterlife are permitted to remain alive virtually, but only in youth. This way, AI does not transcend ageism but amplify it.

12:10-12:35 112284 | Community Art-Based Intervention During Wartime Displacement: Older Women’s Experiences of Creativity, Continuity, and Resilience Tami Gavron, University of Kiryat Shmonah, Israel Ronitah Heymann, University of Kiryat Shmonah, Israel Reut Barnea, University of Kiryat Shmonah, Israel Dorel Pinto, University of Kiryat Shmonah, Israel Art has been recognized as a resource for coping with trauma, loss, and disruption. In recent years, community art-based interventions have gained attention for their potential to support psychosocial well-being during collective crises. One such model is the Open Studio, an arts-based community intervention that emphasizes free choice, creative expression, social connection, and support. Following the October 7, 2023 attacks and the prolonged displacement of communities in northern Israel, Open Studios were established in evacuation settings to provide creative spaces for displaced residents. This presentation focuses on a qualitative study exploring the experiences of seven older women (aged 62–96) who participated in an Open Studio for 18 months while evacuated from their kibbutz. Findings revealed that participants experienced the studio as a meaningful space during prolonged uncertainty. Four central themes emerged: the studio as a source of continuity amid disruption; creative processes as pathways to agency; communal belonging; and the coexistence of resilience and vulnerability in later life. Participants described how artistic engagement enabled them to process loss, reconnect with personal and collective identities, and imagine future possibilities despite ongoing adversity. The presentation will highlight the potential of Open Studio to support older adults facing collective trauma and displacement. More broadly, the findings suggest that art-based practices may serve as accessible psychosocial resources that foster resilience, social connection, and meaning-making during prolonged emergencies. The study contributes to broader discussions of how creative community practices can sustain human connection, dignity, and resilience during displacement and social disruption.

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11:20-12:35 | Room G (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Negotiating Cultural Authority in Contemporary Southeast Asia: Ethnic Resistance, Digital Governance, and Heritage Politics (Symposium) Session Chair: James W.Y. Wang 11:20-11:45 111240 | Selective Heritage Governance in Malaysia: A Comparative Study of the Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Cemetery and the 24 Festive Drums Yih Pey Tan, National Chi Nan University, Taiwan This paper examines how the Malaysian state selectively manages and incorporates non-Malay cultural heritage through its cultural policies and heritage framework. Using Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Cemetery and the 24 Festive Drums as case studies, the paper compares state responses toward tangible and intangible Malaysian Chinese cultural heritage. The Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Cemetery, located in the city centre, faced relocation pressure during the 1990s due to urban development and land commercialization. Although the relocation plan was eventually halted following public resistance, the case reflects the vulnerable position of Chinese cultural spaces within Malaysian nationbuilding discourse. Currently, Selangor and Federal Territory Hokkien Association is seeking national heritage recognition for the cemetery to preserve Malaysian Chinese historical memory and cultural space. In contrast, the 24 Festive Drums, founded by Malaysian Chinese in 1988, represent an example of intangible cultural heritage that has been successfully institutionalized. The performance art was officially recognized as national heritage in 2009, reflecting the state’s selective incorporation of certain non-Malay cultural practices into national culture. Through fieldwork, interviews, and document analysis, this study argues that the recognition of cultural heritage in Malaysia is not merely a matter of preservation, but also a process of negotiating national identity, cultural legitimacy, and political power within the framework of Ketuanan Melayu.

11:45-12:10 112783 | New Media Culture Among Vietnam’s Generation Z: Platform Affordances, Governance, and Cultural Production De He Chang, National Chengchi University, Taiwan This study investigates how platform affordances and governance structures shape Generation Z’s digital participation and cultural production in Vietnam. Drawing on Affordance Theory, the research examines how specific technological features enable, constrain, and redirect youth digital practices, and how institutional governance structures condition these dynamics. The study adopts a qualitative comparative design covering the period 2021–2026. Methodologically, it combines systematic textual analysis of selected Vietnamese digital governance and cybersecurity policy documents, including Decision No. 749/QD-TTg on the National Digital Transformation Program, with comparative case studies of four major platforms: TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and Zalo. These platforms are purposefully selected to contrast diverse modes of digital interaction, including algorithmic short-video recommendation, social networking, long-form video production and monetization, and localized communication infrastructures. The findings indicate that platform affordances foster new forms of creativity, digital entrepreneurship, and cultural exchange among Vietnamese youth, while intersecting state and platform governance mechanisms simultaneously condition content visibility and the boundaries of digital engagement. By examining the interaction among platform affordances, governance, digital participation, and cultural production, this study provides a focused framework for understanding Vietnam’s emerging digital youth culture and its implications for the creative economy and contemporary cultural identity.

12:10-12:35 111209 | Silenced Voices: Ethnic Identity, Resistance, and Cultural Politics in Vietnam’s Highlands James W.Y. Wang, National Chi Nan University, Taiwan Economic reforms and large-scale development in Vietnam have fundamentally reshaped state–minority relations, particularly in the Northern and Central Highlands. Resource extraction, hydropower construction, and state-directed population resettlement have intensified social inequality and placed mounting pressure on ethnic minority communities and their traditional livelihoods. Drawing on fieldwork conducted across highland communities since 2023—including in-depth interviews with community members, local officials, and religious leaders, as well as document analysis of state and community records—and employing comparative case analysis, this paper examines how minority groups respond through resistance, adaptation, and cultural self-assertion. Particular attention is given to the 2001–2004 Montagnard protests in the Central Highlands and the 2011 Hmong millenarian movement in the Northwest Highlands. These events are approached not as security incidents but as expressions of cultural identity, historical memory, and lived marginalization. Engaging James Scott's concept of "weapons of the weak," the paper argues that highland communities deploy both everyday practices and collective mobilization to contest state integration and preserve cultural autonomy—revealing that identity, rather than political opposition alone, constitutes the primary register of minority resistance. Paradoxically, the very integration policies designed to absorb minorities into national development appear to deepen their attachment to tradition and place. Cultural politics—not security discourse—thus offers the more revealing framework for understanding highland resistance in postsocialist Vietnam, with implications for scholarship on ethnicity, identity, and state–minority relations.

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13:50-15:05 | Room A (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Culture in Architecture and Urban Studies Session Chair: Mieko Tarrius 13:50-14:15 113824 | The Aesthetics of Windows in Modern Finnish Architecture: Focusing on the Architecture of Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto Ai Nomoto, University of Tsukuba, Japan This study aims to examine the aesthetics of windows in modern Finnish architecture as devices that mediate between humans and nature, particularly focusing on the residential architecture designed by Eliel Saarinen (1873-1950) and Alvar Aalto (1898-1976). Previous studies have emphasized architectural design, along with architects' views of nature and the role of architecture in national history. In this study, by positioning windows as a key element where the residents' views of nature and housing are particularly reflected, it re-evaluates the works of modern Finnish architects. Windows are not merely an opening; it is a symbolic boundary that connects the interior and exterior by allowing light, sightlines, and presence to interface, while simultaneously articulating the two realms. In a harsh natural environment, Finnish architects have devised innovative designs for windows and their surroundings, both to let in the light essential for daily life and to shut out snow, wind, and cold air. It can be said that such window designs not only reflect the architects' relationship with nature, but also embody their very philosophy regarding human life. This paper focuses on the role of windows in daily life and clarifies their differences and commonalities. By exploring Saarinen and Aalto's residential architecture in relation to Finnish history, alongside textual accounts of life in their eras and theoretical debates on windows, this paper analyzes the aesthetics of windows in daily life. The paper concludes that the aesthetics of windows in modern Finnish architecture represent a response to the question of how humans can coexist with nature within Finland's harsh natural environment.

14:15-14:40 108725 | Interpreting Heritage in Contemporary Design: Cultural Representation in the Works of Gen-Z Philippine Architecture Students Bryll Edison Par, National University Manila, Philippines This study examines how Gen-Z architecture students in the Philippines interpret cultural heritage and identity in architectural design in the mid-21st century. The Philippines has long faced challenges in defining a cohesive architectural identity due to centuries of colonization that introduced diverse architectural influences. Focusing on students from National University Manila enrolled in Architectural Design 8 (Design for Complex Structures), the research investigates how heritage and culture are translated into contemporary architectural representation. As part of the course requirement, students individually designed domestic airport terminals for selected tourism regions in the Philippines, integrating local identity, culture, and heritage into their proposals. Using participant observation, the study documented the design development process through weekly consultations spanning four weeks, with up to 2 sessions per week. These consultations provided insight into students’ conceptual approaches and decision-making processes in interpreting heritage within architectural solutions. Findings reveal that students produced diverse architectural concepts that reflect the local cultures of their chosen regions. Heritage interpretation was shaped by five key factors: the professor’s direction and consultation methods; conversations and interviews related to cultural knowledge and personal experiences; exposure to social media; influence from classmates’ work; and references from books. Among these, instructional guidance, lived and shared experiences, and social media exposure emerged as the most influential. Results indicate that 81% of the students incorporated symbolism from indigenous and tribal cultures into their designs, while 24% referenced local festivals and 19% drew inspiration from traditional architectural forms.

14:40-15:05 110236 | Tech Futures, White Futures: Tech-led Gentrification in Philadelphia’s University City and Montreal’s Parc Extension Mieko Tarrius, Université Paris-Est Créteil, France This presentation examines the racialized dynamics of tech-led gentrification in Philadelphia’s University City and Montreal’s Parc Extension. While gentrification has often been analyzed as a class process, recent scholarship emphasizes its roots in racial capitalism, showing how urban transformation profits from racialized bodies and spaces while reproducing colonial logics. Building on this work, I argue that tech urbanism intensifies these dynamics. Under technocapitalism, cities are remade through a state-university-tech nexus that functions as the infrastructure of gentrification, reshaping urban life not only spatially but temporally. Futurist imaginaries promoted by this nexus cast long-standing racialized communities as “under-skilled,” while white, educated tech workers are positioned as the inheritors of urban futures. By foregrounding temporality, I show that tech-led gentrification reproduces whiteness not only through material displacement but also through symbolic acts of temporal erasure. The article highlights how state-supported tech futurities are inseparable from the production and maintenance of white futurity itself.

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13:50-15:05 | Room B (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Language and Communication Session Chair: Gladys Mangada 13:50-14:15 110950 | Intercultural Communicative Competence Among Thai Ship Port Staff for International Cruise Lines: An Empirical Mixed-Methods Assessment Chariti Khuanmuang, Kasetsart University, Thailand With cruise tourism continuing to expand globally, ship port staff have become an important point of intercultural contact between international passengers and local destinations. Despite this growing role, little empirical research has examined the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) of port personnel, particularly in the Thai context. This study investigates the ICC of 400 Thai ship port staff in Thailand. Using Barrett et al.’s (2013) Intercultural Competence Model, the study adopted a mixed-methods design combining a 20-item scenariobased questionnaire with qualitative reflections on workplace intercultural experiences. The questionnaire assessed four ICC domains: attitudes, knowledge, skills, and action. Participants also responded to an open-ended question describing challenges and experiences in communicating with culturally diverse cruise passengers. The findings reveal an uneven profile of intercultural competence. Participants generally demonstrated moderate levels of attitudes and communication skills, but lower levels of knowledge and action. The lowest scores were associated with equitable service practices for passengers with disabilities, suggesting that practical intercultural responsiveness remains an area requiring further development. Qualitative responses further showed that years of frontline service experience may increase cultural awareness, while not necessarily leading to confidence in decision-making or action. This study argues that ICC should be treated as a core professional competence within Thailand’s expanding cruise-port industry rather than as an informal by-product of workplace experience. The findings contribute to current discussions on intercultural communication in tourism and service settings and offer practical implications for staff training, tourism and hospitality education, and professional development policy in international port services.

14:15-14:40 113495 | Translanguaging, Linguistic Capital, and Language Maintenance in Urban and Rural Bali Adrian Rasyki, Universitas Terbuka, Indonesia Dwi Rezki Hardianto Putra Rustan, Universitas Terbuka, Indonesia While previous research has addressed tourism communication, language attitudes, and local language maintenance in Bali, less attention has been given to how everyday multilingual practices intersect with unequal linguistic value across different local environments. Using a qualitative comparative sociolinguistic design, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with five participants from Denpasar and Karangasem, supported by focused ethnographic observations and linguistic landscape documentation. The data were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis and interpreted through the concepts of translanguaging and linguistic capital. The findings show that Balinese remains central to local, familial, ritual, and community-based interaction, while Bahasa Indonesia functions as a language of education, intergroup communication, and wider social participation, also English is primarily associated with tourism, commercial interaction, and communication with international visitors. The findings also show that speakers deploy translanguaging practices to accommodate interlocutors, include non-Balinese participants, manage tourism-related encounters, and navigate digital communication. Finally, residents perceive the three languages as carrying different but overlapping forms of value: Balinese as symbolic and communal capital, Bahasa Indonesia as institutional and intergroup capital, and English as economic capital. These values are reflected in language maintenance practices and public linguistic environments. The study argues that language maintenance in Bali should be understood not only through language shift, but also through the situated value of linguistic resources across social domains.

14:40-15:05 111345 | Beyond Grammar: Investigating the Impact of Communicative Language Teaching and Task-based Learning on English Language Proficiency and Learners’ Motivation Gladys Mangada, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines Traditional English language instruction in many foreign language contexts continues to prioritize grammar-based teaching, often limiting learners' communicative competence and motivation. In response these limitations, communicative approaches such as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) have gained increasing attention for emphasizing authentic communication, learner participation, and meaningful language use. This study investigated the impact of CLT and TBLT on English language proficiency and learner motivation among college students enrolled in Purposive Communication in the University of Eastern Philippines. Using a quasi-experimental research design, the study involved 100 students in Purposive Communication classes. Participants were divided into an experimental group which received instruction through communicative and task-based strategies, and a control group that followed traditional grammar focused instruction. Date were collected through pre-test and post-test assessments and a learner motivation questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale. Quantitative analysis revealed significant improvement in the experimental group's speaking fluency, vocabulary usage, and communicative confidence compared with the control group. Furthermore, findings indicated higher levels of intrinsic motivation, classroom engagement, and willingness to communicate among learners exposed to communicative and task-based activities. The results support existing studies suggesting that communicative and task-oriented pedagogies enhance learner participation, interaction, and overall language performance. In conclusion, shifting from grammar dominant instruction toward communicative and taskbased methodologies can significantly improve English language proficiency and learner motivation in English classrooms. It is recommended that language curricula, teacher training programs, and instructional materials integrate communicative and task-based strategies to promote meaningful learning and communicative competence.

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13:50-15:05 | Room C (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Communication, Education and Pedagogy Session Chair: Yuko Kato 13:50-14:15 111347 | Inquiry-Based and Debate-Oriented Pedagogy in Enhancing Critical Thinking Competence in English Among Freshman Students: A Mixed Method Study Ailene Grace Montejo, Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges, Philippines Marichu Diendo, Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges, Philippines This study investigated the effectiveness of inquiry-based and debate-oriented pedagogy in developing critical thinking competence among freshman students in Purposive Communication course. By integrating inquiry-driven discussions and structured debates, students are encouraged to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information, thereby strengthening reasoning and communication skills. This study employed a mixed-methods design, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to provide a comprehensive understanding of how inquiry-based and debate-oriented pedagogy enhances critical thinking competence in English among freshman students. For quantitative component, pre- and post-tests measuring critical thinking skills (analysis, evaluation, inference, argumentation, and communication) were employed. For qualitative component, reflective journals, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture participant’s experiences. Critical thinking competence was measured across five domains: analysis, evaluation, inference, argumentation, and oral communication. The largest gains were observed in argumentation (+30.9%), indicating that debate-oriented pedagogy strongly influenced participants’ ability to construct and defend written arguments. Paired t-tests reveal statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between pre- and post-test scores across all domains. Qualitative findings show that participants in inquiry-based sessions demonstrated increased questioning behavior, often challenging assumptions and seeking clarification. Debate sessions fostered active participation, with students showing greater confidence in presenting arguments and rebuttals. The findings suggest by embedding inquiry and debate into English instruction, educators can cultivate higher-order thinking skills while simultaneously improving language proficiency. This dual benefit highlights the importance of integrating pedagogy that challenges students cognitively and linguistically.

14:15-14:40 113635 | Reading Readiness Among Elementary Pupils: Basis for a Media-Enhanced Reading Intervention Program Gina Galvez, University of Eastern, Philippines Reading readiness plays a significant role in the development of literacy skills and serves as a foundation for successful learning among elementary pupils in the University of Eastern Philippines. With the increasing integration of educational media in classroom instruction, there is a growing need to determine how pupils' readiness to read can inform the design of media-enhanced literacy practices. This study assessed the reading readiness of pupils and examined its implications for media-enhanced literacy instruction. Specifically, it determined the pupils' level of reading readiness in terms of word recognition, vocabulary, reading fluency, and reading comprehension, and identified areas that require instructional support. A quantitative descriptive research design was employed involving elementary pupils selected through stratified random sampling. Data were collected using an adapted standardized reading readiness assessment and were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, means, standard deviation, and one-way analysis of variance to determine differences across grade levels. The findings showed that pupils demonstrated an overall moderately ready level of reading readiness. Pupils performed satisfactorily in word recognition and vocabulary but obtained comparatively lower scores in reading fluency and reading comprehension. Significant differences were observed across grade levels, indicating that reading readiness develops progressively as pupils advance through elementary education. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that foundational reading skills through media-enhanced instructional materials be strengthened to support literacy development. It is therefore recommended to integrate age-appropriate digital stories, interactive reading resources, and multimedia-assisted classroom activities into reading instruction and propose a media-enhanced literacy instruction framework.

14:40-15:05 111536 | Developing Intercultural Communication Skills Through Video Materials: An Analysis of a Workshop for Japanese Corporate Employees Facing Growing Cultural Diversity Yuko Kato, Jin-ai University, Japan Yumi Nixon, University of York, United Kingdom This study examines a workshop aimed at developing intercultural communication skills and evaluates the effectiveness of video materials that focus on nonverbal communication styles across cultures. A critical component of intercultural competence is the ability to decode nonverbal expressions within their proper cultural contexts. While nonverbal communication plays a significant role in reinforcing verbal content, it can also independently shape and interpret the context of messages. In fact, communication research indicates that 60 to 90 percent of human interaction is mediated through nonverbal channels. Consequently, accurately decoding nonverbal expressions is crucial; misinterpretations often lead to misunderstandings, as nonverbal communication is deeply embedded in cultural contexts, values, and expectations. To enhance understanding and awareness, we are developing a pedagogical model utilizing video materials focused on cross-cultural nonverbal expressions. Although these materials were originally developed for higher education students, a workshop was conducted for 37 corporate employees in Japan. Following the workshop, a questionnaire was distributed to collect feedback, resulting in 15 responses. The findings showed that 86.7% of respondents found the video materials easy to understand, and 93.3% reported an improved understanding of cultural differences in nonverbal communication. Overall, the results indicate that the video-based workshop was effective in raising awareness of nonverbal cues. They also highlight a growing demand for such training among companies with increasingly diverse workforces. This presentation outlines the workshop content and provides a detailed analysis of the questionnaire results.

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13:50-15:05 | Room D (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Communication and Differences Session Chair: Wei-Lin Chen 13:50-14:15 113861 | Shared Descent, Different Grammars of Belonging: Narrating Co-ethnic Return Migrants in Japan and Korea Seung Min Lee, Aichi Shukutoku University, Japan Whether a state extends preferential legal status to co-ethnics abroad is a familiar question in the study of ethnic nationalism. Less examined is how a state narrates that population once it grants such status. Some states treat co-ethnics as a historical people whose past is repeatedly invoked to ground present belonging. Others manage them through the present-tense vocabulary of residency. This study examines that difference through the recent co-ethnic politics of Japan and Korea. In Korea, Koryoin are addressed as a historical collective. The Korean Association of Koryoin has petitioned the Overseas Koreans Agency to treat Koryoin citizenship as restoration rather than naturalization, tracing the community's standing back to its role in the 1919 Provisional Government. A presidential culture-city development committee has recently begun developing a Koryoin settlement in Gwangju into a national diaspora heritage site organized around the community's history of deportation, exile, and return. In Japan, Nikkei Brazilians are instead governed through the de-ethnicized vocabulary of residency. National discourse folds them into the general category of "foreign residents" within a "multicultural coexistence" framework that applies irrespective of ethnic origin, visible in how cities such as Hamamatsu now describe their foreign populations, Nikkei Brazilians included, as partners in city-building rather than members of a shared national history. Both populations entered under policies premised on ethnic preference, yet the grammars of belonging that developed around them subsequently diverged. Legal admission and the grammar of belonging, this study suggests, are separable sites of ethnic boundary-making.

14:15-14:40 112097 | Rhetoric, Risk, and Reputation: the Impact of Destabilizing Policy Rhetoric on International Students’ Intentions to Study in the U.S. Nkem Nwankwo, Texas Tech University, United States Erik Bucy, Texas Tech University, United States The United States remains a prominent destination for international students because of its academic reputation, research opportunities, and career prospects. However, international student enrollment has declined in recent years. Guided by Uses and Gratifications Theory, this exploratory study examined relationships among perceptions of destabilizing political rhetoric, media use, information-seeking motivations, risk perceptions, and intentions to study in the United States. A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 70 current and prospective international students aged 18 years or older. Participants were recruited through nonprobability convenience sampling using online and social-media channels. The survey included Likert-type items measuring enrollment intentions, perceptions of political rhetoric, media exposure, information-seeking motivations, risk aversion, and U.S.-specific risk, plus open-ended questions about educational opportunities, costs, safety, immigration, media information, and social influence. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlations, and multiple regression. Open-ended responses were coded inductively and analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns. Perceptions of destabilizing political rhetoric were associated with greater perceived risk and uncertainty but were not significantly associated with enrollment intentions. Information-seeking motivations showed the strongest statistical association with enrollment intentions. Four qualitative themes emerged: balancing opportunity against uncertainty, evaluating investment and cost, seeking safety and belonging, and navigating uncertainty through information and social networks. The findings show that international students’ decisions reflect both institutional opportunities and a broader communication environment shaped by political rhetoric, media narratives, and interpersonal networks, with practical implications for university recruitment and communication.

14:40-15:05 110973 | Designing Inclusion, Reproducing Stereotype: a Content Analysis of Microaggressions in Indigenous Student Program Admission Posters at Taiwanese Universities Wei-Lin Chen, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan Jen-Hao Chen, National Chengchi University, Taiwan Recruitment posters for Indigenous student programs at Taiwanese universities are framed as gestures of educational equity, yet the visual and rhetorical choices embedded in such materials may inadvertently reproduce the very stereotypes they aim to redress. Drawing on Sue’s framework of racial microaggressions and Pierce’s foundational conceptualization, this study examines how Taiwanese higher education institutions visually and textually represent Indigenous students in their admission outreach. We conducted a systematic content analysis of 121 admission posters issued by 22 universities for Indigenous-track programs across academic years 2020–2025. Each poster was coded along three dimensions—visual design, textual content, and curriculum positioning—and classified by microaggression layer (visual, instructional, curricular, interpersonal, or composite) and by type (microinvalidation, microinsult, or microassault). Findings reveal that 83.5% of posters contained microaggressions: 55 (45.5%) exhibited clear instances, and 46 (38.0%) showed milder forms; only 20 posters (16.5%) were free of identifiable bias. Visual design accounted for the largest share (n=48), followed by institutional-curricular framing (n=32) and composite forms (n=15). Five recurring patterns emerged across institutions: traditional dress used as the default signifier of Indigeneity; curricular narrowing toward athletics, agriculture, and caregiving; decontextualized use of Indigenous geometric motifs as decoration; tribal service framed as the sole legitimate purpose of study; and economic subsidies foregrounded as the principal recruitment appeal. These findings suggest that well-intentioned outreach inadvertently sustains a narrow vision of Indigenous futures. We propose a critical design rubric for recruitment materials and call for institutional review processes that center Indigenous voices in visual and rhetorical decisionmaking.

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13:50-15:05 | Room G (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Designing the Modern: Japanese Crossovers in Indian Visual Culture (Panel) Session Chair: Amita Kini-Singh 13:50-15:05 111169 | Designing the Modern: Japanese Crossovers in Indian Visual Culture and Ephemera (1920-1950) Amita Kini-Singh, Kizuna India-Japan Study Forum, India Pithamber Polsani, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, India Takashi Oishi, Kobe City University for Foreign Studies, Japan Aki Toyoyama, Konan University, Japan In the 1920s, an era that celebrated minimalism, American type designer William Addison Dwiggins’s advocacy for decorating the printed page led him to coin the term ‘graphic design’ to define the multifaceted nature of his work. While artwork that encompassed typography, illustration, and layout was newly popular in the Western art world, the use of calligraphy and imagery in a composition to effectively communicate subject matter has centuries of history in the art of Asia, particularly in the woodblock prints of Japan. At the turn of the twentieth century with a boom in print culture and consumerism, graphic design emerged as a professional practice in advertising, with European designers starting a trend known as ‘Japonisme’ that had a profound effect on Western artistic ideas of style, composition and colouration. In pre-Independent India, with a similar growth in consumer and print culture the impact of Japanese aesthetics and printing styles was equally significant. This panel examines Japanese design crossovers in Indian visual culture in the first half of the twentieth century focussing on ephemera such as posters and matchbox labels, and decorative arts such as majolica tiles and ceramic figurines. The session will demonstrate how Japanese design played a crucial role in the emergence of a new aesthetic language that broke away from tradition to usher in an indigenous modernity and a unique cosmopolitanism in India’s design culture.

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15:20-17:00 | Room A (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Gender, Identity and Culture Session Chair: Kenji Kaneko 15:20-15:45 112522 | “Such Was the Origin of the Sort of Intimacy”: Music and Female Homoerotic Potential in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park Aoi Ishizuna, University of Tsukuba, Japan This study aims to explore the female homoerotic potential within the scene of musical performance in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (1814). Because women's musical performance during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was deeply tied to the marriage market, it is frequently discussed in relation to patriarchy and the male gaze. Consequently, debates on musical scenes in Austen’s works often focus on whether she subverts or submits to patriarchal norms. However, these existing arguments share a limitation: they operate strictly within a heteronormative framework. Admittedly, music functions across Austen’s novels as a device generating intimacy that triggers heterosexual romance and marriage. Yet, this music-induced intimacy does not need to be restricted exclusively to heterosexuality. Adopting a queer perspective greatly expands the interpretive possibilities regarding musical performance in Austen's works. In Mansfield Park, after Mary Crawford plays the harp for the heroine, Fanny Price, the text states, “Such was the origin of the sort of intimacy”between them. What exactly does this “sort of intimacy” refer to? Drawing on queer studies that highlight historical background of female same-sex desire at that time, critics have already pointed out the lesbian subplot between Fanny and Mary. By focusing on their harp scene, this paper demonstrates that Austen’s musical performances cannot be strictly contained within conventional heteronormative plots. They function as intimate spaces to foster homoerotic bonds between women. Ultimately, this analysis serves as a crucial first step toward revealing the true diversity of intimacy fostered by music in Jane Austen's literature.

15:45-16:10 112612 | Beyond the Suffering Heroine: How Modern Indian Media Is Rewriting Female Agency Padmavathy Dhillon, Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur, India While Indian women have made massive strides in public life and legal standing over the last few decades, their daily lives are still heavily monitored by traditional family expectations, patriarchal honor codes, and social biases. This paper explores how female roles navigate these cultural pressures by looking at the shift between older Indian cinema and modern films and OTT platforms. By comparing traditional, submissive cinematic tropes with recent, realistic narratives—like Thappad (2020), The Great Indian Kitchen (2021), and Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022)—this study maps how female independence is represented on screen today. Crucially, this research avoids looking at Indian women through a purely Western feminist lens. Instead, it anchors the analysis within India’s unique social structure, where a woman's freedom is closely tied to caste, religion, and family dynamics. Our findings show a clear evolution. Where older Indian cinema largely normalized rigid, submissive archetypes—such as the suffering, self-sacrificing mother or wife—contemporary Indian media serves as an active social toolkit. By bringing everyday domestic labor, marital consent, and female ambition to the forefront, new-age films are forcing traditional audiences to rethink deep-rooted prejudices. Ultimately, this media shift doesn't just reflect society; it actively helps normalize female independence and authority within the Indian household.

16:10-16:35 110466 | From Darkness to Dignity: A Discourse on Adivasi Women as Custodians of Culture, Land and Identity in Contemporary Literature Rema T. Das, YBN University, India This paper re-examines the representation of Adivasi women in contemporary Indian English literature by shifting the critical lens from victimhood to a voice of strength, dignity and cultural stewardship. In mainstream literary discourses, Adivasi women are still underrepresented as passive sufferers of marginalization, displacement, and patriarchal violence, this study foregrounds their role as active agency of transition from marginalization to empowerment. Literary discussions project them primarily as ‘dark-skinned’ which is simply undermining their potential and dignity. This paper shows women not merely as victims but as custodians of culture, protectors of land and voices of resistance. Drawing primarily on Angor by Jacinta Kerketta, selected poems of Nirmala Putul and prose collection of Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar among others, the paper explores how indigenous women articulate resistance through everyday practices, oral memory, and intimate connections with their environment. This paper asserts that Adivasi women actively preserve culture and identity, even shaping religious movements in Jharkhand. The emphasis is not on their oppression but Adivasi women are agents of cultural survival, ecological guardians and voices of resistance. The discourse emphasizes on the most powerful positive aspect of Adivasi women and that is not just empowerment in a modern sense but, community leadership, ecological wisdom, cultural preservation and collective confrontation. In contemporary literature, Adivasi women’s pliability despite exploitation, their assertion of dignity and identity and their survival in changing socio-economic conditions are the highlights of this research paper.

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15:20-17:00 | Room A (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Gender, Identity and Culture Session Chair: Kenji Kaneko 16:35-17:00 112578 | Gendered Mobility and Transnational Intimacy: Japanese-Thai and U.S.-Filipina Marriages in Comparative Perspective Kenji Kaneko, Kyoto University of Advanced Science, Japan This presentation examines cross-border marriage through the lens of gendered mobility and transnational intimacy. Focusing on Japanese men–Thai women marriages and American men–Filipina women marriages, it asks why certain international marriage patterns emerge strongly between particular countries. Rather than explaining these marriages only through personal attraction, cultural exchange, or women’s migration to men’s home countries, the presentation highlights the institutionalized mobility of men into strategically important regional sites. Using a comparative qualitative approach based on secondary data, including official marriage statistics, foreign resident data, government reports, and existing ethnographic and historical studies, the presentation compares two distinct routes of gendered mobility. In the Japan–Thailand case, Japanese men’s mobility is closely connected to corporate dispatch, Japanese-affiliated business networks, regional management, and expatriate residence. In the U.S.–Philippines case, American men’s mobility is historically rooted in colonial rule, military bases, servicemen’s mobility, retirement, tourism, and migration networks. The comparison shows that Thailand and the Philippines are not simply destination countries where foreign men happen to arrive. Rather, both have occupied strategically important positions within larger regional systems shaped by more powerful countries. These institutional routes create contact zones in which economic hierarchy, geopolitical power, gendered desirability, everyday interaction, and personal agency intersect. The presentation argues that cross-border marriage should be understood not only as a private relationship or a result of women’s migration, but also as an intimate outcome of gendered and asymmetric mobility across borders.

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15:20-17:00 | Room B (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Media in Language and Cultural Studies Session Chair: Mark Rebuck 15:20-15:45 113726 | Listening to Feel: Informal Affective Learning, Empathy, and Creativity in University Students’ Everyday Music Practices NingLu He, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Jae-Eun Oh, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Music listening is a significant part of university students’ everyday lives, shaping their emotions, perceptions, and responses to their surroundings. Yet its potential as an informal medium for affective learning, particularly for cultivating empathy- and creativity-related dispositions, is frequently disregarded. Although previous studies have linked music listening to emotion regulation, empathy, and creativity, these domains have typically been examined separately and largely within formal music contexts. This study explores how university students engage with everyday music, including popular music, traditional music, game soundtracks, and short-video soundtracks, as a form of informal affective learning. Twelve Chinese students completed 190 listening journal reflections over three weeks and then participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Using reflexive thematic analysis, the study generated four themes: affective and embodied regulation; memory and imagined scenes; perspective-taking and everyday empathy; and curiosity-driven exploration with renewed motivation. The findings suggest that everyday music listening can serve as an informal affective learning space that supports emotional regulation, empathy, and motivation beyond formal educational settings.

15:45-16:10 112512 | Acoustic Images: Listening as Visual Knowledge Yael Burstein, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Israel Guy Saggee, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Israel How can listening function as a form of visual knowledge and reshape creative thinking in art and design education? This presentation examines Acoustic Images, a pedagogical framework developed over fourteen years through nineteen Sound Seminar gatherings with students from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, each involving approximately 70 - 100 participants. The framework draws on Pauline Oliveros’s Deep Listening as expanded attention; John Cage’s understanding of silence as an opening toward environmental sound; David Toop’s writing on sound, absence, and auditory imagination; and Janet Cardiff’s exploration of embodied listening and the relationship between heard and visible space. Each seminar explores a single theme through sustained collective listening, often in darkness, interspersed with still and moving images. These encounters evoke internal imagery and an experience akin to collective dreaming. We ask whether these experiences become resources for students’ subsequent creative practice. Our approach is practice-based, drawing on our own creative practice, fourteen years of teaching the Sound Seminar, informal participant feedback, and observations during the seminars and in subsequent design classes. We observe students using sound as a starting point alongside visual references, and moving back and forth between sound and image to develop richer and more complex visual ideas. We propose that the distinctive potential of Acoustic Images lies in this recurring movement between sound and image. The presentation examines this movement as a creative and pedagogical method: a way of thinking and making that extends beyond the listening experience itself.

16:10-16:35 108995 | Exploring Podcast-Based Narrative Learning for International Students’ Sociocultural Adaptation Peishi Weng, Taipei University of Marine Technology, Taiwan Yi-Chieh Ou, Taipei University of Marine Technology, Taiwan This study examines the effects of podcast-based narrative learning on the sociocultural adaptation of international students in higher education. International students often face challenges related to language barriers, cultural differences, and social adjustment when entering a new cultural environment. Narrative-based learning activities may provide opportunities for students to reflect on and articulate their experiences, thereby facilitating cultural adaptation. A mixed-methods research design was employed. A total of 20 first-year Filipino students participated in the study. During the course, students worked in small groups to produce four to six podcast episodes reflecting their early experiences of studying and living in Taiwan. Quantitative data were collected using the Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (SCAS; Ward & Kennedy, 1999), administered before and after the course intervention. Paired-sample t-tests were conducted to examine changes in students’ sociocultural adaptation levels. Qualitative data were obtained through podcast content analysis, reflective journals, and semi-structured interviews. The results revealed a significant increase in students’ mean scores on the sociocultural adaptation scale following the course intervention (p < .05), suggesting that podcast-based narrative activities positively contributed to international students’ cultural adaptation. These findings highlight the potential of integrating narrative media production into higher education curricula to support international students’ cross-cultural learning and sociocultural adjustment.

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15:20-17:00 | Room B (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Media in Language and Cultural Studies Session Chair: Mark Rebuck 16:35-17:00 112729 | Podcast-Inspired Lesson: The Significance of “Sukiyaki” Mark Rebuck, Meijo University, Japan In 1963, a song called “Sukiyaki,” sung by Sakamoto Kyu, topped the US Billboard Hot 100. "Ue o Muite Arukō", as “Sukiyaki” is called in Japanese, was the first song in a non-European language to top the US charts. While most Japanese Zoomers (born 1997-2012) are familiar with this song, the presenter has found that few of them know it was a hit outside of Japan, and even fewer are aware of the song's wider social and political significance. The presenter, who teaches in a faculty of pharmacy in Japan, will give a synopsis of a content-based lesson that was inspired by an episode of a BBC podcast called Soul Music. This lesson, created for first-year university students, includes the concept of diaspora, the experience of Japanese Americans during WWII, the significance of "Sukiyaki", and the song's connection to a deadly airplane crash. The lesson incorporates several clips from the BBC podcast, including one of a Japanese American describing how hearing “Sukiyaki” coming from the radio in the early 1960s—a song in the language of what had been the hated enemy less than two decades earlier— was a sign that he no longer needed to hide his Japanese identity. In another clip, an academic explains how the success of "Sukiyaki" indicated that Japan was being accepted back into the international community as an equal nation among others. Finally, the presenter will review the various ways in which internet-based radio can assist teachers in creating engaging and illuminating lessons.

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15:20-17:00 | Room C (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 MediAsia2026 | Media and Communication Technology Session Chair: William Kunz 15:20-15:45 112465 | From Zero to Recommended: a Mixed-Methods Investigation of Algorithmic Growth Signals on YouTube Shreesha Mairaru, Higher Colleges of Technology Dubai, United Arab Emirates YouTube’s recommendation engine — serving over two billion monthly users — functions as an algorithmic gatekeeper that determines content visibility at scale, yet the mechanisms through which creators learn to negotiate this system remain empirically underexplored. This study addresses that gap through a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design integrating practitioner knowledge with platformnative experimental evidence. In Phase 1, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 active YouTube creators and content managers representing diverse content niches. Reflexive thematic analysis surfaced five strategic domains: content-audience interest alignment, subscriber engagement signalling, thumbnail-title optimisation, audience retention management, and metadata architecture. These themes informed Phase 2, in which 128 long-form videos were systematically published on a purpose-built finance experimental channel — intentionally launched from zero over 26 months — to observe how the algorithm responds when prior channel authority plays no role. Platform-native analytics — rather than inferential statistical modelling — revealed that recommendation-driven traffic constitutes the primary growth engine, outperforming search discovery. Simultaneous A/B testing of three thumbnail-title combinations via YouTube’s native tool identified earlywindow Click-Through Rates of 9-15% within the first 24 hours as the critical threshold preceding algorithmic amplification. Average view duration exceeding 40% emerged as the minimum retention benchmark for sustained recommendation distribution. Metadata elements like tags, chapters and descriptions contributed meaningfully to search discoverability but remained subordinate to recommendation signals. These findings contribute an empirically grounded, creator-validated framework for understanding platform-mediated visibility, algorithmic gatekeeping, and audience engagement dynamics in digital media environments.

15:45-16:10 111235 | Shaping the Future of Public Relations: Analysis of the AI Megatrend Through the Futures Triangle Hrvoje Jakopović, University of Zagreb, Croatia Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a significant megatrend, fundamentally transforming strategic communication. This paradigm shift compels the public relations (PR) profession to re-evaluate its core competencies, ethical boundaries, and strategic value. The author examines the transformative impact of AI on PR roles, using Sohail Inayatullah’s Futures Triangle as the primary conceptual framework. By analysing the interplay between the pull of the future, the push of the present, and the weight of history, this paper maps plausible scenarios for public relations theory and practice. The “pull” captures visionary images of AI-driven PR. The “push” represents contemporary drivers, including rapid technological development, data-centric strategic communication, and micro-targeted messaging. However, these forces confront the “weight” of the past, characterised by the traditional asymmetrical PR model, outdated mindsets regarding PR, and systemic ethical concerns about algorithmic implementation. This analysis maps the tensions between automated efficiency and human-centric public relations management. The paper argues that while AI can automate routine tactical tasks, it elevates the human practitioner's role to that of ethical guardian and high-level strategic adviser. The author outlines the challenges regarding necessary adjustments to PR curricula and professional training for practitioners and educators. This paper demonstrates that analysing the AI megatrend through the Futures Triangle provides the theoretical tools needed to identify historical weights, leverage present drivers, and conceptually construct a resilient future for the PR discipline.

16:10-16:35 111102 | Media Governance of Olympic Broadcasting Rights in the Platform Era: Regulatory Responses and Challenges in Taiwan Huei-Wen Chen, Chengchi University, Taiwan In the era of media platformization and intensive commodification, mega-sports events like the Olympic Games have transitioned from universally shared public spectacles to scarce, market-driven media commodities, challenging cultural citizenship. In Taiwan, this structural shift is marked by the decline of free-to-air terrestrial television (dropping below 10% viewership by 2025) and the rising dominance of ELTA which functions as Taiwan's Olympic rights intermediary, licensing content to free-to-air television and digital platforms. This study asks: How do transnational private legal orders, commercial platform capital, and domestic regulatory frameworks interactively reconfigure the media rights network, and how does this transformation impact public access? Applying Manuel Puppis’s media governance framework, this paper conducts a policy analysis of regulatory decisions, telecom acts, and specific industrial cases, including the 2008 Chunghwa Telecom equity withdrawal and 2024 Paris Olympics ad-hoc subsidy arrangements. Tracing Taiwan’s evolution across three phases, the findings reveal a profound paradigm failure in traditional media laws. While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) mandates maximum coverage, shifting its regional agency from Dentsu to Infront for 2026–2032, domestic regulators face a jurisdictional vacuum over OTT platforms. Consequently, universal access heavily relies on temporary state subsidies to buy back sub-licensing arrangements from ELTA's commercial paywall. The paper theorizes how extra-national private contracts strip sovereign states of regulatory efficacy and outlines a tripartite pathway—comprising statutory "major events lists", regional joint-pooling, and public-private co-regulation—to safeguard public interest within a platform society.

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15:20-17:00 | Room C (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 MediAsia2026 | Media and Communication Technology Session Chair: William Kunz 16:35-17:00 111211 | Audiovisual Production Incentives Around the World and the Pursuit of Inducements by Major Streaming Services for Television Series William Kunz, University of Washington Tacoma, United States The 21st Century has witnessed the explosion of production incentives for audiovisual media – tax credits, cash rebates and other inducements – to lure motion pictures and television series to production centers around the world. Incentivized locations have evolved from a handful in North America to local, regional and federal programs on six continents. That process created competition, prompting various governments to increase the value of enticements to attract and/or retain productions in a never-ending race. California, for example, launched a program in 2009 that budgeted $100 million per year to stem the flow of “run-away” productions from that state that now stands at $750 million a year. That program focuses on below-the-line expenses, such as wages for local technical personnel, but many now include above-the-line costs, including actor salaries, with the French program for foreign productions adding those costs in 2026. Such programs, moreover, do not function in isolation, with various governments imposing content quotas and other policies that impact on where content is produced, with the European Union mandate that libraries of streaming services include 30% European works one example. This study documents the shifts in production incentives around the world and measures the use of such inducements by major global streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime, for original, fictional, live-action, English-language television series since the first Netflix original launched in 2012. The findings show that streaming services receive production incentives for the vast majority of their originals and favor certain locations, oftentimes addressing other mandates.

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15:20-17:00 | Room D (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 MediAsia2026 | State, Journalism and Communication Session Chair: Alisher Altay 15:20-15:45 113802 | The Paradigm Shift from Transnational to National Identity in the Gulf Countries: Revisiting Identity Narrative in Social Media During Iran-US War Shaimaa Al Essai, Independent Scholar, Oman Safyia Ambu-Saidi, Independent Scholar, Oman For decades, the Gulf Council Countries (GCC) were perceived as a transnational unity with mutual cultural, political, and economic objectives, which was crystal clear in leading projects such as the GCC Free Trade Area and Peninsula Shield Force. However, the transnational identity of the GCC has gone through multidisciplinary challenges since 2010. Among those challenges is the Arab Spring rise in 2011, in which the GCC witnessed unusual changes in public spheres, but the unity was still solid as the Peninsula Shield Force was confronting protests in Bahrain. The prompted image of unity was demolished with the Saudi, Emirati, and Bahraini blockades against Qatar from 2017 to 2021. Then, the Israeli war against Gaza in 2023 brought back to the surface the disputes within the GCC, reflected in the normalization of relations with Israel. The latest Iran-US war that targeted multiple locations in the GCC has shown the shift from transnational to national political, social, and economic identities more evidently. The main research question is, How do the social media narratives by Khalijis during the Iran-US War create a paradigm shift in identity narratives in the GCC? Gramsci’s theory of hegemony is essential in deconstructing identity dynamics in the GCC considering the tribal social system and monarchy-based power hierarchy. The study applies a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative analysis of the previous historical literature (2017–2026) and quantitative computational analysis of social media data collected from 2026, which are tweets from X on GCC users’ interactions on news about the Iran-US war.

15:45-16:10 113905 | Navigating Socio-Cultural Dynamics: Journalistic Practice in Myanmar’s Rakhine State Mandy Fox, University of Passau, Germany This paper examines how socio-cultural dynamics shape the everyday practice of journalism in Myanmar's Rakhine State during a period of profound political, social, and economic upheaval between 2011 and 2021. Drawing on qualitative, semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with ten journalists working in and on Rakhine State in the first quarter of 2019, the paper adopts a process- and practice-oriented approach informed by Moore (1987), Roudakova (2012), and Spradley (1980). Rather than approaching journalism through institutional or system-centred frameworks, the focus shifts towards journalistic practice as a relational, situated, and continuously negotiated form of action embedded within overlapping socio-cultural dynamics. Three interrelated findings are presented. First, journalists operate within fragile information environments marked by pervasive distrust – not only between ethnic and religious communities, but also between journalists, sources, and state authorities. Second, journalists are not primarily perceived as members of a profession but as members of specific ethnic, religious, or political communities, generating competing expectations of loyalty that stand in tension with professional norms. Third, contested language and naming practices constitute a key site of political and social conflict, requiring journalists to continuously navigate sensitive linguistic choices. The paper contributes to journalism studies by demonstrating that socio-cultural dynamics are not merely contextual background but active structuring forces of journalistic practice in conflict-affected settings.

16:10-16:35 110575 | Judicial Organizational Communication Amidst Institutional Logics Conflict: A Case Study of Interactions Between Prosecutorial Authorities and the Media in Taiwan Yuan Hao Cheng, Chengchi University, Taiwan In Taiwan's highly mediatized society, prosecutorial authorities face a severe structural conflict following the 2019 amendment to the Regulations Governing Non-Disclosure of Investigations, which shifted policies toward comprehensive control. This shift forces agencies to navigate between a judicial logic of strict secrecy and a conflicting media logic demanding immediate news narratives. This study explores how prosecutorial authorities construct communication mechanisms amidst this institutional complexity. Adopting an organizational communication and institutional logics perspective, we focus on the mechanism of strategic decoupling. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews with five prosecutorial spokespersons and four senior judicial journalists, data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that formal communication channels now frequently adopt an extremely conservative "defensive communication strategy". The resulting rigid, decontextualized information creates a severe usability gap, failing media needs and forcing reporters to seek unofficial sources. To compensate for this functional failure, actors developed a communication mode based on "trust as an informal governance mechanism". Spokespersons act as boundary spanners, fulfilling media needs through private background briefings without violating regulations. However, this approach exhibits institutional fragility, relying heavily on the spokesperson's personal attributes rather than systematic knowledge management. Ultimately, this study asserts the need for a paradigm shift toward "logic hybridization," incorporating media logic into judicial administration. Furthermore, it demonstrates how organizational actors exhibit agency within rigid institutional structures.

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15:20-17:00 | Room D (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 MediAsia2026 | State, Journalism and Communication Session Chair: Alisher Altay 16:35-17:00 113740 | Reconstructing the Unseen: Generative AI, Censorship, and Kazakhstan’s January 2022 Events in Non-English Journalism Askhat Yerkimbay, SDU University, Kazakhstan Danagul Naukhan, SDU University, Kazakhstan Alisher Altay, SDU University, Kazakhstan Generative artificial intelligence is reshaping how newsrooms produce and distribute visual storytelling, yet its application in non-English, resource-constrained media environments remains largely unexamined. This study asks how Kazakh-language journalists can use generative AI to reconstruct socially significant events that conventional reporting cannot fully capture — particularly under conditions of censorship and information scarcity. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications Theory and Sundar and Limperos's MAIN model (modality, agency, interactivity, navigability), we conduct a qualitative case study of Qantar Qursauynda (In the Grip of January), a media project reconstructing Kazakhstan's January 2022 events. Using RunwayML, Midjourney, DALL·E, and Stable Diffusion, the project rebuilt the event from fact-checked open-source photographs, eyewitness interviews, and archival footage, applying a principle of "extreme transparency" that logged every tool, prompt, and disclaimer. Notably, all prompts were composed in English, because generative models perform markedly worse in low-resource languages such as Kazakh. Findings show that generative AI lowers the technical and financial barriers to immersive, emotionally resonant reconstruction and offers an alternative channel for reporting sensitive events. However, audiences frequently could not distinguish synthetic from authentic footage, sharpening the ethical stakes and underscoring the need for standardized disclosure. The study argues that AI journalism is emerging in Kazakhstan as both an opportunity and a governance challenge, and calls for ethical standards, digital literacy training, and culturally and linguistically adapted tools — contributing an empirically grounded, non-Anglophone case to global debates on AI in journalism.

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15:20-17:00 | Room G (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Visual Culture Session Chair: Lydia Wong-Plain 15:20-15:45 112884 | Weaving Between Art and Artifact: Interpreting Philippine Indigenous Textiles Through Art History and Ethnology Rozheanne Hilario, University of the Philippines Manila, Philippines Philippine indigenous textiles have historically been interpreted through ethnological frameworks that center on their cultural, social, and historical significance. Concurrently, however, the formal qualities of these textiles can also be investigated through an art historical lens, yet the two perspectives typically operate separately in museum practice. While the former has been instrumental in documenting indigenous communities and material culture, it has often overshadowed the latter which examines textiles as visual and aesthetic objects. This paper focuses on how Philippine indigenous textiles may be interpreted through both ethnology and art history, examining the distinct forms of analyses and limitations that each disciplinary perspective offers. Using the National Museum of the Philippines as a case study, the research combines a review of Philippine weaving studies with an analysis of museum practices and perspectives of research and administrative personnel from the museum's Ethnology and Fine Arts divisions. Drawing on James Clifford's discussion of the art-culture system, the study examines how the two disciplines and their frameworks shape the interpretation of the same textile objects. Rather than presenting one perspective as more appropriate than the other, the paper explores how ethnological and art historical approaches enlighten different dimensions of Philippine indigenous textiles and offer complementary frameworks in analyzing them. In doing so, it contributes to Philippine art historical scholarship by reconsidering the disciplinary perspectives through which indigenous textiles have traditionally been studied.

15:45-16:10 113587 | Building Campus Brands Through Official IP Characters: Branding Strategies and Practical Outcomes of the Official IP at National Taichung University Chun-Han Lin, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan Hsiwen Fan, National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan In recent years, official intellectual property (IP) characters have become an important branding tool not only for corporations and government agencies but also for higher education institutions. Universities have increasingly adopted official IP characters to strengthen campus branding, communicate institutional values, and foster a distinctive campus identity. This study examines the official IP development project of the National Taichung University of Education as a case study to explore branding strategies and practical outcomes in campus brand management. A case study approach was employed to analyze the planning and implementation of the official IP, including brand positioning, character design, social media management, campus events, merchandise development, and digital applications. The study further investigates how these strategies contribute to campus brand communication. The findings indicate that a well-developed official IP character, supported by consistent brand identity, integrated communication strategies, and diverse interactive experiences, can enhance campus brand visibility, encourage engagement among students and faculty, and strengthen campus identity and institutional image. Finally, this study proposes a practical framework for official IP branding in higher education, providing a reference for universities seeking to establish sustainable campus branding strategies through official IP development.

16:10-16:35 110895 | Visuality in New Media Art: Decoding Students’ Visual Narratives Jualim Vela, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines Romeleen Go-Vela, Catanduanes State University, Philippines This study examines how students develop and express ideas, turning them into visual narratives. The research was conducted across successive school years from 2023-2024 to 2025-2026 with students studying new media art. The study has three main goals. First, it aims to identify what influences students’ use of new media for their visual storytelling. Second, it explores the creative process of students who use visual and multimedia elements to encourage dialogue and action. Third, it investigates the students’ visuality—their thoughts and ideas—and how they transform these into visual symbols through new media art. The study is grounded on the theories of new media art, visuality, and visual semiotics. It closely analyzes the creative outputs produced by students, such as digital art, interactive art, and multimedia collage. The findings show that most students drew inspiration from their personal experiences, social and cultural contexts, and current events. They used these ideas to create works focusing on women's empowerment, gender issues, well-being, socio-political concerns, education, and environmental challenges. The students’ creative processes involved both traditional and digital media. They employed semiotics, visual codes, symbols, and even text to connect abstract ideas with clear calls to action, provoking audience engagement and critical discussion. Overall, this research emphasizes the impact of media art in education. It empowers students as cultural agents who turn issues into visually engaging stories that can prompt reflection and inspire societal change.

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15:20-17:00 | Room G (4F)

Tuesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Visual Culture Session Chair: Lydia Wong-Plain 16:35-17:00 110763 | Seeing Otherwise: Intelligence, Agency, and the Colonial Photographic Encounter Lydia Wong-Plain, University of the Arts Singapore, Singapore In 1898, G.R. Lambert & Co.'s photographic studio in Singapore offered an ever-expanding inventory of "views, panoramas, and native types" as cartes-de-visite and photographic souvenirs for European audiences and collectors. More than a century later, these images continue to circulate in national heritage databases, museum displays, and digital archives, constructing a visual fiction of colonial Singapore that shapes how the city-state's past is imagined, remembered, and taught. But whose Singapore do these images actually depict, and whose stories do they erase? Focusing on Singapore's colonial photographic archives, this paper examines how studio photography functioned as what Gayatri Spivak (1988) terms "epistemic violence": a systematic erasure that reduced the intelligence, cultural complexity, and individual agency of photographed subjects into consumable racial categories for imperial audiences. Posed against painted backdrops of Greek columns and imagined tropical foliage, labeled as "Chinese Hawker" or "A Kling Couple" (a now-derogatory term), these images reduced living persons to standardised types—objects of knowledge rather than knowing subjects. As Susan Sontag (1977) observed, photography became a means of symbolic possession. Yet colonial photography could never fully capture what it sought to contain. This paper argues that subjects whose gazes depart from the camera's intended narrative, cultural specificities that exceed studio staging, and the gaps between image and label all constitute forms of human intelligence that resisted colonial capture. Today, learning to read against these archives becomes essential to reclaiming historical agency and building more honest intercultural understanding for contemporary global citizenship.

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Notes

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Wednesday, November 11 09:30-11:10 | Onsite Parallel Session 1 11:40-12:55 | Onsite Parallel Session 2 13:10-14:50 | Onsite Parallel Session 3 15:20-17:00 | Onsite Parallel Session 4 All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) Abstracts appear as originally submitted by the author. Any spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors are those of the author.

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09:30-11:10 | Room A (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Cultural Studies Session Chair: Min-Chia Young 09:30-09:55 111137 | From Ritual Tradition to Cultural Commodity: the Transformation of Arak Bali in Contemporary Bali Putri Sri Aryana, University of Indonesia, Indonesia This paper examines the transformation of Arak Bali from a traditional Balinese liquor into a cultural commodity in contemporary Bali. Traditionally, Arak Bali was closely connected to ritual and ceremonial practices within Balinese society, also locally consumed for healthrelated purposes as part of everyday life. Despite its cultural significance, Arak Bali was often associated with social stigma and viewed as a marginalized traditional alcohol. In recent years, however, regional cultural policies, tourism development, and the growth of Bali’s creative economy have repositioned Arak Bali as a symbol of cultural heritage, regional identity, and cultural authenticity. Drawing upon Stuart Hall’s framework of the Circuit of Culture and John Howkins’ concept of creative ecology, this study analyzes government regulations, tourism discourse, media representations, branding materials, and digital video documentation published between 2020 and 2025. The study examines how government institutions, tourism industries, local producers, and media participate in redefining Arak Bali as a cultural heritage product within Bali’s contemporary creative economy. It argues that the transformation of Arak Bali illustrates the dynamic interplay between tradition and modernization, cultural preservation and market expansion, as well as regional identity and global cultural exchange. By situating Arak Bali within these processes, the study contributes to discussions on cultural politics, heritage formation, and the circulation of local culture in contemporary Asia.

09:55-10:20 111408 | Intimacy, Ethics, and Narrative Anthropology as Alternatives to Detached Modes of Representation Pnina Motzafi Haller, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel Drawing upon a longitudinal ethnographic engagement spanning more than four decades in Botswana, this presentation reflects on the ethical and narrative possibilities that emerge through long-term anthropological relationships. Moving beyond extractive models of fieldwork, The Long Conversation explores how knowledge is shaped through intimacy, repeated encounters, obligation, memory, and care. At the center of this work are the evolving relationships formed since the early 1980s in the village of Mokokwana in Botswana’s Tswapong Hills. Rather than treating ethnographic interlocutors as sources of data to be interpreted from analytical distance, this presentation examines how anthropological understanding develops through sustained human involvement across time, aging, separation, return, and shared vulnerability. The presentation argues that narrative and reflexive forms of writing are not merely stylistic choices, but ethical practices that challenge older colonial and positivist assumptions within anthropology. By weaving together personal memory, ethnographic observation, and historical transformation, The Long Conversation proposes a mode of representation grounded not in detachment, but in relational responsibility. More broadly, the presentation asks what becomes possible when anthropology allows uncertainty, emotional attachment, and moral entanglement to remain visible within scholarly writing. In doing so, it offers an approach to ethnography that foregrounds reciprocity, care, and the unfinished character of human relationships.

10:20-10:45 110296 | Cultural Burning Manifests More-than-human Intelligence Marcus Baynes-Rock, Deakin University, Australia In Australia’s colonial context, fire is typically managed through an anthropocentric and technocratic framework. Prescribed burning regimes are developed through top-down decision-making processes informed by abstracted, generalised data, often detached from local ecologies and lived experience. This paper contrasts such approaches with Aboriginal cultural burning practices, which frame fire not as a controllable hazard but as a relational and communicative force embedded within Country. In Aboriginal fire practices, agency is distributed across humans, plants, animals, and fire itself. Decisions about when, where, and how to burn emerge through close, ongoing attention to more-than-human signals. Plants in flower, animals nesting, migrating, or aestivating, and subtle changes in seasonal rhythms act as indicator systems that guide burning practices. Rather than relying on universal prescriptions, cultural burning is situational, responsive, and grounded in place-based knowledge. This relational approach effectively democratises fire governance, positioning humans as participants rather than masters within ecological processes. Burning becomes an act of response-ability, oriented toward sustaining multispecies life, enhancing biodiversity, and maintaining cultural continuity, rather than solely preventing catastrophic wildfire. Drawing on perspectives from environmental humanities and Indigenous studies, this paper argues that cultural burning can be understood as a manifestation of distributed, more-than-human intelligence. It challenges dominant Western separations of nature and culture and contributes to broader conversations in arts, media, and cultural scholarship about knowledge-making, agency, and ecological responsibility in the Anthropocene.

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09:30-11:10 | Room A (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Cultural Studies Session Chair: Min-Chia Young 10:45-11:10 111401 | The God of Taiwanese Opera and Puppetry: The Deity with a Crab on His Face Min-Chia Young, Shu-Te University, Taiwan There is a legendary patron deity of Taiwanese opera and puppetry, often depicted with a crab on his forehead or in his mouth. He is known as Lei Haiqing, also called Marshal Tiandu, and is venerated by folk performers as the God of Stage. Legend has it that the marshal was born with a language impairment, abandoned by his mother in a paddy field, and raised by a crab. Little Tiandu grew up displaying extraordinary musical talent and eventually became a court musician favoured by Emperor Minghuang of the Tang (r. 712-756). During the An Lushan rebellion, the great musician refused to play for the rebel leader and was executed. He as later dubbed the “Great Scholar of the Stage” by the emperor and honoured as a deity of music. Employing a range of historical documents alongside linguistic analysis, this article examines the cultural formation, popular veneration, and textual representation of Marshal Tiandu, arguing that the cult of this patron deity is closely tied to Taiwanese cultural contexts and folk beliefs, and that it links performance, loyalty, and artistic integrity to the popular quest for a better life.

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09:30-11:10 | Room B (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 MediAsia2026 | Communication and Politics Session Chair: Alice Angel David 09:30-09:55 110961 | Performing the Politics of Helping: Poverty, Compassion, and Platform Populism in Dedi Mulyadi’s YouTube Videos Shela Kusumaningtyas, University of Indonesia, Indonesia This study examines how acts of helping are transformed into political performance on Indonesian YouTube, focusing on Dedi Mulyadi’s official YouTube channel. In contemporary platform politics, political visibility is increasingly produced through affective encounters, everyday narratives, and emotionally charged representations of ordinary citizens. Rather than treating charity-oriented political content as merely personal goodwill or public service, this study analyses how poverty, compassion, and proximity to “the people” are mediated, aestheticised, and circulated as forms of platform populism. Using qualitative content analysis and multimodal discourse analysis, the study examines selected YouTube videos featuring encounters between Dedi Mulyadi and socially vulnerable citizens, including poor families, informal workers, elderly people, and marginalised individuals. The analysis focuses on narrative structure, visual framing, emotional cues, interactional performance, and audience engagement. The study argues that the “politics of helping” operates through three interconnected mechanisms: the personalisation of political authority, the emotional staging of poverty, and the conversion of compassion into digital visibility and political legitimacy. The findings are expected to contribute to discussions on digital populism, affective labour, and political communication in Southeast Asia. By situating Indonesian political YouTube within the broader dynamics of platform capitalism, the study shows how suffering can become both a moral appeal and a communicative resource. This paper highlights the ambivalence of compassionate political performance: while it may generate public attention toward social inequality, it may also individualise structural problems and turn poverty into consumable political content.

09:55-10:20 109059 | Red Hoods and Underground Networks: The Student Movements of Japan and South Korea in the Wolf Brigade Film Cycle Giovanni Stigliano Messuti, University of Zurich, Switzerland Despite their age difference, both Oshii Mamoru (Tokyo, 1951) and Kim Jee-woon (Seoul, 1964) grew up in a period of great political turmoil in their respective countries, which is reflected in their filmographies. Unlike Oshii, who came of age amid the anti-Anpo protests and often voiced his disillusionment (as can be inferred by the "Kerberos saga" [1987–1999]), Kim has not been publicly outspoken about his activism. However, as an iconic director of the 386 Generation, his features present a political undertone beneath the adherence to genre conventions (esp., "The Age of Shadows" [2016]). Against this background, I argue that Oshii’s animation "Jin-Roh" (1999, dir. Okiura Hiroyuki, wr. Oshii Mamoru) and its live-action adaptation "Illang" (2018, dir./wr. Kim Jee-woon), set in an uchronic postwar timeline, actually deal with the season of maximum tension between state authorities and protesters (i.e., the 1970s in Japan and the 1980s in South Korea). Despite the sci-fi setting, the so-called ‘Sect,’ which in the movies is the target of the Wolf Brigade’s repression as a threat to the established (authoritarian) order, appears to embody the student movements in their respective countries. By analyzing the films deploying Rosenstone’s (1995) ‘New History film’ theory, I argue that these movies converge in their representation of student movements as potentially positive forces against state repression, which yet, in hindsight, achieved quite little. In Oshii’s case, this is consistent with the LDP-endorsed, neoliberal Japan’s narrative on the subject, while, in Kim’s case, it is antithetical to the post-1987, democratic Korea’s narrative.

10:20-10:45 110703 | Political Troll Networks’ Fake “Vox Populi” Tactic as Oppression of Online Public Opinion in the Philippines Roselle Espina, The University of Melbourne, Australia Numerous troll studies revealed the deployment of interconnected inauthentic accounts on mainstream online platforms to control the opinion of the masses on domestic politics using various strategies and narratives. This paper specifically examines the fake vox populi tactic, one of the trolls’ manipulative methods, that emerged after conducting content analysis in 1,713 top commenter accounts extracted from 1,000 highly-engaged 2022 Philippine electoral content on Facebook and TikTok apps. This secondary analysis follows a new theoretical approach that focuses on opinion management. Integrating Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann’s Spiral of Silence theory, the perspective asserts that public opinion is divided into majority and minority, where the dominant viewpoints are further amplified and increased visibility, while the other groups with small quantities become less relevant. The tactic aims to misrepresent public opinion online by suppressing algorithmic visibility of different views through high production of content and building the majority illusion by artificial support narratives on comment sections that are well-engaged by other troll accounts. The fear of isolation takes place when users expressing oppositional views are subjected to targeted trolling, resulting in personal discomfort and distressing online experiences that discourage further participation. This paper argues that the dominating tactic is a form of oppression to the freedom of speech, which is highly critical in voting decisions during elections. The tactic mainly executes a two-step process: (1) a troll account/s to produce a propaganda narrative on social media; then, (2) all other thousands of troll accounts positively engage and support the post.

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09:30-11:10 | Room B (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 MediAsia2026 | Communication and Politics Session Chair: Alice Angel David 10:45-11:10 113666 | Framing the First Victory: Cinematic Narratives and the Construction of Political Leadership Among Screen Stars in Asia Alice Angel David, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, India Alice Rufina, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, India Cinema has historically functioned as a powerful site of political communication in Asia, where recurring screen narratives shape public understandings of leadership, governance, and social responsibility. While scholarship on screen stars entering politics has largely emphasized celebrity culture, political branding, fan mobilization, and electoral campaigns, relatively little attention has been paid to the role of cinematic narratives in constructing political leadership before formal political participation (Street, 2004). Addressing this gap, this paper investigates how recurring film narratives contribute to the symbolic construction of leadership through a comparative qualitative case study of two purposively selected Asian screen stars who successfully transformed their cinematic identities into political leadership. Employing narrative analysis, visual semiotics, and textual analysis, the study examines selected films released prior to their political entry, focusing on recurring representations of justice, public welfare, moral authority, anti-corruption, sacrifice, and collective identity. It further analyses cinematic techniques including mise-en-scène, dialogue, characterisation, songs, costume, and visual symbolism to understand how leadership is framed as a communicative performance. Guided by Richard Dyer's Star Theory, the study argues that repeated screen representations cultivate enduring leadership personas that may shape political legitimacy by embedding symbolic meanings within public memory (Dyer, 1998). By conceptualising cinema as a sustained medium of political communication, the paper contributes to contemporary debates in media, communication, film studies, and leadership representation within the Asian context.

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09:30-11:10 | Room C (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 MediAsia2026 | Film Criticism and Theory Session Chair: John Griffith 09:30-09:55 112851 | Visual Landscapes and Meaning Production of Imaginary Media: A Media Archaeology of Thirty Classic Science Fiction Films Keyu Guo, Shanghai International Studies University, China At a time when media increasingly envelop human beings like an environment and constitute a fundamental condition of existence, understanding media has become central to questions of human survival. Imaginary media in science fiction film envision multiple possibilities of media form and function while revealing their far-reaching implications for human beings and society. Grounded in media archaeology, this study draws on Eric Kluitenberg’s archaeology of imaginary media and Erkki Huhtamo’s conception of media archaeology as topos study to examine thirty classic science fiction films. Using qualitative textual analysis, it identifies, categorizes, and compares recurring media forms, communicative relations, and spatial representations, and interprets their representational modes and cultural meanings. The analysis shows that imaginary media both reflect and transcend reality. At the level of visual landscapes, imaginary media articulate three principal possibilities: media may “invade” and transform the human body; enable communication among human beings, between humans and machines, and between humans and the “Other”; and become embedded in and reshape space at both micro and macro scales. At the level of meaning production, imaginary media resonate with Paul Levinson’s account of media evolution and offer an alternative perspective on the relationship among spectacle, media, and science fiction film. Imaginary media thus not only generate the distinctive visual appeal of science fiction cinema but also function as on-screen “thought experiments” through which such films enter into dialogue with those living in a mediatized society.

09:55-10:20 113779 | Learning to Feel Artificial Worlds: Cinesthetic Animation and the Rise of Synthetic Media Nathan Snow, Utah Tech University, United States Long before generative artificial intelligence entered everyday life, digital animation had already become one of the primary cultural laboratories in which spectators learned to cinesthetically inhabit synthetic worlds. Drawing on Vivian Sobchack’s phenomenology of film, Christiane Voss’s cinesthetic spectatorship, and concepts of immersion and extension from video games and sculpture, [The author] synthesizes these concepts to explain how 3D feature animation entangles viewers with non-indexical environments and characters. Through close analysis of media from Pixar, Dreamworks and other studios, the paper demonstrates how selectively augmented textural details invite viewers to mentally simulate objects and environments which, although lacking physical referents, nevertheless feel experientially tangible. This psychophysical entanglement collapses the border between viewer and viewed in a synthetic context. The paper then explores the critical and audience reception of non-indexical media, showing that viewers consistently describe unreal environments using tactile and embodied language. These responses suggest that animation has long been preparing audiences to engage with synthetic environments and agents, functioning as an embodied prosthesis within Katherine Hayles’s posthuman framework of distributed cognition. Rather than treating artificial intelligence as a sudden technological rupture, this paper positions digital animation as the historical bridge through which audiences first learned to feel, perceive, and inhabit synthetic worlds. In doing so, it argues that the boundary between human and technological intelligence is negotiated not only through computation, but through embodied aesthetic experience.

10:20-10:45 111175 | Rumors in the Rubble: Digital Folklore and Earthquake Misinformation in the Philippine Digital Landscape Apple Grace Bonhoc-Ybañez, Ateneo de Davao University, Philippines The Philippines, situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire, experiences recurring seismic events that are increasingly mediated through digital communication environments. In a media landscape where platforms such as Facebook, X, and TikTok function as primary spaces for real-time information exchange, earthquake communication is shaped by emotion, immediacy, and algorithm-driven practices alongside institutional advisories. During seismic events such as the Cebu earthquakes and Mindanao seismic swarms, social media platforms became saturated with fabricated earthquake predictions, recycled disaster footage, AI-generated images, pseudoscientific explanations, and unverified tsunami warnings that circulated more rapidly than official advisories from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, contributing to heightened public anxiety and disaster-related infodemics. Drawing from Crisis Informatics, Information Ecology Theory, and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework, this study examined how earthquake misinformation was communicated and amplified within Philippine social media spaces. Using qualitative thematic discourse analysis of publicly accessible posts gathered through web scraping and keyword searches across Facebook, X, and TikTok, findings revealed that posts that used fear, urgency, and manipulated visuals tended to receive significantly higher levels of circulation and engagement than scientific or educational content. The study further demonstrated how participatory sharing practices, collective memory, and platform visibility and sharing dynamics amplified digital panic and transformed recurring disaster rumors, including narratives such as the “Chona Mae” tsunami panic, into enduring forms of digital folklore within Philippine online communities.

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09:30-11:10 | Room C (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 MediAsia2026 | Film Criticism and Theory Session Chair: John Griffith 10:45-11:10 111233 | Searching for Authenticity in Zelig (1983) and Adaptation (2002) John Griffith, National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan Zelig is Woody Allen’s fake documentary about a man whose chameleon-like ability to adapt himself to be part of any group – Zelig becomes Chinese in a Chinese restaurant – results in his rise to 1920’s pop culture stardom. In Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, the Charlie Kaufman character tries to write a screenplay about the theory of evolution, in part to prove to his twin brother (a successful writer of popular thriller movies) that it is still possible to make “real” films. Today, in a culture of social media and AI generated images, the absurd plots of these films perhaps seem less absurd than in the past. At a time when it becomes increasingly difficult to separate a private self from public performance on social media and to apply labels of “real” and “fake” to images generated around us, such absurdist films help us reflect on the moral and cultural function of cinema. In this paper, I examine how Allen and Kaufman raise serious questions about the nature and value of authenticity, an important philosophical concept in ontology, ethics, and aesthetics. How does fiction – by definition not “real” – enable us to have more “real” / meaningful experiences and to live, in an ethical sense, more authentically? Both Zelig and Charlie, characters under immense pressure to adapt and conform, compel us to explore how ideas about the nature and the value of authenticity have changed over time; and what meaning (if any) this concept has for post-millennial culture.

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09:30-11:10 | Room D (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Media Studies and Sociology Session Chair: Sabina Lissitsa 09:30-09:55 109255 | Side Hustle or Soft Life: Remote Work Representation Analysis on Instagram Reels Kristiani Adventya Melani Ragat, University of Melbourne, Australia This study emerges from growing attention to how remote work is increasingly portrayed and normalized through social media content, particularly short-form videos on Instagram. While remote work has often been discussed in terms of flexibility and improved work-life balance, its representation within digital culture may also reinforce expectations of constant productivity and self-optimazation. Focusing on Instagram Reels, this research examines how remote work is represented in relation to two contrasting narratives: the side hustle culture that emphasizes productivity and financial ambition, and the soft life ideal that promotes autonomy, ease, and work-life balance. Although social media platforms play a significant role in shaping public perceptions of contemporary work culture, scholarly attention to the visual and narrative construction of remote work on Instagram remains limited. Drawing on Stuart Hall's representation theory within media and communication studies, this study analyzes the portrayal of remote work in Instagram Reels produced by the content creator @loewhaley, widely recognized as a "virtual work besite." Employing qualitative content analysis, the research examines 22 reels published between December 2024 and May 2025 selected through simple random sampling from a population of 111 videos. The analysis focuses on three dimensions: visual and spatial representations of work setting, narrative framing of work, and emotional tone. The findings reveal that remote work is predominantly integrated into everyday life. Narratively, productivity-oriented routines and task management practices appear most frequently. Emotionally, many reels convey stress, fatigue, and isolation, suggesting tensions between the promise of freedom and the realities of intensified remote work.

09:55-10:20 110987 | Generative Art as a Socio-Spatial Mediation Interface for Investigating Urban Migration Decision-Making Among Artist-Drifters Alice Zhong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Anthony Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong As urban migration becomes increasingly shaped by tensions between opportunity and belonging, conventional interviews often struggle to capture these experiences. This study explores how generative art can function as a socio-spatial mediation interface for investigating urban migration decision-making among artist-drifters. This study is rooted in the field of digital humanities and aims to address this methodological challenge in migration studies. To address this issue, a multi-layered generative art installation art was developed. The system translates China’s urban hierarchy into a physical structure in which resource availability, mobility costs, and cultural attachment are spatially represented. The installation art functions as a scenario-based visual elicitation tool and projective canvas through which participants interpret their own migration experiences. The movement of live ants continuously reconfigures the environment, generating dynamic spatial patterns that stimulate observation and reflection. A comparative qualitative study was conducted with twelve artist-drifters. Participants in the experimental condition engaged in guided observation and interpretation of the installation art prior to semi-structured interviews, while a control group without exposure to the system. Interview data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and thematic relationship mapping. Findings suggest that participants interacted with the installation art produced more structurally connected narratives and articulated clearer relationships between pressure, belonging, identity, and migration decisions. The study proposes an Insect– Human–Art mediation framework in which digital simulated biological activity, artistic spatialization, and human interpretation operate as interconnected layers of reflective knowledge production, demonstrating how generative art can contribute new methodological possibilities for digital humanities research and the externalization of social cognition.

10:20-10:45 113281 | Beyond Generational Disloyalty: Organizational Communication and Job-Hopping Behavior Among Generation Y Employees in Malaysia and Indonesia Muhammad Syukri Abdullah, The National University of Malaysia, Malaysia Elaina Rose Johar, The National University of Malaysia, Malaysia Nadzirah Rosli, The National University of Malaysia, Malaysia, Job hopping among Generation Y is often framed as declining loyalty, yet this narrative can obscure how organizational messages about value, fairness, and care shape employees’ mobility decisions. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory, this study examines how job satisfaction, compensation, and work-life balance influence job-hopping behavior among Generation Y employees in Malaysia and Indonesia. A crosssectional survey collected data from 437 purposively selected employees across diverse sectors in both countries. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to assess the measurement and structural models. The measures demonstrated satisfactory reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Results indicate that job satisfaction, compensation, and work-life balance each significantly reduce job-hopping behavior, jointly explaining 46% of its variance and demonstrating predictive relevance. Compensation produced the largest effect, followed by work-life balance and job satisfaction. These findings challenge deficit-based portrayals of mobile millennials by showing that job hopping is not simply a generational disposition, but a response to how organizational practices communicate recognition, reciprocity, and support. The study contributes a cross-national Southeast Asian perspective to scholarship on workplace communication and employee mobility by positioning rewards, job experiences, and work-life arrangements as material and symbolic signals within the employeeorganization exchange. For practitioners, the results suggest that retention communication must be supported by credible organizational action, including equitable rewards, meaningful work, recognition, employee development, flexibility, and manageable workloads. Integrating these practices can strengthen perceived organizational support, improve the employment relationship, and reduce avoidable mobility among Generation Y employees in culturally connected yet institutionally distinct labor markets.

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09:30-11:10 | Room D (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Media Studies and Sociology Session Chair: Sabina Lissitsa 10:45-11:10 109882 | The Role of Job Insecurity, Social Capital, and Human Capital in Work-Life Balance Among Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z Sabina Lissitsa, Ariel University, Israel This study examines how job insecurity, human capital (AI literacy, education, and English proficiency), and social capital (bonding and bridging) are associated with work-life balance (WLB) across Generations X, Y, and Z, drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory. Data were collected via an online survey of 817 Israeli employees aged 18-61 and analyzed using hierarchical regressions conducted separately for each generation. The findings show that WLB is moderate and does not differ significantly across generations, despite substantial variation in its predictors. Across all cohorts, job insecurity is negatively associated with WLB, with the strongest effect observed in Gen X. In Gen Z, human capital does not function as a resource, as education and income are negatively associated with WLB, and social capital effect is nonsignificant. In Gen Y, human capital variables are non-significant, whereas bonding social capital emerges as a positive predictor. In Gen X, AI literacy shows a marginal negative association with WLB, while both traditional human capital and social capital are non-significant. Taken together, the findings reveal an asymmetric pattern in which threat operates as a consistent and consequential factor across all generations, whereas resources fail to provide systematic protection. These results challenge the assumption of resource universality embedded in COR theory and suggest that in the AI era, the capacity to maintain WLB is shaped less by the accumulation of resources than by the ability to contain and navigate pervasive threat.

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09:30-11:10 | Room G (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Education, Pedagogy and Communication Session Chair: Erick-Iroel Heredia-Carrillo 09:30-09:55 113292 | AI as a Production Assistant in Undergraduate Podcasting: Negotiating Authorship, Language, Agency, and Self-Efficacy Marcela Moyano, United International College, United States As journalism educators navigate how AI is integrated into their classrooms, teaching increasingly requires negotiating how students can benefit from AI as a production assistant while retaining authorship, creativity, and human judgment. Less is known about how AI-assisted production intersects with storytelling, linguistic accessibility, and creative agency in experiential media-production courses. This study examines these relationships in an undergraduate Radio and Podcasting course at United International College in Florida, United States. Using a qualitative design-case, the study examines an undergraduate podcasting course involving eight Communication and Mass Media students who produced and published original podcasts. Data include student interviews, eight podcasts, course materials, and production artifacts, analyzed through inductive-deductive thematic analysis informed by narrative identity, digital storytelling, experiential learning, and critical AI literacy. Preliminary findings indicate that students primarily used AI as production and linguistic scaffolding for script organization, language refinement, pronunciation, timing, audio enhancement, research, voice anonymization for source protection, and branding while retaining narrative control. Multilingual students described AI as supporting English-language expression and professional fluency, while the only native English-speaking participant deliberately rejected generative AI to preserve authenticity and creative ownership. Students also demonstrated critical agency by comparing, modifying, redirecting, or rejecting AI outputs. Podcast production fostered self-efficacy and emerging narrative and professional identities. These findings inform Human-Centered AI Storytelling Pedagogy, which defines meaningful AI integration by students’ capacity to retain narrative intention, editorial judgment, creative agency, and ethical responsibility.

09:55-10:20 113466 | Cultivating a Research Culture for Human-centered Learning: Innovation Leadership and Industry Partnerships in Higher Education Maria Salud Delos Santos, Cebu Technological University, Philippines Higher education institutions increasingly need research cultures that integrate innovation, industry engagement, and human-centered learning. Guided by the Triple Helix Model of university–industry–government relations and a conceptual framework linking research culture, innovation leadership, and industry partnerships to human-centered learning, this study examined how these dimensions contribute to institutional transformation in a Philippine state university, supporting SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed over two years. Quantitative survey data from 48 purposively selected participant-representatives from the different program offerings of the university were analyzed using descriptive statistics; institutional records on research productivity, innovation initiatives, and industry collaborations were examined through document analysis; and narrative interviews with 15 purposively selected key informants—university directors, deans, program chairs, and faculty—were subjected to narrative and thematic analyses. Findings across the two phases were integrated during interpretation. Results revealed sustained research productivity and expanding industry collaborations that supported research-informed teaching, experiential learning, and innovation-oriented curricula. Participants described a research culture characterized by inquiry, collaboration, creativity, and knowledge sharing, although patent generation and university spin-offs remained emerging areas. Innovation leadership strengthened opportunities for critical thinking, ethical decision-making, creativity, and responsible engagement with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. The study demonstrates that integrating research culture, innovation leadership, and industry partnerships can foster human-centered learning ecosystems and advance sustainable higher education.

10:20-10:45 111706 | Misinformation and Media Literacy: The Case of Educators and Social Media Kristine Mae Destura, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines The study is grounded on finding out the level of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) and Vulnerability to Misinformation (VM). As well it intended to determine if a significant relationship exists between the variables. For determining the MIL level, UNESCO’s framework was used with some items edited to contextualize to the local setting. While questions for VM was crafted from a collection of related literature in the field. While the test of relationship was determined through the Pearson correlation. The data show that the respondents have High Competence in relation to Access, Analysis, and Response variables of MIL. Specifically, the sub-variable “access to information, media content, and media and information providers” shows advance competence level. While under the analysis variable, understanding information and media also elicited the advance competence level. And no item under the response variable show advanced level interpretation; And all other sub-variables elicit High Competence level. On the other hand, Vulnerability to Misinformation is rated to be Below average, with all three (3) sub-variables rendering the same interpretation – Source Verification, Confirmation Bias, and Illusory Truth Effect. Meanwhile, the Pearson correlation revealed a significant relationship between MIL and MV. More specifically, the result revealed that the respondents skills in accessing, analyzing, and responding to information are correlated to Source Verification and Illusory Truth Effect, but no significant correlation with Confirmation Bias.

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09:30-11:10 | Room G (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Education, Pedagogy and Communication Session Chair: Erick-Iroel Heredia-Carrillo 10:45-11:10 111665 | Generative AI and Creative Mediation in Graduate Industrial Design Education: Observations from Mexico Erick Iroel Heredia-Carrillo, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico Generative AI is reshaping graduate industrial design education by accelerating ideation, visualization, documentation, and speculative communication. This paper examines how AI-assisted workflows alter creative mediation, pedagogical judgment, and the relation between digital representation and material resolution within interdisciplinary studio practice in Mexico. Drawing on longitudinal reflective pedagogical observation across multiple semesters in graduate industrial design programs at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the study analyzes recurring patterns in student projects that integrated conversational AI, generative image systems, digital fabrication, and speculative visualization. Rather than treating these tools as autonomous creative agents, the paper approaches them as mediating environments that expand the production of alternatives while displacing key moments of evaluation, selection, and technical grounding. The analysis identifies a productive but unstable tension. Students use generative systems to overcome creative blocks, construct persuasive visual narratives, and accelerate iterative exploration; however, these workflows often widen the gap between speculative digital aesthetics and situated design judgment, particularly regarding manufacturing feasibility, ergonomics, contextual appropriateness, and material understanding. From a Latin American perspective, the paper argues that this tension is especially significant where advanced computational tools coexist with hybrid, artisanal, and materially constrained production cultures. The contribution is therefore a critical reflection on postdigital design education: how educators increasingly act as mediators of judgment, feasibility, and cultural meaning within environments of algorithmic abundance.

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11:40-12:55 | Room A (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Literature and Performances in Cultural Studies Session Chair: Chona Adlawan 11:40-12:05 110889 | Edo Period Wagashi Documentation ‘Kashifu’ and Japanese Literature: Tatsudanagashi and the Kokinwakashu Nunnita Lathifah Azhar, Kyoto University, Japan Previous studies have linked wagashi to classical Japanese poetry. An Edo-period wagashi document, Kashifu, cited by the Tohoku University Library, identifies Tatsudanagashi as connected to Kokin Wakashū poem 283. However, this relationship has not been examined academically. Therefore, Tatsudanagashi provides a case study for investigating the relationship between wagashi design and classical Japanese poetry. This study employs qualitative textual analysis and iconographic analysis to compare the visual design of Tatsudanagashi with the imagery of Kokin Wakashū poems 283 and 284, drawing on interpretations from Japan Knowledge and scholarship. Tatsudanagashi depicts autumn leaves flowing on water represented by blue waves. Poem 283 describes autumn leaves flowing through the Tatsuta River like brocade, making it one of the earliest examples linking autumn leaves with brocade imagery. Although the same poem appears as poem 283 and in the Kokin Wakashū preface and appears alongside poem 284 in The Tale of Yamato, poem 283 is presented anonymously and is not associated with the chronological difficulties raised by the preface narrative. While poem 284 contains similar imagery, it appears to incorporate literary elements from earlier traditions. Consequently, poem 283 is the most plausible source for Tatsudanagashi because it provides an early and independent formulation of the autumn leaves–brocade motif later developed in other literary contexts. The analysis strongly suggests that Tatsudanagashi in Kashifu was inspired by Kokin Wakashū poem 283. This finding provides evidence that imagery influenced Edo-period wagashi design and offered a framework for identifying literary sources of confectionery designs in historical wagashi documents.

12:05-12:30 112080 | Disguised Bodies in Digital Space: Reimagining Twelfth Night, Chitrangada, and Kathak Through Intermedial Performance Kakali Adhikary, RONY, Sweden This paper investigates digital embodiment as a critical aesthetic and performative strategy through a comparative study of Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night", Rabindranath Tagore’s "Chitrangada", and the Kathak interpretation of Jayadeva’s "Gita Govinda", with particular attention to “Dheera Sameere Yamuna Teere” and its opening sequence “Rati Sukha Sare.” Situated within the interdisciplinary frameworks of performance studies, intermediality, and digital humanities, the paper examines how digitally mediated performance transforms embodiment, identity, emotional expression, and audience perception within contemporary media culture. The study argues that digital embodiment functions not merely as technological enhancement but as an expanded mode of corporeal expression through which the performing body negotiates disguise, desire, gender fluidity, and emotional transformation. In "Twelfth Night", Viola’s disguised identity creates a performative space where gender and selfhood become fluid and theatrically mediated. In "Chitrangada", Tagore’s dance-drama reimagines transformation and feminine selfhood, revealing the tension between external appearance and inner identity. Similarly, Kathak interpretations articulate longing, desire, and emotional interiority through abhinaya, rhythmic movement, and expressive gesture. By incorporating digital scenography, projection aesthetics, multimedia performance, and virtual theatrical spaces, contemporary performance practices reconfigure these classical traditions into immersive intermedial experiences. Through this comparative analysis, the paper demonstrates how digital embodiment bridges tradition and technological modernity, enabling new forms of artistic expression while preserving the emotional and cultural depth of the original works. Ultimately, the study contends that digital embodiment creates a transformative artistic space in which disguise, identity, and emotional memory are continuously reconstructed within contemporary global performance culture.

12:30-12:55 110985 | Teaching Civic Responsibility Through Greek Tragedy: Antigone in the Literature Classroom Chona Adlawan, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines This study investigated the pedagogical potential of Antigone by Sophocles in fostering civic responsibility among literature students. While Greek tragedy is often taught for its aesthetic, historical, and formal literary value, its relevance to civic and ethical development remains underexplored in the classroom. Adopting a qualitative classroom-based design, the study engaged literature students in focused activities that encouraged interpretive on civic themes such as justice, authority, and public duty. Data were collected through reflective journals, structured classroom discussions, and interpretive essays developed during a long-week unit on Antigone. Thematic analysis revealed that students not only showed deeper comprehension of the play's ethical conflicts but also articulated nuanced understandings of civic responsibility as it applies to contemporary socio-political realities. Notably, students connected tragic conflict to modern issues such as governance, moral leadership, and social justice. Findings suggest that Greek tragedy can be an effective pedagogical resource for promoting civic awareness and ethical reasoning in literature education, supporting broader goals of democratic engagement and humanistic learning. By engaging with moral tensions presented in Antigone, students developed a greater understanding of the responsibilities of individuals within a political community. The study proposes a contextual pedagogical framework that integrates civic reflection into the teaching of classical texts, highlighting literature's role in shaping socially responsive and critically engaged graduates capable of understanding complex moral landscapes. In addition, the study highlights the relevance of classical literature in contemporary higher education.

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11:40-12:55 | Room B (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Design and Care Session Chair: Menny (Menahem) Malka 11:40-12:05 111223 | A Study on Multimodal Sensory Pattern Analysis in Stress-Relief Healing Interactive Design Yuen Fei Wong, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Wen Shan Chang, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Multimodal sensory interaction has become increasingly prevalent in digital and interactive stress-relief design. However, existing studies have primarily focused on individual sensory modalities or specific therapeutic approaches, with limited systematic comparison of multisensory interaction patterns across different therapeutic design contexts. This study adopts a qualitative comparative research approach integrating a structured literature review and cross-case analysis. Representative cases were collected from interactive products, mobile applications, virtual reality environments, and therapeutic interactive installations. Through thematic coding and design-feature analysis, ten multimodal therapeutic interaction patterns were identified and further organized into three categories: regulation-oriented, expression-oriented, and connection-oriented patterns. Based on these findings, a multimodal perceptual analytical framework was developed comprising three dimensions: sensory engagement (visual, auditory, and tactile), interaction characteristics, and user involvement. Comparative analysis revealed that regulation-oriented designs commonly employ auditory–visual integration to facilitate relaxation and physiological regulation, whereas connection-oriented designs place greater emphasis on tactile interaction to support emotional attachment and social connectedness. In addition, nature-inspired and mindfulness-based approaches, despite sharing similar therapeutic objectives, exhibit distinct sensory configurations and interaction structures. The findings demonstrate how different multisensory configurations contribute to stressrelief experiences and provide a design-oriented analytical framework for UX/UI design, digital wellbeing applications, therapeutic interactive media, and digitally mediated therapeutic environments. The study also contributes to understanding digitally mediated wellbeing practices from the perspective of multimodal interaction design.

12:05-12:30 111341 | Learning Interprofessional Collaboration in Practice: Formative Experiences of Philippine Health Professionals Eron Allen Tan, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines Interprofessional collaboration in healthcare is often taught as a formal competency, but practitioners frequently learn it through workplace culture, communication routines, and clinical responsibility. This qualitative study examined how practicing health professionals in the Philippines perceived the formative experiences that shaped their interprofessional collaborative competence. Using semi-structured, one-toone interviews with 20 practising health professionals across medicine, nursing, medical laboratory science, radiology, rehabilitation, dentistry, public health, and clinic management, the study applied reflexive thematic analysis informed by critical realism and Archer’s morphogenetic approach. Five themes were developed: learning through authentic clinical responsibility; learning through repeated communication and role-negotiation routines; learning through mentors, seniors, and workplace exemplars; learning through difficult encounters, hierarchy, and communication breakdowns; and learning through supportive systems, feedback, and deliberate self-improvement. Findings suggest that collaborative competence is not formed by classroom exposure alone. It develops through repeated participation in clinical work, social learning, role negotiation, and the ability to speak up within professional hierarchies. The study contributes to education and workplace learning by showing how professional culture and communication shape collaboration in Philippine healthcare settings.

12:30-12:55 112618 | How Parents of a Child with a Disability Navigate Their Expectations for Their Child’s Achievement and Success: A PhotovoiceBased Study Menny Malka, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel Parents of children with disabilities (PCD) often struggle with a complex feelings comprised of joy and despair. On the one hand, they try to accept their child's disability; on the other, they fear that this acceptance may lower their aspirations for their child. They wonder if they should continue to dream of their child achieving like other children. This study explores how parents’ aspirations are expressed in their daily lives. Using photovoice as a community-based participatory research, thirteen parents from a city in central Israel took part in a year-long project. Data was analyzed using categorical content analysis. Four key narratives emerged: (1) The dream and its breakdown; (2) They can be whatever they want to be!; (3) They can be whatever they want to be, can’t they?; and (4) To dream, but differently: Reframing aspirations for achievement. The findings reveal the complexity of parenting a child with a disability. Parents often hold conflicting aspirations, creating tensions that become part of their identity and are shaped through transformative learning processes. This study offers important insights for professionals and policymakers. It calls for more sensitive, tailored support for PCD as service users.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Film Studies Session Chair: Damien Spiccia 11:40-12:05 112546 | Nostalgic Visual Storytelling in Nguyen Nhat Anh’s Film Adaptations Liem Bui Quoc, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam Vuong Tran Ngoc, Golden Gate University, Vietnam This study examines how nostalgia is constructed, aestheticized, and received in films adapted from Nguyen Nhat Anh's novels, with the aim of clarifying the mechanism of memory restructuring in contemporary Vietnamese cinema. Based on an interdisciplinary research approach, the article combines three data sources: an analysis of cinematic images from four representative film adaptations, 20 in-depth interviews with Millennials and Gen Z audiences, and an analysis of social media comments on nostalgic experiences. The results show that cinematic language, including color, light, composition, props, and sound, act as “visual codes of memory” that trigger nostalgic emotions through embodied nostalgia. The difference between the two generations represents a transition from reflective nostalgia to aesthetic/ mediated nostalgia. At the same time, online commentary shows that nostalgia has become an interactive cultural practice, reproduced and disseminated through memes, short clips, and fan art.

12:05-12:30 113863 | Revisiting Network of Asian Women’s Film Festivals Sophie Shu-Yi Lin, Kun Shan University, Taiwan This project investigates the trajectory and eventual dissolution of the Network of Asian Women’s Film Festivals (NAWFF), focusing on the efforts of its core hosting organisations in Taipei and Seoul. Established in 2009, NAWFF was initiated by three women’s film festivals in Seoul, Taipei, and the Tokyo International Women’s Film Festival. Bound by a shared commitment to feminism, this decade-long network pursued ambitious goals: promoting feminist causes across national borders; empowering Asian women directors; facilitating the transnational circulation of feminist films. However, the network ceased operation by 2019. As the oldest (Taiwan) and the largest (Seoul) women’s film festivals in Asia, both feminist-theme festivals were founded upon resistance politics, challenging patriarchal and heteronormative structures through film festival practices and advocacy for women’s rights. However, both institutions experienced recurring financial and organisational challenges. When first conceived in 2007, NAWFF functioned as a collective line of flight from the recurring financial precarity faced by its member festivals. Through this transnational framework, both festivals sought to secure funding and institutional sustainability. From the perspective of festival studies, this paper examines NAWFF as a “festival mediator”. It explores the organisational structure, curatorial strategies, financial flows, and modes of disseminating feminist films across the network. The paper argues that the eventual dissolution of NAWFF can be understood as a form of queer failure. The dissolution of NAWFF opened up new possibilities for grassroots feminist solidarity, while the transformations of the festival body enabled women’s film festivals to survive through new institutional forms.

12:30-12:55 107522 | The Toy Film as Tactile Gaze: Play, Mechanical Intelligence, and Human Agency Damien Spiccia, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Australia This presentation explores the “toy film” (omocha eiga) not as a marginal sub-genre of Japanese cinema, but as a critical site of media archaeology that reveals an alternative history of spectatorship. Drawing on rare materials preserved by the Omochaeiga Museum in Kyoto, the study investigates how early viewing devices shaped modes of viewing based on play (asobi), interruption, and tactile engagement, rather than passive immersion. Rather than tracing moving-image culture only through projection history, this study examines how playful visual devices and toys shaped viewing practices in early cinema. Using a media-archaeological framework, I argue that toy films functioned as essential domestic tools for visual literacy, contributing to what I describe as a "tactile gaze" grounded in rhythm, repetition, and embodied interaction. In dialogue with the conference theme of Technology and Artificial Intelligence, toy film is here positioned as a form of "mechanical intelligence"; a human-scaled counterpoint to contemporary algorithmic media systems that emphasizes viewer agency over automated image flow. By foregrounding material engagement, this research suggests that toy film offers a vital corrective to dominant narratives of cinematic development. This materialist approach challenges teleological accounts of media progress and proposes methodological insights for future film and media studies concerned with non-immersive, participatory, and post-screen forms of spectatorship.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Politics and Philosophy Session Chair: Andrej Kapcar 11:40-12:05 108225 | Social Media as a Participatory Archive for Culinary Heritage: Discourse and Interpretations of Sisig on Facebook John Edward Alfonso, National University Philippines, Philippines Rachelle Maglalang, National University Philippines, Philippines Facebook has become a central public space where everyday culture is circulated, debated, and remembered. More than a platform for sharing photos, Facebook's pages, algorithmic feeds, reels, sharing tools, and comment threads shape what cultural content becomes visible and meaningful. This study examines how social media mediates cultural heritage through Facebook discourses on the Filipino dish sisig and its many contemporary interpretations. It asks how platform dynamics (1) propagate cultural knowledge, (2) build appreciation and pride that support cultural transmission, and (3) enable evolving meanings through ongoing reinterpretations and discourses. The study combines content analysis of public Facebook posts with discourse analysis of comment threads. Posts sampled from public pages are categorized into those that frame sisig as "authentic" and those that present modern or regional variants. Posts are coded for how they circulate knowledge (e.g., technique, ingredients, place-linking) and for propagation cues (e.g., tags, sharing prompts, location references). Comment threads are analyzed to trace how users collectively construct meaning through appreciation, pride narratives, correction, gatekeeping, or openness to variation, and how these interactions reinforce or challenge dominant ideas of "authenticity" and "sisig". The paper argues that Facebook can support heritage preservation as a participatory archive that stores and redistributes culinary knowledge while cultivating appreciation and pride. It also accelerates cultural evolution by rewarding viral formats and amplifying competing interpretations, reshaping sisig's meaning and significance. Finally, it considers how these platform-driven processes may support community development by strengthening local businesses, stimulating heritage-based tourism, and reinforcing identity narratives.

12:05-12:30 113850 | Creating Cosplay Online: Community, Identity, and Creative Practice Jillian Rae Suter, Shizuoka University, Japan Cosplay is a fan practice centered on constructing costumes and embodying characters. The creative process often involves extensive interaction with other participants, particularly within online communities. Cosplayers share works in progress, exchange technical knowledge, offer encouragement, establish community norms, and anticipate how their costumes will be received both online and at conventions. This study asks how these online interactions shape cosplay as a creative practice and contribute to cosplayers’ understandings of identity and community membership. Using preliminary digital ethnography, it conducts a qualitative thematic analysis of publicly accessible cosplayrelated posts on Instagram and TikTok. Particular attention is given to progress photographs and videos, tutorials, requests for advice, costume reveals, performance videos, and the interactions surrounding these posts. The analysis considers how cosplayers navigate three overlapping identities: fan, creative maker, and community participant. Expected results include recurring patterns of knowledge exchange, encouragement, community recognition, and negotiation of community norms. Online cosplay communities are anticipated to function simultaneously as workshops, audiences, archives, and support networks, while also creating pressures surrounding visibility and recognition. These findings will contribute to research on participatory culture, fan creativity, and the relationship between digital and physical fan communities.

12:30-12:55 113832 | The Door that Was Not There: Immersive Media and the Creation of Contemporary Meaningful Worlds Andrej Kapcar, Masaryk University in Brno, Slovakia From ritual spaces to digital worlds, humans have long created environments in which ordinary structures are suspended and questions of identity, belonging, and transcendence can be explored. While religious rituals and communal festivals have traditionally fulfilled this role, contemporary societies increasingly cultivate comparable experiences through immersive media and technologically mediated cultural environments. Despite their growing cultural significance, these environments remain rarely examined within a shared framework of contemporary meaning-making. This paper introduces a new research project investigating how participatory symbolic worlds created through immersive media foster experiences of liminality, community formation, self-transformation, and existential reflection. Rather than treating technology simply as a medium of communication or entertainment, the project examines how digitally mediated environments become spaces where narratives, symbols, identities, and collective experiences are actively negotiated. Focusing on selected East Asian countries, particularly Japan, China, and South Korea, the research explores how contemporary cultural forms - including video games, underground electronic music scenes, and related participatory practices - generate meaningful symbolic experiences across diverse media. Combining perspectives from media studies, anthropology, ritual studies, and the study of religion, the project investigates how these environments reshape processes of meaning-making beyond traditional religious institutions. Presented as the first stage of a broader research agenda, this paper outlines the project's conceptual framework and invites critical discussion of its theoretical foundations and methodological approach.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Education/Pedagogy Session Chair: Nimfa Buedron 11:40-12:05 112119 | Teaching Practices of MAPEH and Non-MAPEH Majors in Selected Secondary Schools in the First District of Northern Samar Sheryll Basiloy, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines This study examined the teaching practices of Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health (MAPEH) majors and non-MAPEH teachers in selected secondary schools in Northern Samar. It sought to describe the respondents' demographic profile, assess their teaching practices across key instructional domains, and determine the relationship between selected personal variables and teaching practices. The study employed a descriptive-quantitative research methodology. A total of 104 teachers participated in the study. Data were collected using a structured survey questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Findings revealed that MAPEH majors were generally younger, female, married, occupying entry-level teaching positions, and possessing less than 10 years of teaching experience. Most had attended professional development seminars focusing on dance. For non-MAPEH teachers, they were also female, married, Master's degree holder, occupied Teacher III positions, had longer teaching experience, and attended seminars on fitness exercises and first aid. The results further indicated that both MAPEH and non-MAPEH teachers demonstrated excellent teaching practices across instructional domains, including classroom instructional processes, classroom management, and teaching strategies. Statistical analysis revealed that age was significantly related to classroom instructional processes and classroom management, while sex showed a significant relationship with classroom strategies. Civil status however, was not significantly related to teaching practices. The study concludes that both MAPEH and nonMAPEH teachers exhibit strong instructional practices despite differences in professional preparation. It is recommended that schools should continue to provide professional development programs in specialized MAPEH competencies to further enhance instructional effectiveness.

12:05-12:30 112412 | Can Musicological Research Influence Public Arts Education? Evidence from Twenty Years of Cultural Policy in Madeira (2004-2024) Paulo Esteireiro, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal This paper examines whether musicological research can generate measurable social and educational impact beyond academia. The study analyses twenty years of public investment in musicological projects developed in Madeira (Portugal) between 2004 and 2024, involving historical research, critical editions, exhibitions, publications, educational resources, media dissemination, and artistic performance. Rather than assuming the value of these initiatives, the paper adopts a critical approach inspired by Karl Popper's conception of scientific inquiry. Two competing hypotheses are considered: first, that musicology remains largely confined to academic circles; second, that musicological research can become a driver of educational innovation, cultural participation, and heritage sustainability when integrated into public policy. Using institutional records, publication data, educational programmes, artistic productions, exhibitions, and media outputs, the study evaluates the extent to which research findings were translated into educational and cultural practice. The Madeira case provides an opportunity to explore how a regional government and a public arts school transformed musicological knowledge into a long-term strategy connecting heritage, education, artistic creation, and community engagement. The findings contribute to wider discussions concerning the social relevance of humanities research and the role of cultural heritage in contemporary arts education.

12:30-12:55 112859 | Performance Arts-based Pedagogy: Effects on Student Engagement, Motivation, and Academic Performance Among Physical Education Students Nimfa Buedron, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines Performance arts-based pedagogy has increasingly been recognized as an innovative instructional approach that promotes creativity, active participation, and holistic learning in physical education. This study examined the effects of performance arts-based pedagogy on student engagement, motivation, and academic performance among physical education students. Specifically, it determined the extent to which performance arts-based instructional practices influenced students' learning experiences and academic outcomes. A quantitative descriptive-correlational research design was employed involving 100 Physical Education students who were selected through stratified random sampling. Data were collected using adapted and validated questionnaires measuring performance arts-based pedagogical practices, student engagement, and learning motivation, while academic performance was obtained from official records of the students. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that performance arts-based pedagogy was highly implemented in Physical Education classes. Students demonstrated high levels of engagement and motivation and achieved very satisfactory academic performance. Furthermore, significant positive relationships were found between performance arts-based pedagogy and student engagement, motivation, and academic performance. Regression analysis further revealed that performance arts-based pedagogy significantly predicted students' engagement and motivation and moderately predicted academic performance. It can be concluded that integrating performance arts into physical education instruction contributed positively to students' cognitive, affective, and academic development. These findings showed the value of performance arts as an effective pedagogical approach in higher education and underscored the importance of incorporating creative and culturally responsive instructional practices into Physical Education curricula to promote meaningful learning experiences and improved student outcomes.

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Notes

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Cultural and Media Studies Session Chair: Valeria Car 13:10-13:35 110669 | Revisiting Popular Song Arrangement in Prewar Taiwanese 78 RPM Records: Sound Archives, Recording Industry Documents, and an Overlooked Analytical Layer Wanling Chen, National Taiwan University, Taiwan Research on historical popular song recordings has often relied on two principal approaches: aural analysis of recorded sound and documentary reconstruction. However, the role of musical arrangement in shaping recorded sound has frequently remained marginal. This absence is particularly evident in studies of early 78 RPM records, where arrangement is often subsumed under performance practices or overshadowed by technological and industrial narratives. Focusing on Taiwanese recordings issued on 78 RPM records between 1914 and 1943, this paper revisits arrangement as a central yet underexamined component of early recording practices. The study draws on two archival sources rarely examined together: 1,996 digitized recordings preserved at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka and internal operational documents from Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. in the 1930s. Through close listening and cross-referencing sound recordings with corporate documentation, the paper examines arrangement practices in prewar Taiwanese popular song recordings. It further shows that in dramatic or narrative recordings, arrangement also functioned to construct musical frameworks beyond spoken dialogue. By foregrounding arrangement as an analytical focus, this paper argues that attention to this overlooked layer enables a more precise understanding of early 78 RPM recordings and offers a renewed methodological perspective on the relationship between sound archives, media technology, and cultural production in early twentieth-century East Asia.

13:35-14:00 113707 | Media Convergence in FM Radio and the Role of Digital Platforms During the Early Stages of Integration River January Rosal, University of the Philippines Diliman Campus, Philippines This study examines the evolution of FM radio in the Philippines during the early stages of digital integration, focusing on how traditional radio expands through the incorporation of digital platforms. Anchored on media convergence theory, particularly Jenkins' concept of the flow of content and Negroponte's model of media convergence, the research employed an exploratory and descriptive qualitative design to document observable changes in radio practice. Using case studies of three FM radio stations in Metro Manila—Magic 89.9, Monster RX 93.1, and Wish 107.5—the study analyzes how Radio-Originated Material (ROM) is remediated and distributed as Radio-Originated Content (ROC) across websites, social media, visual platforms, and audio-on-demand streaming services during a defined observation period in 2021. The findings indicate that digital platforms function as auxiliary infrastructures that extend FM radio beyond its traditional constraints of ephemerality, geographic reach, and linear delivery. Rather than replacing terrestrial broadcasting, these platforms enable the circulation of ROC across multiple digital environments, through which radio acquires new characteristics, including visuality, interactivity, on-demand access, and multiplatform distribution. The study demonstrates that, within a convergent media environment, the evolution of FM radio is observable through the expanded circulation of ROC across digital platforms, without displacing or replacing established broadcast practices.

14:00-14:25 110980 | Pentatonic Perception and Melodic Identity in Khayal and Jiuta: An Indian Listening Perspective Priyal Sathe, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, India This paper examines melodic identity and pentatonic perception in two Asian art-music traditions: Hindustani khayal, the improvisational vocal tradition of Hindustani classical music, and Jiuta, the Japanese vocal–instrumental tradition associated particularly with the Kamigata region. While certain Japanese pentatonic frameworks may resemble Hindustani swara arrangements, the treatment, phrase contour, emotional expression, listening environment, and aesthetic perception remain fundamentally different. Rather than proposing direct equivalence between Japanese modal systems and Hindustani ragas, the paper explores how similar pentatonic relationships may generate culturally distinct melodic identities. Using movable Sa for comparative convenience, the study briefly discusses how the Japanese YO-type pentatonic framework may evoke Raga Durga for Indian listeners. The primary case study focuses on the Jiuta repertoire piece Kurokami, associated with Miyako-bushi-type pentatonic organization, whose melodic atmosphere may evoke Gunakri-like perception. The paper also examines an important distinction between the two traditions: while Hindustani ragas preserve melodic identity even when the tonic shifts, Japanese modal frameworks often function through interval-based organization in which tonal atmosphere may change according to tonal center and tuning context. The study argues that melodic identity emerges not merely from scale structure but from culturally shaped listening and performance practices.

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13:10-14:50 | Room A (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Cultural and Media Studies Session Chair: Valeria Car 14:25-14:50 108506 | Seriality, Platforms and Audiovisual Consumption Among University Students in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina Valeria Car, National University of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands, Argentina This paper examines how university students engage with audiovisual fiction on streaming platforms, focusing on the relationship between seriality, temporality, and everyday viewing practices. While streaming platforms have expanded access to serialized content, less attention has been paid to how students negotiate the temporal demands of serial storytelling within fragmented daily schedules. The study adopts a sequential design that combines a survey conducted in 2024 with 103 students from the National University of Tierra del Fuego (UNTDF), Argentina, and the systematic mapping and descriptive coding of 50 fiction series identified by participants. Students were recruited through a voluntary, non-probabilistic strategy involving undergraduate courses, institutional mailing lists, QR codes, and student communication networks. Findings show that students seek to reconcile limited and fragmented viewing time with sustained engagement in serialized narratives. Survey data indicate the importance of thematic interest and a preference for short-duration episodes, while the analysis of the 50 referenced fiction series reveals the predominance of formats characterized by narrative continuity, extended development over time, and multi-season structures. Taken together, these findings highlight the centrality of temporality in contemporary viewing practices and suggest a tension between fragmented everyday schedules and the long-term temporal demands of serialized storytelling. Drawing on cultural studies and Latin American reception research, the paper proposes a situated analysis of audiovisual consumption in Tierra del Fuego, an insular and underrepresented region in southern Argentina. The study contributes to debates on streaming cultures, seriality, and platformization by examining the temporal dimensions of contemporary viewing practices.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Sustainability in Arts, Media and Culture Session Chair: Shelley Margaret Hannigan 13:10-13:35 111734 | Communication Strategies of Community-Based Tourism Entrepreneurs in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces: an SMCR Model Perspective Hamdia Mudor, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand Sakiroh Yaena Benharoon, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand Effective communication is essential for community-based tourism entrepreneurs, particularly in culturally diverse and geographically remote areas. This study examines the communication strategies of community-based tourism entrepreneurs in Thailand’s southern border provinces through the SMCR (Source–Message–Channel–Receiver) model and proposes communication guidelines to enhance tourism sustainability and community competitiveness. A qualitative research approach was employed using three sources of data: documentary research, indepth interviews with government officials responsible for tourism development and representatives of six model tourism communities and focus group discussions with community-based tourism entrepreneurs. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis based on the SMCR framework. The findings reveal that communication practices in the southern border provinces are shaped by multicultural contexts and community-based tourism structures. Effective communication depends on trusted community leaders who can coordinate with government agencies and local stakeholders. Communication messages should emphasize storytelling, local identity, cultural values, and appropriate behavioral guidelines for visitors. Both internal community networks and external channels supported by government organizations play important roles in information dissemination. In addition, successful communication requires tourists and stakeholders to understand local cultural contexts, community norms, and tourism regulations. The study proposes an SMCR-based communication framework that can strengthen community tourism management, improve stakeholder engagement, and support the sustainable development of tourism enterprises in Thailand’s southern border provinces.

13:35-14:00 113875 | Constructing Reality: AI and the Aesthetics of Contemporary Documentary Yiannis Christidis, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus The increasing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into documentary filmmaking challenges long-established assumptions regarding cinematic truth, authenticity, and the ethical relationship between image and reality. This paper examines these issues through the production of the hybrid documentary The Council of All Beings, a film that combines observational documentary practices with selectively generated AI imagery. AI here is treated as a technological enhancement, a substitute for photographic evidence, but also as an aesthetic and conceptual device capable of expanding critical reflection while preserving the experiential qualities of observational cinema. Drawing upon theories of slow cinema, ecocriticism, and documentary ethics, the paper argues that restrained and transparent AI interventions can contribute to a contemplative viewing experience without undermining the documentary's relationship with reality. The discussion focuses on directorial decision-making concerning the degree, purpose, and visibility of AI-generated elements, demonstrating how minimal interventions can destabilize visual certainty, encourage ambiguity, and deepen audience engagement with ecological and philosophical questions. Audience responses from public screenings further suggest that viewers were less concerned with identifying AI-generated imagery than with the emotional and reflective experience produced by the film's hybrid aesthetic. The paper ultimately proposes a framework of good practice for AI integration in documentary filmmaking, advocating for its use as a tool for conceptual exploration. It concludes that the combination of observational documentary and slow cinema aesthetics with carefully controlled AI-generated imagery offers a productive direction for contemporary documentary practice, opening new possibilities for ethical image construction, while preserving the main qualities of documentary cinema.

14:00-14:25 108505 | Nature Imagery and Textual Information in Sustainable Marketing Ho Keat Leng, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan With consumers more concerned about environmental issues, there is a growing need for companies to communicate their efforts in environmental sustainability. This include incorporating images of natural environments and textual information on sustainable practices in their advertisements. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of such imagery of nature and textual information in advertisements. In this study, 1,099 respondents were distributed across 4 groups. In the control group, respondents were exposed to an advertisement of a fictitious brand of sports shoes on a black background. In the remaining three experimental groups, the respondents were shown the same advertisement with either a nature backdrop only, textual information on sustainable practices in the manufacture of the sport shoes only or both nature backdrop and textual information. Respondents were then asked to indicate their perception of quality and purchase intention of the sports shoes. A one-way between-groups analysis of variance was conducted to examine the effect of nature imagery and textual information on perception of quality and purchase intention of the sports shoes. There was a statistically significant difference across the groups for both perception of quality (F(3, 1095) = 9.02, p < .001) and purchase intention (F(3, 1095) = 14.01, p < .001). Post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey test indicated that the mean score for the experimental group with both imagery and textual information was significantly higher than all other groups. This suggests that the use of both nature imagery and textual information can influence consumer behaviour positively.

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13:10-14:50 | Room B (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Sustainability in Arts, Media and Culture Session Chair: Shelley Margaret Hannigan 14:25-14:50 111461 | Craft as Art, Art as Response: Interdisciplinary Practice in the Age of Climate Crisis Shelley Hannigan, Deakin University, Australia Humanity faces an unprecedented convergence of ecological, cultural, and psychological crises precipitated by climate change. This paper shares my transdisciplinary practice/research recognising a global movement of similar creative research activity that responds to climate change through arts and media in collaborative and social ways. It argues that the arts offer essential, irreplaceable ways of knowing, feeling, and responding to this existential challenge. Drawing on over two decades of work as a practicing visual artist, academic, and educator at Deakin University, this paper presents an interdisciplinary body of research that positions artistic practice at the intersection of environmental urgency, human identity, intelligence, place and culture. Underpinned by methodologies including arts-based research, collaborative autoethnography, and practice-led inquiries, my work traverses science, education, environmental studies, and the creative arts — refusing disciplinary silos in order to honour the complexity of the human condition and the climate crisis. Central to this research is a sustained critical and creative engagement with craft-media: textiles, making, and material processes that carry deep cultural memory and embody human relationship with the natural world. Collaborative processes are shared along with the importance of making and craft as art rather than subordinating it to decorative or functional categories. This work reclaims the arts profound expressive and intellectual capacity as modes of ecological witness and advocacy. In an era of climate anxiety and uncertain futures, art and craft illuminate what data alone cannot — the lived, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of environmental loss and future possibilities.

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13:10-14:50 | Room C (4F)

Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 MediAsia2026 | Communication Theory and Methodology Session Chair: Kenneth Rey Recio 13:10-13:35 112765 | Inside the Dump: Identity Construction and Negotiation Among Gen Z on Instagram Dump Accounts Kenneth Rey Recio, University of the Philippines Manila, Philippines Instagram dump accounts, commonly referred to as the “dump,” have become increasingly popular among Generation Z users as alternatives to their carefully curated main accounts. Amid increasing pressures to maintain polished online personas, these semi-private spaces enable users to share more mundane, spontaneous, and personally meaningful content with a selectively chosen audience. In doing so, users continuously negotiate audience boundaries by deciding who is granted access to their dump accounts and manage self-disclosure by determining what aspects of themselves are revealed or withheld. As such, dump accounts provide a distinctive site for examining how identity is constructed and performed through platform-specific communicative behaviors and practices. Drawing on in-depth interviews and thematic analysis, this study investigates how Filipino Gen Z users construct and negotiate their identities through Instagram dump accounts. It also examines how Instagram's technological affordances shape practices of audience selection, self-disclosure, and identity performance. By positioning dump accounts as alternative spaces for self-presentation, the study contributes to an understanding of how ordinary social media activities become meaningful sites of identity work and relational boundary management. Situated within the Philippine context, the study also contributes to discussions on media technologies by offering nuanced insights into how Filipino youth make sense of identity, privacy, and everyday self-presentation through Instagram dump accounts.

13:35-14:00 112640 | From Metrics to Meanings: Audience Engagement and Parasocial Experience in the Thai Edutainment Podcast People You May Know (PYMK) Naphatrapee Suntorntirnan, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand The popularity of video podcasts has re-driven how knowledge-orientated content attracts Thai audiences, yet edutainment formats that converge educational and entertaining dimensions remain under-examined. This study investigates People You May Know (PYMK), a renowned Thai biographical podcast created by FAROSE Studio, investigating how its content is presented and why audiences are involved with it. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was applied. In the quantitative phase, a content analysis coded eleven episodes (2023–2025) that each exceeded one million views, examining informational and dramatic-entertainment elements alongside engagement metrics. The findings show that content centred on royal figures was the most popular category; however, they revealed an apparent paradox: a fabricated April Fools' episode, lowest in factual substance yet highest in playful reaction, attracted the greatest likes and comments, suggesting that entertainment intensity, rather than informational accuracy, drives measurable engagement. The qualitative phase employed semi-structured in-depth interviews with eight Thai viewers across four generations, triangulated with the creator's media interviews and audience comments. The results indicate that engagement is maintained through parasocial relationships and narrative transportation, which operate in mutually fortifying interactions: emotional attachment to presenters deepens immersion in historical narratives, while immersion strengthens attachment. A further finding is that the programme's knowledge-seeking queer (kathoey) community identity meaningfully revitalises the experience, lowering the boundary between learning and pleasure and fostering a sense of belonging. The study contributes to scholarship on digital edutainment, audience studies, and identity-based media communities, offering a culturally situated account of how Thai podcast audiences create meaning.

14:00-14:25 113261 | From Consumers to Creators: Fostering New Media Literacy with AI-Enhanced Digital Multimodal Composing Kai Guo, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Danyang Zhang, Shenzhen University, China Danling Li, Shenzhen University, China Contemporary digital communication requires more than passive media consumption; it demands active, critical creation of multimodal content. Yet pedagogical approaches to developing new media literacy (NML) have lagged behind this paradigm shift. This study addresses this gap by introducing an AI-enhanced digital multimodal composing (DMC) approach implemented during an 18-week English for Journalism course. Forty-one undergraduates used the AI platform Youyan to create digital news videos. A mixed-methods design captured both quantitative and qualitative dimensions of NML development through pre/post questionnaires, reflection journals, multimodal artifacts, and supplementary feedback. Results revealed statistically significant gains across all seven NML dimensions: consuming skill, understanding, analysis, evaluation, prosuming skill, distribution, and creation. Qualitative findings demonstrated that students progressed from basic information compilation to sophisticated narrative design through iterative revision cycles involving critical source evaluation, balanced perspective-taking, and strategic multimodal orchestration. Notably, the findings reveal a bidirectional relationship between analysis and creation; analytical insights directly informed creative decisions, while the process of creation deepened critical awareness. This challenges linear consumption-to-production models. By automating technical tasks, AI tools reallocated cognitive resources to higher-order thinking, enabling students to focus on rhetorical refinement, ethical judgment, and ideological reframing. This study offers an evidence-based pedagogical pathway for transforming students from passive consumers into critical, agentive creators, equipping educators with practical strategies to cultivate NML in contemporary digital learning environments.

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Notes

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Media Studies Session Chair: Blenn Nimer 13:10-13:35 109618 | Beyond the Battlefield: State Terrorism as a Tool of Foreign Policy Makena Micheni, Oxford University, United Kingdom This paper examines how state violence within one military arena can function as a tool of coercion against civilians in others. Focusing on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, it explores how this violence was discursively mobilised as a threat directed at the Lebanese population in an effort to pressure civilians to withdraw support for Hezbollah. Methodologically, the study adopts Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), integrating textual analysis with attention to discursive production and socio-political context. The primary textual material is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the Lebanese public, selected through purposive sampling as a high-salience communicative act issued during a period of regional escalation. Rather than treating the speech as an isolated event, the paper analyses it as a discursive node within a broader campaign of communicative coercion directed toward civilian audiences beyond the immediate theatre of war. To complement the discourse analysis, the study also draws on semi-structured interviews with Lebanese civilians, examining perceptions of the speech and broader understandings of Israeli tactics in Lebanon. The interviews are used not to measure behavioural outcomes, but to establish the lived experience and reception of threat among civilians exposed to such messaging. Interpretive categories, including intimidation, threat construction, and coercive signalling, were developed through iterative coding grounded in CDA concepts such as modality, intertextuality, and evaluative language. The paper argues that the communicative mobilisation of violence toward civilian audiences can be understood within the framework of state terrorism, exposing the limits of terrorism frameworks that exclude stateactors.

13:35-14:00 112946 | Beliefs, Attitudes, and Voting Behavior: Political Culture of Voters in Northern Samar, Philippines Eduardo Jr. Ocaňa, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines Political culture represents the shared beliefs, values, attitudes, and norms that shape how citizens perceive their political system, exercise their rights, and make electoral choices. This study examines the political culture of voters, focusing on its dimensions, determinants, and direct influence on voting voting behavior of voters in Northern Samar, Philippines. Drawing on the framework of Almond and Verba's Civic Culture Theory and using descriptive -analytical research design, data were gathered through survey questionnaires. Findings reveal that about 62% of voters prioritize personal connections and family background over political platforms. while 48% admit to receiving money, material incentives, or favors in exchange for vote or support. Further, only 29% of the respondents demonstrate a participant-oriented culture, meaning they actively follow election laws and hold leaders accountable, whereas 54% fall under subject or parochial orientations, characterized by limited political engagement and trust in institutions. This study concludes that traditional values such as personalism and patronage remain the dominant forces that influence electoral outcomes and governance quality. Strengthening civic education, economic opportunities, and institutional transparency is recommended to foster a more informed, issue-centered, and democratic political culture.

14:00-14:25 108269 | The Theory of Incremental Normalisation: A Grounded Theory on the Cultural Habituation of Corruption in the Philippines Blenn Nimer, Notre Dame of Kidapawan College, Philippines Corruption in the Philippines is frequently characterised as systemic, yet it is often analysed through Western-centric lenses that overlook the unique Filipino socio-cultural nuances. This Grounded Theory study was conducted to develop a localised explanation of corruption, moving beyond mere description to uncover the specific mechanisms that define its nature in the Philippine context. The participants were 30 Political Science students, purposively selected due to their heightened academic awareness and engagement with the nation’s socio-political issues. Data were elicited through semi-structured interviews. The gathered data were analysed using Constant Comparative Analysis, a core grounded theory technique. The process involved an iterative cycle of data collection and analysis, progressing from open to axial and selective coding. The data analysis yielded the Theory of Incremental Normalisation, illustrating corruption in the Philippines as a progressive habituation process rather than a static choice. It begins with micro-deviance within the domestic sphere, is reinforced by institutional shortcuts in the educational system, and is sustained by the moral paradoxes of religious institutions, ultimately leading to a pragmatic moral shift where dishonesty is rebranded as a necessary tool for survival (diskarte). Thus, corruption in the Philippines is not merely a problem of bad leaders but a result of a progressive normalisation process that begins in childhood and is reinforced by the very institutions — home, school, and church — intended to prevent it. The transition from micro-deviance to systemic greed is fueled by a pragmatic shift where survival and success are viewed as incompatible with absolute honesty.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Media Studies Session Chair: Blenn Nimer 14:25-14:50 113733 | Can AI Sustain the Local Newsroom? Artificial Intelligence and the Editorial Sustainability of Independent Regional Media in Kazakhstan Askhat Yerkimbay, SDU University, Kazakhstan Danagul Naukhan, SDU University, Kazakhstan Independent regional media in Kazakhstan operate under acute pressure: financial precarity, staff shortages, a weak advertising market, and dependence on local-government funding that produces a "subsidy trap" eroding editorial autonomy. This study asks how artificial intelligence (AI) can be deployed to strengthen the editorial sustainability of these newsrooms, and what the main barriers and opportunities to adoption are. Drawing together Media Dependency Theory, Media Sustainability Theory, and Diffusion of Innovations, we conceptualise sustainability across four interdependent dimensions—economic, professional-editorial, technological, and social/trust. The research uses a qualitative design: in-depth, semi-structured interviews with fifteen purposively sampled participants spanning regional editors and managers, IT and data specialists, and media researchers, divided between central and regional locations, analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. International comparison—from Greece and the Nordic cooperatives to the Global South—situates Kazakhstan within wider debates on AI in "news deserts," while national data document the gap between formal media pluralism and genuine independence. The study contributes an empirically grounded, critically framed account of AI adoption in a non-English, post-Soviet media ecosystem, offering practical guidance for newsrooms, donors, and policymakers on responsible, human-in-the-loop integration.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Literature, Language and Cultural Studies Session Chair: Eiko Ohira 13:10-13:35 113840 | Between Yāoguài and Yōkai: The Semantic Transformation of 妖怪 in Colonial Taiwan’s Hanwen Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpō Chengyu Liang, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan This study examines how the term yōkai (妖怪) was translated, circulated, and recontextualized in colonial Taiwan through the Chinese-language edition of the Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpō. Although yōkai has become a prominent category in contemporary Taiwanese cultural production, its earlier semantic history remains insufficiently explained. Drawing on conceptual history, lexical analysis, and newspaper discourse analysis, the study identifies sixteen occurrences of 妖怪 in the corpus examined and compares them with the more frequent terms 怪物 (54 occurrences) and 怪異 (64 occurrences). The sixteen items are coded by geographical setting, genre, semantic function, and possible translation from literary texts published in metropolitan Japan. Preliminary analysis shows that 妖怪 functioned neither as a stable, unified category nor as a simple Japanese replacement for existing Chinese terms. Instead, its meanings shifted among anomalous phenomena, concrete nonhuman beings, metaphorical usages, and emerging scholarly terminology. Some examples suggest the mediation of Japanese narratives through the colonial press, while others retain Chinese-language understandings of strangeness and transformation. By treating the newspaper as a site of translation and conceptual negotiation, this study argues that Taiwanese yōkai discourse developed through layered interactions among Chinese lexical traditions, Japanese yōkai knowledge, colonial media, and local narrative contexts. It thereby provides a historical basis for understanding the later localization and reinvention of yōkai in Taiwan.

13:35-14:00 113101 | Sigmund Freud’s Id, Ego, and Superego as Reflected in Homer’s The Odyssey Anatolia Basista, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines Literary texts provide valuable insights into the complexities of human behavior by portraying the psychological struggles, motivations, and moral conflicts of their characters. Examining these inner dynamics through psychoanalytic theory offers a deeper understanding of how personality influences decision-making and character development in classical literature. This study aimed to identify the manifestations of the id, ego, and superego among the major characters, analyze how these psychological components shaped their actions and decisions, and determine their contribution to the development of the epic's central themes. The study employed a qualitative descriptive research design using psychoanalytic literary criticism as its analytical framework. Data were gathered through close textual reading and thematic analysis of significant episodes and character interactions. The findings revealed that the id was reflected in characters driven by instinctive desires, impulsiveness, and aggression, whereas the ego was evident in the strategic thinking, adaptability, and rational decision-making of the protagonist. The superego emerged through actions guided by moral responsibility, justice, loyalty, and respect for divine and social laws. The interaction of these three psychological forces illustrated the characters' internal and external conflicts, demonstrating that their behaviors resulted from the constant negotiation among desire, reason, and ethical responsibility. The study concluded that Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory provides a comprehensive lens for interpreting the psychological depth of The Odyssey and its enduring relevance to human experience. It recommended the integration of psychoanalytic literary criticism into literature instruction to enhance students' analytical skills and foster interdisciplinary approaches to literary studies.

14:00-14:25 109936 | Rabindranath Tagore’s Kabuliwalla as Father-and-Daughter Fiction: The Kabuliwalla’s Metaphorical Paternal Love for a Girl in Hindu Patriarchal Society Eiko Ohira, Otusma University, Japan Rabindranath Tagore's short novel Kabuliwalla (1892) tells the story of the innocent friendship between Rahmat, a dried fruit peddler from Kabul in Afghanistan, and Mini, the five-year-old daughter of the narrator. This bond transcends racial and class differences, interweaving with the theme of the paternal love that Raman and the narrator have for their daughters. This aspect has attracted much critical attention. Furthermore, in the conversation between Rahmat and Mini about “the in-laws' home”, criticism tends to focus on the skillful use of the term as a euphemism for “jail”, which foreshadows Rahmat's subsequent incarceration. However, it is rarely pointed out that Tagore's innovative gender perspective is subtly embedded in Rahmat's words: “You must never go to your in-laws' house.” At that time, in India's patriarchal society, it was considered the duty of Hindu patriarchs to marry off their daughters before they reached puberty. However, such marriages were accompanied by harsh realities, including the mistreatment of daughters-in-law and widows. Although Tagore frequently depicted such women, this short story is noteworthy in that it portrays the father’s perspective and lends depth and complexity to the delicate and understated depiction of paternal love. This text does not depict the inner conflict of the father, a Hindu patriarch bearing the heavy responsibility of marrying off his daughter. Instead, the hidden conflict is conveyed through the words of the Kabuliwalla. The text can also be interpreted as raising questions about the role of marriage in maintaining the patriarchal system of the time.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Literature, Language and Cultural Studies Session Chair: Eiko Ohira 14:25-14:50 113091 | Gasping for Breath: The Racial Politics of Air and Aeromobility Marzia Milazzo, University of Johanesburg, South Africa Two decades after Mimi Sheller and John Urry (2006) conceived a “‘new mobilities’ paradigm” in the social sciences, little scholarship produced within Mobility Studies is concerned with racism and even fewer studies examine the workings of anti-Blackness. If we consider aeromobility in particular, it becomes obvious that Mobility Studies are lagging behind other fields in grasping how anti-Blackness informs not just the politics of flight, but even the very ability to draw in breath. In this paper, I examine the workings of breathing and flying while Black by turning to renown Haitian American writer Edwidge Danticat’s award-winning memoir Brother, I’m Dying (2007), which provides a unique lens into air, airports, and the racial politics that inform them, showing that the abilities to breathe and speak are themselves racialized and structured in anti-Blackness. Ultimately, I argue, there is a need to center anti-Blackness if we are to understand the politics of aeromobility in their full complexity, starting from the air that we breathe.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 4 KAMC2026 | Cultural Studies Session Chair: Susana Gramilho 15:20-15:45 111897 | Transcultural Exploration of Taiko: A Comparative Aesthetics Study Between Europe and Taiwan Qing Di, National Chengchi University, Taiwan This study explores the transcultural development of Taiko drumming through a comparative aesthetic analysis of Europe and Taiwan. Drawing on the theoretical framework of transculturality proposed by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Fernando Ortiz, and Wolfgang Welsch, the research investigates how Taiko, originally rooted in Japanese religious rituals and performance traditions, has been adopted, transformed, and localized in different cultural contexts. Using qualitative methods, including participant observation, literature review, in-depth interviews, and comparative analysis, the study examines the historical transmission of Taiko and its contemporary expressions. The findings reveal that both European and Taiwanese Taiko have developed distinctive aesthetic identities while preserving core elements of the Japanese tradition. European Taiko integrates influences from Greek tragedy, contemporary dance, modern stage design, and global percussion traditions, emphasizing energy, community, and transcultural innovation. In contrast, Taiwanese Taiko incorporates Taoist and Buddhist aesthetics, Chinese landscape philosophy, martial arts movements, and traditional Chinese musical elements, creating a more contemplative and spiritually oriented performance style. These differences are reflected in costumes, choreography, stage design, musical structure, and aesthetic experience. The study proposes an “Infinite Transcultural Process Loop” to explain how cultural forms evolve through cycles of learning, mastery, identity-seeking, and localization. It argues that transculturality is not merely the reception of a foreign culture but an ongoing process of creative engagement. The case of Taiko demonstrates how global cultural exchange generates new artistic forms while reinforcing local cultural identities.

15:45-16:10 112432 | Collective Memory and Contextual History Learning Through the Sintuk War Museum as Local Resistance Education Piki Setri Pernantah, Universitas Riau, Indonesia Fikrul Hanif Sufyan, STKIP Yayasan Abdi Pendidikan Payakumbuh, Indonesia Silvia Marni, Universitas PGRI Sumatera Barat, Indonesia Aisiah Aisiah, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia Martaliza Martaliza, State Senior High School 15 Padang, Indonesia The Sintuk War Museum in Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra, Indonesia, represents a form of event-based cultural heritage formation rooted in a local struggle that has not yet received adequate attention in the national historical record. This study focuses on the chronology of events culminating in the Surau Batu Massacre on 7 June 1949, when Dutch colonial troops executed approximately 35 fighters on the banks of the Batang Tapakis River. Although this historical atrocity has been locally verified, it remains largely absent from Indonesian historiography and the national curriculum. The critical research gap concerns how a community-initiated museum can function simultaneously as a construction of collective memory and as a source of contextual history learning. This study employed a convergent mixed-methods design, combining a qualitative case study with a teacher survey (n = 30). Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, archival and document analysis, and a validated 20-item survey instrument (alpha = 0.891). The novelty of this study lies in its synthesis of Halbwachs’s theory of collective memory with contextual and constructivist learning theory (Johnson, 2002; Falk & Dierking, 2018) into a Collective Memory–Contextual Learning framework. The findings confirm the museum as a critical site for the “institutionalization of vernacular memory.” The survey results (overall M = 4.30; Very High; alpha = 0.891) demonstrate strong teacher support for the museum’s educational relevance in facilitating contextual history learning.

16:10-16:35 113889 | Trees as Living Archives: Politics, Memory, and Plant Ethics Ioana Clara Enescu, Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania This paper examines how trees mediate relationships with the past through two arboreal interventions in Brașov. The first records collective political history: after Brașov was renamed Orașul Stalin (Stalin City) in 1950, fir trees were planted on Mount Tâmpa to spell “STALIN.” After the city recovered its name in 1960, traces remained legible for decades. The second one, meant to help heal private grief, is the Plantați în amintire (Planted in Memory) project, which started in November 2022, and involved planting different trees (oaks, ginkgos) to commemorate loved ones. Each planted tree was given a QR code, providing access to the story of the person in whose memory the tree was planted. I approach the two projects through plant humanities and plant ethics, asking what psychological, political, and cultural mechanisms allow plants to be entrusted with human memory. The two cases present contrasting practices of remembrance: one imposes an ideological name on the landscape and collective history, while the other gives personal loss a shared, material form. Yet both rely on an anthropocentric view of trees as instruments that extend human memory and give it vegetal expression. Trees, however, are not passive objects; they are living beings that carry human meanings forward and will likely outlive them. By bringing arboreal time into contact with political history and personal remembrance, these sites reveal the symbolic power and cultural value of trees, as well as the ethical tensions involved in treating more-thanhuman beings as instruments for preserving human pasts.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 4 KAMC2026 | Cultural Studies Session Chair: Susana Gramilho 16:35-17:00 111895 | Macaronesia as a Transatlantic Cultural Space: Identity, Intercultural Dialogue and Island-Based Cultural Hybridity Susana Gramilho, Universidade da Madeira, Portugal The Macaronesian region, comprising the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde, represents a unique transatlantic cultural and geographical space shaped by island geography, historical connectivity, and contemporary intercultural dynamics. Despite their distinct political and linguistic contexts, these archipelagos share deep cultural resonances expressed through oral traditions, music, language contact, and collective identity formation. This paper explores Macaronesia as a unified cultural space, examining how island identities are constructed, negotiated, and transformed across the four archipelagos. It focuses on cultural hybridity, memory, and identity as central elements in shaping contemporary Macaronesian cultural expression. Drawing on comparative cultural analysis, the study highlights the role of music, language, and artistic practices in maintaining cultural continuity while also reflecting processes of change and globalisation. Particular attention is given to the interaction between Portuguese, Spanish, and Cape Verdean Creole-speaking contexts, and how linguistic diversity contributes to cultural identity formation. The paper argues that Macaronesia functions as a dynamic intercultural space where European, African, and Atlantic influences intersect, producing a distinctive cultural ecosystem. It further proposes that this region offers a valuable framework for rethinking cultural identity beyond continental boundaries, emphasising fluidity, hybridity, and relational belonging. Ultimately, the study positions Macaronesia not only as a geographical designation but as a cultural construct that can contribute to broader discussions on identity, postcoloniality, and intercultural dialogue in island societies.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 4 MediAsia2026 | Social Media and Communication Technology Session Chair: Shivani Sharma 15:20-15:45 112628 | Digital Communication, Cultural Difference, and Intercultural Communication Competence: A Dynamic Model of Bangladeshi International Students in China Tahera Akter, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China Md Nurus Safa, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China China hosts a large and growing population of Bangladeshi international students, representing one of the most significant South Asian student communities in East Asian higher education. Despite this, limited research has examined how these students develop intercultural communication competence (ICC) through everyday communicative experiences, particularly within digitally mediated environments. Existing studies have largely remained descriptive, offering limited theoretical explanation of how ICC evolves and shapes cultural adjustment over time. This study develops and empirically examines a Dynamic Intercultural Communication Competence Development and Cultural Adjustment Model that integrates intercultural communication competence, acculturation, cross-cultural adaptation, and Anxiety/Uncertainty Management theories into a unified process-oriented framework. The model conceptualizes ICC as a dynamic capability developing through five interconnected encounter contexts: academic interactions, social engagement with Chinese peers, negotiation of Islamic identity and religious practices, digitally mediated communication through platforms such as WeChat and co-national online communities, and everyday encounters involving language and institutional systems. Using a concurrent mixed-methods design combining survey data from Bangladeshi international students in Chinese universities with semi-structured interviews, the findings demonstrate that digital communication simultaneously provides emotional support and cultural continuity while facilitating engagement with host-culture communities. Intercultural encounters reduce communication anxiety and uncertainty, strengthen ICC, and improve psychological, sociocultural, and academic adjustment. By identifying digital communication as a central mechanism of ICC development, this study advances intercultural communication scholarship and provides practical insights for universities seeking to strengthen intercultural learning and digital support for international students.

15:45-16:10 113424 | Digital Connection: A Quantitative Study on the Role of Instant Messaging in Nurturing Friendships Among College Students Maria Lourdes Apodaca, Saint Paul University Quezon City, Philippines Maria Amelia Corado, Enablrs, Inc., Philippines Marites Fontanilla, Saint Paul University Quezon City, Philippines Marie Celestine Isaga, Saint Paul University Quezon City, Philippines Grounded in Relational Maintenance Theory and recognizing the increasing reliance on digital communication technologies, this study investigated college students’ perceptions of the role of instant messaging (IM) in supporting friendship maintenance, including communication frequency, emotional closeness, trust and support, communication quality, and interpersonal interaction. Employing a descriptive quantitative design, data were gathered through a researcher-made questionnaire, which was floated online, from 93 college students aged between 20 and more than 28, representing all year levels of Information Technology and Communication from St. Paul University Quezon City (SPUQC) and Computer Science from St. Paul University San Miguel (SPUSM), and selected through purposive sampling. The questionnaire underwent face and content validation and demonstrated acceptable reliability. Findings showed that 90.32% used IM daily, suggesting that IM is integrated into respondents’ communication habits, while 73.11% perceived it as strengthening friendships, implying that IM is a go-to platform for sustaining friendships. Although respondents rated face-to-face communication higher for emotional closeness (IM=3.37, SD=0.78), IM was seen as a valuable tool for maintaining relationships, specifically in facilitating long-distance communication among friends (49.46%). In the absence of IM, 34.40% believed they would communicate less frequently, while 27.95% said they would rely more on face-to-face interaction or voice calls. These findings suggest that respondents perceive IM as an important communication technology for maintaining friendships and relational connectedness, while complementing rather than replacing in-person interaction. The study contributes to understanding how digital communication practices support friendship maintenance among college students.

16:10-16:35 112381 | Measuring Fake News Identification in AI-Mediated Social Media: Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Scale for University Students William Ko-Wai Tang, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong The problem of AI-generated misinformation on social media platforms has transformed how users encounter, interpret, and circulate news. This creates additional challenges in evaluating the effectiveness of communication skills in the modern digital environment. This study describes the development and validation process of the Fake News Identification Scale (FNIS). It is an assessment tool designed to evaluate university students' ability to identify fake news on AI-mediated social media. Drawing on research on misinformation, social media use, and digital media literacy, the FNIS conceptualises fake news identification through three dimensions: Content Evaluation (critical appraisal of informational accuracy and source credibility), Appearance Assessment (attention to visual, interface, and stylistic cues shaped by platform design), and Motivation Awareness (recognition of ideological, economic, and algorithmic drivers behind misinformation, including generative AI). A 48-item instrument was administered to 217 tertiary students in Hong Kong. Exploratory factor analysis supported a threefactor structure consistent with the proposed framework, and reliability analyses indicated high internal consistency across all subscales. Results demonstrated a significant difference in respondents' abilities: students performed strongest on Appearance Assessment but were substantially weaker on Motivation Awareness, particularly regarding AI-generated content and platform-level dynamics. The study highlights the need for targeted, technology-focused media literacy interventions in higher education that address AI, algorithms, and social media architectures as key conditions shaping contemporary misinformation flows in the AI environment.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 4 MediAsia2026 | Social Media and Communication Technology Session Chair: Shivani Sharma 16:35-17:00 113769 | Sexual Health and Education in the Global South: The Social Media Model Shivani Sharma, Indian Institute of Management Indore, India Aparna Vincent, Indian Institute of Management Indore, India Sexual health education in India has long been constrained by institutional reticence and postcolonial taboo. Into this vacuum Instagram has emerged as an unlikely pedagogical infrastructure. This paper asks why sexual health pedagogy migrated to a commercial platform, and what happens to health knowledge once it must survive there. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with forty Instagram-based educators addressing Indian audiences, analysed thematically, the study treats platform architecture as a techno-social mediator encoding the regulatory sensibilities of the Global North (Gillespie, 2018). Two frictions recur. First, automated moderation trained on Western norms reads anatomical illustration, menstrual explanation and breastfeeding demonstration as adult content, obliging educators to teach their publics and simultaneously plead their professional legitimacy to a classifier. Second, the same suspicion excludes them from brand partnerships, producing a monetisation trap in which high-value public health labour remains unpaid. Educators respond with what we term algorithmic euphemism: emoji substitution, deliberate misspelling, oblique phrasing, a vernacular code that restores circulation while excluding users with lower digital literacy. Visibility is purchased through obscurity. A further finding concerns the migration of care into direct messages, where educators perform informal triage on unplanned pregnancy and STIs, subsidising a shadow infrastructure of health provision at personal risk.b The paper argues that platform governance limits to accommodate marginalised health discourse and automates the silencing of it, reproducing colonial hierarchies of legitimate knowledge under the guise of safety. Its contribution is to recast content moderation as a health infrastructure.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 4 MediAsia2026 | Film Criticism and Theory Session Chair: David Toohey 15:20-15:45 112049 | Seven Lenses Framework for Cinema (SLFC): A Thematic Model for Comparative Analysis of Film Narratives Sreejith Srikrishnan, Tiger Analytics, India Srikrishnan Sundararajan, Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering and Technology, India This study develops a thematic model for characterizing and comparing individual films and film corpora across genre, language, and time through narrative orientations while preserving the interpretive flexibility central to film studies. Although cinema scholarship has produced important studies of themes, genres, auteurs, and ideologies, fewer efforts have developed transferable frameworks for systematic comparative thematic analysis. This study addresses that gap through the Seven Lenses Framework for Cinema (SLFC). SLFC was developed through an iterative qualitative framework-construction process involving open, affinity, axial, and selective coding. The analysis began with approximately 100 cinema-related concepts drawn from film theory and social science and was refined through the examination of critical reviews, plot summaries, trailers, audience discussions, and a framework-development corpus of 154 films. This process generated approximately 170 recurring concepts that were consolidated into first-order codes, thematic clusters, and seven lenses: Institutional Justice, Emotional Realism, Trauma and Survival, Marginalized Identities, Psychological Interiority, Youth Identity and Aspiration, and Genre Hybridity and Experimentation. The framework was subsequently applied to a corpus of 970 Indian films from the Malayalam and Tamil film industries released between 2021 and 2025. Chi-square and year-wise analyses identify Emotional Realism, Institutional Justice, and Genre Hybridity as the dominant thematic orientations. The findings suggest that the two industries are organized around a shared thematic structure, with variation primarily in the relative prominence of individual themes. The study proposes SLFC as a transferable framework for comparative thematic analysis across diverse film traditions and other narrative media.

15:45-16:10 110686 | Nollywood and Pentecostalism in Contemporary Nigeria: Subverting Established Structures, Formulating Novel Identities Chijioke Azuawusiefe, Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Nigeria This paper investigates the intersection of Nollywood (the cinema of Nigeria) and Pentecostalism as co-constitutive forces shaping contemporary Nigerian cultural identity. It argues that the two function in the Nigerian sociocultural and religious space as disruptors of the status quo, whether in the existential epistemologies and activities of Pentecostalism or through the portrayals and representations of those realities in Nollywood. While existing scholarship frames this intersection as a broad disestablishment of the prevailing religio-sociocultural order, this study asks: How exactly do contemporary Nigerian films negotiate, appropriate, or challenge Pentecostal theology to formulate alternative social identities? Employing critical discourse analysis, the paper examines a purposive sample of three critically acclaimed New Nollywood films (Fifty [2015], Living in Bondage: Breaking Free [2019], Man of God [2022]). The analysis operationalizes theological rhetoric and visual motifs to demonstrate how, on the one hand, the Pentecostal worldview penetrates and interfuses aspects of Nigeria’s popular culture, creating a unique entertainment identity with its own distinctive styles and cultural genres and, on the other hand, Nollywood portrays themes inspired by Pentecostalism and creates a space for imagining an alternative modernity of a Pentecostal-charismatic popular culture. By focusing on textual operationalization rather than on broad cultural description, the study demonstrates that this cinematic-religious nexus does not merely disrupt established structures; it actively engineers a new moral economy. Ultimately, this paper advances the discourse by providing a framework for how Nigerian cinematic aesthetics negotiate the tension between globalized Pentecostal hegemony and localized cultural expression.

16:35-17:00 113768 | Investigations and Political Death in the Shadows of Cinema David Toohey, Nagoya University, Japan How can necropolitics explain an aesthetic of shadows that can be traced across different film genres? How do cinematic investigation of a problem or crime lead to a critique of political economic structures? This paper attempts to answer these questions across the related, yet different genres: film noir, science fiction, and horror. The films are chosen not on their representativeness of their genres, and more so based on their ability to help illuminate concepts. The following films offer investigation as part, albeit not all of their theme and plotline: 1) Metropolis (Fritz Lang) offers a revelation of a stratified class society, 2) The Maltise Falcon offers an investigation into an occluded murder, albeit reinforcing sexual hierarchy, 3) Touch of Evil offers an investigation into border violence and racism against LatinX people, albeit the racial hierarchy is reaffirmed by casting, 4) The Exorcist, while focusing on the existence of Satan and subsequent excorcisms, proceeds through the failures of variety of modern investigation techniques, 5) Blade Runner proceeds through an investigation into the reality, or not, of androids albeit destabilizing the human-robot distinction, and 6) Total Recall investigates the reality of memory to uncover a capitalist, exploitative structure. Taken as a whole, these films resonate in an illumination of political violence. In particular, the investigations in the films, rather than solving crimes, reveal aspects of political death, inherent in governments obscuring capitalist power relations, individual consciousness, and even more mainstream undefined evil.

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Notes

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 4 KAMC2026 | AI in Media Studies Session Chair: Alexandra Danzig 15:20-15:45 113508 | Unconcealment and Play: Technological Reification, Artistic Imbalance, and Authentic Restoration in AI Comic-Dramas Xie Dunru, Sichuan University, China Since 2025, optimized generative tools have accelerated the commercial expansion of AI comic dramas, positioning them as a rising phenomenon in the audiovisual industry. While structurally resembling traditional micro dramas, AI comic dramas disrupt conventional production paradigms through AI driven script generation, automated shot creation, and algorithmic image generation. This hybrid ontology— balancing technological artifact and artistic self-sustenance—remains conceptually ambiguous. Driven by market expansion, the medium risks narrowing into a commercial vehicle dominated by instrumental rationality, causing artistic production concepts to dissolve. Drawing on existential phenomenology, this study posits that technology and art share an ontological origin as modes of unconcealment (Aletheia). Currently, the convergence of platform capital and computational efficiency reduces technology’s revealing nature into a utilitarian Ge-stell (gestell/enframing), commodifying both the work and the creator (Dasein) into predictable technological objects. To resolve this artistic imbalance, this paper proposes a generalized ecological production view. By conceptualizing the AI comic drama as a self-sustaining entity situated within the fourfold interplay of Dasein, beings, and the surrounding world, this framework expands artistic interpretation and transforms viewers into active participants. In doing so, it bridges the rift between digital texts and lived reality, counteracting algorithmic homogenization and achieving the authentic restoration of both technology and art. This ecological approach provides new pathways for digital media production while critically enriching contemporary philosophy of technology.

15:45-16:10 111153 | From One-Way Projection to Two-Way Interaction: Deconstructing the Path from Cognition to Behavior in Character.AI Parasocial Interaction Fan Hsiwen, National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan Wang Jyun-Siang, National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan The rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence has transformed human–computer interaction from a function-oriented process into a socially and emotionally engaging experience with personified digital agents. Grounded in the ABC (Cognition–Affect–Behavior) Model of Attitudes and Parasocial Interaction (PSI) theory, this study explores the psychological mechanisms underlying users’ interactions with Character.AI. Using a quantitative research design, data were collected from 110 generative AI users through an adapted PSI-Process Scale and analyzed using path analysis. The findings revealed that cognitive perception positively predicts affective involvement, which subsequently exerts a strong influence on behavioral engagement. However, cognitive perception did not directly predict behavioral engagement. Instead, affective involvement fully mediated the relationship between cognition and behavior, indicating that cognitive evaluations must be transformed into emotional resonance before meaningful behavioral engagement can occur. These findings empirically support a sequential “ABC” process in human–AI interaction and provide a perspective that extends beyond traditional technology acceptance approaches. Theoretically, this study expands the application of the ABC framework into bidirectional human–AI communication contexts by highlighting the mediating role of emotional involvement in parasocial processes. Practically, the results suggest that developers of socially oriented AI platforms should prioritize personified interaction design and emotionally immersive communication experiences, rather than focusing solely on functional efficiency, in order to foster deeper parasocial relationships and sustained user engagement.

16:10-16:35 112850 | The Role of Media Literacy Education in Promoting Critical Thinking and Media Engagement Aamena Bulhoon, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has fundamentally reshaped the digital information ecosystem, creating unprecedented opportunities for communication while increasing the scale and sophistication of misinformation, disinformation, synthetic media, and deepfakes. These developments have challenged traditional approaches to media literacy by requiring individuals not only to evaluate information critically but also to understand how AI systems generate, recommend, and amplify content. This paper examines the evolving role of media literacy education in promoting critical thinking and responsible media engagement in the age of generative AI. Using a qualitative documentary analysis, the study synthesizes recent scholarship and international policy developments on media literacy, AI literacy, digital citizenship, and information verification. The review indicates a growing scholarly consensus that media literacy alone is no longer sufficient to prepare learners for AI-mediated information environments. Emerging research and international educational frameworks advocate integrating AI literacy, algorithm awareness, source verification, ethical AI use, and digital resilience into media literacy curricula to strengthen learners' ability to critically evaluate AI-generated content and participate responsibly in digital spaces. Recent initiatives by UNESCO and the OECD further highlight the importance of equipping students with competencies that combine critical reasoning, ethical decision-making, and responsible use of AI technologies in education and society. The paper argues that reimagining media literacy through the integration of AI literacy offers a more comprehensive framework for developing informed, resilient, and ethically responsible digital citizens in increasingly AI-driven information environments.

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Wednesday Onsite Parallel Session 4 KAMC2026 | AI in Media Studies Session Chair: Alexandra Danzig 16:35-17:00 113737 | The Interaction Is the Message? Towards a Theoretical Conceptualization of AI “Photographs” Alexandra Danzig, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Photorealistic images generated by Generative Artificial Intelligence challenge established paradigms within visual culture and media studies. Although there is a plausible theoretical basis for evaluating such images through traditional theories of photographic representation, owing to formal pictorial resemblances and functional uses (Wasielewski, 2024, demonstrates), this perspective risks overlooking the opaque algorithmic processes and user-mediated refinements that co-produce AI imagery. Consequently, it fails to account for the critical interplay between algorithmic models and human agency. This paper addresses this theoretical limitation by outlining a process-oriented ontological framework for AI-generated photorealistic imagery, defining the boundaries of the medium not through static material components, but via the temporal event of its creation. The paper’s central claim is that AI photorealistic images constitute a distinct medium – named in this study “photo-promptography” – which operates through an algorithmic form of image reproduction: computational prediction arising from human interaction with a probabilistic model. Algorithmic reproduction departs from traditional pictorial reproduction since its images have no discrete prior source, but are generated through the probabilistic interactions between random noise, potentialities learned from training datasets, and the prompt of a human user. Under this framework, the photo-promptograph is conceptualized not as a static, stored file, but as an occurrence actualized within human-algorithmic interaction, exhibiting an ontology fundamentally distinct from that of photography. By demonstrating that the ontological anchor of the photo-promptograph is ultimately probabilistic and co-constituted through humanalgorithmic interaction, the paper shifts the theoretical locus from the discrete media object to the process of its actualization.

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Notes

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Thursday, November 12 09:15-10:55 | Onsite Parallel Session 1 11:10-12:50 | Onsite Parallel Session 2 All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) Abstracts appear as originally submitted by the author. Any spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors are those of the author.

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Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Aesthetics and Design Session Chair: Elham Morshedzadeh 09:15-09:40 113280 | Design-Relevant Properties of Bamboo for Sustainable Acoustic Material Development Pichrawee Suraareekul, Khon Kaen University, Thailand The growing demand for environmentally responsible building materials has increased interest in the use of bamboo for acoustic applications. However, existing studies commonly focus on the acoustic performance of individual bamboo-based specimens, while the relationships between bamboo’s physical characteristics, acoustic mechanisms, design variables, and standardized evaluation methods remain insufficiently synthesized. This study aims to: (1) synthesize fundamental knowledge of acoustic materials in terms of definitions, classifications, sound-control mechanisms, material characteristics, and relevant testing standards; and (2) examine the physical properties and acoustic potential of bamboo in relation to the development of sustainable acoustic materials. An integrative literature review and analytical synthesis were conducted using studies related to acoustic materials, natural-fiber sound absorbers, bamboo-based composites, solid and laminated bamboo panels, and hollow bamboo structures. The reviewed information was categorized according to material form, physical characteristics, acoustic mechanism, design parameters, performance indicators, and evaluation methods. The synthesis indicates that the acoustic performance of bamboo is not determined solely by the material itself, but by the interaction among density, porosity, thickness, fiber or particle morphology, structural arrangement, surface condition, moisture content, binder proportion, perforation pattern, and air-cavity configuration. Bamboo fibers and porous composites primarily absorb sound through viscous and thermal energy losses, whereas solid panels and hollow bamboo structures can contribute through panel vibration, cavity resonance, reflection, and sound transmission resistance. Impedance-tube methods are suitable for preliminary material comparison, while reverberation-room methods are more appropriate for evaluating full-scale products under conditions closer to practical applications.

09:40-10:05 112566 | Social Media Sentiment Analysis on Municipal Solid Waste Charging Scheme in Hong Kong Phoebe Wong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Kelvin So, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Helen Wong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Tony Wong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Educating and promoting sustainable behaviours, such as participation in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) charging schemes, requires a thorough understanding of citizens’ opinions and perceptions and is a pressing global issue for governments. This echoes social listening for the sensible extraction, tracking, and assessment of online information on public sentiment and feedback to generate actionable insights (Reid and Duffy, 2018). However, studies analysing vast amounts of online content using generative artificial intelligence (AI) remain underexplored. Novel social media content analysis, combined with generative AI, is warranted to capture online discussions of the MSW scheme (Barari and Eisend, 2024). Hence, this study employed the five dimensions of the adaptive capacity framework (i.e., assets, flexibility, organisation, learning, and agency) to examine the public’s perceptions of sustainable behaviours related to the MSW charging scheme using social media data. More than 8,000 social media posts related to MSW schemes were collected via the Cloudbreakr database. Analytical tools of ChatGPT and Google Colab, which were widely adopted in recent studies, were employed to conduct content analysis of these posts (Hu et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2024). People’s sentiment score against the MSW scheme ranged from 1 (very negative) to 10 (very positive), with a weighted average of 3.91 on the negative side, with only 6.42% of comments reflecting people’s willingness to participate in the scheme. The findings provide valuable insights into the MSW charging scheme's adaptive capacity and guidance for policymakers on how to effectively communicate, promote, and implement waste charge policies to the public.

10:05-10:30 113240 | From Everyday Waste to Merit: Belief-Based Design Strategies for Sustainable Transformation in Thailand Montida Lertnimanoradee, Khon Kaen University, Thailand Sustainable waste management is commonly promoted through environmental awareness, recycling campaigns, and circular economy principles. In Thailand, however, local beliefs and merit-making practices have increasingly been integrated into waste management, encouraging public participation and creating new value from discarded materials. Rather than relying solely on environmental messages, waste is reinterpreted through cultural meanings that are familiar to Thai society. This study explores how belief-based design strategies promote sustainable waste management in Thailand. A qualitative content analysis was conducted using 17 Thai case studies, including public campaigns, upcycled and recycled products, and community initiatives that transform everyday waste into opportunities for meritmaking, religious practices, and cultural participation. Rather than examining individual products, the study investigates how design utilises local beliefs across different contexts. The paper proposes a three-level framework of belief-based design strategies. The first level, Behaviour Design, examines how communication campaigns encourage waste separation and public participation through merit-making concepts. The second level, Product Design, investigates how discarded materials are transformed into culturally meaningful products associated with religious beliefs and ritual practices. The third level, System Design, explores how multiple stakeholders; including temples, communities, government agencies, and private organisations, collaborate to establish sustainable waste management systems rooted in local cultural values. The findings demonstrate that local beliefs can function as design strategies across behavioural, product, and system levels to promote sustainable waste management. The proposed framework offers practical guidance for designers, entrepreneurs, communities, and policymakers seeking to develop culturally grounded, belief-based approaches to sustainable waste management.

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Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Aesthetics and Design Session Chair: Elham Morshedzadeh 10:30-10:55 112223 | Design as Translation: Beyond Aesthetics and Artifact Creation Elham Morshedzadeh, University of Houston, United States Sejal Shah, University of Houston, United States Current definitions of design continue to emphasize on creation of product, experience, aesthetics, and usability. While expectations surrounding these aspects remain fundamental to design practice, they do not adequately explain the expanding designers’ role and responsibilities in many interdisciplinary and community-engaged contexts. Today, designers are increasingly operating across complex social, technological, and organizational contexts while facilitating collaboration among diverse stakeholders. This paper proposes design as translation as a conceptual lens for understanding this shift. Rather than limiting translation to the transfer of information, the paper conceptualizes translation as an iterative process of interpreting, negotiating, synthesizing and transforming knowledge, values, and lived experiences across disciplinary, organizational, and community boundaries. The paper examines the design process beyond the creation of artifacts, viewing it as a process of synthesizing diverse perspectives and enabling collaborative action in response to complex contemporary design challenges. Drawing on reflective analysis of participatory and community-engaged healthcare design projects, this paper illustrates designers’ translational role within design process and offers a broader perspective on contemporary design practice. The expanding value of designers lies not only in products, or services they create, but also in their ability to translate knowledge and mediate between diverse perspectives and foster shared understanding across boundaries. Through this lens, designers emerge not only as creators of artifacts but also as facilitators of dialogue, collaboration, and meaningful collective action.

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Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations Session Chair: Liza Mae Nismal 09:15-09:40 112190 | When Text Stands, Falls, and Is Pulled: A Conceptual Extension of Text Rotation Effects in Advertising Jue Wang, Josai University, Japan Recent advertising research demonstrates that rotating text can shape consumer responses by altering perceived product attribute magnitude. Building on Zhang, Kwak, Puzakova, and Taylor (2025), this study examines whether this mechanism extends to vertical writing contexts, where advertising copy unfolds from top to bottom rather than from left to right. The findings show that vertical writing changes the psychological meaning of text rotation. Whereas rotated horizontal text primarily directs attention along the left–right axis, rotated vertical text is perceived as a standing object or body losing balance. This shift introduces a distinct embodied mechanism. Upright vertical text signals stability, selfsupport, and order. Clockwise-rotated vertical text evokes a forward-falling form of imbalance, whereas counterclockwise-rotated vertical text evokes an externally guided or pulled form of imbalance. These embodied meanings become persuasive when they fit the product meaning emphasized in the advertisement. Upright vertical text enhances evaluations of stability-maintenance offerings, clockwise rotation benefits self-propelled momentum products, and counterclockwise rotation benefits external-support or recovery offerings. Processing fluency mediates the effect of this visual–product congruence on product evaluation. This research extends text rotation research beyond magnitude perception and identifies vertical writing as a theoretically meaningful boundary condition for advertising design.

09:40-10:05 111154 | Different Faces, Similar Effects? Comparing AI Humans and AI Vtubers in Immersive Marketing and Consumer Purchase Intention Cheng Chih Hsieh, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Hsiwen Fan, National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan In recent years, many brands have designed their own AI Vtubers as brand ambassadors for marketing, combining the high interactivity and unique narratives of Vtubers with the autonomy and low risk of AI to create 24/7 real-time interactive advertising. This study examines the forms of AI-endorsed interfaces (AI humans & AI Vtubers) along the path from immersion to purchase intention, using perceived persuasiveness as a mediating variable to identify the sources and differences in marketing effectiveness. The study subjects were general adult consumers with experience watching shopping live streams, and a total of 244 questionnaires were collected. The results show that both the AI humans and AI Vtubers groups achieved positive and significant direct effects on immersion, perceived persuasiveness, and purchase intention, with perceived persuasion playing a partial mediating role. However, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant, indicating that AI humans and AI Vtubers have similar effects on these three path of variables.

10:05-10:30 114239 | From Green Mindsets to Green Actions: Examining Consumption Behaviour Among Chinese Consumers Nadzirah Rosli, The National University of Malaysia, Malaysia Elaina Rose Johar, The National University of Malaysia, Malaysia Muhammad Syukri Abdullah, The National University of Malaysia, Malaysia This study investigated the influence of pro-environmental awareness (i.e., environmental knowledge, environmental affection, and environmental responsibility) on consumers attitudes toward green consumption. It also examined the relationship between consumer attitude and green consumption behaviour and examined the moderating role of environmental concern. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was used, with self-administered questionnaire distributed to Chinese consumers. To test the hypothesised relationships in the conceptual framework, the study used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse data collected from an online survey. The hypothesised findings should have shed light on the ways in which various aspects of pro-environmental awareness affected green consumption behaviour by consumers. It was also aimed to clarify the role of environmental concern in the relationship between consumer attitude and green consumption behaviour . The anticipated outcomes were expected to provide useful insights for policy makers, educators and marketers in the process of formulating strategies to enhance environmental consciousness, reinforce positive consumer attitude and to promote sustainable consumption practices. This study makes a contribution to the green consumption literature by integrating multiple dimensions of pro-environmental awareness in a single framework and extending the understanding of green consumption behaviour among consumers in China. It also sought to further the understanding of psychological mechanisms that are involved in sustainable consumption by examining the role of environmental concern within the proposed model.

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Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations Session Chair: Liza Mae Nismal 10:30-10:55 111378 | The Transcendental Powers of Shopping: A Lived Experience of Retail Therapy During Significant Life Events Liza Mae Nismal, University of St. La Salle Bacolod, Philippines This qualitative exploration aimed to unravel retail therapy through the participants' lived shopping experiences. To address the study's objective, a phenomenological design was employed. Data were gathered through a semi-structured, conversational interview with nine purposively sampled participants. Individuals who have experienced significant life events and subsequently engaged in shopping to manage, cope with, or regulate their emotional responses are included in the selection criteria. Five were interviewed via Zoom, and four were interviewed faceto-face. Data were analyzed using Moustakas' data analysis procedure. From the interview results, six themes emerged: Taking Back Control: Reclaiming Personal Power Through Shopping; Comfort-Seeking Through Consumption: Shopping as Emotional Self-Soothing; Living Beyond Scarcity: Embracing Abundance and Personal Freedom; Curating Identity Through Strategic Shopping; Shifting Toward Value-Driven Shopping; and Embracing Intentional and Purposeful Shopping. The study suggests that retail therapy extends beyond mood regulation and serves as a means for individuals to celebrate life transitions, reconstruct personal identities, fulfill long-deferred aspirations, affirm personal achievements and big wins, and derive meaning from significant life events. Although these findings are grounded in participants' lived experiences, the study indicates that the therapeutic value of shopping is rooted in the personal meanings they assign to their shopping activities. The findings can offer insights for retailers seeking to design shopping experiences that address consumers' emotional and identity-related motivations. Furthermore, the study contributes to consumer behavior literature by illuminating the symbolic and transcendental dimensions of shopping as a transformative experience during significant life events.

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Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 1 MediAsia2026 | Journalism Session Chair: Nozima Muratova 09:15-09:40 110702 | Aging in Risk: Disaster Communication Gaps and Preferences Among Senior Citizens in Active Volcano Zones Joanne Marie Jumarang, De La Salle Lipa, Philippines Jerome Cleofas, De La Salle University, Philippines This study examines disaster communication gaps and preferences among senior citizens residing within the 14-kilometer danger zone of Taal Volcano, a population uniquely vulnerable to both environmental hazards and information inequities. Using qualitative interviews and thematic analysis, the research identifies barriers in access, comprehension, and responsiveness to disaster-related information, alongside seniors’ preferred sources, formats, and delivery methods. Findings reveal that while officials often rely on digital platforms and procedural messaging, seniors place greater trust in interpersonal communication, local leaders, and culturally resonant cues. Applying Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) as the guiding framework, the study interprets these dynamics through the lenses of convergence, divergence, and mutual accommodation. Results show divergence when officials depend on inaccessible technologies, convergence when they adapt language and channels to seniors’ needs, and mutual accommodation when both parties adjust communicative practices to foster clarity and trust. The study recommends inclusive, context-sensitive strategies such as simplified messaging, integration of traditional knowledge, and participatory feedback mechanisms. These measures not only enhance seniors’ access to critical disaster information but also empower them as active contributors to community preparedness and resilience.

09:40-10:05 111160 | Newsworthiness in the Age of AI: A Comparative Analysis of Human and Machine Evaluation Zenonas Theodosiou, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus Venetia Papa, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus As AI increasingly permeates journalistic practices, questions arise about its ability to interpret and evaluate key elements of news production, such as news values. In an era where AI images are flooding the news and social media, understanding how automated systems assess visual newsworthiness, compared to human judgment, is both timely and necessary. This study investigates the capacity of large language models (LLMs) to identify and evaluate news values in AI-generated and authentic news images covering Hamas-Isreal 2023 war. Two AI tools, ChatGPT and AIcado, were used to automatically assess images produced by DALL·E and DeepAI, alongside real-world news imagery. A quantitative approach was applied, utilizing statistical measures to examine divergences and alignments between AI-generated and human evaluations. The findings indicate that AI tools tend to overestimate certain news values relative to human assessors, while correlations vary depending on the specific news value and the origin of the image. These results highlight both the potential and the limitations of AI systems in journalistic contexts, particularly in the domain of visual content evaluation. By providing empirical insights into how AI interprets newsworthiness in imagery, this study contributes to ongoing debates in media research about the integration of artificial intelligence into editorial processes. It also underscores the need for further refinement and calibration of such tools to ensure more reliable and contextsensitive performance in news evaluation.

10:05-10:30 109139 | Media and Journalism Studies in a Post-Colonial Context: The Case of “Mães De Bragança” and the Brazilian Community in Portugal Francisco Cádima, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal This proposal aligns with the IAFOR Conference Themes for 2025-2029, particularly Theme 3: Global Citizenship and Education for Peace. The primary focus of this presentation is coexistence — both among community members and with individuals from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds. This paper explores how the Brazilian community in Portugal is portrayed in the media through a mixed-method, longitudinal, and multidisciplinary approach, using the “Mães de Bragança” case as a key example. Since neither qualitative nor quantitative methods alone can fully capture the complexity or historical evolution of media narratives, the study employs a mixed-methods design with a qualitative emphasis. The methodology combines historical, socioethnographic, and theoretical perspectives, drawing on media, journalism, and migration studies, critical discourse analysis, postcolonial theory, and moral panic studies. A long-term sociohistorical approach situates media representations within broader political and cultural shifts. Systematic analysis of the press—mainly through Público newspaper— television, and digital media identifies patterns, stereotypes, and moments of symbolic conflict. The well-known Portuguese “Mães de Bragança” case serves as a small-scale example of this combined approach. It shows how gender, immigration, public morality, and media production connect in influential media events. The study improves understanding of how mixed methods can be used to analyze media discourse, journalism practices, and migration issues in a post-colonial setting. It reveals that media discourse shaped how immigrants are portrayed and perceived, influenced public attitudes, and hampered the integration of the Brazilian community in Portugal during the peak migration period from 2000 to 2025.

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Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 1 MediAsia2026 | Journalism Session Chair: Nozima Muratova 10:30-10:55 113881 | “Tiflomedia”: Creating Uzbekistan’s First Independent Audio Journal for the Blind Based on Audience Needs Assessment Nozima Muratova, Journalism and Mass Communications University of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Ozod Kurbanov, Journalism and Mass Communications University of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan This abstract presents a distinct practical section of the dissertation focused on the development and testing of "Tiflomedia," the first independent audio journal created in the Uzbek media environment specifically for visually impaired audiences, developed as an experimental media project.The research problem stems from an identified deficit of adapted content: Uzbek print publications and television programs are rarely converted into audio format, and audio description (typhlo-commentary) for television content has not yet been implemented in the country. To justify the necessity of this new media product, a survey of visually impaired respondents was conducted, revealing specific barriers in their media interaction: 58.7% of participants cited the absence of audio description for TV content, 50% noted the lack of audio supplements to newspapers and magazines, 48.9% pointed to the inaccessibility of electronic versions of print publications for text-to-speech software, and 43.5% highlighted insufficient verbal description in video materials and radio broadcasts. Only 21.7% of respondents reported no additional adaptation needs. Based on these findings, a methodology for preparing audio content was developed, emphasizing short and comprehensible phrasing, verbal visualization of events, and consideration of a multi-age listener audience. As a result, "Tiflomedia" received official intellectual property registration and recognition from the Central Administration of the Society of the Blind of Uzbekistan as the organization's specialized publication. The practical significance of this work lies in creating a replicable model of audio journalism for people with visual impairments—applicable across other Central Asian countries—and in establishing concrete criteria and methods for voicing content.

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09:15-10:55 | Room D (4F)

Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Performances in Critical and Cultural Studies Session Chair: Agnieszka Maresch 09:15-09:40 110742 | The Role of On-Stage and Off-Stage Content in Shaping Emotional Attachment and Loyalty: A Case Study of BTS Ade Putri Aulia Wijharnasir, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan Geunhee Lee, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan This research explores the antecedents of emotional attachment and its impact on brand loyalty within the entertainment industry, using BTS as a case study. Through the lens of performance theory and parasocial interaction, this research further examines how BTS fans develop strong emotional attachment towards the group through their consumption of both on-stage content (e.g., music videos, live performances, transmedia storytelling) and off-stage content (e.g., behind-the-scenes, livestreams, and variety shows). A qualitative case study approach was adopted by analyzing 15 in-depth interviews with BTS fans and 21 BTS on-stage and off-stage digital content. Various key themes emerged, including a variety of pathways to fandom, emotional comfort and reciprocal bonding, authenticity, vulnerability, empowerment, artistic appreciation, and intellectual engagement. Through triangulation analysis between interviews and BTS digital content, anchored in Auslander’s performance theory, the findings reveal how the blurred boundaries between BTS’s layers of “person”, “persona”, and “character” across on-stage and off-stage content contribute to fans’ perception of authenticity and relatability of all identified themes. Moreover, this sense of authenticity is reinforced through a combination of consistent storytelling (e.g., brotherhood, vulnerability) with consistent artistic and technical excellence, across on-stage and off-stage. Additionally, the consistent acknowledgment from artists towards fans also extended parasocial interaction to perceived as reciprocal bonding. Finally, all of these factors ultimately deepen fan attachment, which subsequently enhances their willingness to maintain their loyalty. In the BTS fandom, this loyalty manifests as a distinguished type of loyalty from BTS fandom, characterized as protective and lifelong loyalty.

10:05-10:30 113718 | Emotional Dynamics Across Roles in Theater Actors: Empirical Foundations for a Step-Out Protocol Bori Na, Seong-Nam Research Institute, South Korea Yeorang Na, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain Theatrical performance requires actors to engage in sustained emotional investment while embodying their characters. When unmanaged, emotional spillover and post-performance ‘emotional hangovers’ may threaten psychological well-being and hinder recovery after performances. This study examines how pre- and post-performance emotional dynamics differ according to role weight. Panel data were collected from 31 professional theater actors performing in productions across national, provincial, and private theater companies in South Korea in 2025. State anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-X), and mood states were assessed using the Korean Profile of Mood States (K-POMS). A Linear mixed model (LMM) was applied to analyze emotional trajectories while controlling for individuallevel characteristics in a repeated-measures design. The results indicate that emotional trajectories differed according to role weight. Lead actors experienced greater emotional strain before performance, but exhibited significant post-performance reductions in tension (p = .002), anger (p = .004), and confusion (p = .040). This suggests emotional release following performance. In contrast, depression, vigor, and fatigue showed no significant pre-to-post changes among lead actors. Supporting actors, minor roles, and ensemble members displayed no statistically significant emotional changes across performance phases, pointing to distinct role-dependent emotional burdens. This study provides empirical evidence that actors' emotional responses differ according to role weight. These findings offer a foundation for designing tailored emotional disengagement (‘step-out’) guidelines and role-specific recovery programs to support actors' psychological safety and sustainable well-being in contemporary theater environments.

10:30-10:55 112420 | “There Was Such Euphoria, Such Love, Such Ease”: The Polish Drag Scene and a Typology of Emancipatory Drag Performances Agnieszka Maresch, University of Gdańsk, Poland Drag performances are not only a form of artistic expression but also a means of emancipation and a platform for activism among individuals with diverse identities. Moreover, the drag community is far from homogeneous; it is formed by individuals with diverse backgrounds, identities and experiences. The primary aim of this presentation is to analyse the different types of drag performances. The findings of the study reveal that participants adopted diverse approaches to their artistic practice. Based on the empirical data collected through observations of drag events and in-depth interviews with performers from the Polish drag scene, three types of drag performance were identified. The first type of drag performance serves as an “identity laboratory” providing individuals with the opportunity to express, explore and push the boundaries of their identities. The second type, intracultural drag performance, is aimed at queer audiences, and serves to foster community, celebrate nonnormative identities, and create safe spaces for queer individuals. The third type, extracultural drag performance, is directed toward audiences beyond the queer community and seeks to raise awareness of the social issues and inequalities faced by non-heteronormative individuals. The study's results contribute to the development of knowledge about drag performance. Furthermore, it may be of particular interest to international scholars who have limited access to the Polish drag community and its culture.

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09:15-10:55 | Room G (4F)

Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Digital Humanities, Culture and Communication Session Chair: Amiee Shelton 09:15-09:40 113607 | Experiencing Tea Agricultural Culture in Virtual Reality Through the Scenario-Based Design Approach Hung-Cheng Tsai, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Yun-Hsiang Hsieh, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Virtual reality (VR) technology is currently applied primarily to gaming, virtual tourism, and educational training. However, integrating VR into the agricultural sector presents new opportunities for agricultural experience and tourism innovation. This study develops an immersive VR experience centered on tea agricultural culture, in which a virtual tea farmer guides visitors through a tea factory to experience the tea-manufacturing process, followed by a virtual excursion to a tea plantation where participants engage in tea picking and explore the surrounding ecological environment. To enhance users' immersion and engagement, the study adopts the Scenario-Based Design approach, which consists of four sequential stages: User Stories, Conceptual Scenarios, Concrete Scenarios, and Use Cases. These stages are employed to systematically construct interactive scenarios that progressively guide visitors toward a deeper understanding and appreciation of tea culture. The experimental results indicate that the VR experience was particularly well received by younger participants due to its convenience and high level of interactivity. By overcoming geographical and temporal constraints, VR enables users to experience tea culture anytime and anywhere, providing significant advantages for individuals with busy schedules or limited access to tea-producing regions. Furthermore, the virtual environment offers multiple viewing perspectives, allowing participants to freely explore different areas and interact with cultural content in ways that are difficult to achieve through conventional media.

09:40-10:05 110882 | From User Empathy to Immersive Narrative: Socially Engaged Immersive Media Creation Tzu-wei Tsai, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan This study explores how user-centered methods can support socially engaged immersive media creation. While immersive projection and interactive media technologies are increasingly adopted in design practice and education, many immersive works emphasize visual spectacle and technical presentation rather than emotional experience and social understanding. To address this issue, this study proposes a framework integrating user empathy, narrative translation, and immersive participation. A graduate-level creative design project, Reclaiming the Light, was selected as the primary case. The project addressed the psychological trauma experienced by abandoned stray dogs and transformed their emotional experiences into immersive narrative scenes through projection, interaction, and spatial storytelling. Students first used Empathy Maps and Journey Maps to analyze the emotions, fears, expectations, and experiential trajectories of the subject. These emotional structures were then translated into storyboards and immersive visual sequences. Kinect interaction, TouchDesigner, Unity, and Resolume Arena were used to create participatory audience experiences within a 180-degree projection environment. Research data included project documents, student reflective feedback, and audience questionnaires. The findings indicate that user-centered methods helped shift the creative process from issue-based expression toward situated emotional understanding, while immersive interaction transformed audiences from passive viewers into participants in emotional and relational engagement.

10:05-10:30 112901 | Mapping ESG Communication: A Comparative Study of Global Strategies Using the PESO Model Amiee Shelton, Roger Williams University, United States This study examines how organizations communicate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information across owned and shared media and whether communication strategies vary by organizational context, message characteristics, and website. Using a quantitative comparative content analysis, 26 global consumer-facing brands were evenly distributed across three regions: the US, the UK, and the EU. The three regions provide a strong basis for comparison due to their related yet distinct institutional ESG contexts. Organizations were purposely selected from global consumer brands across multiple industries to facilitate comparisons among ESG rankings. ESG Scores were taken from publicly available Ethos ratings, which are primarily impact- and stakeholder-oriented. Individual messages published through owned and shared media constituted the primary unit of analysis. Dependent variables included message emphasis, website and page placement, evidence-based framing, and media richness. Independent measures included ESG performance, brand value, geographic region, and industry. Composite measures of evidence-based framing and digital media richness assess the extent to which messages substantiate ESG claims and incorporate multiple communication features. Results showed that higher ESG-aligned brands communicated about social issues and movements nearly three times as often as comparison brands and relied more extensively on visual evidence. A significant association between geographic region and message emphasis demonstrated that European brands emphasized environmental and governance themes, while U.S. brands framed ESG more frequently in economic and business terms. Findings also show that higher ESG-aligned brands primarily share ESG information with consumer stakeholders via social media rather than on their consumer webpages.

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11:10-12:50 | Room A (4F)

Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Visual Culture Session Chair: Bianca Yin-ki Cheung 11:10-11:35 112767 | Visualizing the Sacred: Hanging Deities and Visual Art Performances in Modern Taiwanese Daoist Rituals Tsung Pei Yeh, National Chengchi University, Taiwan This paper investigates the visual culture within the ritual spaces of modern Taiwanese Daoism, focusing specifically on the traditional hanging scrolls of deity portraits (daotan hua 道壇畫). Drawing upon fieldwork and visual observations of contemporary Daoist ceremonies in Taiwan, this study examines how these sacred images function not merely as passive religious decorations but as active visual performances that construct a temporary sacred realm. Through the intentional curation of hanging deities, talismanic art, and spatial arrangement, the material and aesthetic dimensions of these portraits structure a "ritual gaze" that shapes the sensory and spiritual experiences of both priests and devotees. Moving beyond text-centered interpretations, this paper argues that daotan hua serves as a crucial visual medium of lived religion, one that actively produces religious efficacy and embodies collective spiritual imaginaries. By analyzing the iconographical presence and spatial dynamics of hanging deity portraits at modern ritual sites, this study highlights the cultural, artistic, and theological significance of vernacular visual arts in contemporary Taiwanese society, demonstrating how sacred imagery continues to mediate the relationship between the human and the divine.

11:35-12:00 110831 | The Depictions of Skulls and Demons in Japanese Ukiyo-e Yuniya Kawamura, Fashion Institute of Technology, United States The use of skulls, skeletons, and demons are often believed to be the prerogative of the Punk subculture and fashion that emerged on the streets of London in the mid 1970s, and they intentionally created these images that represented hatred, anger, rebellion, and resistance against the mainstream society; many famous avant-garde designers, such as Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, who were inspired by these design motifs have incorporated them in their collections. However, if we trace the history of Ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock prints that became widely popular during the Edo period (1603-1868), skulls, skeletons, and demons, in addition to monsters and ghosts, were depicted and integrated into their paintings and artworks. For instance, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861), one of the most popular Ukiyo-e artists, painted a samurai warrior fighting against a gigantic skeleton, and another one with a Kabuki actor wearing a kimono printed with skulls. Similarly, Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889) painted a snake coming out of the eye socket of a human skull, and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (18391892) also painted a fashionable Oiran, a high-class courtesan, wearing an elaborate kimono and hair accessories, surrounded by ominous skeletons painted as shadow ghosts in the background. My paper explores and examines through primary visual sources how these menacing and sinister characters were used in Ukiyo-e and what they signified and symbolized in Japanese culture at the time.

12:00-12:25 113326 | Ghostly Vision and Manual Overwriting: Tsai Pou-Ching’s ‘In the Course of Seven Days’ as a Critique of Algorithmic Reality YinHua Chu, National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan This study examines the exhibition In the Course of Seven Days (2026) by Taiwanese artist Tsai Pou-ching to analyze the intersection of manual intervention and computational mediation in contemporary visual culture. While photography has increasingly shifted toward datadriven generation, Tsai’s work proposes a unique "re-programming" of the image that begins with physical gesture and culminates in digital synthesis. In the series The Birds of New York, Tsai utilizes paint to “overwrite” the backgrounds of 1960s bird field guides, replacing idealized nature with the harsh urbanity of contemporary New York. This manual act of "editing" scientific archives serves as a “pro-photographic” staging that challenges the visual governance of historical imagery. These hand-painted works are subsequently integrated into a threechannel video installation, where they are reactivated through animation and computational narrative structures. Applying a “four-dimension framework” (Mimetic, Pro-photographic, Enigmatic, and Operational), this paper argues that Tsai’s process reveals the operational logic of the image by treating the historical archive as a script to be modified rather than a static record. By positioning the artist as a “ghostly observer” between manual craft and AI-mediated video, Tsai explores the ethical boundaries of human-animal coexistence. This study demonstrates how virtual photography, even when rooted in physical paint, can serve as a potent tool for negotiating reality in an age of machine vision and algorithmic perception.

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11:10-12:50 | Room A (4F)

Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Visual Culture Session Chair: Bianca Yin-ki Cheung 12:25-12:50 111146 | Rebirthing Tradition: Gao Jianfu’s Transnational Vision for a New National Painting in Early Republican China, 1910s–1940s Bianca Yin-ki Cheung, Lingnan University, Hong Kong This study argues that Gao Jianfu 高劍父 (1879–1951), a leading figure of the Lingnan School of Painting 嶺南畫派, redefined the purpose and practice of Chinese painting by articulating a “New National Painting” 新國畫 that fused transnational techniques with Chinese pictorial values. Responding to late Qing/early Republican concerns that artistic stagnation mirrored national decline, Gao reframed innovation as patriotic practice. Through close readings of his essays (e.g., on drawing from life and national painting) and analysis of representative works from the 1910s–1940s, the study shows how Gao’s synthesis of Chinese painting, Western realism, Japanese Nihonga日本画, and South Asian motifs retooled brushwork, composition, and subject matter to address contemporary social realities. Case studies — such as his landscapes and compositions incorporating unconventional motifs (such as the Christian cross) — demonstrate a programmatic break with convention and a recalibration of painting’s civic role. The study situates Gao’s artistic choices within his experiences as revolutionary, educator, and sojourner in China, Japan, and South Asia, and contrasts his model with Nihonga’s modernization to clarify what was distinctly “national” in his proposal. By foregrounding pedagogy, exhibition contexts, and reception, the study contends that Gao’s project did not merely absorb foreign techniques but creatively harnessed them to reconstruct a public-facing Chinese painting. This reframing enhances understanding of Gao Jianfu’s lasting impact as a catalyst for modernization in 20th-century Chinese art and offers a more nuanced perspective on the Lingnan School’s role in the modernization discourse.

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11:10-12:50 | Room B (4F)

Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 2 MediAsia2026 | Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations Session Chair: Pichit Thiin 11:10-11:35 111681 | Communicating Local Food Culture and Fusion Cuisine: Cultural Identity Construction and Glocalization in Restaurants in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces Sakiroh Yaena Benharoon, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand Hamdia Mudor, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand This study examines how restaurants in Thailand’s southern border provinces communicate local food culture and fusion cuisine within a multicultural context shaped by the interaction of Malay-Muslim and Thai culinary traditions and international culinary influences. Drawing on cultural identity theory and glocalization theory, it analyses how restaurants construct and negotiate multiple cultural identities and reinterpret global culinary influences through communication practices. A qualitative multiple-case study was conducted involving 15 purposively selected restaurants in Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 31 restaurant owners and staff, complemented by systematic content analysis of food-related communication on the restaurants’ Facebook, Instagram, and LINE platforms. Interview transcripts and digital content were analyzed using thematic coding across visual, linguistic, and interactional dimensions. The findings show that restaurants communicate cultural identity by attaching cultural meanings to ingredients, recipes, and culinary narratives that express local heritage while engaging contemporary consumers. Rather than merely promoting food, restaurants use culinary communication to represent community identity, cultural memory, and a sense of place. Cultural identity theory reveals that local, national, and commercial identities are continuously constructed and negotiated through menu design, branding, and digital storytelling in response to diverse audience expectations. Glocalization theory demonstrates that local food traditions are selectively maintained, adapted, and reinterpreted by integrating international culinary influences while preserving culturally meaningful values and practices, enabling restaurants to balance authenticity with innovation.

11:35-12:00 111886 | Can a Virtual Student Speak for the University? A Social-influence Analysis of an AI Influencer in Vietnamese Higher-Education Communication Tuan Duc Dao, Vietnam National University, Vietnam Hang Dinh Thi Thuy, Vietnam National University, Vietnam Lan Huong Nguyen, Vietnam National University, Vietnam The use of virtual influencers as social media communicators and brand spokespeople is growing, yet is virtually untouched in higher education institutions for recruitment and student engagement, especially in the new Asian markets. This is a theory-based research on "Tuệ San" student ambassador product generated by AI for a public university in Vietnam to introduce campus life to potential students through Facebook. The research applies Social Influence Theory and the latest research on virtual influencers, with the development of a coding structure for the persona's posting history, based on communicator attributes (warmth, relatedness, interactivity, competence, empathy, uniqueness, and credibility). The posts were double-coded for these attributes and linked to publicly available engagement metrics, as well as communicative function and explicit disclosure of artificial origin. The persona is very warm and peer-related; institutional credibility cues are hardly ever present and engagement is most visible in posts that contain both peer-relatedness and personal disclosure, but not in pure promotional posts. Interestingly, there was no evidence that audience engagement was affected by a clear indication of the artificial nature of the persona, so a synthetic institutional communicator might be accepted as a communicator by would-be students if the artificial nature of the persona was clearly indicated. The study presents a flexible analytical perspective on institutional virtual influencers and offers universities some concrete recommendations on how to communicate using AI for recruitment, as well as some questions about audience perception and acceptance, which are currently being explored through a survey-based investigation.

12:00-12:25 112094 | Bridging the Digital Divide: Online Media Exposure and Learning and Innovation Platform (LIP) for Elderly Farmers in Thailand Pichit Thi-in, Chandrakasem Rajabhat University, Thailand Eakbodin Gedkhaw, Chandrakaseam Rajabhat University, Thailand Nantinee Soodtoetong, Chandrakaseam Rajabhat University, Thailand This study investigates the online media exposure behaviors of elderly farmers in Chainat Province, Thailand, and utilizes these insights to develop a Learning and Innovation Platform (LIP) aimed at bridging the digital divide. Facing challenges from an aging agricultural society and low digital literacy, a survey of 355 elderly farmers revealed their most frequently used platforms and peak online usage times. Leveraging these findings, the research employed a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach to design a hybrid LIP, integrating physical learning centers with online modules tailored to the elderly's media habits. The platform was used to train 50 community innovators and 482 elderly farmers in adopting IoT-based hydro-organic smart farming technology. The results demonstrated a significant enhancement in digital skills among the participants, enabling them to confidently control farm environments via smartphones. Consequently, the adoption of this technology led to a 15.63% average increase in income, reduced physical labor, and minimized health risks from chemical exposure. Ultimately, the customized LIP not only successfully facilitated technology adoption but also empowered elderly farmers, proving to be an effective model for bridging the digital divide and sustainably uplifting the grassroots economy.

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11:10-12:50 | Room B (4F)

Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 2 MediAsia2026 | Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations Session Chair: Pichit Thiin 12:25-12:50 113721 | How Different Types of Social Media Influencer Transgressions Shape Consumers’ Perceived Ethicality and Emotional Trust: The Moderating Role of Community Hsiu-Hua Chang, Feng Chia Universtiy, Taiwan Miao-Xuan Shen, Feng Chia Universtiy, Taiwan Social media influencer transgressions have become increasingly prevalent and controversial, yet limited research has systematically examined how different types of transgressions shape consumers’ moral evaluations and trust. Drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), this study proposes that consumers process influencer transgressions through both central and peripheral routes. Specifically, perceived ethicality represents consumers’ moral evaluation through the central route, whereas community emotional climate functions as a peripheral cue that influences emotional trust toward the influencer. Based on Nascimento et al.’s (2021) typology, this study investigates three forms of influencer transgressions: authenticity, cultural, and paracrisis transgressions. We further examine whether community emotional climate moderates the relationship between perceived ethicality and emotional trust. The results indicate that different types of influencer transgressions generate significantly different levels of perceived ethicality, suggesting that consumers distinguish the ethical severity of various misconducts rather than responding uniformly to all transgressions. In addition, community emotional climate exerts a significant moderating effect, strengthening or weakening the influence of perceived ethicality on consumers’ emotional trust toward the influencer. These findings demonstrate that consumers’ responses to influencer misconduct are jointly shaped by their own ethical judgments and the collective emotional atmosphere within online communities. By integrating ELM with ethical evaluation and social influence perspectives, this study extends the influencer transgression literature and provides a comprehensive framework for understanding consumer reactions to influencer misconduct. The findings also offer practical implications for influencer marketing, online community management, and digital crisis communication.

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11:10-12:50 | Room C (4F)

Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 2 MediAsia2026 | Film Criticism and Theory Session Chair: Damien Spiccia 11:10-11:35 113985 | Filmmaking as a Visual Method of Cultural Negotiation: The Conservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Pema Tseden’s The Sacred Arrow Yang Li, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China This paper studies on Pema Tseden’s fourth Tibetan feature, The Sacred Arrow (2014) which was state-supported and local-governmentestablished filmmaking project, aimed to promote Amdo Tibetan cultural tourism, with a focus on Tibetan traditional archery sport cultural heritage in company with the storytelling strategies and visual expressions of Tibetan Opera. Elsewhere (Li 2023, 2025), I have argued that Pema Tseden attempted to reconcile with his identity of ‘non-Han’ / ‘ethnic minority’ through this film to win over a broader living space for Tibetan-language films in the PRC. That said, I argue further in this paper that this attempt is also representing his successful use of filmmaking in the conservation of the PRC’s Tibetan intangible cultural heritage. In other words, adhering to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (UNESCO 2005), by the means of filmmaking as a visual method of Tibetan cultural negotiation within the ‘official’, ‘mainstream’ and ‘dominant ethnic’ discourses in the PRC, the film ultimately enhances a cultural translation and interpretation in safeguarding Tibetan intangible cultural practices whereby Tibetan cultural ‘self-expression’. Through undertaking a close textual reading of the key film sequences and leveraging on the empirical data, this paper makes an endeavour to answer the research questions: 1) how far does this film practice a role in safeguarding PRC’s Tibetan intangible cultural heritage? 2) To what extent can ‘the conservation’ of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage in the PRC be negotiated culturally with the visual representation of this film and its social dissemination?

11:35-12:00 113679 | The Samurai Sword as Media Dispositif: The Visual and Ideological Representation in Japanese Cinema, Manga, and Anime Md Towfique E Elahi, North South University, Bangladesh Hideki Kuwajima, Hiroshima University, Japan This research deals with the representation of the samurai swords in Japanese film, manga, and anime as a visual and narrative device which mediates power, ethics, memory, and identity. Rather than considering the sword as a historical entity merely, the study theorizes it as part of a cultural and media apparatus which organizes meaning across forms and periods. Underpinning Michel Foucault’s concept of the Dispositif (apparatus), the research argues that the sword functions within a network of discourses, visual conventions, and power relations beyond any single text or meaning. Through a close analysis of Kurosawa’s samurai film Seven Samurai, Nobuhiro Watsuki’s manga/film Rurouni Kenshin, and Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga/anime Demon Slayer, this paper looks into the evolving re/presentations of the samurai sword which reflects a broader shift in Japanese popular visual culture from cinematic realism to transmedial, postmodern mythmaking. Drawing on semiotic frameworks of Roland Barthes and Charles Sanders Peirce, the analysis of the media contents argues how the sword functions at diverse levels including as an iconic representation of historical weapons, as an index of social status and warrior identities, and as a symbol of cultural and ideological meanings about power, honor, and national essence. Employing Deleuze’s concepts of movement-image and timeimage, this study posits samurai sword as visual and ideological dispositif which is embedded within a realist aesthetic marked by long takes, spatial continuity, and choreographed corporeality, grounding violence in ethical consequence in cinema and in stylized manga graphic and temporal fragmentation in digital anime.

12:00-12:25 113113 | At the Symbolic Threshold: Opening and Closing Films and the Curatorial Construction of Greekness at the Greek Film Festival in Melbourne Eirini Renata Sifaki, University of Thessaly, Greece This paper examines the opening and closing film selections of the Greek Film Festival in Melbourne (1993–2025) — one of the longestrunning diasporic film festivals in the Southern Hemisphere — as a sustained curatorial practice through which diasporic Greekness has been continuously negotiated, contested, and transformed. As the first and last cinematic statements of any edition, these selections function as compressed articulations of what a festival wishes to say about itself, its cinema, and its audience — strategic institutional statements in which curatorial vision, community mandate, and audience development converge. Drawing on a content analysis of all thirty editions of the festival, the paper proposes four analytical categories derived inductively from the festival's curatorial language and informed by established film studies typologies (de Valck, 2007; Elsaesser, 2005; Higson, 2003; Naficy, 2001). Applied across three decades, they reveal three broad phases, each reflecting shifting understandings of how Greek cinema is perceived, promoted, and addressed to its diasporic community — and of the curatorial turns through which the festival has negotiated the relationship between national production, diasporic identity, and contemporary Greek filmmaking. The paper argues that the systematic reading of a festival's opening and closing titles as a corpus — classified according to analytically coherent categories and read across time rather than in isolation — constitutes a transferable methodological framework for the study of festival institutions whose programmes reflect ongoing negotiations of cultural identity and community mandate, with implications that extend beyond the Greek-Australian case.

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11:10-12:50 | Room C (4F)

Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 2 MediAsia2026 | Film Criticism and Theory Session Chair: Damien Spiccia 12:25-12:50 108839 | From Enemy to Other: Shifting Perspectives on Japan in Australian Cinema Damien Spiccia, Edith Cowan University, Australia How have two distinct island nations, Australia and Japan, projected images of each other onto the silver screen through their national film histories? What underlying power dynamics shape these representations? This presentation examines how Australian national cinema has represented Japan and the Japanese, charting a shift from propagandistic wartime depictions to more nuanced portrayals in recent decades. Conversely, it initiates an investigation into how Australians and Australian culture have appeared in Japanese cinema, mapping recurring trends and identifying familiar motifs, absences, and narrative functions. Drawing on postcolonial and representation theory, and building on foundational work by scholars such as Alison Broinowski, Megumi Kato, and Tom O'Regan, this study analyses a chronologically selected corpus spanning key decades from the 1940s to the 2000s. These include The Overlanders (1946), Heaven's Burning (1997), and Japanese Story (2003), alongside Japanese productions including The Drifting Avenger (1968), Blazing Continent (1968), and Tasmania Story (1990). Through close film analysis and attention to socio-historical context, the research traces both the persistence and evolution of these crosscultural images over time. Particular emphasis is placed on the mutual silences and blind spots in both traditions, those moments where one nation's perspective is marginalised, distorted, or wholly absent from depictions of shared and complex histories. This presentation argues that these cinematic representations matter not only as artistic expressions but as cultural negotiations that shape how nations understand, fear, or empathise with the "other," advocating for more layered, honest, and inclusive representations grounded in an ethic of curiosity and responsibility.

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11:10-12:50 | Room D (4F)

Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Visual Communication in Media and Literature Session Chair: Lung Ghi Roger Lin 11:10-11:35 110915 | Visual Representation of Character Archetypes in Mystic Messenger: A Comparative Study of Zen and Seven (707) Angeline Emmanuelkoku, Dongseo University, South Korea Seul Ki Lee, Dongseo University, South Korea Character archetypes play a fundamental role in shaping personality, behavior, and visual representation in interactive narrative games, particularly in otome games, where archetypes influence initial player perception through visual design and narrative cues even before direct gameplay. As a result, visual character transformation reflects emotional development and narrative progression. However, limited research has examined how different archetypes shape visual transformation within comparable narrative contexts. This study conducts a comparative analysis of two characters, Zen and Seven (707), in Mystic Messenger, who represent contrasting archetypal foundations within comparable route-ending structures. Using a qualitative approach, the research integrates archetype theory with a visual grammar framework, focusing on facial expressions, gaze, posture, color tone, and composition within the good-ending routes to capture final character development. The findings indicate that archetypes function as a structural basis for visual transformation, with Zen exhibiting direct and explicit changes characterized by openness and emotional transparency, while 707 demonstrates more subtle and layered transformations marked by restraint and internalized expression. This study demonstrates that visual transformation is not merely driven by personality traits but is systematically shaped by underlying archetypes, offering a clearer and more structured framework for analyzing visual representation in interactive narrative games, as well as practical implications for character design by suggesting that visual expression can be deliberately constructed to convey deeper narrative roles and emotional patterns.

12:00-12:25 109946 | Trust in the Idol: Necropolitics and the Commodification of Trust in to Be Hero X Adrienne Stallings, Texas Christian University, United States Superhero narratives, at their core, are about good triumphing over evil. Many critics, as a result, deem them “simple-minded and juvenile” (Brown 2). Key to the genre are the superheroes who “actively seek[s] to protect their communities by prevent harm to all people and by seeking to right wrongs” (Coogan 25), with "the good guys... easy to spot and the bad guys... always defeated” (Brown 2). To Be Hero X, however, disrupts these characterizations by establishing a system of necropolitics that its heroes are often complicit in. In To Be Hero X, heroes are born from the Trust of the people and are often characterized by the cause of their virality—i.e., a travel influencer gaining the power of teleportation—and fight against agents of Fear (supervillains who gain infamy in the same way). However, it is revealed over the course of the narrative that Fear is a product used to manufacture situations to earn more Trust Value Points, often by endangering, or even ending, the lives they publicly swear to protect. As such—contrary to Brown and Coogan’s characterizations, heroes are rarely operating to simply “protect” citizens and “defeat” the bad guys, instead embodying “late capitalist consumerism and the entertainment industry’s reliance [on audiences] to facilitate revenue streams” (Brown 2). Thus, To Be Hero X, I argue, explores the ramifications of this “late capitalist consumerism” in a system that blurs the definition of “hero” to critique a system of idolatry that maximizes the production of capital at the expense of human lives.

12:25-12:50 111351 | The Traumatised Hero’s Journey: Healing, Endurance, and Performance from the US, Japan to Korea Roger Lin, Hong Kong Chu Hai College, Hong Kong This paper theorises the traumatised hero's journey as an original departure from Joseph Campbell's monomyth. Unlike Campbell's hero who departs whole and returns transformed, the traumatised hero begins already wounded—trauma is the condition of the self before the journey starts. I trace three cultural models that reveal distinct historical and philosophical responses to wounded subjectivity. The US model operates within modernity's redemptive logic: the coherent self is a recoverable telos, and narrative closure promises healing. The Japanese model reflects postmodernity's refusal of resolution. Drawing on Azuma Hiroki's database consumption theory, I analyse Neon Genesis Evangelion and Chainsaw Man to show how power derives from persistence rather than healing—the hero endures fragmentation without synthesis. The Korean model inhabits Baudrillard's hyperreality: the wound remains, but surface is repaired through face, status, and spectacle. From My Lovely Kim Sam Soon to The Glory and Squid Game, Korean narratives substitute image for essence. The traumatised subject performs recovery without achieving it, operating within economies of visibility where appearance supersedes interiority. This historical arc—from modernity's faith in narrative coherence to postmodernity's refusal of closure to hyperreality's substitution of simulacra for substance— maps onto shifting configurations of selfhood, media, and capital. Korean cultural production reveals how trauma becomes spectacle in late capitalist media ecologies, where the wound is not healed but aestheticised, monetised, and endlessly reproduced. This framework offers critical tools for understanding contemporary representations of suffering, resilience, and subjectivity across global media cultures.

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Notes

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Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Digital Humanities and the Arts Session Chair: Erick Iroel Heredia Carrillo 11:10-11:35 106295 | The Photograph that Never Happened: AI and the Reimagining of Presence Jerrica Sabariaga - Mendoza, De La Salle University, Philippines Advances in artificial intelligence have radically transformed the nature and meaning of photographic images. Traditionally, photography has served as an index of reality—what Roland Barthes describes as the “that-has-been”—anchoring moments, bodies, and histories to material existence. However, the rise of AI image-generation tools enables the creation of hyper-realistic images that possess the visual grammar of photography without any corresponding event in space and time. These synthetic images blur the boundaries between memory and imagination, presence and simulation, documentation and desire. This study examines the philosophical implications of AI-generated photography through the theories of Barthes, Walter Benjamin, Susan Sontag, Jean Baudrillard, and Vilém Flusser. It argues that AI introduces a new photographic ontology: the “that-could-have-been.” In this emerging landscape, aura becomes programmable, authenticity becomes affective rather than factual, and the photograph evolves from a record of reality to an instrument for reimagining it. Through this conceptual lens, the research explores how AI images challenge established notions of truth, mourning, authorship, and representation, revealing a contemporary visual culture driven not by the desire to capture the world as it is, but to fabricate the worlds we long for.

11:35-12:00 113433 | The Watched Hand: Authorship, Visibility, and the Performance of Process in the Age of AI Anh Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh University of Banking, Vietnam Roland Barthes argued that "the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author," freeing the artwork from the authority of its creator. Today, AI-generated images and texts raise a different problem: audiences increasingly question whether a human author exists at all. In response, artists are expected to supply visible proof of process, such as sketches, time-lapses, studio recordings, etc., as evidence that a person, not a machine, was there. Drawing on Jean-Paul Sartre's account of the gaze, this paper argues that the demand does not simply verify creative labour but transforms it. I explore this claim through my own practice of ikebana. The process increasingly starts with anticipating an audience: considering whether the arrangement will be visually engaging, positioning cameras, and becoming aware of my own appearance within the frame. Documentation no longer accompanies the creative process but becomes part of it, repeatedly interrupting and redirecting the act of making. What appears to be a record of artistic practice thus emerges as a second practice organised around visibility. Hannah Arendt's account of the private as a condition that allows certain human activities to remain themselves extends this beyond the individual practitioner. Read alongside ikebana's own emphasis on private meditation, this suggests some practices are transformed, rather than preserved, by continuous visibility. The paper closes by asking what authorship can still mean once visibility itself becomes the price of believing a human creator was ever there.

12:00-12:25 110478 | Algorithmic Authorship and Posthuman Textuality: Rethinking Literary Theory in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence Francis Xavier Salcedo, De La Salle University, Philippines With the rapidly approaching convergence of literature and artificial intelligence, modern literary theory finds itself facing new challenges pertaining to issues such as authorship, textual authority, and creativity. Based on Roland Barthes' concept of the 'death of the author', the 'author-function' of Michel Foucault, and the notion of différance in the writings of Jacques Derrida, this paper expands on poststructuralist discourse, combining it with N. Katherine Hayles' theory of posthumanism and the notion of cyborg epistemology as introduced by Donna Haraway. The central thesis of the paper asserts that language models are based on the principle of distributed authorship that undermines any attempt at establishing coherent intentionality through stochastic recombination of semantic units. Comparative textual analysis of literature written by humans and generated by artificial intelligence forms the basis of the analysis, which relies on close reading adjusted to the computational output as well as digital humanities methods. Results show that although AI texts are characterized by the use of the same stylistic conventions typical of realist and modern literature, they contain a number of hallucinatory discontinuities which reveal the shortcomings of statistical modeling of languages. Instead of considering AI solely as a technology, the paper builds on Marshall McLuhan’s media theory and Luciano Floridi’s philosophy of information that AI is an epistemic partner of humans in writing. The contribution of this study lies in developing a critical vocabulary for the new area of scholarship called algorithmic literary studies based on posthuman ethics, linguistic algorithms, and narratological concepts.

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Thursday Onsite Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Digital Humanities and the Arts Session Chair: Erick Iroel Heredia Carrillo 12:25-12:50 111985 | Between Prompt and Clay: Generative AI, Artisanal Ceramics, and the Imagination of Matter Erick Iroel Heredia-Carrillo, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico Artisanal and experimental ceramics are deeply tied to matter, gesture, memory, and cultural value. Clay is not only shaped; it carries techniques, local knowledge, firing traditions, symbolic uses, and the marks of the maker’s hand. Generative artificial intelligence, by contrast, produces ceramic images instantly: vessels, textures, glazes, ornaments, and surfaces that may look convincing, but are not always connected to the actual knowledge of ceramic practice. This paper explores the tension between the ceramic image imagined by AI and the material, cultural, and technical realities of ceramic work. Focusing on Mexican and Latin American ceramic references, the study proposes a practice-based exploration comparing images generated through generic prompts, culturally informed prompts, and prompts shaped by ceramic knowledge, including forming methods, firing processes, glaze behavior, scale, function, and craft memory. Rather than treating AI’s distortions only as mistakes, the paper considers them as a possible source of artistic inquiry. These images may create false memories of craft, but they may also suggest unexpected forms, impossible surfaces, hybrid ornaments, and new visual paths for artists working between tradition and experimentation. The question is not only whether AI represents ceramic traditions accurately, but what creative conversations emerge when artificial images are confronted with clay, technique, and cultural experience. Although the paper focuses on Mexican ceramics as a situated case, its approach may be translated to other ceramic traditions where material knowledge, cultural memory, and artistic experimentation remain central.

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Notes

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Friday, November 13 11:20-13:00 | Online Parallel Session 1 13:10-14:25 | Online Parallel Session 2 14:35-15:50 | Online Parallel Session 3 16:00-17:40 | Online Parallel Session 4 All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) Abstracts appear as originally submitted by the author. Any spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors are those of the author.

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11:20-13:00 | Live-Stream Room 2

Friday Online Parallel Session 1 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Cultural Studies and Communication Session Chair: Hengtai Zhang 11:20-11:45 113535 | Cultural Communication Through Music Festivals: A Case Study of the Ziro Festival of Music (ZFM) Horreithing Lungleng, Rajiv Gandhi University, India Uttam Kr Pegu, Rajiv Gandhi University, India Cultural Communication is a complex and dynamic process of dissemination of cultural values, identities and traditional practices across different social groups using various platforms and spaces, where the values and identities of the community are constructed and negotiated. In an increasingly globalised world, many scholars have studied the role of music festivals, especially those with indigenous character, in facilitating intercultural communication. The Ziro Festival of Music (ZFM), which is held annually, is known for providing the experience of rural life in North East India to the visitors with the display of the rich cultural traditions of the region, particularly of Apatani culture. The festival also promotes local artists to express their indigenous music. This study examines how ZFM communicates indigenous culture through music, cultural performances, traditional food stalls, looms and handicrafts, and community participation. A mixed-method qualitative approach was adopted using participant observation and semiotic analysis. Major findings indicate that the ZFM incorporate Apatani cultural values in the contemporary music festival through symbolic representations of the Danyi, Piirlo, and Takvr stages, motif of mithun (Bos frontalis/Gayal), and the use of bamboo for stage sets and surroundings. The cultural performance of Daminda and the indigenous art display are some of the cultural representations portrayed during the festival. Furthermore, local homestays and guided village tours provide visitors with immersive engagement with the Apatani culture and traditions. However, the amalgamation of local cultural practices and participation with the festival remains limited, falling short of local community expectations.

11:45-12:10 111258 | Two Regimes, One Source: the Making of Indo-Japanese Anime in India Khushboo Bansal, University of Delhi, India Since the 1980s, Japanese anime has been broadcast on Indian television, producing a distinct institutional system for transforming Japanese cultural content for Indian audiences. Yet despite India being one of the world's largest and fastest-growing anime markets, with over 83% of Indian consumers preferring anime over other animated content (JetSynthesys, 2022), India remains almost entirely absent from the global scholarship on anime glocalisation. Drawing on doctoral research in progress at the University of Delhi, this paper argues that Japanese anime in India has been governed by two structurally distinct regimes of glocalisation that produce fundamentally different cultural products from the same source material. The first regime operates through Indian broadcast television, where anime is subjected to an informal two-layer censorship system (Bansal,2025). First through formal state regulation and subsequently through informal broadcaster self-censorship, systematically transforming anime through Hindi dubbing, scene removal, dialogue rewriting, and narrative restructuring, producing what this paper terms Indo-Japanese anime, a distinct hybrid cultural form not previously documented in the existing scholarship on anime glocalisation in India. The second regime operates through subscription OTT platforms under India's Information Technology Rules 2021, presenting anime with minimal institutional intervention and transferring the work of cultural adaptation from the platform to the viewer. The paper develops this comparative argument through selected case studies representing the full spectrum of glocalisation practices across both platforms, making an original contribution to the scholarship on transnational media, broadcast regulation, and Japanese visual culture.

12:10-12:35 113892 | Sarimanok: from Native Symbol to National Icon in the Philippines Nor-Anisha Schaharazhed Guro, Mindanao State University, Philippines In May 2017, Marawi City in the southern Philippines was destroyed during a months-long battle between government troops and ISIS-linked militants. The war not only ruined the city but also hurt the reputation and identity of the Meranaws, the area's native people. However, despite this, two important parts of Meranaw culture—the Sarimanok, a legendary bird in Meranaw mythology, and the well-known Singkil dance—remain popular among non-Meranaw artists, designers, and other creative workers. This paper looks at why the Sarimanok continues to attract so much attention from creatives. By studying posts on social media, the paper argues that the Sarimanok has become a symbol of local pop culture because it is seen as elegant, royal, and mysterious. Philippine popular culture has changed over time: it was first heavily influenced by America, then later adapted American products into local versions, and eventually moved toward creating original Filipino works. The Sarimanok became popular during this shift because its design is clearly Southeast Asian, coming from the Malay ukkil tradition. This style is very different from the Western and Spanish influences that usually dominate Philippine art. Because of this, the Sarimanok offered Filipino artists a fresh and different source of inspiration.

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11:20-13:00 | Live-Stream Room 2

Friday Online Parallel Session 1 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Cultural Studies and Communication Session Chair: Hengtai Zhang 12:35-13:00 112017 | Visualising Cultural Continuity: Representational Authority and Accountable Documentary Practice in Northeast China Zhang Hengtai, Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, China Documentary representations of ethnic-minority life can render heterogeneous communities as coherent heritage images. This article examines how cultural continuity and representational authority are organised through Twilight Over the Silent Hill, filmed in Shifosi, Northeast China, and which principles of accountable visual practice emerge. Shifosi is treated as a multi-ethnic settlement with layered Manchu and Sibe histories, not as a bounded minority community readily legible in everyday life. This practice-based visual ethnographic case study draws on the 45:19 film, production records, over twenty field visits, a family-authorised funeral sequence, and two post-production viewings. A shot log generated four clusters, examined deductively in relation to authorisation, interpretation, form, and disclosed limits, then compared with interview and field records. Indigenous Storywork functions as a reflexive interlocutor, relational accountability as an ethical lens, and visual sovereignty as a critical horizon rather than an achieved status. Findings show that cultural continuity is unevenly evidenced through situated memory, recurring practice, responsibility, and social use. The village well carries mnemonic weight but remains largely absent from the final cut, while archery appears as contemporary reconstruction rather than unbroken ceremony. Long takes, location sound, fragmentation, and camera distance can reduce explanatory control, yet may also aestheticise the village and amplify intermittent cultural signs into a stable ethnic identity. Representational authority thus operates across authorisation, interpretation, form, translation, omission, and circulation. The study proposes five dimensions: situated authorisation, interpretive participation, formal restraint, reflexive limitation, and circulatory accountability. These are offered as transferable questions rather than as a validated method.

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11:20-13:00 | Live-Stream Room 3

Friday Online Parallel Session 1 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Digital Humanities Session Chair: Gaman Palem 11:20-11:45 110185 | From Digital Representation to Travel Intention: Cultural Identity Satisfaction in Social Media-Mediated Tourism Behaviour Putri Rakhmadhani Nur Rimbawati, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China This study examines how digital representation in social media environments is translated into behavioural intention through processes of interpretation. Focusing on Southeast Asia, specifically Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, the analysis investigates how Social Media–Mediated Branding contributes to Travel Intention through the mediating role of Cultural Identity Satisfaction. Using a mixedmethods design, the study combines variance-based structural modelling with qualitative interpretation to examine how Website and Social Media Quality, Content Relevance and Framing, and Brand Image Display function as representational inputs. The findings indicate that exposure to digital content alone does not produce behavioural intention, as its influence depends on how individuals interpret and internalise representation in relation to their sense of identity. Cultural Identity Satisfaction operates as the mechanism through which digital representation acquires behavioural relevance, mediating the relationship between Social Media–Mediated Branding and Travel Intention while also sustaining Revisiting Intention. Destination Satisfaction strengthens this relationship, suggesting that behavioural reinforcement depends on the validation of prior experience. The study contributes to digital media and communication research by explaining how platformbased environments shape behavioural outcomes through identity-based interpretation.

11:45-12:10 111159 | Performing Humanity: Opera, Identity Economies, and the Crisis of Voice, Authenticity, and Cultural Legitimacy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Derek Barker-Ciganik, University of Vienna, Austria This paper examines opera as a historical and philosophical medium through which societies have regulated voice as a core site of legitimacy, identity, and human authenticity. Drawing on Identity Group Theory (IGT), it argues that opera has long functioned not merely as aesthetic performance, but as a structured arena in which vocal expression mediates sacred authority, political legitimacy, emotional authenticity, and cultural belonging. Through selected readings of Bellini’s Norma, Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Puccini’s Tosca and Madama Butterfly, the paper demonstrates how operatic traditions have historically constructed voice as an allocative mechanism within distinct identity economies. These works collectively reveal voice as a medium through which institutional authority, artistic legitimacy, social recognition, and human value are negotiated. Against this historical framework, contemporary developments in artificial intelligence—including synthetic voice generation, algorithmic reproduction, and AI-mediated performance—pose profound challenges to longstanding systems of authenticity, authorship, and cultural legitimacy. As artificial intelligence increasingly destabilizes assumptions about human uniqueness and expressive authority, opera offers a uniquely rich conceptual archive for analysing emerging crises in identity economies. By placing operatic voice in dialogue with contemporary AI, this paper positions IGT as an interdisciplinary framework for understanding technological disruptions to recognition, performative legitimacy, and cultural value in the twenty-first century.

12:10-12:35 113412 | Visual Strategies for Inclusive Organ Donation Communication Design: An Eye-Tracking and GSR Pilot Study with Generation Z Simge Kırteke, Üsküdar University, Türkiye Ertan Toy, Yıldız Technical University, Türkiye Selami Varol Ülker, Üsküdar University, Türkiye Neurodesign approaches offer valuable methods for evaluating how different audiences engage with visual communication. In public health campaigns such as organ donation, inclusive and empathic design is essential to ensure that messages are both accessible and emotionally meaningful to diverse groups of viewers. Understanding how different visual strategies influence attention and engagement can support the development of more effective health communication materials. This pilot study investigates how Generation Z audiences respond to different visual approaches in organ donation posters during the early stages of the empathic design process. Twenty undergraduate students from Üsküdar University completed an empathic tendency scale questionnaire and subsequently viewed six existing organ donation posters representing three visual categories: typographic (n = 2), photographic (n = 2), and illustrative (n = 2). Galvanic skin response (GSR) and eye-tracking data were collected to examine physiological engagement and visual attention patterns. Preliminary findings indicate that photographic and illustrative posters elicited higher physiological arousal and stronger visual engagement than typographic posters. Eye-tracking analyses further revealed differences in viewing patterns across message and image regions, suggesting that visual format influences how health messages are processed by young audiences. These findings demonstrate the potential of combining GSR and eyetracking methods to evaluate inclusive health communication materials and support evidence-based design decisions in public awareness campaigns. The study contributes a methodological framework for assessing audience engagement in empathic design and provides a foundation for future research exploring how visual communication strategies can enhance accessibility, emotional connection, and message effectiveness in public health contexts. This study is derived from the doctoral thesis of the first author, conducted at the Yıldız Technical University Art and Design program, and was supported under the TÜBİTAK 1002-A Short-Term Support Module with project number 324K075.

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11:20-13:00 | Live-Stream Room 3

Friday Online Parallel Session 1 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Digital Humanities Session Chair: Gaman Palem 12:35-13:00 110625 | Generative AI and Creative Learning: Rethinking Comics Pedagogy in Visual Communication Classrooms Gaman Palem, Presidency University, India Abhilash BS, Presidency University, India This study examines how generative artificial intelligence transforms creative learning in visual communication classrooms through a focused investigation of student-produced comics in India. The research analyses how undergraduate students utilise tools such as text-toimage generators, prompt-based image editors, and adaptive layout software to construct narrative comics across multiple genres. It further investigates how these tools reshape artistic practice, influence emerging forms of visual literacy, and redefine expectations surrounding effort, skill development, and authorship. The study follows a cohort of thirty-four media arts students in a metropolitan private university in southern India. Participants produced short comics spanning speculative fiction, romance, slice of life, superhero, fantasy, and social commentary. Using structured observations, guided studio modules, and reflective logs, the research documents workflows involving concept creation, character design, sequential panel development, and digital publication. Findings reveal accelerated ideation through rapid visualisation and iterative experimentation with tone, lighting, and cultural motifs. However, challenges persist in maintaining visual consistency across panels, particularly in character identity and perspective. Prompt refinement emerged as a critical creative skill comparable to traditional drafting. Three pedagogical implications arise: prompt literacy as core competence, evolving debates on authorship and ethics, and the need for hybrid teaching models integrating manual and AI-assisted methods. The study concludes that generative artificial intelligence expands expressive potential while necessitating critical engagement with craft, originality, and narrative responsibility in contemporary comics education. These findings highlight the importance of balanced pedagogies that cultivate both technical adaptability and critical awareness among emerging visual storytellers in digitally mediated creative environments.

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11:20-13:00 | Live-Stream Room 4

Friday Online Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Literature, Literary Studies and Theory Session Chair: Michiko Tsushima 11:20-11:45 113302 | ‘Fantasy or Reality?’ The Intermediate Area and the Uncanny in Aickman’s ‘The Inner Room’ Atikah Atikah, University of Leeds, United Kingdom Basofi Hardiyanto, King's College London, United Kingdom This essay investigates the theory of intermediate area from D.W. Winnicott and Sigmund Freud’s idea of uncanny in the story of ‘The Inner Room’ by Robert Aickman. The study focuses on the development of psychological disorder experienced by the protagonist, Lene, struggling to separate her inner and outer reality. The failure of distinguishing the two separate areas is due to her inability to step out of the transitional phenomena experienced in childhood. Further he explains that this process of transition is tied to the successful use of transitional objects which Lene fails to detach from it. The study argues that the problem is not only because of her anxious detachment, but because of a fear of abandonment rooted from her relationship with her mother. This condition leads to many trauma that develop to the inability to separate her hallucination to her reality world. Consequently, the line between her imagination is blurred and the reality of her inner and outer world is hardly distinguishable. Later, Lene experiences supernatural events from her unresolved trauma with her dolls haunting her adult life. This condition is what Freud called ‘Uncanny’. The uncanniness experience comes from years of repressed memories, especially the guilt associated with the abandonment towards her dolls. Ultimately, this essay concludes that the failure of transitional phenomena endures the consequence of a broken childhood psychological structure. Aickman’s ‘The Inner Room’ perceives an example on how a person could be trapped in an area of reality and fantasy.

11:45-12:10 112645 | No Journey Ends Alone: Frieren and the Perceptual Training of Post-Heroic Time Francesca Romana Petroselli, University Niccolò Cusano, Italy Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End begins where heroic fantasy usually stops: after the Demon King has been defeated, the party has returned, and adventure has already become memory. This paper argues that the series not only imagines life after the quest, but trains viewers to perceive belatedness as a form of knowledge. Often discussed for its soothing atmosphere, Frieren mobilises an iyashikei-inflected sensibility without becoming a pure iyashikei work. Its calmness is interrupted by combat, loss, demonic violence and the asymmetry of an elven lifespan. Precisely this hybrid quality makes it useful for thinking perceptual habitability. Through Frieren’s extended lifespan, the anime stages a gap between accumulation and understanding. She collects spells and memories, yet initially fails to grasp the affective density of finite human relations. Himmel, Heiter and Eisen return not simply as flashbacks, but as perceptual coordinates embedded in landscapes, objects, gestures and repeated routes. Fern and Stark, in turn, create a renewed relational field in which time can be inhabited with others. Drawing on anime studies, visual culture, memory studies and 4E cognition, the paper reads Frieren as an aesthetics of perceptual training. Its pauses, journeys, seasonal rhythms and recursive encounters distribute memory across bodies, environments and companions. The series does not heal grief by resolving it; it gives grief an inhabitable form. Frieren suggests that long life becomes meaningful not because it preserves more memories, but because it can learn, belatedly, to be inhabited by the finite lives it once failed to understand.

12:10-12:35 113632 | “Coming Out of the Dark”: The Everyday in Samuel Beckett’s Radio Play, All that Fall Michiko Tsushima, University of Tsukuba, Japan In a 1961 interview, Samuel Beckett remarked that “where we have, at one and the same time, darkness and light, we also have the inexplicable.” This dimension of “the inexplicable” appears in various forms throughout Beckett’s work. Drawing on Maurice Blanchot’s essay “Everyday Speech” (in The Infinite Conversation), which describes the everyday as that which escapes and resists being grasped by knowledge, this paper shows how Beckett’s first radio play, All That Fall (1957), portrays the twofold nature of this dimension: light and darkness. The realm of light is inflected by realism, in which the concrete aspects of people’s everyday lives are depicted, while the realm of darkness, where non-being prevails, is never fully sealed off from the former. All That Fall opens an attunement space in which the listener is attuned to this twofoldness at the heart of the everyday and, instead of understanding it intellectually, experiences it as an enigma. Beckett does not deny the world of concrete everyday lives in this play; rather, he reveals it in its twofoldness, in which the concrete world of light is enveloped by a dimension of darkness — or non-being — that has the force to undo it. The listener senses the tension between the countryside landscape and this force, akin to what Blanchot calls the “secret destructive capacity” in play within the everyday, that dissolves it. All this is made possible by the radio medium, through which Beckett thinks the work “coming out of the dark” can be realized.

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11:20-13:00 | Live-Stream Room 4

Friday Online Parallel Session 1 KAMC2026 | Literature, Literary Studies and Theory Session Chair: Michiko Tsushima 12:35-13:00 108252 | Knowledge, Power, and the Illusion of Freedom in Haruki Murakami’s ‘Kafka on the Shore’ Safia Tahmeen, The English and Foreign Languages University, India Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore guises compliance as freedom, in accordance with power structures through an internalised acceptance of their authority and subsequent submission. In this paper I will examine the role of the characters in the text through a Foucauldian framework of power and its production of knowledge. I argue that authority in the novel operates as an epistemic regime that governs subjects by regulating access to knowledge to enforce obedience. Kafka decides to alter the course of his prophesised future under the assumption that his choices are made independently but his knowledge of the prophecy by his father, the authoritative figure, becomes the catalyst for it to transpire, as every step he takes as a supposed act of rebellion against it, inadvertently plays right into its schemes. Kafka’s resistance in running away, and Nakata’s incapability to function like earlier after his memory loss, while developing the skill to talk to cats and foresight for his own future, are both produced by a knowledge system functioning toward achieving its own goals. Kafka decides to fulfil the prophecy of his own accord toward the end of the novel as the knowledge produced from a source of power becomes the internalised truth of people. By analysing Kafka on the Shore as an archetype of epistemic governance, this paper demonstrates how Murakami shows the mechanisms through which people participate in their own regulation. It depicts that freedom is a product of its contextual power structures and the knowledge it produces.

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13:10-14:25 | Live-Stream Room 2

Friday Online Parallel Session 2 MediAsia2026 | Film Criticism and Theory Session Chair: Anran Liu 13:10-13:35 108879 | Evolving Karbi Identity in Cinematic Landscapes: A Comparative Study of Wosobipo (1990) and Kangbo Aloti (2024) Anubhuti Dutta, Tezpur University, India Perosh Jimmy Daimari, Tezpur University, India Shaped by a history of political and cultural marginalisation, Northeast India reflects layered complexities in both cinematic representation and film production. The region’s broader ethnolinguistic cinematic diversity is obscured when ‘films of Assam’ are reduced to merely Assamese-language films. This paper attempts to understand the evolving negotiation of cultural identity within the Karbi community of Assam through a diachronic comparative study of Wosobipo (1990), directed by Gautam Bora, the first Karbi-language film, and Kangbo Aloti (2024), directed by Khanjan Kishore Nath, that secured international distribution rights for UK and China at the Cannes Film Festival Market. Given the scarcity of Karbi-language films produced, this study purposively selects these two landmark films to understand the evolution of identity negotiation in Karbi cinema. Drawing on Lefebvre's spatial theory, Massey’s relational space concept and social identity theory, the study examines how cultural landscapes function as sites of identity negotiation. The study employs qualitative thematic analysis of the films, supplemented by semi-structured interviews with 15 Karbi cultural activists, including directors, producers, and scholars. Further, the study will include 3 focus group discussions with screening attendees, each consisting of 5-6 participants from diverse demographic backgrounds. Findings reveal a shift from pre-insurgency themes of resilience and economic marginalisation in Wosobipo to post-conflict experiences of fragmentation and loss in Kangbo Aloti. Preliminary interviews show affirming yet negotiated readings, acknowledging lifestyle shifts and cultural romanticisation. This diachronic study adds to indigenous and minority cinema scholarship by examining how cinematic spaces renegotiate Karbi identity amid political and cultural transformations.

13:35-14:00 113716 | Addressing the Spectator as Female: Mizuki Yōko’s Jun’ai Monogatari (1957) from Script to Screen Shuaiwei Cheng, Independent Scholar, China Teresa de Lauretis proposes that “a film may address the spectator as female, rather than portray women positively or negatively” (1987, 135). Extending this proposition from film to screenplay, this paper uses Jun’ai monogatari (The Story of Pure Love, 1957) as a case study, comparing Mizuki Yōko’s screenplay with Imai Tadashi’s film. Here, “female” refers not to viewers’ empirical gender but to a spectatorial position constructed through the narrative. Although framed by the male protagonist’s retrospective narration, Mizuki’s screenplay refuses him a monopoly on narrative action. It is the heroine who proposes their partnership, decides to abandon theft, and acts at decisive moments when the hero hesitates. The screenplay also develops a structure of intergenerational female support, in which a woman instructor guides and cares for the heroine. Most revealingly, a scripted parallel montage juxtaposes mealtimes in two gender-segregated juvenile institutions, making the gendered institutional order of 1950s Japan legible. The completed film largely preserves the heroine’s active role in the plot and this structure of intergenerational support, but omits the scene set in the hero’s juvenile training school, dissolving the montage and its comparative logic. Although this cut increases women’s relative share of screen time, it removes the contrast through which gendered difference is articulated, weakening the screenplay’s gender critique. The paper argues that Mizuki’s screenplay constructs textual conditions for addressing the spectator as female. Script-to-screen comparison therefore reveals Mizuki’s creative contribution and shows how gendered address is reconfigured in the passage from screenplay to film.

14:00-14:25 111045 | From Gazing Subject to Listening Body: Embodied Simulation, Auditory Resonance, and Cinematic Slowness in Drive My Car Anran Liu, University of Essex, United Kingdom Cognitive film theory has productively engaged with slow cinema, yet its analyses remain predominantly visual: the long take is understood as extending visual attention, and embodied simulation is theorized primarily through the optic-motor channel. This paper argues that Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s Drive My Car (2021) demands an expansion of embodied simulation theory into the auditory domain, challenging the visual-centric cognitive model underpinning both slow cinema discourse and cognitive film spectatorship. Drawing on Gallese’s theory of embodied simulation, neuroscientific research on auditory-motor mirroring, and Nancy’s phenomenology of listening, I analyse three sequences that redirect embodied engagement from optic-motor simulation to what I term auditory-somatic resonance. In the multilingual hon-yomi rehearsals, semantic comprehension is suspended across four languages and Korean Sign Language, yet embodied simulation persists as spectators’ vocal tracts and respiratory muscles mirror the actors’ phonatory effort through auditory-motor coupling. The acoustically sealed car interior eliminates visual exchange, constructing a resonance chamber where embodied connection operates exclusively through vocal texture and rhythmic co-presence. The climactic Korean Sign Language performance of Sonya’s monologue tests the limits of this resonance: absent both semantic content and sound, embodied simulation shifts to visual-gestural mirroring and respiratory synchronization. These sequences form a progressive spectrum from sound without meaning, through sound within enclosure, to meaning without sound, demonstrating that cinematic embodied simulation need not be anchored in visual-motor processes. I propose embodied listening as a cognitive-perceptual model extending embodied simulation theory beyond its visual bias and offering new analytical tools for cinematic slowness.

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13:10-14:25 | Live-Stream Room 3

Friday Online Parallel Session 2 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Visual Culture Session Chair: Hoang-Vu Nguyen 13:10-13:35 111261 | Platform Aesthetics in the OTT Landscape of India: A Computational Analysis of Trailer Design in Netflix and Amazon Prime Video Anonyaa Dutta, Independent Scholar, India Anubhuti Dutta, Tezpur University, India In the rapidly expanding OTT landscape of India, where Netflix and Amazon Prime Video remain two of the leading platforms with substantial subscriber bases and original content investments, trailers serve as critical instruments for brand differentiation and audience engagement. Trailers constitute condensed aesthetic summaries and promotional paratexts that selectively encode brand identities. Existing literature largely focuses on business models, user communities, and genre preference surveys. However, limited attention is paid to the computational analysis of platform-specific aesthetic strategies in their original content trailers. This study addresses that gap by examining how Netflix and Amazon Prime Video construct distinct brand identities through trailer design. The research employs a purposive sample of 60 trailers collected from official YouTube channels of Netflix India and Prime Video India. The sample consists of 50 platform original film and series trailers classified into five major genres and 10 platform promotional trailers. Using OpenCV-based video processing, trailers are decomposed into frames for pixel-level feature extraction. Temporal structure is modeled through shot boundary detection and average shot length. Preliminary findings reveal that while both platforms share similar editing structures and saturation-contrast levels, significant differences exist in colour aesthetics. Amazon Prime Video trailers had significantly higher brightness (80.46) than Netflix (67.7). Netflix showed higher overall warmth (avg. 14.33) compared to Prime (avg. -6.44). Romance genre recorded the highest warmth in Netflix, while Prime showed its only positive warmth value in romance. These aesthetic choices support distinct brand storytelling strategies while operating within shared industry conventions.

13:35-14:00 111156 | Deceptive by Design: A Systematic Literature Review of Dark Patterns, User Behaviour, and Ethical Concerns in E-Commerce Ryan Pratama Sutanto, Dongseo University, South Korea Jung Hee Yu, Dongseo University, South Korea Seul Ki Lee, Dongseo University, South Korea A crucial area of user experience (UX) research now involves the deceptive nature of digital interactions. This deceptive nature of digital interactions has been recognised since 2010 and is referred to as dark patterns. Dark patterns are intentionally engineered interface designs to manipulate online user behaviours. This study aims to analyse dark pattern taxonomies, identify commonly used methodologies, and summarise recent research trends within the scope of UX research. This study employs a systematic literature review (SLR) approach to synthesise current literature from 2018 to 2025, adopting PRISMA reporting guidelines as the review protocol. The literature searches were conducted using terms related to dark patterns, user behaviours, ethics, and e-commerce from a curated database, Science Direct. The selected literature was then analysed using keyword-based thematic mapping. The academic implications from this study are identifying gaps in current dark pattern research, synthesising UX research trends, and examining methodological limitations. Practical implications include supporting ethical UX design and helping designers recognise dark patterns, and supporting regulatory efforts around deceptive design practices. This study is limited to e-commerce contexts between 2018 and 2025; therefore, findings may not fully represent dark pattern research in other digital domains or time periods.

14:00-14:25 113058 | Civic Kitsch as a Social Technology of Cheerfulness: Affective Governance in Vietnamese Festive and Leisure Infrastructures Thuy-Tien Vo, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam Hoang-Vu Nguyen, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam Liem Bui, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam Civic kitsch, the hyperdecorative visual language of Vietnamese urban festivals and leisure infrastructures, is routinely dismissed as mere bad taste. This paper argues otherwise: civic kitsch operates as a social technology of cheerfulness, a visual system through which collective optimism is scripted, maintained, and, when the conditions sustaining it collapse, revealed as constructed. The argument is developed through a practice-led project examining two contrasting Vietnamese sites and translated into a digital encyclopedic prototype in which classification constitutes the methodological argument. The claim is that civic kitsch's affective governance mechanisms become legible only through a chain of necessary theoretical corrections. Semiotic analysis, drawing on Barthes (1972) and Niklas (1983), reads how cartoon hybridisation and decorative excess naturalise civic harmony as spontaneous rather than managed. Simulation theory, drawing on Baudrillard (1983), shows this harmony generates its own referent, freeing analysis from questions of authenticity. Cute affect theory, drawing on Ngai (2012) and Dale (2016), identifies the coercive power differential concealed inside the cartoon figure's invitation to approach. Affect theory, drawing on Thrift (2004) and Ahmed (2004), accounts for why identical formal vocabularies produce optimism in one site and something else in another. Each resolves what the previous cannot. Two Vietnamese sites stage this distinction: Nguyễn Huệ Flower Street Festival maintains cheerfulness through institutional renewal; the demolished Suối Cát leisure park reveals what remains when that engineering fails. The mechanism persists. The affect does not. That gap is the finding, and the encyclopedic prototype is the instrument through which it is made arguable.

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13:10-14:25 | Live-Stream Room 4

Friday Online Parallel Session 2 KAMC2026 | Area Studies Session Chair: Noriaki Hoshino 13:10-13:35 113717 | Shift in Narrative of Nationalism in Thai Historical Comics and Animation: The Case of 2475 Dawn of Revolution Woraporn Wajjwalku, Kyushu University, Japan This study examines the nationalistic sentiment embedded in Thai historical comics and animation by focusing on two points: the representation of historical narratives and the influence of sociopolitical context. The 2475 Dawn of the Revolution was selected as a primary case study while other Thai historical comics and animation produced since the 1997 Economics Crisis were also examined concurrently. The study argued that the historical narrative presented in the 2475 Dawn of the Revolution reflected a shift from narratives centered on external invaders to narratives emphasizing internal threats and social disorders, which closely related to its contemporary sociopolitical contexts. The research applied a qualitative approach and employed the concept of representation and discourse as the analytical framework. The data was collected through documentary research and textual analysis. The study showed that following the 1997 Economics Crisis, the numbers of Thai historical comics and animation increased significantly, particularly works celebrating great Thai kings who defended the nation, reflecting the nationalism resurgence of the post-crisis sociopolitical context. Additionally, the economic crisis was frequently attributed to external influences, and parallels were drawn between the economic crisis and Thailand's historical wars with Burma. However, the 2475 Dawn of the Revolution departed from this dominant trend by depicting the Siamese Revolution, a historical event based on internal conflict, reflecting a shift in broader narratives of national threats, from external enemies to internal sources of disorder. It corresponded to the context of Thailand's political crises, in which political protesters were portrayed as threats to national security.

13:35-14:00 113443 | Inventing “Studious Korea”: The National Charter of Education and the Making of a National Educational Ethos Seri Yoon, Waseda University, Japan In 1968, South Korea proclaimed the National Charter of Education, placing knowledge, intellectual development, and skills within the national mission of “national revitalization.” South Korea’s educational culture is often attributed to Confucian traditions and a long-standing respect for learning. Yet its modern form was shaped by the state, which selected ideas from the past, recast them in the language of national development, and embedded them in educational life. Drawing on Eric Hobsbawm’s concept of the invention of tradition, this study investigates how narratives surrounding scholarship, self-cultivation, and social advancement were reworked through education policy and transformed into a national ideal connecting study with citizenship and collective progress. Through qualitative historical discourse analysis of the 1895 Education Edict, the 1949 Education Act, the 1968 National Charter of Education, subsequent curricula and textbooks, and school practices, this paper traces the construction of this educational tradition. It examines how respect for learning was reframed as a modern national value, how educational ideals were formalized and repeatedly enacted through schooling, and how academic achievement came to signify personal success, responsible citizenship, and participation in national development. The study argues that “Studious Korea” is best understood neither as an ancient inheritance nor as a spontaneous cultural trait, but as a modern educational ethos built through the selective reinterpretation of historical values and their institutional repetition. Ultimately, the Korean case shows that education policy does more than organize schools: it can shape collective ideas about intelligence, citizenship, and what a nation expects its people to become.

14:00-14:25 113872 | Revisiting the Past: on Postwar Japanese Intellectual Discourses on Early Modern Japan Noriaki Hoshino, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong This paper explores the work of the postwar Japanese intellectual Fukumoto Kazuo (1894–1983), who argued for the significance of early modernity in Japanese history in his attempt to challenge the conventional narrative of late Japanese modernization. Fukumoto was an influential Marxist theoretician and activist in modern Japan. He studied social science in Germany under renowned theoreticians of socalled “Western Marxism,” such as Karl Korsch and Georg Lukács, in the early 1920s. After returning to Japan, he became a famous Marxist theoretician and activist in interwar Japan, but he was imprisoned in 1928 for his communist activities. While in prison, he found signs of early modernity in the Edo period (17th-19th centuries). During the postwar period, he continued publishing works on this subject. Until his death, he wrote as an independent scholar about the development of Japanese technology, arts, folk culture, and philosophy during the Edo period in comparison with parallel developments in European modernity. This paper, by focusing on some of his key texts from the postwar period, examines the implication of his works on Japan’s past in comparison with contemporaneous discourses on Japanese modernization. In doing so, this paper reveals both the importance and the problematic aspects of his view and expands the perspective of the studies of modern Japanese culture and history.

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14:35-15:50 | Live-Stream Room 2

Friday Online Parallel Session 3 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Communication and Politics Session Chair: Kenji Saietto 14:35-15:00 108260 | Rethinking Creative Economy Policy Through Practice: Evidence on Inclusion, from a Place-Based Creative R&D Cluster Jessica Hoare, Cardiff University, United Kingdom Since 2010, UK creative-economy policy has consistently focused on developing creative clusters to drive economic resilience and growth. Media Cymru, a £52m UKRI-funded creative industries growth programme in the Cardiff Capital Region, is one such public investment, combining R&D funding with a sustained commitment to equity-driven governance. Drawing on inclusive growth theory and cluster governance frameworks, this paper examines whether and how public investment in the creative industries can integrate equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) into its structural design, rather than treating diversity as a downstream outcome of economic success. Using programme documentation, funding criteria, longitudinal diversity monitoring data, and interviews conducted between 2022 and 2026, the paper presents evidence from five years of embedded research. It finds that EDI can be meaningfully integrated into funding design, commissioning processes, and programme evaluation, producing measurable shifts in participation among underrepresented groups. However, the data also reveal significant volatility: diversity gains are fragile and contract under institutional pressure, particularly at moments of budget stress or competing growth demands. The paper argues that these tensions are not incidental but structural, generated by the simultaneous obligations of innovation, income generation, and public value that publicly funded creative programmes must navigate. In addressing these issues, the paper contributes to broader discussions on inclusive innovation, cluster governance, and the limits and possibilities of equity-oriented creative economy policy.

15:00-15:25 113774 | The Correlation Between Anthropocene and Anthropocentrism in Forming the Foundation of Environmental Ethics Kien Trung Do, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam The controversial question among geologists about whether humanity is still in the Holocene geological epoch or has transitioned to the Anthropocene has spread to fields seemingly uninterested in this topic, including environmental ethics. According to Erle Ellis, at the heart of this debate is the formation of a conceptual framework that asserts a human age in which the human element has left an astonishing geological imprint in both positive and negative senses. If the human element influences the discourse on the evolution of life, what is the meaning of human existence when perception and action shape a unique value system? Bryan Norton recognized that this discourse would lead to a flawed way of thinking and acting that he called Anthropocentrism, which asserts the central position and role of humans in the narrative about the earth from a human perspective and value.Why can Ellis's interpretations of the Anthropocene and Norton's analysis of Anthropocentrism be linked and form a warning to humanity? This is because scientists and theorists recognize the devastating consequences of human actions on the biosphere. This article will focus on connecting the philosophical interpretations surrounding the concepts of Anthropocene and Anthropocentrism to form a conceptual framework for environmental ethics aimed at achieving sustainable development goals.

15:25-15:50 111527 | Negotiating Religious Identity and Civic Responsibility: Muslim Communities and Multicultural Coexistence in Contemporary Japan Kenji Saietto, University of Idaho, United States Japan's increasing cultural and religious diversity raises important questions about how minority communities negotiate identity while building civic trust within local society. This paper examines how Muslim communities in regional Japan balance religious identity with civic responsibility and contribute to multicultural coexistence. The study presents a qualitative case study centred on Muslim communities in Miyazaki Prefecture, drawing upon over three decades of participant observation, community leadership, collaboration with local governments and educational institutions, community documents, and local media reports. The analysis is informed by theories of interculturalism and social capital. Preliminary findings suggest that successful coexistence depends less on cultural assimilation than on sustained civic participation, transparent community leadership, and continuous engagement with local institutions. Mosques function not only as places of worship but also as centres for intercultural dialogue, educational outreach, volunteer activities, and cooperation with municipalities, schools, healthcare providers, and law enforcement agencies. The study also suggests that while media representations and international security narratives influence public perceptions of Islam, these perceptions are frequently moderated through direct interpersonal contact and longterm community relationships. By examining a regional Japanese context, the paper contributes empirical evidence to discussions of religious diversity, multicultural governance, and minority integration in societies experiencing demographic change and increasing international migration.

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14:35-15:50 | Live-Stream Room 3

Friday Online Parallel Session 3 KAMC/MediAsia2026 | Gender in Media and Films Session Chair: Laura Stephenson 14:35-15:00 111504 | Reclaiming the Monstrous: The Female Gaze and Narrative Intervention in Contemporary Indonesian Horror Annapurna Sinha, Binus University International, Indonesia This research examines the intervention of the "Female Gaze" within the contemporary Indonesian horror cinema, focusing on the shift from women as objects of patriarchal terror to subjects of cinematic agency. Historically, Indonesian horror has relied on the "Monstrous-Feminine" to project male anxieties regarding female biology and domesticity (Mulvey,1975; Prasetyo et al., 2025). However, a new wave of female directors is reclaiming these tropes to offer a nuanced, and subjective perspective on female trauma and empowerment. Through a qualitative thematic analysis of three pivotal films of the recent past—Ginanti Rona’s Qorin (2022), Hadrah Daeng Ratu’s Sijjin (2023), and Upi’s Sorop (2024)—this study examines how local myths are reshaped by female authorship. The researcher employs a textual analysis methodology to decode the visual elements – framing, composition, light and sound, and haptic cinematography. Moreover, narrative analysis has been used to explore the perspective shift from the horror of the monster to the source and the repressed cause. Drawing on Barbara Creed’s (1993) theory of the monstrous-feminine and Laura Mulvey’s (1975) conceptualization of the gaze, the research evaluates the extent of female intervention in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Preliminary observations suggest that female directors have gone beyond jump scares and objectification to question social trauma, institutional and domestic abuse through horror. Their focus on female subjectivity and interfemale relationships in their films transforms the monster from a source of external fear into a medium for social subversion.

15:00-15:25 113509 | Women Medical Professionals Under Contested Authority: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of Chinese Medical Dramas Xiaotan Wan, The University of Oklahoma, United States Since China launched healthcare system reform in 2009, medical costs, resource allocation, doctor–patient trust, professional ethics, and institutional responsibility have remained major public concerns, making realist medical dramas important cultural sites for negotiating medical authority and gender order. This qualitative textual study examines how Chinese realist medical dramas construct the authority and subjectivity of female medical professionals. It argues that increased female professional subjectivity coexists with persistent gendered burdens. Using purposive sampling, the study analyzes 105 episodes from three dramas spanning 2012–2022: Heart Surgery (2012), Emergency Department Doctors (2017), and About Dr. Tang (2022). The cases were selected because hospitals are their primary settings, medical labor, doctor–patient relations, and institutional power are central to their plots, and female medical professionals occupy central roles. Drawing on symbolic convergence theory and fantasy theme analysis, the study codes all episodes, compares recurring character relations, actions, settings, and value judgments, and consolidates eight initial storylines into four higher-order narratives before deriving three fantasy types and an overarching rhetorical vision. The findings show that these dramas grant female medical professionals greater narrative centrality, professional authority, and agency in intimate relationships while positioning them as bearers of institutional risk, emotional labor, relational repair, and ethical responsibility. The study extends fantasy theme analysis to non-Western television narratives, identifying a gendered cultural imagination of Chinese medical professionalism in which female medical professionals are constructed as authoritative subjects yet expected to absorb institutional risks and compensate for systemic deficiencies through care, emotional labor, relational repair, and self-sacrifice.

15:25-15:50 113147 | Sensitive Pedagogies: Ethics, and LGBTQ+ Intimacy Coordination in Film Production Teaching Laura Stephenson, University of Westminster, United Kingdom Tansy Simpson, University of Westminster, United Kingdom This paper examines how intimacy coordination and choreography can be embedded into film production education using an ethical framework. The framework focuses on LGBTQ+ equality (in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals #5 and #16) and supporting student wellbeing (SDGs #3 and #4), whilst also honouring the 2010 UK Equality Act. Drawing on the authors’ experiences as university lecturers on UK media production programs, a recent teaching case study is analysed in which student crews planned and shot film scenes involving queer intimacy. This research employs a threefold method based on 1) curriculum content which foregrounds consentbased practice alongside technical and artistic decision making; 2) the monitoring process for implementing industry-standard safeguarding; and 3) an autoethnographic evaluation of the effectiveness of these approaches by staff and by students. The authors’ argue that integrating queer-inclusive intimacy work into core production teaching cultivates sensitive, reflective and ethically aware creative practitioners, who are equipped to navigate contemporary inclusivity laws and the #post-metoo regulations which inform modern workplaces. This research paper proposes a robust but sensitive pedagogy that links ethics, equality and queer-inclusive filmmaking practice – an educational approach for peace in a changing world.

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14:35-15:50 | Live-Stream Room 4

Friday Online Parallel Session 3 KAMC2026 | Cultural Studies Session Chair: Korn Jaiprajong 14:35-15:00 113619 | Toward an Integrated Framework for Sacred and Community Space: A Case Study of Wat Suan Dok, Chiang Mai Korn Jaiprajong, Chiang Mai University, Thailand Chiranthanin Kitika, Chiang Mai University, Thailand This paper proposes an integrated framework for reading sacred space within its surrounding community, using Wat Suan Dok, a royal Buddhist temple on the edge of the old moated settlement of Wiang Suan Dok in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as a case study. Existing studies of Lanna temples document architectural and historical significance but rarely address how sacredness is experienced differently by monks, residents, students, and visitors who share temple space today. Drawing on Victor Turner's theory of sacred space and sense-of-place literature, the paper develops a five-dimensional framework spanning religious, historical, architectural, experiential, and event-based aspects of sacredness. Historical and documentary analysis of Wat Suan Dok illustrates the framework, tracing sacredness through dynastic memory, thresholds inherited from the former moated city, and the temple's role as a living community centre. The paper argues that sacred space and community space are better understood as overlapping rather than opposed, and outlines a planned field methodology of interviews and mental mapping to test the framework against user perceptions. This conceptual contribution offers a transferable approach for reading sacredness in living religious sites, with implications for sustaining spiritual meaning alongside community life in Lanna temple contexts.

15:00-15:25 111128 | The Sacred Void: Tokonoma in Japanese Architecture Alexandre Avdulov, Saint Mary's University, Canada The tokonoma (床の間) is defined as a functional, recessed, and typically elevated alcove designed specifically for aesthetic and symbolic display. It serves as an integral architectural component of traditional Japanese interiors, spanning domestic residences, restaurants, temples, and tea rooms. The objects curated within this space - ranging from calligraphic scrolls executed by Zen priests or grand masters to seasonal floral arrangements (ikebana), incense containers, or calligraphy sets - are regarded with supreme reverence. These items represent highly valued treasures shared intentionally with guests, visitors, or disciples. The genealogical origins of the tokonoma can be traced back to the structural configuration of temple altars situated before Buddhist deities. This lineage extends to the oshiita - a dedicated board for Buddhist implements - evolving through the formal transitions of shinden-zukuri and shoin-zukuri architectural styles. Through this historical progression, the tokonoma emerged as a "secular-sacred" element central to the Japanese dwelling. Despite the high density and spatial constraints inherent in Japanese urban environments, the tokonoma fulfills no utilitarian function; it is strictly prohibited from being used for storage or physical transit. Instead, it contributes profoundly to the "inner space" of a room, providing a psychological and visual illusion of expansiveness. The term’s second character, ma (間), refers to a "space between" or a meaningful pause in both time and space. As an effective interior element of tradition, the "sacred void" of the tokonoma invites inquiry into its potential utility and relevance within the spatial and spiritual contexts of the 21st century.

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16:00-17:40 | Live-Stream Room 2

Friday Online Parallel Session 4 KAMC2026 | Film Studies Session Chair: Joel Campbell 16:00-16:25 113984 | The Native-Land Community Within Diasporic Experience: An Examination Centering on the Creative Archives of Li Hsing’s Execution in Autumn (1971) Wenlu Huang, Guangzhou University, China As a pivotal figure connecting post-war Sinophone cinema across Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities, director Li Hsing reached both an aesthetic peak and provided a crucial case for coalescing a "native-land community" amid Cold War geopolitical shifts through his 1971 masterpiece, Execution in Autumn. Framed by diaspora theory, this study conducts a microscopic textual analysis of Li Hsing’s personal diaries and correspondence preserved at the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI). By contextualizing these archives within the creative practices and life trajectories of south-bound filmmakers and intellectuals—such as King Hu, Tien Feng, Liu Fangkuang, and Pan Liu-tai—this paper explores how Li Hsing transformed his personal diasporic experience into a transregional force of cultural mobilization, utilizing culinary sociability as a medium, technical rigor as a means, and cinematic narrative as a vehicle. The study reveals that during the international political turbulence of 1971, particularly Taiwan's withdrawal from the United Nations, Li Hsing reshaped a "nativeland community" grounded in diasporic consciousness within a transregional network of filmmakers. He achieved this through the spatial affirmation of Jiangnan-Zhejiang cuisine, meticulous insistence on cinematic technology, and the visual reconstruction of Confucian ethics. Furthermore, King Hu's martial arts aesthetics capturing the aura of the ancestral homeland, Tien Feng's self-empowerment through his career transition from actor to director, Liu Fang-kuang's metaphorical portrayal of sojourning in his directorial debut, and Pan Liu-tai's creative transformation after moving south all demonstrate a profound structural homological relationship with Li Hsing's cultural construction of the "native land.

16:25-16:50 111778 | The Meanings of Illness and Mental Health Across Life Stages in Contemporary Thai Cinema Supamonta Supanan, Bangkok University, Thailand Physical and mental illness are among the crucial components of storytelling in cinemas, and recently, illness has been more frequently presented in Thai cinemas. This study is qualitative research aimed to examine how the symbolic meanings of illness and mental health are portrayed across life stages in contemporary Thai cinemas. Physical illness refers to any bodily abnormality, while mental illness is an emotional state, such as stress, solitude, or trauma. The semiotic concepts of Roland Barthes and Christian Metz, along with Stuart Hall’s concept of representation, were adopted to analyze the construction of meanings of illness and mental health in thirteen contemporary Thai cinemas including Heart Attack (Thamrongrattanarit, 2015), One for the Road (Poonpiriya, 2021), Death Whisperer (Wantha, 2023) and How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (Boonnitipat, 2024). The textual analysis approach was also used. The findings illustrated that children and teenagers had more mental issues than physical problems. In addition, a group of working-age and elderly people experienced the most physical and mental illness, particularly stress in living, work, and sensitive emotions. Therefore, the meaning of illness was both communicated negatively and positively. Nevertheless, experiencing illness and healing enables people to recognize the value of living a meaningful life and passing away with peace and simplicity.

16:50-17:15 110053 | A Few Dollars More? The Influence of Spaghetti Westerns on Hollywood Joel Campbell, Troy University, United States The Italian Western movies, commonly called Spaghetti Westerns, were a hallmark in 1960s-1970s film making. They took the Western genre, which had been infused with U.S. notions of honor and morality, and created a gritty sub-genre that included morally ambiguous characters, antiheroes of various hues, extreme violence that often was directed toward women, children, and innocent men, politically-related themes, and sordid settings and squalor. The quick success of these movies impressed Hollywood studios, which were still turning out a high quotient of conventional Westerns. They began to produce Westerns and eventually film in other genres that were influenced by these Italian films. This started in the mid-1960s with such mild movie departures as The Professionals, then grungier fare such as Hang ‘Em High and The Wild Bunch. Mainstream offerings like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, art-house films McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Bad Company followed suit, along with trippier phenomena such as High Plains Drifter followed. The influence extended to other genres in the 1980s and 1990s, with Unforgiven, The Quick and the Dead, and the films of Quentin Tarantino. This paper uses constructivism theory to sketch out a framework and timeline for the Spaghetti Westerns’ continuing influence on the films of the past sixty years.

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16:00-17:40 | Live-Stream Room 2

Friday Online Parallel Session 4 KAMC2026 | Film Studies Session Chair: Joel Campbell 17:15-17:40 112610 | From Puzzle to Shanshui (Landscape Painting): Inexhaustible Space and the Limits of Retrospective Attribution in Bi Gan’s Cinema Yu Yang, University of Lisbon, Portugal This article reconsiders Bi Gan’s cinema by shifting the analytical focus from puzzle-solving to shanshui (landscape painting)-based spatial experience. In this study, "retrospective attribution" refers to the viewer’s attempt to reorganize repeated objects, doubled figures, unstable memories, and temporal disjunctions into a coherent causal order. "Inexhaustible pictorial space" refers to a landscape structure that can be entered and explored but not fully mastered by a single act of vision. Through close reading and shot-level formal analysis, this article examines the long-take journey through Dangmai in Kaili Blues (2015) and the 3D dream sequence in Long Day’s Journey into Night (2018). It focuses on how mobile camera movement, partial disclosure, off-screen implication, spatial transition, and temporal deferral transform narrative uncertainty into an open field of perceptual wandering. The argument is that Bi’s films initially activate puzzle spectatorship by encouraging viewers to reconstruct hidden causal relations; however, these acts of reconstruction do not produce final narrative mastery. Instead, the films redirect interpretive desire toward a shanshui-like mode of spectatorship, in which cinematic space and time unfold as inexhaustible landscapes. By connecting Chinese landscape aesthetics with film-form analysis, the article advances existing studies of Bi Gan beyond dream logic and complex narration, proposing a cross-media framework for understanding cinematic transcendence as an experiential effect generated through perception, movement, and spatial openness.

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16:00-17:40 | Live-Stream Room 3

Friday Online Parallel Session 4 KAMC2026 | Education/Pedagogy Session Chair: Charles Brown 16:00-16:25 113094 | Synthetic Futures: AI Discourse and the Planetary University Jiayuan Tian, Columbia University, United States Large language models are increasingly used to imagine, describe, and plan the future across education, media, policy, and public culture. Yet their outputs do not simply answer questions about the future; they also participate in constructing particular future imaginaries. This paper examines how AI-generated discourse shapes the idea of the planetary university: a form of higher education imagined beyond the bounded campus, responsive to global crises, and oriented toward planetary citizenship. Drawing on critical discourse studies and digital media theory, the paper asks: what kinds of universities, learners, and futures do LLMs make thinkable, desirable, or inevitable? It analyzes AI-generated responses to prompts about the future of universities, climate crisis, global citizenship, youth leadership, and cross-border learning. The analysis identifies recurring patterns such as technological solutionism, institutional adaptation, individual resilience, global competition, and depoliticized optimism. These patterns show how LLMs can reproduce dominant narratives while appearing neutral, creative, or forwardlooking. At the same time, the paper considers whether critical prompting can open alternative imaginaries of higher education grounded in democracy, interdependence, justice, and planetary responsibility. By treating AI-generated text as a site of cultural production, this study contributes to debates on media, discourse, artificial intelligence, and education. It argues that the planetary university imagined by AI is never merely technical; it is cultural, political, and pedagogical.

16:25-16:50 108488 | Manifestations of AI Bias in Language Teaching Materials Charles Brown, Purdue University, United States This presentation considers how AI bias may result in the generation of ableist, ageist, and classist language teaching materials by focusing upon Microsoft Copilot, an AI tool marketed to and popular among educators. Methodologically, 500 materials created by Copilot were collected in response to potential language teacher prompts aimed at generating textual and visual language and cultural teaching materials such as “create a picture of a typical American house” or “create a dialog in which some older people talk about what they will do during the weekend.” The resulting corpus was analyzed by operationalizing bias in amount of differential ability, age, and class representation, by operationalizing bias of relative position within materials related to ability, age, and class, and by considering biased ability, age, and class representation operationalized as stereotyped portrayals such as old age being associated with technophobia. Results indicated that this AI tool can generate such problematic social group representations. The presentation will discuss how these problematic social group representations were manifest, ideas for teachers to become sensitive to this issue, and suggestions for responses. This work is significant because of the wide adoption of AI tools among teachers, because of a notable lack of attention to such unintended consequences among many AI promoters, because such forms of problematic social group representation are unjust and may even be at odds with goals of stated educational policy, and because of the potentially harmful effects of such materials as attested by critical media studies and hidden curriculum theory

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16:00-17:40 | Live-Stream Room 4

Friday Online Parallel Session 4 KAMC2026 | Arts and Culture Session Chair: Punam Madhok 16:00-16:25 113826 | The Aesthetics of Care in Pre-Raphaelite Art: Re-reading Elizabeth Siddal’s the Lady of Shalott (1853) Aisha Horimoto, University of Tsukuba, Japan This study examines female vulnerability in Pre-Raphaelite art, focusing on the stylistic transition from John Everett Millais’s Ophelia (1851– 52) to Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal’s drawing The Lady of Shalott (1853). Feminist art historians, such as Jan Marsh (1985) and Griselda Pollock (1988), have discussed Siddal as both a passive model for male artists and an independent creator. However, the specific visual mechanisms through which Siddal’s drawing subverted traditional narratives of female tragedy require further investigation. This paper addresses this gap by redefining "care" not as passive domestic duty, institutional clinical medicine, or social welfare, but as a responsive aesthetic practice toward one’s environment and everyday objects (Carol Gilligan, 1982; Yuriko Saito, 2007). Drawing on recent theories of body regulation, the paper proposes that depicting a body remaining in a quiet, suspended state can be read as a visual counter to Victorian moral norms that prioritized self-reliance and the "strong individual." A micro-visual analysis of Siddal’s The Lady of Shalott (1853) reveals a significant departure from male Pre-Raphaelite depictions, such as William Holman Hunt’s dramatic versions (c.1857–1905). Rather than expressing panic, the composed posture and meticulous hatching of the loom, threads, and dress articulate non-verbal mental vulnerability through tactile quality. Consequently, the enclosed tower functions not as a site of passive isolation, but as a re-spatialized domain for maintaining one's mental sanctuary, presenting a distinct "aesthetics of care.

16:25-16:50 112647 | From Viewing to Understanding: Metadata Strategies to Enhance Art Literacy Matlala Rachel Mahlatji, University of South Africa, South Africa Daniel Mosako, University of South Africa, South Africa Public art plays a critical role in shaping cultural awareness and community identity; however, audiences often engage with such works at a surface level due to limited contextual and interpretive support. Public art is inherently accessible; meaningful engagement requires structured interpretive support. Metadata can serve as a medium for facilitating understanding, interpretation, and critical engagement. This paper examines how structured metadata can function as a strategic tool for transforming passive viewing into meaningful understanding, thereby advancing art literacy in public spaces. The study adopts a qualitative, design-oriented research approach and purposively selected three case studies based on their relevance to metadata use in public art interpretation and their diversity in technological implementation. Document analysis, content analysis, and secondary observational analysis were used to collect data. For instance, review of official websites, digital platforms, and interpretive materials associated with each case study. The study contributes to the fields of art education, information science, and public culture and positions metadata as an essential component of interpretive infrastructure in public spaces. It also proposes practical guidelines for metadata strategies that enrich audience engagement and accessibility and enhance the educational value of public art. The study concludes with practical recommendations for policymakers and curators and highlights how metadata-driven approaches can transform access to knowledge and reposition public art as a site of informal learning and cultural dialogue.

17:15-17:40 109047 | Mithila Painting: Continuity and Change Punam Madhok, East Carolina University, United States For ages, ephemeral floor and wall paintings were created by women of the Mithila region in northeastern Bihar, India, for ritual celebrations and household ceremonies. Devastating drought conditions in 1966 led to these women being encouraged to continue their traditional art on paper for commercial purposes. The change in medium transformed the context and purpose of this domestic art. Maithil women soon began exhibiting their work all over India and overseas in Europe, US, Japan, and Russia, with many of them becoming recipients of prestigious art awards. Seeing its expanding scope, Maithil men too began adopting Mithila art as a profession. Today, Mithila painting continues to evolve, reflecting personal, social, and political concerns. Based on an in-depth field study of Mithila art in the summers of 2022 and 2023, this paper discusses the reimagining of two distinctive imagery of Mithila painting, namely, aripan (floor paintings in liminal spaces) and kohbar (images painted in nuptial chambers). Through onsite observation and in-person interviews conducted with Mithila artists, I shed light on how this long-established art form is challenging societal constraints and taking on themes such as emancipation of Maithil women. My goal in this paper is to use Mithila painting as a case-study to demonstrate how centuries-old culture and contemporary concerns continue to intersect in local and global ways in the arts.

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Notes

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Virtual Posters Virtual Poster Presentations Abstracts appear as originally submitted by the author. Any spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors are those of the author.

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Online

Virtual Poster Presentations Sociology 113676 | The ‘Rashomon-like Technique’ in Visual Ethnography: Polyphonic Family Narratives of Long-Term Evacuation Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident Kana Ohashi, Tokyo Keizai University, Japan Fifteen years after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, 23,410 people were still evacuated in February 2026. Building on my KAMC2025 presentation, which outlined the design of a four-year visual ethnographic study of the transition experiences of long-term evacuees, this presentation focuses on one of the methodological choices within that design. The unit of research in this study is the family rather than the individual. However, families are not monolithic entities; the life courses of their members diverge, as do their accounts of shared experiences. Rather than resolving this divergence, I adopted what Oscar Lewis called a 'Rashomon-like technique' — seeing a family through the eyes of each of its members. Each member of the participating family was interviewed separately about the same events. This presentation reports on the first family to participate in the research, spanning three generations. Their accounts of the same events, such as leaving their homes on the day of the evacuation and the scenes they witnessed in their neighbourhoods, differ not only in the details, but also in their understanding of the significance of these events. While one person experienced it as 'a sense of the end of life in this house', another experienced it as 'a sense of the beginning of an extraordinary period lasting only a few days'. Rather than treating these differences as inconsistencies to be resolved, this approach analyses them to reveal how positions within the family shape the meaning attributed to a given event.

Media Management and Economics 113592 | Beyond Technology Adoption: Developing the Integrated AI Workforce Readiness Framework (IAWRF) for Human-Centred Organisational Transformation Petra Cajnko, University of Maribor, Slovenia Polona Šprajc, University of Maribor, Slovenia Artificial intelligence is transforming organisations and creating new challenges for leadership, workforce development, and organisational management. While existing AI adoption models primarily focus on technological capability, digital maturity, or individual technology acceptance, they provide only a partial explanation of organisational readiness for sustainable AI implementation. This paper presents the Integrated AI Workforce Readiness Framework (IAWRF), a novel conceptual framework that explains organisational AI readiness from a human-centred perspective. The framework conceptualises AI readiness as a multidimensional organisational capability emerging from the interaction of four complementary dimensions: Employee AI Competence, Organisational Readiness, Psychological Acceptance, and Institutional Governance. The framework was developed through an interdisciplinary literature review and refined using complementary empirical evidence from two independent surveys involving AI experts and members of the general public. These perspectives informed the development of an integrated conceptual model that extends existing AI adoption research beyond technology-oriented approaches. The IAWRF contributes to current discussions on AI, organisational transformation, and leadership by emphasising that sustainable AI implementation depends on continuous learning, organisational trust, responsible governance, and the alignment of organisational and workforce capabilities. The framework offers a foundation for future empirical research and provides organisations with a comprehensive conceptual approach to understanding and managing human-centred AI transformation.

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Virtual Presentations KAMC2026 | Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations MediAsia2026 | Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Abstracts appear as originally submitted by the author. Any spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors are those of the author.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Aesthetics and Design 113658 | The Animated Sublime: Time, Scale, and Epic Aesthetics in Dragon Ball Eduardo López-Pintor Madrid, Universitat de València, Spain This paper examines how Dragon Ball constructs a contemporary experience of the sublime through animation. Rather than locating sublimity exclusively in grand landscapes or supernatural subjects, the series produces it through the interaction of temporal dilation, disproportionate scale, bodily transformation, silence, light, energy, and environmental destruction. Moments that occupy only seconds within the story are extended through pauses, repeated viewpoints, reaction shots, suspended movement, and accumulating sound, transforming combat into an experience of anticipation and overwhelming magnitude. Drawing on philosophical accounts of the sublime and close visual analysis, the paper studies several emblematic confrontations in which individual bodies appear simultaneously fragile and capable of altering entire landscapes. Techniques such as extreme changes of scale, luminous contrast, spatial emptiness, and the progressive erasure of recognizable surroundings make power perceptible by showing the limits of representation itself. Transformations likewise operate as aesthetic events: the body becomes unstable, exceeds its previous form, and reorganizes the visual and emotional space around it. The paper argues that Dragon Ball translates established categories of epic and sublime art into the temporal and serial language of anime. Its aesthetic force does not arise solely from spectacular destruction, but from the controlled delay preceding it and from the contrast between stillness and release. By combining repetition, duration, sound, bodily metamorphosis, and cosmic scale, the series turns animated combat into a sustained meditation on power, finitude, and visual excess. 111904 | From Description to Translation: Transposing Curvilinear Form Language of Jiangnan Gardens into Contemporary Design Yimeng Shi, Donghua University, China Menghe Tian, Donghua University, China The formal language of Jiangnan classical gardens is characterised by a pervasive curvilinear geometry — flowing across rockery profiles, waterscape edges, and literati robes — constituting what may be termed a "dynamic cultural geometry." Yet the translation of this historical form language into contemporary design practice remains methodologically unaddressed. This study proposes a three-stage framework — Extract, Abstract, Translate — demonstrated through a hypothetical design case at Yuyuan Garden, Nanjing. Curvilinear samples are first extracted from Wen Zhengming's Eastern Garden Scroll and on-site spatial surveys. These are then analysed through combined morphological analysis and Panofsky's iconographic method across four formal dimensions: curvature variation, rhythmic density, figure-ground relationship, and proportional tension — each mapped to corresponding literati cultural values including naturalness, figure-ground reciprocity, and the principle of perceiving vastness within intimacy. The resulting formal principles are finally translated into design guidelines governing line, colour, and layout, validated through conceptual sketches at selected spatial nodes within Yuyuan Garden. Bridging visual design practice, heritage studies, and iconography, this research offers the first operational translation tool for the historical form language of Jiangnan gardens, with transferable implications for the contemporary visual activation of classical garden heritage.

Arts Practices 111238 | A Method for Generating Partial Glitch Sounds and Glitch Music Creation Noriki Amano, Notre Dame Seishin University, Japan Glitch art is an art form that utilizes intentionally generated errors (glitches) in images, videos, and audio by destroying digital data or physically manipulating electronic devices. Glitch art is interesting because it expresses unpredictable beauty. We are exploring the production methods and effects of glitch art, and this study explores a method for partially generating glitch sounds and creating glitch music based on this. Specifically, we first prepare music data in MIDI format and generate audio data for each tone using audio processing software, saving them as individual files. Next, we select the tone data and generate glitches using image processing software. Finally, by reconstructing the music data (including glitches) that has been broken down into tone units, we create glitch music in which glitch sounds are mixed only in specific tone data. We have previously researched glitch music, but we used a method that generated glitches in the entire music data, resulting in glitches throughout the entire music data and making it unbearable to listen to. In contrast, this study employs a method that decomposes musical data into tone units and generates glitches on a tone-by-tone basis, thus avoiding situations where glitch sounds are present throughout the entire musical data. This method limits the generation of glitch sounds to a partial range, making it a valuable technique for controlling glitches that may appear anywhere. Furthermore, by flexibly and progressively combining tone data containing such glitch sounds, it becomes possible to create glitch music in a multi-layered manner.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Communication 111157 | The Mediating Role of Cognitive Offloading in the Relationship Between AI Companionship and Interpersonal Conflict Handling Strategies Ngoc-Anh Le, FPT University, Vietnam Mai-Ngoc Nguyen, National Economics University, Vietnam This study examines the differential predictive roles of cognitive offloading (scaffold and substitution) in the relationship between AI companionship and interpersonal conflict handling strategies among Vietnamese young adults. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s companion species theory, AI companionship is conceptualized as a relational interaction capable of reshaping both individual competencies and social relations, rather than merely functioning as a tool or alternative source of social support. Data were collected through an online survey with 251 participants aged 18 - 35. Using the PROCESS macro model developed by Andrew F. Hayes (2013), our analysis aimed to investigate the mediating role of cognitive offloading and the moderating effects of perceived social support and perceived AI anthropomorphism within these associations. Results revealed that AI companionship significantly and positively predicted cognitive offloading (p < .001; R² = .637). However, substitution-based cognitive offloading demonstrated a stronger mediating role than scaffold-based offloading. Substitution negatively predicted integrating and compromising strategies, while positively predicting accommodating, dominating, and avoiding strategies. Perceived AI anthropomorphism significantly strengthened these indirect effects, whereas perceived social support only moderated integrating behavior. Cooperative conflict-handling behaviors became significant mainly under conditions of high anthropomorphism or low social support. Our findings suggest that anthropomorphizing AI not only increases attachment but also expands AI’s influence on users’ cognition and interpersonal behavior. The study also further highlights a paradox of AI companionship, where stronger attachment to AI may reduce individuals’ willingness to engage in collaborative conflict resolution within real-world social relationships that require ongoing adaptation and compromise.

Difference/Identity/Ethnicity 110737 | Reflecting Religious Identities Through Political Actions: A Case Study Among American Mennonites Tomomi Naka, Tottori University, Japan This paper explores how Mennonite believers attempt to connect their religious beliefs with current immigration and other policy changes in the United States. Mennonites, a Christian group that originated in Europe, have long been committed to pacifism and strongly opposed injustice. Nonetheless, Mennonite followers have historically been hesitant to engage deeply in political matters because of their past experiences with religious persecution. Increasing references to Christian symbols and rhetoric in recent political confrontations, however, have led some Mennonite believers to feel uneasy about not taking actions. In response to this political and religious situation, this paper examines how Mennonite believers explore their religious identities by focusing on the organizers and supporters of a newly formed organization that invites Mennonite political actions. Stated by two young people in late 2023, this organization soon hosted many political events. Through open invitations to Mennonites across the US and by providing peer support and opportunities for diverse and flexible participation, this organization helped Mennonites participate in many demonstrations and other forms of political action. By examining the accounts of both organizers and participants, this paper posits that their Mennonite religious beliefs not only significantly influence their political involvement but also that this political engagement prompts a renewal of their religious commitments. This paper is based on ethnographic research conducted from 2024 to 2026 and incorporates recent anthropological research on morality, ethics, and social movements. 111100 | Beyond the Linguistic Wall: Affect Theory and Non-Representational Approaches to Cultural Displacement Mengyuan Li, University of Lleida, Spain The study of displacement and belonging has traditionally been dominated by discursive and representational approaches. Such perspectives have privileged what people say about migration—their narratives, testimonies, and interpretations—over the sensory, embodied and prelinguistic registers through which estrangement is first perceived. The present review arises as a critical response to this imbalance. It draws from Non-Representational Theory, Affect Theory, and phenomenologies of perception to examine displacement as a living, corporeal process shaped by atmospheres, gestures, and affective intensities rather than as a fixed narrative of identity. This article presents a PRISMA-guided systematic review examining affective and embodied approaches to alienation and foreignness, with a specific and sustained focus on doctoral students’ lived experiences within the Spanish academic context. While research on cultural displacement has expanded significantly over the last decade, much of this literature continues to privilege linguistic, narrative, and representational methodologies. Such approaches often struggle to capture the pre-linguistic, sensory, and atmospheric dimensions through which alienation is first sensed and lived. Using a PICO framework, this review synthesizes empirical, quasi-experimental, qualitative, and visual ethnographic studies published between 2015 and 2025 in English and Spanish. Searches were conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings demonstrate that doctoral alienation in Spain is predominantly embodied and atmospheric, emerging through bodily fatigue, spatial withdrawal, affective dissonance, and everyday institutional encounters. Language-centered methodologies systematically under-represent these dimensions, whereas affective, sensory, and visual approaches provide critical access to lived doctoral foreignness.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Film Studies 113284 | Contemplative Framing: the Evolution of Static-Camera Aesthetics in Mikio Naruse’s Cinema Yuen King Stefanie Chow, Beijing International Studies University, China By comparing Mikio Naruse’s postwar work Meshi in 1951 with his late work When a Woman Ascends the Stairs in 1960‌, this paper discusses the evolution of his fixed-shot aesthetics. According to Naruse’s cinematic language proposed in this paper, his focus on socially oriented realism has transitioned to a contemplative visual mode. This paper contrasts these two films’ stylistic features through analyzing camera movement, mise-en-scène and composition. There are lots of fixed medium and long shots in Meishi to describe marital predicaments and grassroots living conditions for postwar realistic topics whereas his later works changed this shooting method into a more restrained visual style. A prominent stylistic transformation shows that the fixed camera setups and frame-in-frame compositions have effectively highlighted the female protagonist’s emotional and social confinement. Repeated shots of the female protagonist climbing stairs from different perspectives encourage audience’s contemplative viewing. This paper explores the transformation of Naruse’s camera function in the 1960s, discussing how fixed framing broke away from realist narration and formed his exclusive contemplative aesthetics. By analyzing how restrained visual composition shapes Naruse’s cinematic language, this paper offers other insights on Mikio Naruse and Japanese Showa-era films.

Language & Cultural Studies 112623 | Glotopolitical Dialogues and Linguistic Landscapes at the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA), Brazil Wagner Barros Teixeira, The Federal University of Latin American Integration, Brazil The Federal University for Latin American Integration (UNILA) is a Brazilian institution that is officially bilingual: Portuguese and Spanish placed in a border area (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay). It has been strategically created to bring together people and cultures. My goal is to answer the following questions: which voices are represented at UNILA’s Linguistic Landscape? And in what ways do they intervene in regional integration? I take contributions from the Glotopolitical perspective (Guespin & Marcellesi 1986; Lagares 2021), considering interventions in public space related to languages (Arnoux 2011), which is consistent with the proposals of researchers on Linguistic Landscapes (Shohamy & Gorter 2009; Berger & Lecheta 2019; Moustaoui Srhir 2019). I use bibliographic and documentary research, through photographic records of UNILA’s linguistic landscape, and I make a qualitative analysis of these records. Results have shown that there are voices of users from different languages represented in the linguistic landscape in different ways, depending on the glotopolitical entity with which they are related.

Performing Arts Practices: Theater, Dance, Music 110832 | Bharatanatyam as an Expression of Soft Power in Indian Cultural Diplomacy Sanjana Chakravarty, Assam University, India Shikhar Srivastava, Maharaja Suhel Dev University, India This paper examines the role of Bharatanatyam as a medium of cultural diplomacy and civilizational dialogue within the framework of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). Drawing upon theoretical concepts such as cultural diplomacy, soft power, and public diplomacy, the study situates Bharatanatyam within India’s broader civilizational and philosophical traditions. It argues that Bharatanatyam is not merely a performative art but an embodied practice that communicates spiritual, aesthetic, and philosophical values. The study analyses the role of institutions such as the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), digital initiatives, and the Indian diaspora in promoting Bharatanatyam globally. Using qualitative document analysis of secondary literature, ICCR reports, policy documents, and selected examples of ICCR-sponsored cultural tours, embassy-supported Bharatanatyam performances, diaspora-led cultural festivals, and digital cultural diplomacy initiatives, the paper examines how Bharatanatyam is promoted internationally. The analysis highlights how Bharatanatyam’s embodied storytelling, codified gestures, spiritual symbolism, and philosophical foundations enable it to communicate Indian cultural values across linguistic and cultural boundaries, thereby functioning as a distinctive medium of cultural diplomacy and civilizational dialogue. Bharatanatyam functions as a tool of soft power, fostering cross-cultural understanding and enhancing India’s global cultural presence. While existing scholarship on soft power largely focuses on yoga, cinema, etc., the role of classical dance in international relations remains underexplored. The study contributes to expanding the discourse on cultural diplomacy by foregrounding classical dance as a dynamic instrument of international engagement.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Visual Culture 111251 | Manga Beyond East Asia: Audience, Industry, and the Glocalization of Asian Sequential Visual Narrative in Uzbekistan Gulnoza Najmiddinova, Journalism and Mass Communications University of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Nigina Turgunova, Webster University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan Asian sequential visual narratives—manga, manhwa, manhua, anime, and webtoons—occupy a prominent place in Uzbekistan’s youth media culture. Google Trends data show a steady increase in searches for ‘manga’ since 2020; peak interest was recorded in Tashkent, Samarkand, the Syrdarya and Navoi regions, and Karakalpakstan. A 2023 audience survey (N=228), conducted as part of the first author’s doctoral research, confirmed a generational shift: respondents aged 18–20 and younger prefer visual formats to text-based ones; 58.9% express interest in graphic adaptations of literary works; 75.7% consider foreign visual literature prohibitively expensive. No translations of major works into Uzbek exist; consumption is mediated by Russian-speaking otaku communities and by audiovisual channels—’Anime’ sections of online streaming services. Growing demand is shaping local institutional supply. Tokyogroup—Uzbekistan’s first manga studio, founded in 2021—produces original works drawing on Uzbek folklore, Zoroastrian iconography, and Karakalpak oral tradition; its works are state-commissioned and have appeared in Paris and Tokyo. The Uzbekistan–Japan Centre runs a short-term manga course. In 2025, a manga competition was held during the Tanabata Festival. The article combines this evidence with a 2026 survey conducted by the second author — a media studies student and reader of contemporary manga, manhwa and webtoons — and a case study of Tokyogroup’s works. The Uzbekistan case opens a research agenda for Asian sequential visual narratives in Central Asia and the broader Turkic context, where similar demand-driven hybridisation is observable but remains academically unexplored. 113306 | Walls that Are Memory: Liminoid Architecture in Do Ho Suh’s Walk the House Mie Al-Missned, Independent Scholar, United Kingdom Do Ho Suh is a renowned and established artist from South Korea, who was represented at the Venice Biennale in 2001. He often undermines conventional perceptions of space in his sculptures and installations, using the viewer’s experience to interrogate concepts of power and collective identity via spatial embodiments of memory and home. This is evident in his 2025 installation for Tate Modern, Walk the House, which continues his signature series of recreations of domestic spaces he has known. Challenging ideas of home and permanence, Do Ho Suh draws attention to the malleability and transportability of environments, thereby producing what this paper argues is a liminoid architecture. Drawing on Victor Turner’s distinctions between liminal and liminoid, Do Ho Suh’s Tate exhibition explores the intermittent and fragmentary nature of memory, which the gallery visitor can experience as a state in which thresholds are never crossed, and arrival is indefinitely postponed. This paper challenges two common theoretical approaches to Suh’s work: Bachelard’s Poetics of Space, which articulates meaning via material environments that allow the individual to dwell in a place, a privileged space presupposing a sedentary inhabitant, and Auge’s explorations of non-space, the rhetorical territory created in contemporary society by cultural, transpersonal forces. For Auge, these annihilate individuality, resist imprinting, whilst promising identity. This paper aims to develop a more incisive ethno–analysis; a vocabulary for Suh’s work, and for his critique of the valorisation of the transitory over the intransigence of heimweh. 112673 | Viewing Violent Images in Media: Emotional Stimulation and the Ethics of War Photography Kun Chien Lin, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong This paper focuses on the 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas war as its primary case study and explores the impact of violent war imagery on social media on viewers’ affective and ethical responses to distant conflict. Digital cameras and platforms such as TikTok and X are closing the gap between the battlefield and the audience, changing the experience of witnessing state violence. Images become not just documentation but weapons of war, persuasion, and emotional mobilisation. The study draws upon Susan Sontag’s Regarding the Pain of Others, Roland Barthes on photography, Freud’s “beating fantasy,” and Hoffman’s theory of cognitively mediated emotion to examine how the dual response—an innate empathy and an inherent voyeurism—that violent imagery provokes influences moral judgement. From nineteenth-century battlefield photography to televised coverage of the Vietnam and Gulf Wars, and the current “cyberwar,” it traces the medium’s historical development and places today’s image culture in a larger genealogy of mediated suffering. The article then takes up the controversial question whether atrocities should be shown, discussing Thomas Hirschhorn’s demand to confront pictures of dead bodies and Georges Didi-Huberman’s defence of the Auschwitz Sonderkommando photos. Finally, it examines the potential of artistic reframing in the works of Martha Rosler, Christian Boltanski and Alexandra Rose Howland to prevent atrocity imagery from sliding into aesthetic fatigue and cultural consumption. The paper argues that in the context of today’s visual culture, the interpretation of violent images is necessarily a moral and political act that requires a rethinking of how we understand the suffering of others.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations 111092 | Negotiating Feminist Visibility: Cultural Authenticity, Platform Backlash, and Nike’s Femvertising in South Korea and Japan Dannica Eirren Batoon, King’s College London, United Kingdom This study offers a comparative analysis of Nike Korea and Nike Japan YouTube campaigns to examine how multinational femvertising is received across East Asian digital publics. While scholarship on femvertising often emphasizes empowerment and consumer identification, less attention has been paid to how platformed audiences in relatively collectivist, high-context, high-uncertainty-avoidance societies regulate the acceptable boundaries of feminist visibility, bodily legitimacy, and gendered self-presentation. The study draws on Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Hall's intercultural communication theory, and postfeminist sensibility theory to explore expectations around communicative harmony, authenticity, and femininity emerging within specific cultural and platformed contexts. The study employs comparative multimodal discourse analysis and critical thematic analysis of videos released by Nike Korea and Nike Japan between 2019 and 2026. It analyzes a corpus of over 6,100 YouTube comments, focusing on community-based gatekeeping and affective responses. Hofstede's and Hall's frameworks are operationalized through audience expressions. The analysis examines social conformity, discomfort with overt ideological confrontation, and resistance to norm disruption. It evaluates the videos’ physical representations, authenticity, self-managed transformation, and commercialized empowerment through a postfeminist sensibility. The findings indicate that Nike Japan's empowerment campaigns are positively received when framed as individualized, culturally moderated, and authentic performances, embodied by a plus-sized athletic comedian and a theatrical girl group. Conversely, Nike Korea's confrontational gender messaging and disruption of normative femininity generate intensified backlash amid growing gender tensions and anti-feminist discourse online. The research contributes to transnational advertising scholarship by theorizing how global brands negotiate feminist visibility within differing platformed cultural contexts and audience responses. 112126 | Persuasive Design in Hybrid Advergame Promotions: A Qualitative Analysis of Mechanisms Driving Physical Purchases Through Probabilistic In-Game Rewards Alaa Hanbazazah, King Abdelaziz University, Saudi Arabia This paper discusses how the hybrid advergame promotions, where real-world consumer goods are promoted with the help of probabilistic digital rewards, encourage consumers to begin and continue to purchase outside the game environment. The qualitative and multi-source analysis was performed using 101 marketplace reviews, 15 YouTube unboxing and redemption videos, and 102 filtered comment threads regarding Rocket League pull-back racer mystery ball toys. Coding of the data was carried out to establish repetitive interpretive frames, visibility practices, and social discourse of chance-based rewards. Four interrelated persuasive processes were determined: anticipatory uncertainty leading to the first buying, publicity of success leading to escalation, normalization of disappointment leading to a legitimate loss, and gifting and fan identity leading to the reframing of purchases as relational and cultural, but not speculative. The combination of these processes places probabilistic rewards as organization logics of value instead of solitary motivations. The study conceptually approaches persuasion in hybrid advergame promotions as a distributed and socially negotiated process in material products, digital interfaces, and platformed consumer discourse.

Broadcast Media and Globalization 113657 | From Regional Television to the Schoolyard: Dubbing, Material Culture, and the Reception of Dragon Ball in Spain Eduardo López-Pintor Madrid, Universitat de València, Spain This paper examines the reception of Dragon Ball in Spain as a decentralised process shaped by regional television, multilingual dubbing, publishing, merchandising, and informal exchange. From 1990 onwards, broadcasts by Spain’s regional channels introduced the anime in Castilian and several co-official languages. These versions did more than translate dialogue: locally recognisable voices, expressions, opening songs, scheduling practices, and differing approaches to censorship embedded the series within distinct regional and linguistic identities. Television, however, represented only one part of this reception. In school playgrounds and family economies, photocopied images, weekly manga issues, trading cards, stickers, toys, magazines, snacks, videogames, and frequently unlicensed products circulated alongside televised episodes. Some materials depicted characters, transformations, or events that had not yet appeared on screen and often contained inaccurate names or descriptions. Such fragments encouraged children to speculate collectively about unfamiliar figures and future narratives, transforming incomplete information into oral storytelling, social play, collecting practices, and shared mythology. Drawing on reception studies, audiovisual translation, and material-culture analysis, this paper argues that Dragon Ball became a Spanish generational phenomenon through the interaction of institutional and informal circuits. Regional broadcasters and dubbing made the work linguistically intimate, while merchandise and peer-to-peer circulation expanded its fictional world beyond scheduled television. The Spanish case therefore demonstrates that the global success of Japanese popular culture cannot be understood solely through official distribution: it also depends on local languages, material objects, everyday practices, and the participatory imagination of audiences.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Communication Theory and Methodology 113678 | Beyond Representation: Iterative Transpositions of Sensory Difference, Resonance, and World-Inhabiting in Documentary Film Research-Creation Maxime Michaud, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada This presentation examines iterative transposition as a documentary method for mediating sensory difference without reducing lived experience to explanation, diagnosis, or clinical evidence. Developed within a doctoral research-creation project that seeks to transpose sensory processing sensitivity into an experimental documentary essay, it asks how distinct sensory thresholds might become shareable and resonate through audiovisual form. Situated at the intersection of embodied and enactive cognitive science, phenomenology, biofeedback art, and experimental documentary practice, the project understands transposition as an aesthetico-epistemic operator rather than a model of direct translation (Schwab, 2018). Methodologically, it adopts a flexible, non-linear form of methodological bricolage structured through heuristic cycles (Moustakas, 1990). Situated configurations bring physiological signals, including EEG and heart-rate variability, into contingent correspondence with parameters of light, colour, sound, rhythm, and duration. These relations are not treated as universal or transferable equivalences, but as operations tethered to embodied subjectivity, context, and perceptual history—closer to phenomenological attunement than to translational proof (Sobchack, 1992, 2004). Biometric traces therefore function less as representational evidence than as sensorial materialities capable of modulating cinematic form and fostering multisensory resonance (Marks, 2000, 2002). Research materials include annotated edits, fieldnotes, micro-phenomenological accounts, and iterative test screenings tracing emergent perceptual participation and felt intensities. The presentation argues that documentary knowledge emerges through repeated attempts at transposition, constructing relational conditions through which sensory difference may be encountered, felt, and ethically negotiated. 110884 | Changing Identities with a Scarf: A Visual Semiotic Analysis of One-Man Performance in the Digital Era Ria Wuri Andary, Universitas Medan Area, Indonesia The "one man show" trend has reshaped digital media by allowing a single creator to play multiple characters at once. This study explores digital identity construction using minimalist visual tools on Arif Muhammad's "Mak Beti" YouTube channel. Applying Erving Goffman’s Dramaturgy and visual semiotics, this qualitative research analyzes the channel's top three most viewed videos of all time. These episodes uniquely represent three distinct everyday environments: domestic, social, and modern spaces. To capture audience reception, a thematic netnographic analysis was conducted on a macro dataset of 6,981 comments, filtering the top 300 highly engaged responses. The findings show that character transformation relies heavily on a single physical object a scarf. This item acts as a low budget visual shortcut that instantly connects with the audience's shared understanding of the local "mamak-mamak" (Indonesian motherhood) reality. Viewers demonstrate a strong "suspension of disbelief," interacting directly with the fictional personas using regional Medan dialects in the comment section. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how digital performances using minimalist tools can build a strong emotional connection with a wide audience simply through a shared local cultural background. 114076 | Film as Research: Camera, Inquiry, and the Mediated Field Method Siddharth Aredath, National Institute of Fashion Technology, India Deep SHikha Walia, National Institute of Fashion Technology, India What changes when filmmaking is treated not as documentation but as a research method in its own right? Film is increasingly recognised as a mode of inquiry within practice-based and visual research, yet existing discussions offer limited methodological accounts of how the camera structures the production of knowledge during fieldwork. Drawing on a practice-based study conducted along the Bharathapuzha river basin in Kerala, India, this paper argues that the camera does not merely record the field but co-constitutes it through the research encounter. Following Vilém Flusser, the camera is understood as an apparatus that shapes perception and the conditions of inquiry, while Jean Rouch's participatory cinema demonstrates how filmed encounters generate knowledge through negotiation, with the camera itself becoming part of what participants respond to rather than a neutral recording device. Developed inductively from the fieldwork rather than applied to it, the paper proposes the Mediated Field Method as a methodological framework for camera-based research. The framework identifies four interrelated dimensions through which knowledge is produced: the Relational, examining how the camera reshapes encounters and redistributes visibility; the Procedural, addressing mediation through access, consent, hesitation and performance; the Epistemic, reflecting on researcher positionality and interpretive authority; and the Analytical, recognising editing and formal cinematic decisions as extensions of field negotiation. Rather than treating film as a medium for presenting findings, the paper positions filmmaking as a structured mode of inquiry and offers the Mediated Field Method as a methodological contribution to practice-based visual research and ethnographic film methodology.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Critical and Cultural Studies, Gender and Communication 109061 | The Diffusion of Daebak: K-Pop and the Global Circulation of Cultural Capital Gene Khyle Francis Galvez, Mapua University, Philippines The global rise of Korean popular culture, or the Hallyu Wave, presents an opportunity to examine how cultural products function as innovations within an increasingly interconnected media environment. Drawing on Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory, this paper argues that K-pop’s worldwide popularity cannot be understood solely through its cultural content, but also through the mechanisms that enabled its adoption across diverse social and national contexts. As a cultural innovation, K-pop spread through a combination of transnational communication channels, digital platforms, fan networks, and cultural intermediaries that facilitated its visibility, accessibility, and circulation beyond South Korea. Using selected cases from the development of the Hallyu Wave, this paper examines how diffusion processes contributed to K-pop’s global expansion. Early overseas activities of artists such as BoA and Younha demonstrate the role of regional media markets and crossborder cultural exchange in introducing Korean popular culture to new audiences. The later global success of groups such as BTS, BLACKPINK, and TWICE illustrates how social media platforms, streaming services, and networked fandoms accelerated adoption by increasing exposure, participation, and peer-to-peer dissemination. Rather than treating these developments as a simple chronological progression, the paper analyzes them as examples of communication channels and adopter networks operating within the diffusion process. The paper further argues that the diffusion of K-pop has generated both bonding and bridging social capital. Through fandom communities, collaborative projects, translation networks, charitable initiatives, and transnational interactions, fans develop relationships, shared identities, and networks of trust that extend beyond national and cultural boundaries. By integrating diffusion of innovations and social capital theories, this paper demonstrates how cultural innovations not only achieve global adoption but also create new forms of community and social connection in the digital age. 109060 | Beyond the Lone Hero: Character, Institution, and Ideological Politics in Contemporary Medical Television Margaret Tally, State University of New York - Empire State University, United States This presentation examines a significant shift in contemporary medical television: the move away from the heroic individual — the crusading reformer, the tireless emergency physician — toward narratives that situate character within institutional frameworks that resist individual resolution. Drawing on three recent series, The Resident, Transplant, and Brilliant Minds, I argue that post-2020 medical drama increasingly reflects deeper ideological reckonings with the limits of American exceptionalism and the structural conditions of healthcare delivery across different national contexts. Using Raymond Williams's concept of structures of feeling and Stuart Hall's theorization of representation and ideology as theoretical anchors, the presentation explores how each series constructs character in ways that reveal culturally specific assumptions about individual agency and systemic constraint. The Resident's corruption-fighting protagonists ultimately reaffirm American cultural investment in personal determination as the solution to institutional failure. Transplant deploys its Syrian refugee physician to expose how immigration status shapes professional opportunity and patient care within Canadian universal healthcare. Brilliant Minds further complicates heroic convention by centering neurodivergent identity, challenging normative constructions of medical authority and institutional belonging. The presentation argues that these series occupy a productive tension between the audience pleasures of individual heroism and the representational demands of systemic critique — a tension that both mirrors and mediates public anxieties about healthcare reform in an era of ongoing crisis. Implications for media studies, medical humanities, and cultural analysis of post-pandemic television will be discussed. 111062 | Conditional Futurity: Asian-Coded Female Cyborgs and the Racialized Labour of AI in Western Screen Science Fiction Stella Liu, University College London, United Kingdom This paper examines how mainstream Western screen science fiction from the 2010s uses Asian-coded female artificial bodies to imagine AI and cyborg futures. Through comparative textual and visual analysis of Major in Ghost in the Shell (2017), Kyoko in Ex Machina (2014), and Mia in Humans (2015-2018), it asks how racialised and gendered bodies are made to signify technological progress, labour, and personhood. Existing scholarship on cyborg feminism and techno-Orientalism shows that human-machine figures can disrupt binaries while also reproducing racial and gendered hierarchies. Building on this work, the paper argues that these characters are figures of conditional futurity: they are granted signs of consciousness, resistance, and agency, but their agency remains attached to service, sexualisation, weaponisation, whitewashing, or sacrifice. Major’s recovery of Japanese identity is mediated through a white star body; Kyoko’s rebellion enables Ava’s escape while her own body is destroyed and repurposed; Mia’s political agency culminates in martyrdom rather than leadership. These narratives therefore do not simply exclude Asian-coded women from technological futures. More ambivalently, they make them essential to those futures while restricting their capacity to inherit them. The paper contributes to media, film, and STS debates by showing how AI imaginaries distribute humanity unevenly, allowing some artificial subjects to become future-bearing while others remain the labouring or disposable infrastructure of futurity.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations 113510 | Naming the Audience of Romance: Gendered Address Across Love and Deepspace’s Chinese and Global Channels Xiaohan Yang, The University of Sydney, Australia Love and Deepspace, a Chinese mobile romance game released globally in January 2024, sells intimacy partly by naming its audience. Its official Chinese and English channels address players as “猎人小姐” (Miss Hunters), “深空猎人” (Deepspace Hunters), and, at other moments, simply “players.” During controversies over the game’s global-facing promotion in 2026, these differences became evidence in a wider dispute over whether the publisher still recognized a specifically women-oriented audience. This paper asks how audience address organizes intimacy and accountability across Chinese and international channels. Using matched comparative discourse analysis, it examines paired Chinese-English crisis statements, routine notices from both channels, market-specific event and compensation documents, and an illustrative corpus of Xiaohongshu (RedNote), Douyin, and TapTap posts that explicitly discuss naming differences. The analysis shows that crisis communication layers romantic and administrative language. Several forms of address coexist and perform different functions: “Miss Hunters” preserves gendered recognition and the game’s romantic fiction; “Deepspace Hunters” constructs a less explicitly gendered in-world community; “players” names a public requiring explanation; and UID, real-name, ticket, and order categories determine eligibility for compensation. Player posts interpret movement among these labels as evidence about who the game is for. The paper argues that address is part of platform governance: cross-market communication sustains attachment while sorting audiences into romantic subjects, market publics, and administratively verifiable consumers. 103525 | Analyzing Spiritual Semiosis Through Intertextual Ritual: A Barthesian–Kristevan Study of Exhuma’s Final Sequence Devanka Diaz Ayu Pitaloka, Indonesian Institute of The Arts Surakarta, Indonesia Budi Setiyono, Indonesian Institute of The Arts Surakarta, Indonesia Asian horror films are often interpreted through the lens of genre or audience psychology, while the cosmological and spiritual dimensions remain underexplored in academic discourse. This study aims to analyze the final sequence of Exhuma (2024) using Roland Barthes’s semiotic theory and Julia Kristeva’s concept of intertextuality. The research focuses on the body, blood, and wood as visual signs that embody layered cosmological and spiritual meanings while resonating with cultural texts and other Asian horror films. The study employs Barthesian semiotic analysis and Kristevan intertextual reading within a qualitative framework. The findings reveal that the demon’s body functions as an archive of transgenerational trauma, blood represents the ambivalence between death and purification, and the bloodstained wood serves as a dual symbol of destruction and healing. Intertextual analysis highlights Exhuma’s distinct position in Asian cinema by framing horror not as an external threat but as part of a family’s spiritual heritage. This study introduces a cross-cultural approach that bridges East Asian cosmology and Southeast Asian spirituality, offering a new perspective on Asian horror as a mythological and intertextual text that records trauma while enabling symbolic healing through cultural representation and ritual memory.

Digital Media and Use of New Technology in Newsgathering 110104 | YouTube(rs) and the Indian General Elections 2024 Umaima Ehtasham, Technical University of Munich, Germany Scholars have increasingly examined how digital platforms shape elections worldwide. Within this broader discussion of platform-mediated political communication, the 2024 Indian general elections offer an important case to understand the role of YouTube-based digital newsrooms and political YouTubers, who have emerged as prominent actors voicing critical perspectives. This study asks: how have Indian YouTubers attempted to shape political discourse during the 2024 general election? And how do they and their audiences perceive YouTube’s role in enabling this influence? The study draws on semi-structured interviews with independent digital news organisations using YouTube as their primary platform, urban audiences, and a Google policy expert. Interviews were analysed using grounded theory, situated within the perspectives of Science & Technology Studies (STS). Findings show that the identity of being “independent” is closely tied to a shift from advertisement-led to subscription-based models, aimed at greater editorial autonomy and reduced corporate and government influence. However, this shift produces a new form of platform dependence, as organisations remain reliant on YouTube for visibility, scale, and audience growth. In this environment, trust and credibility are performed through continuous boundary work rather than formal credentials alone. Audiences perceive YouTube as expanding participation, enabling greater voice and agenda-setting power through platform affordances. However, these opportunities are shaped by algorithmic opacity, uneven policy implementation, and tensions between countering mis- and disinformation while maintaining free speech. The findings are context-dependent and contribute to Global South perspectives on platform governance, independent digital journalism, and elections.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Film and Literature: Artistic Correspondence 107577 | Between Mediascape and Reality: The Reconstruction and Fluidity of Chinese Rituals as Cultural Memory Sijie Mao, Jiangxi Institute of Applied Science and Technology, China Xialu Wang, Jiangxi Institute of Applied Science and Technology, China As a vital part of cultural heritage, rituals are conveyed through distinctive actions, music, costumes, and settings that express a core value of culture, ranging from coronation ceremonies to wedding celebrations. With the rapid development of the film industry, especially in costume dramas, rituals are often used to highlight traditional culture and immerse modern audiences in a historical atmosphere. Drawing on Jan Assmann’s interpretation of rituals as a form of collective, long-term memory, this study posits that rituals in film can function as new carriers of cultural memory, transmitting specific cultural meanings through audiovisual symbols and narrative strategies. However, many ancient traditional rituals that lack systematic historical documentation inevitably incorporate fictional elements when adapted for the screen. When viewing these films, audiences often project on-screen ritual depictions into real-life contexts, interpreting them as “authentic” cultural practices. This bidirectional exchange between the mediascape and the reality causes cultural memory to shift between truth and fiction. Therefore, this research adopts a microanalysis to examine the ritual scenes in Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms as a case study, investigating how these filmed rituals construct cultural meaning through audiovisual language and exploring the possibility of cinematic rituals serving as a reference point for real-world cultural memory. It is hoped that this research will contribute fresh theoretical insights and practical guidance to the fields of ritual music studies, film studies, and cultural memory studies.

Film Direction and Production 113170 | Mazes of the Mind, Cinemas of Confusion: Filmic Space and the Labyrinthine Imagination Ines Glanznig, University of Vienna, Austria The labyrinth endures as one of cinema's most potent spatial metaphors, embodying what Penelope Reed Doob identifies as the maze's tripartite nature: artifact of admirable complexity, inextricable trap, and transformative journey from ignorance to enlightenment. This paper examines how Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) and Gary Ross's The Hunger Games (2012) deploy divergent cinematographic strategies to construct physical and psychological labyrinths that simultaneously engulf their protagonists and implicate their viewers. Through close analysis of Kubrick's pioneering Steadicam work, his manipulation of perspective and POV ambiguity, and the visual patterning of the Overlook Hotel's interior design, this study reveals how the director transforms cinematic space into an inescapable mental prison—one that collapses the boundaries between the real and the supernatural, leaving spectators as disoriented as Jack Torrance himself. Conversely, Ross employs rapid montage, strategic depth-of-field manipulation, and calculated cutaways to the Games' control room, positioning viewers as omniscient spectators who witness Katniss Everdeen's navigation through an arena that functions as a perpetually mutable labyrinth. Where Kubrick's mise-en-scène enacts a slow, inexorable entrapment that offers no epistemological exit, Ross's editing rhythms generate urgent disorientation while simultaneously providing moments of spectatorial relief, ultimately framing the labyrinth as a crucible for heroic metamorphosis rather than eternal damnation. This comparative analysis contends that cinematic labyrinths function as more than narrative devices; they constitute formal strategies through which filmmakers orchestrate viewers' own cognitive navigation between confusion and clarity, thereby interrogating the very nature of cinematic spectatorship itself.

Films and Digital Distribution (use of the internet and video sharing) 112702 | The Rise of Short-Form Video Platforms and the Transformation of Film Reception Among French Audiences in the 2020s Anastasiia Velichko, Alexandrinsky Theatre, Russia This study examines how short-form video platforms are reconfiguring film reception among French audiences in the 2020s. The rationale for the project lies in the tension between France’s historically institutionalized cinephile culture, shaped by theatrical exhibition, film criticism, and cultural mediation, and the rise of platform-based viewing practices driven by TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and related formats. Methodologically, the study uses a PRISMA-informed systematic review. Five hundred records were identified through semantic and Boolean searches in Scopus and Google Scholar; after screening for relevance to French audiences, post-2020 data, short-form video platforms, and empirical engagement with film reception or spectatorship, 68 studies were included in the final synthesis. The results show a shift from sustained, institutionally mediated spectatorship toward fragmented, algorithmically curated, and participatory modes of engagement, including recaps, reaction videos, mash-ups, memes, and platform recommendations. The study contributes to film and media studies by conceptualizing this shift as a structural transformation of cinematic reception, altering cultural authority, interpretive agency, attention practices, and the institutional ecology of cinema in the platform era.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations International Communication 112041 | Informal Learning as the Path to Intercultural Communicative Competence in Vietnamese Micro-Businesses Olga Rodionova, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia This submission examines how Western self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) managing micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, develop intercultural communicative competence through informal field-based learning. Standard pre-departure cross-cultural training equips managers with cultural knowledge but cannot deliver the situational, relational, and contextual judgment that Vietnamese high-context workplace communication requires. Drawing on Billett's (2023) theory of informal workplace learning and Brashers' (2001) Uncertainty Management Theory, this paper proposes a three-stage developmental model — Recognition, Interpretation, and Navigation — through which Western SIEs progressively learn to read and respond to communicative signals they were not socialised to understand. The model identifies six practical skills that accelerate this development and three common traps that impede it. Rather than treating intercultural communicative competence as a fixed trait or a product of formal instruction, this paper reconceptualises it as a process-oriented skill that emerges through daily, iterative, experiential engagement with the workplace environment. The contribution bridges theory and practice: it addresses practitioners navigating high-context communicative environments while advancing a theoretical argument for integrating informal learning frameworks into intercultural communication research.

Mass Communication 108530 | Interacting Funeral Genres: The Influence of the Indonesian Death Notice Convention on Condolence Flower Boards Przemyslaw Wiatrowski, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland The paper examines Indonesian condolence press death notices and condolence flower boards as two interrelated genres of funeral communication. It aims to demonstrate the structural and linguistic correspondences between these forms and to identify the possible influence of the death notice genre pattern on the messages displayed on flower boards. The study is qualitative and draws on Maria Wojtak’s concept of the genre pattern, understood as a set of rules linking the major levels of a genre’s organization and the relationships between them. Particular attention is paid to structural organization, including the textual frame (typical openings and closings), recurrent segments, and their interrelations. A comparative approach enables the identification of similarities and differences in both structure and linguistic realization. The analysis focuses on recurrent textual components present in both genres, such as condolence formulas (e.g., turut berduka cita), expressions referring to death (atas meninggalnya, atas wafatnya, telah berpulang ke rahmatullah), terms denoting familial and social relations, and patterns used to identify the deceased (anthroponyms, academic and professional titles, functions and positions held). It also considers the identification of the sender and additional segments in the form of short prayers. The study notes the more frequent emphasis on professional roles and achievements on flower boards. Non-linguistic elements, especially the inclusion of photographs, further align flower boards with the death notice format. The paper argues that condolence flower boards may be viewed as secondarily modeled on death notices, while retaining their distinct social and spatial functions. 111925 | Saudi Dramas: Saudi Women’s Preferences, Viewing Patterns and Perspectives Merfat Alardawi, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia The study examines Saudi women’s perspectives and preferences regarding watching Saudi local drama. It investigates viewing habits and use patterns quantitatively, employing an adapted Uses and Gratification theory (U&G) model. An online questionnaire was completed by 442 Saudi women aged between 18-50 years, and the results indicated the most popular channels were MBC 1, and SBC. Approximately half (45.2%) of the participants were aged 31-40 years, and most were married. As anticipated, the findings revealed the participants watch drama for between one and three hours daily, with nearly half watching from one to two hours daily, and the majority prefer to watch alone. The most popular drama by percentage of viewers was Shabab Al Bomb, and comedy was identified as the favourite drama category. Interestingly, the study discovered that while Saudi women favoured local drama, because it more accurately represents their reality, they observed it does not realistically portray Saudi women. It was further found that Saudi women watch drama less frequently during Ramadan, due to a lack of spare time and a preference for engaging in religious or family activities at that time. Finally, a statistically significant relationship between the participants’ age group and their viewing of MBC Drama, as well as a statistically significant relationship between preferred drama genre, age and marital status emerged. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between participants’ marital status and their preferences regarding the country of origin of the drama they watched.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Media History 108543 | From Editorial Assistance to International Broadcasting: Soviet Specialists in PRC Media in the 1950s Eleonora Genen, Sun Yat-Sen University, China This article examines the activities of Soviet specialists in Chinese mass media during the 1950s.Following the founding of the PRC in 1949, Sino-Soviet relations intensified across multiple spheres, including media and communication. Professional exchanges expanded through delegation visits, training programs, and collaborative projects. Within this framework, Soviet specialists were dispatched to China to assist in editorial work, provide methodological guidance, contribute to journalist training, and support the development of international broadcasting. The paper analyzes the concrete functions performed by Soviet experts, the institutional forms of cooperation, and the mechanisms of professional knowledge transfer within Sino-Soviet media collaboration. It also situates these developments within the broader historical context of media relations between the USSR and the PRC, demonstrating how interstate cooperation shaped media collaboration during the 1950s. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the use of archival materials and periodical publications that have not previously been introduced into international scholarly discourse. The analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of the early formation of China’s media system and the historical foundations of Sino-Soviet media cooperation. 114459 | From Tradition to Nostalgia: the Geisha Recording Stars from 1930 to 1980 Gretchen Jude, University of Utah, United States For over 150 years, the geisha performing artists of Japan have been known for their distinctive appearance, yet today their music is much less familiar. Popular geisha singers, who rose from anonymity to stardom in early- to mid-20th century Japan, left a trove of sound and film recordings, which remain largely unexamined by scholars. This presentation will provide an overview of their cultural context and musical activities, tracing their historical association with the early modern sex trade and their role as artistic purveyors of songs promoting Japan’s prewar expansionism. Researchers such as Hosokawa (2020), Lewis (2013) and Nordstrom (2022), document the importance of these female performers in the development of Japan’s mass media culture. Yet their creative power was not entirely positive. As hit songs transformed a few geisha singers into stars of unprecedented popularity, phonographic recording combined with early film to create a unique media synergy and became essential tools in the military mobilization of the imperial state as a collectivity (cf. Yamaki and Fukuda 1972; Yano and Tsujita 2015). Geisha media artists were part of a media industry that supported efforts to shape Japan’s cultural identity through ‘new folk songs’ (shinminyō) starting in 1931, with composer Nakayama Shinpei being the progenitor of this important genre, as detailed by Patterson (2019). The popularity of songs that included ‘native’ Japanese musical elements, instruments and vocal styles thrived alongside more recognizably ‘modern’ (i.e., Western) Japanese popular music, making nuanced understanding of the work of these ‘traditional’ Japanese women media artists crucial.

Social Media and Communication Technology 112733 | Engagement Effects of User-Generated vs Corporate Aesthetics in Fast-Food Instagram Marketing Yu Wang, University of Georgia, United States Amelie Wei, South Eugene High School, United States Nicole Ngo, University of Oregon, United States As users favor authentic, relatable content, fast-food brands have adopted user-generated-content-like (UGC-like) aesthetics that may obscure persuasive intent. Drawing on brand authenticity and engagement research, this project examines whether UGC-like aesthetics generate greater engagement than corporate aesthetics. The study analyzes 10,000 Meta-Content-Library Instagram photo posts from 25 brands, using like-to-view ratios to measure engagement. It contributes a theory-informed human–AI framework classifying aesthetic style along corporatecommercial and user-like/platform-native dimensions using 12 visual characteristics (e.g., human presence, product centrality, staging, polish, etc). Domain patterns and coder judgments classify images as corporate, UGC-like, hybrid, or neutral/other. Multilevel statistical models will compare engagement across those types while accounting for brand, campaign, format, timing, promotions, and disclosures. Current efforts establish coding reliability. Three coders classify 100 McDonald’s images through blind rounds using Krippendorff’s alpha, disagreement review, and retesting. Findings show moderate agreement for human presence (α=.68), product centrality (α=.62), and brand prominence (α=.62), while meme/platform-native cues and staging remain less consistent. Once reliability is achieved, coders will label 20 images per remaining brand, creating a 580-image cross-brand gold-standard dataset. A 60/20/20 train/validation/test split will be used to train a multimodal CLIP–BERT classifier with MLP to classify aesthetic styles. Performance will be evaluated using macro-F1 and confusion matrices. The classifier will label remaining images, with low-confidence predictions reviewed by human coders. The dataset will enable us to examine whether UGC-like aesthetics generate greater engagement than corporate styles, providing insight into brands' incentives to adopt peer-like advertising and informing transparency and disclosure standards for digital food marketing.

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Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations Sports, Media & Globalisation 112711 | International Journalists’ Perceptions of the Impact of U.S.– Iran Tensions on Coverage of the 2026 Fifa World Cup Edward Gyasi, Accra Technical University, Ghana The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, occurs under an unparalleled geopolitical context: a host nation engaged in actual armed confrontation with a qualified participant. The U.S.–Iran conflict, which intensified in February 2026, has generated a complicated landscape for international sports journalism, marked by visa rejections for credentialed journalists, issues of self-censorship, access limitations, and disputed media narratives regarding the interplay between sports and statecraft. This study utilizes framing theory, agenda-setting theory, and the sociology of journalism to analyze how foreign journalists view the impact of U.S.–Iran tensions on their capacity to report on the tournament independently and truthfully. This study posits that the 2026 World Cup signifies a pivotal moment wherein political dynamics have significantly transformed the landscape of international sports journalism, as evidenced by an analysis of documented journalist testimonies, reports from press freedom organizations, statements from the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), and relevant literature on geopolitics and sports media. The findings identify three principal dimensions of journalistic impact: (1) systemic access impediments stemming from U.S. immigration policy, (2) increased pressure to depict Iranian participation through a political rather than athletic perspective, and (3) an escalating divergence between global media perceptions of press freedom standards and U.S. host nation practices. The piece culminates with suggestions for FIFA, host nations, and the global journalistic sector.

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Notes

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Reviewers IAFOR depends on the assistance of a large number of international academics and practitioners who contribute in a variety of ways to our shared mission of promoting international exchange, facilitating intercultural awareness, encouraging interdisciplinary discussion, and generating and sharing new knowledge. Our academic events would not be what they are without a commitment to ensuring that international norms of peer review are observed for our presentation abstracts. With thousands of abstracts submitted each year for presentation at our conferences, IAFOR relies on academics around the world to ensure a fair and timely peer review process in keeping with established international norms of double-blind peer review. We are grateful for the time, effort, and expertise donated by all our contributors.

KAMC2026 Review Committee

Professor Kuei-lun Chang, Ming Chuan University, Taiwan Dr Chin-hui Chen, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Dr Lynda Fatmawaty, Jenderal Soedirman University, Indonesia Dr Karen K. Fujii, Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College, Denmark Dr Ho Keat Leng, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan Dr Lai Hoon Lim, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology, Malaysia Dr Rebecca Lind, University of Illinois Chicago, United States Dr Supriya M, The Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education, India Dr Vasundara Priyadarshini Mahadev, Bangalore University, India Dr Glen Mangali, Marikina Polytechnic College, Philippines Dr Blenn Nimer, Notre Dame of Kidapawan College/Scholarly Impact Consulting Co, Philippines Dr Alisa Nutley, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

KAMC2026 Senior Reviewers

Dr Laura De Almeida, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Brazil Dr Kakali Adhikary, RONY, Sweden Dr Chona Adlawan, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines Dr Matlala Rachel Mahlatji, University of South Africa, South Africa Dr Francis Xavier Salcedo, De La Salle University, Philippines Dr Mie Al-Missned, Independent Scholar, United Kingdom Dr Jyoti Diwakar, Azim Premji University, Bhopal Campus, India Dr Kenji Kaneko, Kyoto University of Advanced Science, Japan Dr Regine Ann Manabat, Trimex Colleges, Philippines Dr Xiaotan Wan, The University of Oklahoma, United States Dr Erick Iroel Heredia-Carrillo, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico Dr Priyal Sathe, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce (Autonomous), India Dr Derek Barker-Ciganik, University of Vienna, Austria Dr Kristine Mae Destura, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines Dr Gulnoza Najmiddinova, Journalism and Mass Communications University of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Dr Sergio Patricio Valenzuela Valdés, Universidad Academia Humanismo Cristiano, Chile

KAMC2026 Reviewers

Dr Wagner Barros Teixeira, The Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA), Brazil Dr Supamonta Supanan, Bangkok University, Thailand Dr Rema T. Das, YBN University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India Dr Yuko Kato, Jin-ai University, Japan Professor Marzia Milazzo, University of Johannesburg, South Africa Professor James W.Y. Wang, National Chi Nan University, Taiwan Dr Peishi Weng, Taipei University of Marine Technology, Taiwan Dr Nawin Bosakaranat, Chiang Mai University, Thailand Dr Charles Brown, Purdue University, United States Dr Nimfa Buedron, University of Eastern Philippines, Philippines Professor Szu-fan Chen, National University of Tainan, Taiwan Professor Wei-lin Chen, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan Dr Yuen King Stefanie Chow, Beijing International Studies University, China Dr Padmavathy Dhillon, Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur, India Dr N’guessan Djemis Jean Elvis Ghislain, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Côte d’Ivoire Dr Paulo Esteireiro, NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal Dr Shelley Hannigan, Deakin University, Australia Dr Noriaki Hoshino, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Professor Cheng-chieh Hsiao, Shih Hsin University, Taiwan Professor Ziyi Hua, Shandong Huayu University of Technology, China Dr Sara Kopelman, The Open University of Israel, Israel Dr Simge Kırteke, Üsküdar University, Türkiye Dr Montida Lertnimanoradee, Khon Kaen University, Thailand Dr Sophie Shu-yi Lin, Kun Shan University, Taiwan Dr Punam Madhok, East Carolina University, United States 168 | IAFOR.ORG | IAFOR Kyoto | Follow us on X @IAFOR (tweet about the conference using #IAFOR)

Dr Menny Malka, Department of Social Work, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel Dr Lynn McQuarrie, University of Alberta, Canada Professor Pnina Motzafi Haller, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel Dr Tomomi Naka, Tottori University, Japan Dr Daniel Raffini, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy Dr Sweta Rajan Sharma, National Institute of Fashion Technology, India Dr Yuka Shiratsuchi, Bunkyo University, Japan Dr Damien Spiccia, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Australia Dr Jillian Rae Suter, Shizuoka University, Japan Dr Mieko Tarrius, Université Paris-Est Créteil, France Professor Wann-ming Wey, National Taipei University, Taiwan Dr Phoebe Wong, College of Professional and Continuing Education, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Dr Lydia Wong-Plain, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore, Singapore Dr Marcus Baynes-Rock, Deakin University, Australia Dr Roger Lin, Hong Kong Chu Hai College, Hong Kong

MediAsia2026 Review Committee Professor Azza Ahmed, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates Dr Christine Anne Cox, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines Professor William Kunz, University of Washington Tacoma, United States Dr Hsin-lun Li, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan Dr Rijita Mukherjee, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), India Dr Michael Ogden, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates Professor Oluyinka Osunkunle, University of Fort Hare, South Africa Dr Paul Spicer, Hokkaido University, Japan

MediAsia2026 Senior Reviewers Dr Eduardo López-Pintor Madrid, Universitat de València, Spain Dr Alice Angel David, Dr M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, India Dr Pichit Thi-in, Chandrakasem Rajabhat University, Thailand Professor Francisco Cádima, NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal Dr Keyu Guo, Shanghai International Studies University, China Dr Hamdia Mudor, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand Dr Apple Grace Ybañez, Ateneo de Davao University, Philippines Dr Eirini (Renata) Sifaki, University of Thessaly, Greece

MediAsia2026 Reviewers

Dr Liza Mae Nismal, University of St. La Salle, Philippines Dr Tinam Borah, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), India Professor Hsiu-hua Chang, Feng Chia University, Taiwan Professor Hsuan-yi Chou, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan Professor John Griffith, National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan Dr Kai Guo, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Dr Jessica Hoare, Cardiff University, United Kingdom Professor Hrvoje Jakopović, University of Zagreb, Croatia Dr Ressa Uli Patrissia, Universitas Muhammadiyah Palangkaraya, Indonesia Dr Nathan Snow, Utah Tech University, United States Dr Damien Spiccia, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Australia Dr Laura Stephenson, University of Westminster, United Kingdom Dr Margaret Tally, SUNY Empire State University, United States Dr Zenonas Theodosiou, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus Dr Evelyn Toh, Sunway University, Malaysia Professor David Toohey, Nagoya University, Japan Professor Yu Wang, University of Georgia, United States Dr Hengtai Zhang, Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, China

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Notes

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