María T. Soto-Sanfiel

National University of Singapore | NUS · Department of Communications & New Media

YouTube has emerged as a valuable resource for trans people to get themselves heard. It also has the potential to help mainstream audiences to understand more about transgender's lives. Following Contact, Narrative Persuasion, and Queer Intercultural Theories, two experiments were conducted among cisgender people to investigate which types of narra...

This research explores Spanish adolescents' attitudes toward the representation of young LGBTQ+ individuals in Spanish fiction series on digital platforms and TV channels. It focuses on (1) preferred portrayals and (2) disliked aspects of available portrayals. Opinions from 20 adolescents (16-21 years old) were gathered through four online focus gr...

This experimental study examines the impact of gay stereotypes on Spanish university students' attitudes. Five hundred thirty eight participants shared their experiences with gay individuals and completed a homophobia scale before or after viewing stereotypical and neutral depictions of gay characters. The findings reveal low homophobia levels and...

This research applies Uses and Gratifications theory to examine individual motivations for sharing or not sharing deepfakes. After characterizing popular deepfakes in five genres (two examples each), 1035 US participants (42% female; Age: M = 42.8, SD = 14.1, Mdn = 41, Range = 18-93) watched one of the ten deepfakes and completed a questionnaire in...

This exploratory qualitative study uses a multilevel framework, combining the Social Construction of Technology and the Cognitive-Affective-Normative model, to examine how individual perceptions, emotions, and reflections shape deepfake acceptance, particularly those featuring deceased artists. Fifty-one participants (70.37% female; Mean Age = 24.6...

Due to the novelty of the format, web series have been little studied. To address this gap, this research identifies and compares the nature, experiences, and practices of professional and amateur web series filmmakers. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with Colombian professionals (15) and amateurs (15) covering 1) their training an...

The relationship between learning, sexualities, and the media is complex and has usually been approached from two positions. On the one hand, the media is considered to generate representations and spaces for discussion and interaction that can create myths, stereotypes, and gender inequalities (Fedele et al., 2019). On the other hand, it is said t...

Deepfakes, synthetic media created through advanced learning techniques, are rapidly advancing, empowering users to craft deceptive videos via voice manipulation, realistic lip-syncing, and seamless face replacements. From sophisticated methods to user-friendly ‘cheapfakes’, concerns persist regarding their potential misuse and ethical implications...

This study provides evidence of the psychometric quality of a new artificial intelligence (AI) literacy scale for comprehensive assessment of the concept across adult populations, regardless of the setting in which it is applied: the SAIL4ALL. It contains 56 items distributed across four themes [(1) What is AI? (a: Recognizing AI, Understanding Int...

The representation of the LGBTIQ+ community in TV series has received major attention from academia, mostly from textual and reception perspectives. However, the creative and industrial processes behind the production of media content, including the writers’ views and experiences, remain under-explored, especially outside of the United States and N...

Journalism, particularly in conflict reporting, poses significant emotional challenges, with journalists often grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other traumas. This research delves into the emotional dimensions of journalistic practice, examining journalists’ perspectives on mental health care, external support, and the imperative o...

Drawing on media production studies, this research observes the understudied figure of the scriptwriters of fictional series to identify their feelings about different audiences and the way they respond to LGBTQ+ characters and narratives. Specifically, it seeks to understand how they use these mental images of their audiences when they create LGBT...

This qualitative research uses a case study to observe non-binary representation in TV fiction. The Dan character from the Spanish series HIT (RTVE, 2020-present), who is the first openly non-binary character in Spanish TV fiction, is analyzed through the lens of Queer Media Studies. The research applies a combination of content and discourse analy...

Despite the widespread fascination with media content, scholarly attention often overlooks aversion, refusal, or resistance to it. This qualitative study explores the rejection of True Crime documentaries (TCD) by examining viewers in Colombia and Singapore, identifying reasons for refusal and exploring perceived effects. Results show that emotiona...

Glauber describes the period at the end of the 1945 as a very strange one because the scientists from Chicago, and even a few from Oak Ridge, went to Washington and began explaining to the Congress what nuclear weapons really were. The Congress wanted to hear from all of these people.

In the immediate post-war years, Oppenheimer was a unique figure in America. He was, as Glauber put it, being lionized all the time. His picture was to be seen everywhere. People of all different ranks and sorts tried to be in his presence. He occupied a role not unlike Albert Einstein. He was an American hero.

Even though Glauber recalls that it was isolated in the middle of nowhere, life in Los Alamos laboratory was easy. At the time of his arrival, around 200 scientists were working in many separate groups that were pursuing different work in different directions entirely.

Glauber did witness the Trinity test, though he was not supposed to. There was no welcome for theorists at the test, which was in the south of New Mexico, about 150 miles from Los Alamos. It caused great suspense and tension in the laboratory. The preparations had gone on for months.

Most human beings don’t manage to achieve fame. Roy did it for two different reasons. In 2005, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics, a scientific recognition that is only awarded to a highly select number of minds. He won it because he made essential contributions to modern knowledge in the field of quantum optics in the 1960s, which meant we cou...

Glauber’s scientific career started very early. He was so good at mathematics at high school that he was moved up two years. He also made meteoric progress at college. In the second year of his bachelor’s degree, he was already taking graduate courses at the same time, which was most unusual. To become a scientist, you need to get a Ph.D. Students...

Glauber can speak Newyorkese on request. He was born in the Bronx, New York. His father, Emanuel, was a traveling salesman, and his mother, Felicia Fox, was a housewife. She was trained as a teacher before getting married, and it wasn’t more than a year before she was pregnant and Roy arrived on 1 September 1925.

This research seeks to contribute to knowledge of the structural characteristics and narrative complexity that define the web series format. To do so, we look at the case of Colombia’s prolific web series production, undertaken by professional and amateur producers and promoted by institutional and educational programmes. This research analyses the...

This research uses a mixed quantitative and descriptive approach to analyze the representation of LGBTQ+ people in YouTube fiction produced by Singaporean filmmakers. It observes the general characteristics of such portrayals with a particular focus on the characters' gender and identity expressions. Simultaneously, a qualitative study analyzes the...

This qualitative research explores how true crime documentaries (TCDs) are received in cultural settings with different crime rates. It identifies and compares motivations for watching TCDs, perceived vulnerabilities from their consumption, and concerns about their inclusion on broadcasting in Colombia (high murder rate context) and Singapore (low...

Radio art is understood as radio made by artists. The term is typically applied to sound-based artifacts produced and broadcast by means of the creative use of radio media affordances, infrastructure, and technologies. Radio art is known as any sound work conceived to expand the creative and aesthetic possibilities of the medium through the use of...

This research observes the relationship between Latin American (LA) journalists from six countries that are rarely observed by international scholars (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Peru and Venezuela) and artificial intelligence (AI). Particularly, it seeks to identify and compare their attitudes, perceived constraints, and knowledge on the stat...

The lack of science on the Spanish TV is explained through the people responsible for content production, scheduling and offer. Two focus groups made up of five decision-makers identified the professionals’ opinions: science on TV is needed, the function of televisual science is educating audiences, public channels are responsible for showing such...

Understanding the profiles of communication students offers meaningful information for the design of satisfactory academic programs which enhance their skills and orientate their future professional careers. This research studies the relationship between creativity, personality, and relation to art of 126 Singaporean communication students. It gath...

Science does not occupy a prominent place on Spanish television, possibly due to those in charge of the creation, production, organization, and programming of content. Previous research has shown that television executives have mental images of their audiences that they actively use in their professional practice. This study adopts a mixed, qualita...

One of the main objectives of radio arts, radio made by artists, is to produce mental images for audiences. According to radio art theorists and practitioners, those mental images lead to emotional and sensitive listening experiences. This exploratory research aims to advance the scientific understanding of mental image production by radio arts and...

Television content has traditionally been associated with the cultural identity of a given territory, although in an increasingly global world, this relationship is under debate. From a comparative qualitative analysis of the Spanish scripted television format (STF) series Los Misterios de Laura and its adaptations for the United States and Italy,...

This handbook provides a strong collection of communication- and psychology-based theories and models on media entertainment, which can be used as a knowledge resource for any academic and applied purpose. Its 41 chapters offer explanations of entertainment that audiences find in any kind of ‘old’ and ‘new’ media, from classic novels to VR video ga...

This study aims to shed light on adolescents' characterizations of their preferred film entertainment. It seeks to describe the psychological responses of youngsters from two European countries (Italy and Spain) to dramas from the European region about current social/human issues. The study also seeks to determine if the adolescents' responses diff...

The current rise in the circulation of audiovisual products has led to the transnational convergence of industry practices, quality standards and language conventions, which may affect the diversity of television discourses and representations worldwide. The present research identifies the similarities in Scripted Television Formats (STF) produced...

Narrative engagement is a fundamental factor in understanding the enjoyment of narratives and their effects. This study seeks to develop a measure of engagement for youngsters and to gather evidence of validity and reliability for a sample of European adolescents. After watching a dramatic film, 310 European high school students (68.71% Italian, 17...

This study examines the extent to which audience's identification with a religious character relates to variables of the message, the cultural setting in which it is consumed , and the viewer. Four hundred and eight students from Spanish (Mean Age = 20.36, SD = 3.24) and Swiss universities (Mean Age = 22.16, SD = 2.76) were assigned to one of two n...

The Colombian armed conflict is the longest internal conflict in the world. According to the Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica [National Historical Memory Center], 81 % of casualties in this conflict were civilians and more than 5 million people were forcibly displaced between 1958 and 2012. Through all these years, national artists have portray...

This study examines the extent to which audience’s identification with a religious character relates to variables of the message, the cultural setting in which it is consumed, and the viewer. Four hundred and eight students from Spanish ( Mean Age = 20.36, SD = 3.24) and Swiss universities ( Mean Age = 22.16, SD = 2.76) were assigned to one of two...

The article presents a semio-pragmatic analysis conbined with an audience study to examine how religion can be communicated through documentaries. The research considers the extent to which cultural differences impact the reception process. A semio-pragmatic analysis was applied to a documentary about Mormons. Subsequently, a reception study was co...

This article observes to what extent prejudice towards lesbians (homophobia) and the moral evaluation of this sexual orientation affect responses to narratives about lesbians and towards their lesbian protagonists. Two hundred six students (79.6% women, MAge = 20.68, SD = 2.36, RgAge = 18–33) of different sexual orientations completed a questionnai...

This cross-cultural descriptive empirical research observes the relationship of 937 high-school students from eight countries of the European Union with cinema. A survey was applied in 37 schools and 28 cities for individuals participating in a course on film literacy that was offered free of charge and as an extracurricular opportunity in their ed...

The purpose of this study is to explore the responses of young members of the audience to media narratives that portray gay men positively with particular emphasis on the extent to which film appreciation reduced homophobia. One hundred and fifty college students from a Serbian university (MAge = 21.58, SD = 2.199) completed a questionnaire measuri...

One of the psychological responses to audiovisual fictions that has been receiving more attention recently is appreciation, defined as a reflexive eudaimonic gratification obtained from a meaningful entertainment mode. Appreciation is the perception that the media experience has a profound meaning, has taught or revealed something. This study seeks...

The objective of the present research is to observe to what extent the stereoscopic effect presents a solution for enhancement of user interactions in the Web context. This paper describes an experiment conducted to detect differences in perception between 2D and 3D graphical user interfaces of an e-Commerce web application. The results of the cond...

We present the results of an exploratory study framed within a large film literacy project carried out simultaneously in five European Union countries (Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom). The study looks at students’ responses to an educational project on cinema designed to be implemented regionally for five months in hi...

Se presenta un estudio que tiene por objetivo observar las actitudes de los profesionales de la televisión española con responsabilidades directivas en la creación, producción y emisión de contenidos acerca de la relación de las audiencias con los contenidos científicos y la divulgación científica. El estudio siguió un procedimiento de métodos mixt...

Within the framework of the Creative Europe programme, and due to the inexplicable lack of current academic information on the topic, this exploratory cross-cultural study seeks to advance the understanding of the relationship between European adolescents and cinema through a sample of 937 secondary students from eight countries of the European Uni...

This study addresses the effect of narratives offering a positive depictionof gay men on the audience’s change in attitude towards homosexuality. Specifi-cally, it analyzes the relationship of character identification, inter-group contact,religiosity and gender with homophobia reduction. One hundred and fifty stud entsof a Serbian University ( MAge= 2...

This study investigates the impact of same-language subtitles on the immersion into audiovisual narratives as a function of the viewer's language (native or foreigner). Students from two universities in Australia and one in Spain were assigned randomly to one of two experimental groups, in which they saw a drama with the original English soundtrack...

This study investigates the impact of same-language subtitles on the immersion into audiovisual narratives as a function of the viewer's language (native or foreigner). Students from two universities in Australia and one in Spain were assigned randomly to one of two experimental groups, in which they saw a drama with the original English soundtrack...

Learnability is a fundamental usability factor. It is included in several well known and widely used software usability evaluation mod- els such as: IBM’s Computer Usability Satisfaction Questionnaire (CUSQ), System Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI), System Usability Scale (SUS), and others. However, all of them assess learnability only subjec...

This chapter presents the findings of a study to investigate the impact of subtitles on the processing of audiovisual texts in terms of levels of self-reported engagement with the text. It also presents a methodology for investigating the neural processing of subtitles using electroencephalography (EEG) and psychometrics. By establishing the beta c...

The benefits of stereoscopic vision in medical applications were appreciated and have been thoroughly studied for more than a century. The usage of the stereoscopic displays has a proven positive impact on performance in various medical tasks. At the same time the market of 3D-enabled technologies is blooming. New high resolution stereo cameras, TV...

We explore factors affecting audience engagement in mainstream movies showing explicit lesbian sex. A total of 236 participants of different genders and sexual orientations completed a questionnaire measuring factors related to enjoyment immediately after watching La vie d’Adèle in commercial cinemas. Statistical analysis confirmed that positive au...

This study aims to further our understanding of the reception processes associated with the consumption of new interactive audiovisual products by individuals from different cultures. Through a quasi-experimental research, it analysed reception of a film produced in Germany, in two different European socio-cultural contexts (Spain and The Netherlan...

Digitalization, which allows for the creative manipulation, storage and dissemination of individual narratives, is a powerful tool for the creation of discourses about the future, the present and, most of all, the past. Digitalization applied to narrative creativity makes us to suppose that we are heading towards the construction of more sophistica...

his study aims to further our understanding of the reception processes associated with the consumption of new interactive audiovisual products by individuals from different cultures. Through a quasi-experimental research, it analyzed reception of a film produced in Germany, in two different European socio-cultural contexts (Spain and The Netherland...

This research explores the effect of mobile listening on factors that have been proposed to determine enjoyment of audiovisual fictions: identification with characters, perceived realism, presence and transportation. A quasi-experimental research with 2 × 2 factorial design where the independent variables were listening condition (moving and statio...

Para medir el grado de desensibilización a la violencia, se registraron las respuestas psicofisológicas de 47 videojugadres mientras veían un montaje audiovisual con escenas violentas. Durante cuatro meses y medio los sujetos jugaron al videojuego Call of Duty, tanto en casa como en el laboratorio. En la última sesión (postest), se volvió a ver el...

We explore the effect of manifest sexual orientation and gender on the appreciation of lesbian narratives using a mixed-methods approach. Appreciation is a psychological response to narratives that prompts a profound perception of meaning or a motivation to create reflections or thoughts among audiences. We conducted a quantitative study that offer...

In this study, we explore how users’ personalities affect their responses to interactive narratives. In particular, we analyze the relationship between personality traits and relevant variables in narrative reception: identification with characters, enjoyment, self-perceived physiological sensations, emotional experience and content. Experimental p...

A preliminary study by Soto-Sanfiel et al. (2011) that explored engagement in narratives set in lesbian communities concluded that the inclusion of sex scenes is influential on the enjoyment of these shows . Homosexual and heterosexuals of both sexes reported having enjoyed lesbian sexual act depiction to similar extent, although for different reas...

We present the results of an exploratory investigation that seeks to observe the behaviour of one of the relevant psychological processes linked to the consumption of narratives by media entertainment researches in audio fictions reception: transportation to the narrative world. First, it aims at understanding if transportation could be used for ex...

In this study, we explore how users’ personalities affect their responses to interactive narratives. In particular, we analyze the relationship between personality traits and relevant variables in narrative reception: identification with characters, enjoyment, self-perceived physiological sensations, emotional experience and content. Experimental p...

This research explores the effect of mobile listening on factors that have been proposed to determine enjoyment of audiovisual fictions: identification with characters, perceived realism, presence, and transportation. A quasi-experimental research with 2x2 factorial design where the independent variables were listening condition (moving and station...

The project HBB4ALL (Hybrid Broadband Broadcasting for All), which has just started, addresses a wide range of interactivity, interoperability and accessibility features for a multi-platform media environment – focusing on the hybrid broadcast-broadband TV (HbbTV) concept.

This exploratory research analyzes the effect of mobile listening on spatial presence during audio fiction consumption. Spatial presence is the feeling of being physically located in a virtual environment or experiencing physical objects as if they were real. A quasi-experimental research was conducted with 2x2 factorial design, the independent var...

This qualitative exploratory and descriptive research study seeks to obtain information on “electronic Word of mouth” via social networking websites. Specifically, it aims to further our knowledge of both the identification of the Uses and Gratifications sought (manifest and latent motivations) by the users through becoming part of eWOM practices o...

We present an exploratory descriptive study designed to assess attitudes towards science, science based media contents and scientists of media communication professionals. The research explores the attitudes of a group of senior audiovisual communication students before and after taking a course on production of radio programs based on scientific c...

This research explores the identification of homosexual and heterosexual men and women receivers with lesbian protagonists of audiovisual fictions in Spain. The study follows a mixed method consisting of two independent studies whose results are interpreted together: a quantitative study determines the magnitudes of the effects, and a qualitative o...

The project HBB4ALL (Hybrid Broadband Broadcasting for All), which has just started, addresses a wide range of interactivity, interoperability and accessibility features for a multi-platform media environment – focusing on the hybrid broadcast-broadband TV (HbbTV) concept.

This qualitative exploratory and descriptive research study seeks to obtain information on “electronic Word of mouth” via social networking websites. Specifically, it aims to further our knowledge of both the identification of the Uses and Gratifications sought (manifest and latent motivations) by the users through becoming part of eWOM practices o...

This study observed the effects of explicit sexual orientation in Appreciation by using a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology in a complementary way: quantitative data provided information about general magnitudes of the influence, and qualitative data helped to confirm and give explanations about those observed effects. The study sought...

We present the analysis of an exploratory empirical two phases study designed to uncover the attitudes towards Science, Scientists and Popular science of media future professionals. In phase one, 80 senior students of Audiovisual Communication (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) worked for a semester in a course on Production and Direction of four...

Este trabajo explora el efecto de la modalidad de percepción y del sexo (de locutores y receptores) en la credibilidad. 320 participantes (160 de cada sexo) fueron asignados al azar a dos condiciones experimentales (en una escucharon las voces de los locutores. En la otra vieron, además, sus rostros). Los principales resultados muestran que la cred...

The effect of interactivity, content and type of instructions on emotions and enjoyment in audiovisual fictions was observed in order to obtain data on interactive entertainment 310 university students were randomly assigned to one of six experimental situations, combining: modality of consumption (interactive or non-interactive), content (happy or...

We reflect on the typical sequence of complex emotions associated with the process of scientific discovery. It is proposed that the same sequence is found to underlie many forms of media entertainment, albeit substantially scaled down. Hence, a distinct theory of intellectual entertainment is put forward. The seemingly timeless presence of multiple...

Artikulu honek Telebista Interaktiboarekin (TBI) loturiko kontzeptuak zertan diren argitzen laguntzea du helburu. Gaur egun, TBI terminoa, zehaztugabea eta polisemikoa izanik, berezi gabe egokitu ohi zaie teknologiei, saioei edota zerbitzuei ere. Polisemia honek, halere, eduki interaktiboen identifikatze argia galarazten du, aldi berean telebista-k...

The manuscript includes information about the objectives, methods, participation requirements and references for the Users and Evaluation of Interactive Storytelling at the 3rd International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling – Edinburgh 2010. KeywordsUser engagement-Interactive Storytelling-Evaluation

The effect of interactivity on identification with characters in audiovisual fiction was observed. 310 participants were asked to watch a film in one of these two conditions: 1) interactive (they selected the plot), and 2) non-interactive (they consumed the fiction in a conventional way). After watching the movie, they completed a questionnaire wit...

Se presenta una investigación experimental que tiene por objetivo determinar el impacto del movimiento del receptor en la percepción de presencia espacial (pe) durante el consumo de ficciones sonoras. En la actualidad, el incremento del uso de dispositivos móviles que permiten reproducir audio, y el desarrollo de formatos de captación, tratamiento...

The role of the interactivity in the context of the transition to the DTT and the conceptualization of the interactivity as one of the functions assigned to public service broadcasters in the digital era are the two theoretical frameworks bases over the authors analyze the offer of interactive DTT applications available in the five main European ma...

Este artículo describe y piensa al fenómeno de las Interfaces habladas (IH) desde variados puntos de vista y niveles de análisis. El texto se ha concebido con los objetivos específicos de: 1. procurar una visión panorámica de aspectos de la producción y consumo comunicativo de las IH; 2. ofrecer recomendaciones para su creación y uso eficaz, y 3. l...

A report is made of the conclusions of an experimental research whose objectives are: 1.- to explore the relationship between interactivity, content and enjoyment; 2.- to observe the relationship between enjoyment and the concepts of entertainment, pleasure and gratification, and 3.- to find out whether there is a relationship between enjoyment and...

It is presented an experimental investigation that observes the influence of expertise in speaking, the content of speech and audiovisual perception on the formation of impressions of media speakers. After perceiving the voice or the face-voice of professional and non professional speakers producing a formal or non formal speech, 320 participants a...

Se observó el efecto de la frecuencia fundamental de las voces (el tono) y de la percepción del rostro en las impresiones sobre hablantes mediáticos. Se pretendía determinar si existía relación entre la información visual y una característica eminentemente acústica: el tono. 320 sujetos fueron sometidos a una de dos condiciones: sonora (percibían s...

An experimental investigation is presented that observes the influence of expertise in speaking, the content of speech and audiovisual perception on the formation of impressions of media speakers in the context of Spanish communication. After perceiving each speaker, the subjects answered a questionnaire containing semantic differential questions....

Este artículo pretende contribuir a la clarificación de conceptos relacionados con la Televisión Interactiva (TVI). En la actualidad, el término TVI es disperso y enfrentar la creación, estudio y regulación de programas televisivos avanzados en un contexto de convergencia y mutación tecnológica. polisémico y se aplica indistintamente a tecnologías,...

Debido a que variados discursos pregonan que la creación de contenidos cross-media será parte de las habilidades requeridas a las nuevas generaciones de profesionales de la comunicación, este texto contiene la descripción de las bases de una propuesta de formación para dotar a los estudiantes de dichos conocimientos. Sin embargo, en el ejercicio de...