ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on subtitled vlogs published by Western influencers on Chinese social media at the behest of the Chinese authorities. In particular, it explores the role these vlogs play in promoting official narratives about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a media ecosystem characterized by restricted access to foreign content and the absence of public debate on matters pertaining to the image that China attempts to project abroad, foreign vlogs, I argue, are deployed to secure the alignment and acquiescence of social media users with official discourses and policies, against the backdrop of ongoing propaganda offensives on social media. Drawing on the concept of strategic narratives developed by international relations scholars, the chapter examines how the circulation of subtitled media content provides Chinese netizens with sensemaking devices that facilitate the negotiation and forging of shared meanings about their country’s place on the international scene, ultimately contributing to the entrenchment of digital nationalism. Analysis of the body of danmu (bullet comments) posted by viewers of the vlog chosen as a case study reveals that the parochialism of Chinese social media platforms like Bilibili allows political elites to capitalize on mundane affectivity, whether genuine or confected, in order to promote allegiance to official strategic narratives without the need for deliberation in the digital public sphere. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Mona Baker;individual chapters, the contributors.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Throughout the life of people with Hemophilia, there are critical moments such as self-treatment, which involves intravenous administration of medication. Fedhemo, as a complement to what is provided in the Hospital Centers, has established different workshops where children can learn this technique. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to rethink how to reach all people with Hemophilia and families so that we have launched a pioneering project in the world of congenital coagulopathies using new technologies such as virtual reality as a training tool for children with congenital coagulopathies to improve the empowerment of children. Methods: Since September 2020 until October 2021 we started this project to creat a virtual reality experience in self-treatment including children, aged between 7 and 12 years old with hemophilia in collaboration with Nixi for Children's VR designers, and a a multidisciplinary focus group with hematologist,nurse, Fedhemo's social workers and psychologist, and families with children with haemophilia at different ages. Results: The project was carried out after several sessions . The script was written by Nixi for Children's team and reviewed by the multidisciplinary group, including families, for further improvement and vocabulary accuracy. Production of the VR experience was done mixing 360° real environments and 3D animation. Inside the VR experience, Nixi, a 3D animated character, interacts with "Nacho", a 17 years-old boy with Hemophilia. Nixi and the spectator will travel back in time to discover how "Nacho" administered himself the medication for the first time when he was 8 years old. Both characters (17 and 8 years-old "Nacho") were performed by real chlidren with Haemophilia. Now we will send to the children the pack of virtual reality to live the experience. In order to assess the effectiveness and psicological aspects, we will perform 3 questionnaires, one of satisfaction by FEDHEMO, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Questionnaire (STAI) and the Haemo-QoL SF II. Discussion/Conclusion: New technologies such as virtual reality can be an example of how it could improve empowerment in self-treatment on that journey to autonomy in a chronic disease as well as redefine the role of the family in its accompaniment of the journey of people with hemophilia. Grant Fundación Solidaridad Carrefour.