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Internet slang and its influence on language competences
Tunková, Kristýna ; Halbich, Marek (advisor) ; Samek, Tomáš (referee)
This thesis focuses on the Internet slang or so-called netspeak and how this type of language manifests itself in various spheres, including the physical space. Physical and virtual worlds are generally considered to be separate and are not ascribed the same value. However, I want to show through my work that these spheres are not only interconnected but they can even be perceived to be equal while taking into account that interactions taking place in the virtual environment cannot be described as less real or valuable. Therefore, the research took place in the Internet environment, which is the homeland of netspeak, and also in the physical space. I specifically observed high school students because these age groups are generally considered the most typical (social) media users, therefore they come into contact with netspeak frequently. The methods of collecting data included non-participant observation in the physical space of classrooms (during lectures and study breaks), and also in a teachers' office, interviews with students in both physical and virtual forms of communication, and analysis of various visual materials. For my research, I applied a combination of theoretical concepts and methods of socio-linguistics, digital anthropology, and netnography. These fields, together with other...
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Representational Roleplay in a Virtual World: Applying Dramaturgical Analysis to World of Warcraft
Špán, Adam ; Hájek, Martin (advisor) ; Kabele, Jiří (referee)
This thesis explores the possibilities of applying dramaturgical analysis to the virtual world of the computer game World of Warcraft. In this virtual world, some players engage in so-called representational roleplay. This is a complex social activity that entails a number of specific rules and practices. The aim of this thesis was to test the applicability of four different dramaturgical concepts (character, regions, scene, and exhibition) to actors' performances in the virtual world. The findings of this thesis are based on several months of ethnographic research and 16 semi-structured interviews. Analysis of these data revealed a number of similarities and a high degree of applicability of dramaturgical sociology to representational roleplay in the virtual world of World of Warcraft. The various dramaturgical metaphors were further extended to include new concepts in the context of the virtual world. These include the "character flaw" which consists of rejecting the consequences of fateful moments, "always IC" roleplayers who ignore the existence of a back region, the "immersive march" which describes the dramatic transitions between scenes, and the "exhibition with a passive curator" which reflects the distinctiveness of the curator in the virtual world.
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Collectors of Old Video Games: Colleagues, Hunters, Jews
Handl, Hugo ; Hrešanová, Ema (advisor) ; Tremčinský, Martin (referee)
Virtual social network Facebook is, taken its popularity a wide-spread nature important problem and as such relationships born within it and communities, connected to this social network present a topic, which ought to be given attention. In this thesis I focus on a relatively recent community on Facebook in the context of Czech republic, community of old video game collectors. Subjects of this thesis are two Facebook groups, selected because of their popularity: their member base and its activity and also on the basis of their orientation not mainly on exchange relating to items collected, but also interactions between members in the form of admiration of collected items and sharing their own collecting with other members. Aim of this thesis is to examine this aspect of groups of collectors of old video games and find out in what way do members of groups contribute to development within them, what position do they take in regards to community of collectors and forming relationships within it and motivation followed by them in the way they act and think about community of collectors and their own collecting in according ways. These aspects are more specifically explored through concepts of collecting, community, humour, material aspect and their inter- connectedness. Sources of data are:...
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