Cyberspace Studies

The 21st century heralded the dawn of the open access era in university publishing houses. The internet has transformed publishing from a lower reliance upon peer review processes, to readers being given direct access to text via digital content delivery. The internet era now enables knowledge transfer free at the point of deliver, without copyright or license. The internet has transformed university presses and publishers, from content providers to service deliverers. As a result, global publishing has changed, and university publishing houses have had to change with it. A global consensus of publishing has been set due to the technological advance of the internet. A global consensus which has been widely accepted by most university publishers. People will need to develop a good grasp of media and information literacy as either providers or consumers of university publishing houses’ content and services. The potential effects of the internet on COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics, 2022) compliance features. One of many questions covered in this paper is: How will impact factors, readership analytics and the metaverse, effect publishing in the 2020s. The utility of the internet enables geographically spread authors who have never met, to co-author academia.

Cyberactivism, as civic engagement, is enabled by social media, and has attracted many users to participate in leading social change. To shed more light on the relationship between cyberactivism and real-world (social) activism, within a quantitative approach, employing correlational research design, and a group comparison research design, the current research examined two linear regression models for the relationships among online sharing, homophily, attitudinal influenceability, and behavioral influenceability, and also, among behavioral influenceability, cyberactivism and social activism, and then examined the effects of sociodemographic characteristics of Iranian Instagram users on these variables in a 393-participant sample. The alternative hypotheses about the relationships among the variables in these two models, were retained. The results also showed that age, gender, and occupational status had effects on almost all variables. This study contributes to the existing literature by introducing attitudinal and behavioral influenceability as important factors influencing cyberactivism and social activism. It encourages governments to take full advantage of online activities and cyberactivism to promote social participation and real-world activism, especially among youth and females, to transcend society, and better solve societal and global problems with the collective wisdom.

The integration of the internet with digital games has catalyzed significant transformations in the production, distribution, and consumption within the gaming industry. A notable catalyst in this evolution is the advent of live-streaming platforms, particularly Twitch. This study employs qualitative meta-analysis to scrutinize 19 scientific studies, aiming to synthesize a comprehensive interpretation of Twitch's role and influence in the digital gaming arena. Our analysis reveals Twitch's multifaceted impact: it is a driving force in the digital economy, facilitating new job creation, diverse revenue streams for industry participants, and a fertile ground for innovation and ideation. Twitch has revolutionized the landscape for game designers, producers, and developers, fostering independence and enhancing the quality and quantity of independent game productions. Moreover, it extends the lifespan of games in the market, resurrects interest in older titles, and assists consumers in making informed purchasing decisions. Importantly, Twitch serves as an educational platform, offering insights into specialized gaming industry skills, including design and programming. These roles and functions position Twitch as a pivotal player in the dynamic and burgeoning digital gaming industry.

Big-tech corporations like Google, Meta, Microsoft etc. extensively utilize customization to collect and analyze user data, a practice integral to their business models. Google leverages user data to personalize services across its platforms, notably in its search engine and YouTube, to enhance user experience and bolster its targeted advertising strategies. Similarly, Meta uses algorithmic content curation on Facebook and Instagram, tailoring user feeds to individual preferences and behaviors, thereby generating detailed user profiles for marketing purposes. Microsoft's approach, particularly with Office 365 and LinkedIn, focuses on productivity enhancements while also gathering user data for feature refinement and targeted advertising. These practices, I argue, while improving user engagement, raise significant privacy concerns. The extensive data collection often occurs without full transparency or user consent, leading to debates about ethical implications, digital surveillance, and societal impacts. In response, there is a growing demand for stricter data governance and privacy regulations, as seen in initiatives like the GDPR and CCPA, aiming to balance the benefits of personalization with the rights and privacy of users.

Widespread of digitalization has led to the emergence of the phenomenon of "digital diasporas"- virtual communities of migrants on various platforms. This paper is devoted to the study of the specifics of Telegram communities of the largest Central Asian diaspora in the Russian Federation as a channel for the preservation, transmission and distribution of traditional values of Tajikistan. The choice of Telegram communities as an object of research is due to the physical accessibility of the messenger on the territory of the Russian Federation, the peculiarities of access and patterns of Internet use on the territory of Tajikistan, where relatives of migrants live, as well as the popularity of this messaging application among users of the post-Soviet space, which is confirmed by the leadership in the consumption of mobile traffic among messengers, including in the Russian Federation. The study is supposed to use such methods as a survey of respondents, semi-structured interviews, as well as analysis of regulatory legal acts and statistical data of government departments of the Russian Federation and Tajikistan.

This research examines the Iranian digital community's engagement with the Metaverse, analyzing 14,724 tweets (expanding to 48,620 with retweets) from 23,571 unique users. Interest in the Metaverse among Iranians surged in the seven months following Facebook's rebranding but has since waned. A significant link between digital currency discussions and Metaverse topics was observed. Economic activists in the cryptocurrency market, forming the primary content creators, generally portray the Metaverse positively, focusing on earning opportunities. Another active group includes technology enthusiasts who share the latest Metaverse developments. Moreover, some users integrate Iran's socio-political context into their discussions, often contrasting Iran's technological stance with global giants like Facebook and addressing internet censorship. A distinct perspective comes from users wary of potential colonialist uses of technologies like the Metaverse, expressing apprehension about human subjugation. This sentiment forms the basis of most negative views on the Metaverse's development within the Iranian digital sphere.

This paper presents the results of a survey aimed at students aged between 10 and 18 from three schools in the South of Portugal. The purpose of the survey was to gather information about their perspectives regarding online hate speech (OHS). The study, whose central objective is to understand the intricate dynamics of online video games and social gaming platforms, is part of a project entitled "PROPS: Interactive Narratives Propose a Pluralistic Speech". From the data collected, the project envisages the creation of a set of interactive media designed to counteract main OHS discourses. By developing a thoughtful approach to the emergent issue of OHS, the aim is to promote media literacy in young players, thus cultivating a gaming environment that is both inclusive and safe.