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This book chronicles the transformative impact of CMOS sensor technology on the global DIY filmmaking community. Through the lens of an ethnographer and outsider filmmaker, the author explores how digital cameras have democratized the art of filmmaking, allowing amateurs to create professional-quality films on a shoestring budget. The journey begins with the author's own experience creating Aspirin for the Masses, a feature film shot for just $500, and extends into the broader world of no-budget filmmaking. Key concepts include the rise of the "Am-Auteur," the role of film festivals in identity creation, and the cultural capital of low-cost cinema. The book examines how digital technology has redefined notions of media dissolution and creation, offering new pathways for identity formation. It also delves into the performative aspects of film festivals, where outsider artists gain socio-cultural status. This book is essential for scholars, filmmakers, and anyone interested in the intersection of technology and art. It offers a unique perspective on how digital cameras have reshaped the filmmaking landscape, empowering a new generation of creators to challenge traditional norms and redefine what it means to be an auteur in the digital age.

The present study examines the factors influencing international students’ intentions to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Our results showed that attitude toward GenAI use, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, enjoyment, subjective norms, novelty, trust in technology, perceived value, and AI literacy were positively associated with intention to use GenAI. Fear of plagiarism had a negative relationship with intention to use GenAI. Our mediation analysis suggested that trust in technology, perceived ease of use, fear of plagiarism, perceived usefulness, and AI literacy indirectly influenced GenAI usage intention via attitude and perceived value, underscoring both the appeal and concerns of GenAI in learning. This study contributed to the TPB, VAM, and TAM frameworks by incorporating fear of plagiarism, trust in technology, and AI literacy to demonstrate how cognitive, affective, and value-based factors collectively influence the adoption of GenAI technologies among international students.

The study examines local newspaper coverage of Afghan resettlement in the U.S. after the end of America’s ‘longest war’ in 2021. The papers are prominent news outlets of the counties where the military bases housing evacuees are located. We use a mixed-methods approach to examine news articles collected over an eighteen-month period. The study will analyze prominent sources, characteristics of evacuees, and themes in coverage. Themes were derived using both inductive and deductive methods. ‘America as land of opportunity’ and ‘moral obligation’ were dominant themes. Study results will provide a temporal marker that allows researchers to measure future changes in community attitudes towards evacuees. Thematic analysis demonstrates linkages between discourses such as moral obligation, migrants as threats, and process and how they help maintain U.S. power and hegemony. Rendering a critique of news coverage by analyzing how articles deployed and resisted these dominant themes, the study hopes to contribute towards a more nuanced approach towards media coverage of forced migration.