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Artists are increasingly using blockchain as a tool for trading digital artwork as non-fungible tokens (NFTs); however, some are also beginning to experiment with the blockchain as a medium for generative art, using it as a seed for a generative process or to continuously modify an evolving piece. This paper surveys, reviews, and classifies the state-of-the-art in blockchain-interactive NFTs and presents a liberal-arts critique of the opportunities and threats posed by this technology, whilst addressing existing criticism on the broader topic of art-related NFTs. The paper examines some of the most experimental pieces minted on the Hic et Nunc (HEN) and Teia NFT marketplaces, for which a purpose-built research tool was developed. The survey reveals some reliance on centralised infrastructure, namely blockchain indexers, placing undesired trust on third parties which undermines the potential longevity of the artwork. The paper concludes with recommendations for artists and NFT platform designers for developing more resilient and economically sustainable architectures.

We present an overview and discussion of the Colloquium «Narrative, Media and Cognition», which took place at Porto's Centre of Catholic University of Portugal in July of 2015, under the organization of the Research Centre for Science and Technology of the Arts (CITAR). Several scholars of different areas presented research about the uses and advances in narrative study and practice in a broad range of areas, giving some important insights about the latest developments in Narrative Studies, Ontology of Narrative and the uses of Narrative in Art, Cinema, Performance, Journalism, Marketing and Literature, among other fields. After briefly describing the main points of each presentation in the Colloquium we try to draw some conclusions and possibilities raised by the Colloquium and take a glimpse of future paths that the use of Narrative can end up taking.

No existing review has synthesized key questions about acculturation experiences among international migrant workers. This review aimed to explore (1) What are global migrant workers’ experiences with acculturation and acculturative stress? (2) What are acculturative stress coping strategies used by migrant workers? And (3) how effective are these strategies for migrant workers in assisting their acculturation in the host countries? Peer-reviewed and gray literature, without time limitation, were searched in six databases and included if the study: focused on acculturative stress and coping strategies; was conducted with international migrant workers; was published in English; and was empirical. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Three-layered themes of acculturation process and acculturative stress were identified as: individual layer; work-related layer; and social layer. Three key coping strategies were identified: emotion-focused; problem-focused; and appraisal-focused. These coping strategies were used flexibly to increase coping effectiveness and evidence emerged that a particular type of acculturative stress might be solved more effectively by a specific coping strategy. Migrant workers faced numerous challenges in their acculturative process. Understanding this process and their coping strategies could be used in developing research and interventions to improve the well-being of migrant workers.

African women from different countries and social classes, from those seeking refugee status to diplomats and peasants' daughters, have been arriving in increasing numbers on Chinese shores since the 1980s. The amazing stories of some of these "invisible" but dynamic women have been ignored, yet they reveal great diversity and deserve scholarly attention, as they provide rich material for studies on the African diaspora in China. This article focuses on African migration to Macao, a former Portuguese colony and primary migration destination in the Pearl Delta River Region, which currently hosts the densest African population in China. It explores both the more recent and the relatively longer-term migration of African women and university students to Macao, and examines the intersection of these communities resulting from the overlap between the ongoing global movements of African diasporas and new African migratory trends to China. The article draws on the life stories as well as the educational and entrepreneurial experiences of African women in Macao, and investigates the relevance of ethnic networks of trust and reciprocity for their communities' survival. This article places specific emphais on the experiences of African women, recognizing their achievements in the face of multiple intersections of racism and sexism on the part of both state and society, and reveals how the women employ a resistance strategy by reinforcing ethnic migrant networks.

Este trabalho consiste numa análise multimodal das estratégias discursivas de Bernie Sanders e Hillary Clinton num excerto de um debate sobre as benesses dadas pela senadora norte americana aos bancos no pós-crise económica global de 2008. Bernie Sanders e Hillary Clinton evidenciaram uma linguagem corporal diferente, tanto na posição de locutor como na de interlocutor. No entanto, mesmo utilizando estratégias de comunicação verbal e física diferentes, os gestos utilizados enquadram-se no campo dos gestos recorrentemente observados em figuras políticas em estudos feitos por outros autores. Reforça-se assim a ideia de que os gestos em questão são regularmente utilizados por figuras políticas.

In February 2020, Macau became one of the first regions where the pandemic of coronavirus or Covid-19 affected the totality of social and economic life leading to increased anxieties over movement and distance. Although Macau has had very few actual cases of the virus – 46 in total –and no deaths from it, the Macau government rapidly instituted a lock­ down. The aim of this article is to reflect on how the social experience of being in lockdown can provide insights into understanding the type of experience or condition that we provisionally term ‘anxious immobility.’ Such a condition is characterized by a total disruption of everyday rhythms and specifically anxious waiting for the normalization of activity while being the subject of biosocial narratives of quarantine and socially responsible. The paper is based upon 3 months of ethnographic research conducted by two researchers based in Macau. We also reflect upon some aspects of the politics of mobilities in the light of disruptions and friction points between Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, and the rest of the world.

It has been proven in numerous research that mindfulness can be helpful to reduce stress and chronic pain (Hall, 2014; Lindström, n.d.; Tong et al., 2015). While interactive mindfulness has been one of the focuses in the recent mobile applications market, usually tackling three essential human senses: audio, visual, and touch, each mobile application has quite some different approaches in terms of interactivity. Some focus on the touch and visual, and some on audio (environmental sounds or instructing meditation). Immersing oneself in virtual reality (VR) creates a constant stream of interactivity. Nonetheless, what are the conditions for an (in)tangible virtual reality to be more effective? Under the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown since the end of 2019, Macao has been facing a social concern that we cannot travel easily to visit our decedents’ graves abroad, let alone the existing concerns of expensive burial services, lack of space, and alternative burial options. Also, taking into consideration that standard funeral service in Macao is often too brief, and getting briefer, thus lacking the opportunity to properly farewell the decedent, this research is proposing a virtual reality 3D model construction of the Chapel of St. Michael, located in St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery in Macao, to be streamed on a 360 virtual tour platform, Kuula. co. By immersing in this virtual reality, the participant is to have a single user experience for mindfulness with the decedent. To ensure valid and reliable results that address the research aims and objectives, a single-user experiment is going to be set up with multiple electronic devices, namely, the smartphone iPhone X with cardboard VR, the tablet iPad Pro, and the Oculus Quest 2. The methodology to collect the data will be using observation and simulation. The experiment will be started with an introduction to the project and conducted with no instruction, allowing users to explore and examine all features in this immersive experience. Along with a post-experience survey (interview + questionnaire), we seek its conditions and impacts on Macao residents in terms of interactive mindfulness and participants’ expectation of testing, for the first time in Macao, a virtual reality grave mourning experience.

This paper introduces a concept proposal for accessing driving behavior in public transportation through Mobile Crowd Sensing (MCS), as part of a long-term research project on Advanced Public Transportation System (APTS). The proposed concept makes use of mobile device's accelerometer and passengers' qualitative evaluation to identify aggressive driving behavior, which is believed to be a major factor for unnecessary accidents and fuel consumption. A survey and comparison of IT services (mobile applications and websites) provided by Macau Government and private bus companies in Macau, regarding bus-related information, such as fares, routes and route diversions is also provided.