The full story: Understanding how films affect environmental change through the lens of narrative persuasion

The Influence of Self-Expansion and Consumer Engagement on Consumers' Continuous Participation in Virtual Corporate Social Responsibility Co-Creation

Virtual corporate social responsibility co-creation (VCSRC) became an effective strategic tool with which enterprises can fulfill social responsibilities and retain customers. This study investigated the drivers of consumers' continuous participation in VCSRC based on online survey data collected from 336 VCSRC participants. From a new perspective of self-expansion theory and by integrating consumer engagement (CE), we constructed a theoretical model and proposed a set of hypotheses, which were tested by using the structural equation model (SEM). Our findings show that self-expansion (experience-based expansion, competence-based expansion, and identity-based expansion) has a significant positive impact on continuous participation, with CE (conscious attention, enthusiasm, and social connection) playing a partial mediating role. Our research not only theoretically contributes to the research on VCSRC and self-expansion theory, but also inspires the operation of VCSRC projects in motivating consumers' continuous participation.

The Use of Live Action, Animation, and Computer-Generated Imagery in the Depiction of Non-Human Primates in Film

For over 100 years, non-human primates (primates) have been a part of the now hundred-billion-dollar global film industry in a variety of capacities. Their use in the film industry is of concern due to the negative welfare effects on individuals, the potential for increased pet trade, and the conservation impacts of public perception. While the effects on human perception of using live primates in film have been studied, little research has been performed on their appearance in animation and none in computer-generated imagery (CGI). We aimed to investigate how the portrayal of primates varied between depiction medium types and how this related to the films’ performance with critics and in the box office. We observed 151 primates in 101 different English-speaking films that debuted between 2000 and 2019. For each appearance we recorded aspects of primate portrayals based on accuracy, anthropomorphism, environment, and agency displayed, along with the depiction medium. We used structural equation models to depict the highest likelihood of the portrayal aspects on the medium’s relationship to the films gross profit worldwide and film critic consensus scores. We found that over the 20-year time frame, use of live primates has decreased, CGI has increased, and animations have remained relatively steady. While animation had no significant relationship to gross profit or critic consensus, both were significantly lower for films that used live primates and were significantly higher for films that used CGI primates. Due to the steady increase in the use of the CGI medium and its positive relationship with gross profit and critic consensus, it could have great effects on people’s perceptions of primates and implications for conservation efforts.