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Childbearing via in vitro fertilization (IVF) was taboo for a long time in the Philippines despite being available in the Philippines since 1996 and the signing of the Republic Health Law back in 2013 (Dupont, 2013). In this chapter, the author examines how IVF is imagined, presented, and accepted in the Philippine context by looking at selected case studies of Filipino influencers who opted to bear children via IVF. The author explores these through analyses of selected YouTube videos and Facebook posts through the lens of visibility labor which refers to the activities done by influencers to “the work enacted to flexibly demonstrate gradients of self-conspicuousness in digital or physical spaces depending on intention or circumstance for favourable ends” (Abidin, 2016). The author also examines the comments sections of these selected videos and posts through web scraping to get a glimpse of the reception to the journeys and struggles of these public figures. The author argues that through the visibility labor of influencers, the phenomenon of childbearing via IVF is not only promoted as a viable, if not acceptable procreative process, but also perpetuated as an in/accessible procedure in the Philippines.

Digital influencers, besides being a personal branding phenomenon, constitute, nowadays, important partners for brands in the digital environment. Despite the benefits for both parties, the brand and the endorser, there is a risk when the individuals or the brand take part in some scandal or questionable activity, which causes a loss of credibility and reputation. The contagious effect of personal or corporate brand crisis with the partners is well reported in the literature. However, there are no studies about such occurrence in the digital environment, considering that the phenomenon of digital influence has some particularities differing from traditional celebrity endorsement. This chapter focuses on the research of the consequences of a change in the credibility of influencers or brands, after the occurrence of a negative situation, and the way in which this change affects the two parties involved, the brand and the influencer. We conducted a netnographic study of the social media pages of three digital influencers and the social media pages of a recognized fast fashion brand recognized in the digital world. We analyzed 1500 social media comments from their audiences and found that influencers suffer from a loss in sympathy and credibility by scandals while crisis communication strategies in corporate brands can prevent such damages. Strategic implications for brand managers and digital influencers managing their endorsements are addressed in the discussion.

The sources and platforms utilized for environmental communication have been significantly expanded by the emergence of social media. The validity, form, and content of environmental communication processes are particularly radical departures from conventional media, making personal green blogs important of study as areas of everyday culture politics where people make understanding of environmental challenges. There is currently a lack of research on how social media might encourage green behaviours. This research reveals the impact of social media use and green blogging on green purchasing behaviour, which is supported by the social learning theory. Present study shows that social media use and green blogging have a substantial positive connection, drawing on a sample of 580 respondents from Pakistan examined using structural equation modelling. Both notions have a considerable impact on consumers' intentions to make green purchases, and social media trust plays a moderating role in this relationship. Furthermore, social media trust considerably modifies the connections between green blogging and social media use that is related to green behaviour. The current study is novel and offers important information to understand how social media might promote eco-friendly habits and behaviour.

Increasing evidence from high-income countries has revealed the positive impacts of creative entrepreneurship on the local economy, and these have attracted substantial attention in recent years. Creative industries are considered as the seedbeds for innovation; they are highly innovative and productive and are seen as drivers of economic development and social change. Creative industries are distinctive in that they have several transaction networks and income streams. Although creative industries are generating increasing interest in the minds of researchers and policy-makers in developed countries, the institutional and economic settings in Cameroon and other developing nations may not be so conducive to creative industries. The available evidence is insufficient to understand their performance and sustainability, let alone to estimate their contribution to the rest of the economy. This chapter demonstrates how the creative industries could contribute to the economic and social development of a nation. The chapter further explores the current situation of creative industries in Cameroon, with a focus on the artists of popular and folk music, the challenges they are facing, and provides ways forward.

This chapter focuses on a population that I call iron moms: women who negotiate work, family, and endurance sport identities. This research sheds light on how mothers with families, full-time jobs, and other responsibilities fit a high level of endurance training into their lives. Looking at endurance sport through the lens of gender and parenthood helps uncover the unique complexities that iron moms face juggling their multiple identities. Included is an assessment of how iron moms manage their status on the athletic visibility continuum as a process associated with identity construction and maintenance. Based on an analysis of in-depth interviews with 20 active iron mom competitors and textual analysis of triathlon blog postings, this work uncovers the details of how these women attempt to find satisfaction in multiple areas of their lives. This chapter suggests that navigating one's status on the athletic visibility continuum in addition to navigating the complex web of dominant social discourses surrounding motherhood play a critical role in shaping how women craft their existence as an iron mom. Findings stress the value of “me time,” the pervasiveness of “mom guilt,” and the importance of reframing dominant discourses about motherhood.

Urban scholars employ numerous sources to study early cities, including primary sources such as historical maps, literary accounts, tax records, and the like to help visualize cities in various periods. In recent years, a variety of artificial intelligence programs have been employed to not only create visual images of earlier cities, but also to allow audiences to negotiate city streets and enter buildings within the city. The Assassin's Creed series of video games created by Ubisoft place the game player in historical settings where the assassin (representing peace and free will) will battle against groups of foes (representing order and control). Assassin's Creed II is set in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century and has been praised for the visual reconstruction of the city. But how well can a computer game represent the Early Renaissance City?