One-sidedness Research Articles

Gemoy and Samsul: How The Propaganda Won The 2024 Indonesian Election

This study aims to determine the forms of political buzzer propaganda ahead of the 2024 election on Twitter/X. The research method used is a qualitative approach using content analysis and the type of data used is secondary data in the form of tweets or uploads that themed the 2024 presidential election. The data was inputted manually using Microsoft Excel and then analyzed systematically using the SPSS 25 program. The chi square test result is .001, which means that there are significant differences between candidates in the forms of propaganda. Tweets discussing Prabowo-Gibran were the most propaganda-laden which included name calling, transfer, testimonial, card stacking, and bandwagon, with the exception of plain folks, which is propaganda that shows the efforts of the presidential and vice presidential candidates' closeness to the public, in this category, candidate pair number three, namely Ganjar-Mahfud, is significantly higher than other candidate pairs, and gliterring generalities, namely propaganda with positive connotations on the presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs being discussed, in this case candidate pair number one Anies Imin is significantly higher than other pairs. Name-calling was the most significantly utilized in tweets discussing Prabowo-Gibran, compared to other form of propaganda in tweets discussing the other two candidate pairs. This highlighted the importance of spinning the unfavorable attributes to become a favorable one.

CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO RESEARCHING POLEMICS AND POLEMIC DISCOURSE

The article is dedicated to identifying the approaches to researching polemic discourse and the general idea of polemics. The concept of "polemic" is explored through linguistic and cultural lenses, considering its definitions in both English and Russian. While in English, it is primarily understood as a form of written argumentation, in Russian, it encompasses a broader range of communicative situations, including debates and discussions. The historical evolution of polemic writing is examined, tracing its origins to religious debates during the Middle Ages. Early polemics were characterized by aggressive language and one-sided arguments, often lacking consideration for opposing viewpoints. Translation played a significant role in shaping these debates, as linguistic barriers hindered mutual understanding. Despite changes over time, modern polemic writing continues to be subjective and aggressive, although contemporary examples often incorporate irony, satire, and grotesque elements. The scientific novelty of this article lies in the fact of addressing polemic discourse from different angles, considering the cultural implications which may influence the dichotomy in researching this study object. Theoretical analysis, comparison, and contrast methods are employed toreview the body of research related to polemics, providing insights into its complexity and evolving nature. The practical significance of the research results lies in their contribution to the understanding of polemic discourse, which has implications for communication strategies and cross-cultural communication.

Confirmation Bias through Selective Use of Evidence in Human Cortex.

Decision-makers often process new evidence selectively, depending on their current beliefs about the world. We asked whether such confirmation biases result from biases in the encoding of sensory evidence in the brain, or alternatively in the utilization of encoded evidence for behavior. Human participants estimated the source of a sequence of visual-spatial evidence samples while we measured cortical population activity with magnetoencephalography (MEG). Halfway through the sequence, participants were prompted to judge the more likely source category. Their processing of subsequent evidence depended on its consistency with the previously chosen category, but the encoding of evidence in cortical activity did not. Instead, the encoded evidence in parietal and primary visual cortex contributed less to the estimation report when that evidence was inconsistent with the previous choice. We conclude that confirmation bias originates from the way in which decision-makers utilize information encoded in the brain. This provides room for deliberative control.

PROPAGANDA IN AIADMK'S 2021 CAMPAIGN SONG: A MULTIMODAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Campaign songs have long been utilized to communicate political parties’ ideas and promote unity, particularly in the political landscape of Tamil Nadu. However, recent election campaigns have leveraged advancements in technology and innovative multimedia marketing techniques, giving campaign songs a distinct significance for shaping public opinion and swaying voters. This study examines the campaign song “Thodarattum Vetrinadai Endrendrum Eratailai” (May the success continue forever for two leaves) released by the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party during the 2021 Tamil Nadu state legislative election. Employing multimodal discourse analysis and Kress and Van Leeuwen’s visual grammar, the research analyzes the song’s content to identify the presence of propaganda techniques. The study reveals that Bandwagon, Plain Folk, and Card Stacking are prominent propaganda tools employed in the song. Furthermore, the visual grammar analysis unveils the strategic use of visual elements in the video that synchronously aligns with the party’s campaign objectives.

On card guessing with two types of cards

We consider a card guessing strategy for a stack of cards with two different types of cards, say m1 cards of type red (heart or diamond) and m2 cards of type black (clubs or spades). Given a deck of M=m1+m2 cards, we propose a refined counting of the number of correct colour guesses, when the guesser is provided with complete information, in other words, when the numbers m1 and m2 and the colour of each drawn card are known. We decompose the correct guessed cards into three different types by taking into account the probability of making a correct guess, and provide joint distributional results for the underlying random variables as well as joint limit laws.

Chinese Anti-Republicans Propaganda during COVID-19 Outbreak

The history of the Sino-US relationship has been marked by its turbulence. It moves up and down in accordance with the desires of both sides. This relationship was initially solid under Trump's presidency, but after the outbreak of COVID-19 it became exceedingly challenging. As a result, media sources generally and newspaper articles specifically reflect this erratic relationship. The purpose of this research is to reveal the conspiratorial agendas promoted by Chinese media against republicans in general and Donald Trump in particular, as it is hypothesized to occur in the selected data. Propaganda is to be used to disclose these agendas. Two articles from the Global Times and China Daily, two Chinese newspapers, are chosen for the analysis of this study. In terms of analysis, the research is intended to be both qualitative and quantitative. The Institute for Propaganda Analysis' suggested propaganda techniques are the foundation of the qualitative analysis. The frequencies, percentages, and Chi-square are the foundation of the quantitative analysis. The data shows that the most common form of propaganda is card stacking. It serves to disparage Trump and other republicans. The next technique is name-calling, which is mostly employed to disparage the republicans' action of demonizing China. Besides, different agendas are revealed including: Republicans mounted a rumor offensive and started spreading false conspiracy theories in order to harm China's reputation abroad, America is significantly dependent on Chinese manufacturing and if republicans maintain their stigmatizing actions, China will respond in a way that will bring catastrophe in the stock market.

A Study of English Teaching Differences Between China and The United States

According to the existing literature, the analysis of the teaching content, teaching method and assessment model in China and the United States has the same trend: Scholars generally believe that compared with the English language teaching system in China, the methods of English language education in the United States are more diverse, the educational goals are more realistic to life, and the evaluation criteria are more comprehensive. The factors cause this difference is worth investigating. This paper evaluates the applicability of these views in today's world through a questionnaire survey. Specifically, this paper attempts to assess whether the similarities and differences that scholars have found between the English language teaching systems in China and the United States still exist today or whether the development trends between the English language teaching systems of the two countries are trending in the same direction today. The study surveyed Chinese students in the U.S. - a target group with dual English learning experiences in China and the U.S. The results of the paper show that the effectiveness and applicability of the English teaching systems of the two countries need to be discussed in the cultural environment of the two countries, and there is no one-sided argument that either system is better.

God and Gaia: Science, Religion and Ethics on a Living Planet

GOD AND GAIA: Science, Religion and Ethics on a Living Planet by Michael S. Northcott. New York: Routledge, 2023. 271 pages. Paperback; $40.00. ISBN: 9780367627744. *Biodiversity loss, water pollution, and declining soil health are major indicators of the ecological crisis facing our planet today. Science can be consulted to address these issues; however, as Michael Northcott argues in his latest book, God and Gaia: Science, Religion and Ethics on a Living Planet, unless science resists its scientism it will only exacerbate the current ecological crisis. *Northcott, an ordained Anglican priest and Professor Emeritus of Ethics at the University of Edinburgh, has written extensively on environmental issues.1 In God and Gaia, Northcott explores the Gaia theory of James Lovelock--that "the Earth and her creatures are active agents in the generation of conditions which make the Earth habitable for Life" (p. 2)--from a religious ethics perspective. In effect, "God" in the book title does not indicate that the author will be taking a specifically Christian angle on the Gaia theory, but rather taking something more akin to a comparative religions approach. The book is a collection of previously published papers along with new material curated into eight chapters, each with its own abstract and notes section. This arrangement, along with chapter subheadings, aids the reader in following along with Northcott's exploration of the Gaia theory. Northcott draws from a variety of published sources, along with his diverse experiences in Borneo, to get his main points across regarding the dangers of scientism in contrast to the restorative powers of Gaia. *Scientism, the condition in which only knowledge gained from observations is considered true, is an ideology that has created, according to Northcott, a "bifurcation between nature and culture." Northcott provides a history of scientism describing how, following the European enlightenment, anything that was not measurable tended to be viewed with suspicion by many in the West. He elaborates that scientific reductionism led to a top-down approach where the "rights of corporate agents trump the rights of people and species to stable and safe habitats" (p. 157). Northcott uses the example of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic to demonstrate the full potential of scientism and its globalist and technocratic top-down control. Here, Northcott's one-sided argument regarding the benefits of ivermectin, the ineffectiveness of vaccines, the dangers of lockdowns, and the evils of the United Nations may distract readers from his intent of describing top-down control. *In contrast to scientism and its top-down control, Northcott recommends a Gaian approach to addressing the ecological crisis. While God and Gaia is not an introductory textbook, it does provide a thorough overview of the theory and its history. With an understanding of the Gaia theory in place, Northcott focuses on connections between Gaia and Hindu, Taoist, and Christian religious traditions. For Northcott, the Gaia theory can be interpreted as a rediscovery of beliefs held by earlier faith traditions. With great respect, he demonstrates how the Vedic Trinity and the Tao have parallels with Gaia theory's emphasis on the agency of all organisms. Northcott then eloquently demonstrates that medieval Christianity also emphasized the sense of agency in all organisms. Northcott, drawing on philosophers such as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, explains that most western Christians are unaware of the sacred cosmology of their tradition and its emphasis on the agency of being. For the betterment of the planet, Northcott urges religious traditions "to make more prominent in their liturgies the symbiotic relations between humans and other animals which for most of human history has been central to their mutual flourishing" (p. 261). *Overall, God and Gaia does an excellent job of contrasting the current approach of scientism versus the moral and spiritual Gaian philosophy to address the ecological crisis. Northcott is calling for a revival of core aspects of human traditions which modern secular science and philosophy have diminished. This Gaian revival recognizes the agency of all of Earth's systems. Although the Gaian revival and its earth-centered philosophy deviates from a distinctly Christian approach to creation care, readers should find some comfort in this revival as it shows that we are not alone in our efforts to restore the ecological integrity of the Earth. *Note *1See Michael S. Northcott, The Environment and Christian Ethics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996); ------, A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming (London, UK: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2007); and ------, A Political Theology of Climate Change (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013). *Reviewed by Bruce Friesen-Pankratz, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Natural and Social Science Department, Providence University College, Otterburne, MB R0A 1G0.

Hospital Reimbursement in the Presence of Cherry Picking and Upcoding

Hospitals throughout the developed world are reimbursed based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs). Under this scheme, patients are divided into clinically meaningful groups, and hospitals receive a fixed fee per patient episode tied to the patient DRG. The fee is based on the average cost of providing care to patients who belong to the same DRG across all hospitals. This scheme, sometimes referred to as “yardstick competition,” provides incentives for cost reduction, as no hospital wants to operate at a higher cost than average, and can be implemented using accounting data alone. Nevertheless, if costs within a DRG are heterogeneous, this scheme may give rise to cherry-picking incentives, where providers “drop” patients who are more expensive to treat than average. To address this problem, regulators have tried to reduce within-DRG cost heterogeneity by expanding the number of DRG classes. In this paper, we show that even if cost heterogeneity is eliminated, such expansion will fail to completely eliminate patient cherry picking. In equilibrium, the market will bifurcate into two groups, one of which will continue to cherry-pick patients and underinvest in cost reduction, whereas the other group treats all patients. Furthermore, we show that DRG expansion is particularly problematic if hospitals are also able to “upcode” patients, that is, intentionally assign patients to a more resource-intensive DRG than needed to increase income. Upcoding increases within-DRG cost heterogeneity and amplifies cherry-picking incentives. We examine potential solutions involving yardstick competition based on input statistics. This paper was accepted by Carri Chan, healthcare management. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4752 .

The dynamic effects of learning: Host country experience and international joint venture termination

A lack of host country experience is the fundamental reason for the foreign partner to establish international joint ventures (IJVs) with the local partners while host country experience has also been identified as the primary antecedent of IJV termination. Building on the organizational learning perspective, we propose that the host country experience presents two dynamic but contrasting effects on IJV termination, constituting a U-shaped curvilinear relationship between them. Specifically, we argue that there exist both cooperative and competitive learning and the host country experience changes from complementing to substituting the partnership as the foreign partner adapts from learning about to learning from the partner. Because the contributions of learning depend on environmental conditions, we further conjecture that the curvilinear relationship is steeper for IJVs with multiple partners and in growing industries but flatter for those located in more marketized provinces. An event history study that traces 803 IJVs established in China in 2000 till 2017 has lent support to the hypotheses. Overall, the study challenges previous one-sided arguments by highlighting the dynamic nature of learning while portraying the contingencies.

Manus ludens. Mabuse’s playful hands

The opening shots of Fritz Lang’s Dr Mabuse, Der Spieler/Dr Mabuse, the Gambler (1922) perfectly set the tone for the film to come. Before revealing what will turn out to be the most unreliable element of this cinematic masterpiece – Mabuse’s face – the camera lingers on a close-up of his hands as they mix a number of cartes de visite from which he is about to choose his next fake identity. Without a doubt, the allure of the master criminal Mabuse relies primarily on the power of his hypnotizing gaze. Taking a slightly different route from the classical emphasis on Mabuse’s enchanting eyes, however, I would like to suggest that the very first frame in fact reveals a different, secret protagonist, namely Mabuse’s hands. The scene presents the choosing of a particular character as analogous to a move in a casual card game. The notion of playfulness, the synchronous cunning and nonchalance of Mabuse as homo ludens, propels the plotline and subverts a framing of the main character as simply a criminal. The display of various photographic portraits itself suggests a double meaning; as Tom Gunning writes, ‘The stack of cards blends two realms of reference: gambling and role-playing’.1 What can be read in the cards is thus an ability to switch identities as one pleases, a characteristic that clearly evokes the all-encompassing and overpowering dream factory that is cinema.2 The careful dissection and assembly fabricated in this film pertains to a pattern typical of Lang, and could be described as a ‘cinematography of hand pic(k)s’. The film certainly highlights images of hands, but in addition it bestows these hands with a constitutive agency in the twists and turns of a crime thriller.

When the Cemetery Becomes Political: Dealing with the Religious Heritage in Multi-Ethnic Regions

When the Cemetery Becomes Political: Dealing with the Religious Heritage in Multi-Ethnic Regions

Cherry Picking and Politics: Conceptualizing Ordinary Forms of Politicization

Cherry Picking and Politics: Conceptualizing Ordinary Forms of Politicization

Covid and the future of education: global agencies ‘building back better’

ABSTRACT Framed by the mantra of ‘Building back Better’ (BBB) the Covid-19 Pandemic has inspired myriad proposals to transform education systems for the future. We interrogate the phrase ‘building back better’, focusing on its origins and application within crisis narratives. We analyse responses to the pandemic published by influential global agencies focusing on their agendas and visions for the future of education. We identify the common and divergent elements in their narratives, illustrating how the crisis was used to promote each organisation’s specific interests, and how these narratives were sustained through strategic silences and the selective use of evidence. Whilst the pandemic was used to promote the different longstanding agendas of those agencies, we argue that overall it was used to constrain the future as a privatised techno-utopia, rather than build towards a new vision.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS TOOL ‘SOCIAL BEARING’ TO COMPREHEND FOREIGN PROPAGANDA RELATED TO PAPUAN SEPARATIST ISSUES

Foreign intervention in interfering with domestic affairs is a violation of international law. The intervention was in the form of massive propaganda about Papuan separatists carried out on social media Twitter so an analytical tool was needed that made it easier to understand propaganda by foreign parties. The purpose of this study is to determine the implementation of social media analysis tools in the form of Social Bearing to understand foreign propaganda related to the Papua issue. This research is qualitative research using Modern Propaganda Theory. The results showed that Twitter account propaganda could be identified easily through the use of the Social Bearing analysis tool so that the @FreeWestPapuaNL account propaganda techniques and techniques could be identified and visible in the 11 results of the Social Bearing analysis, the account used pervasive propaganda methods while the propaganda techniques were Testimony and Card Stacking. These propaganda methods and techniques constitute a violation of international law due to foreign intervention in Indonesia's internal affairs. For this reason, Indonesia must reaffirm at international forums that the Papua problem is a domestic problem for Indonesia. In addition, foreign parties massively spread content about Papuan separatists, both from their tweets and by sharing tweets from other Twitter accounts. The use of separatist issues is more massive when there are moments that are closely related to the Papuan separatist issue

Taking a stance on the role of nuclear energy to combat the climate crisis: how communication task and expert’s personal stance impact individuals' intellectual humility and strategies for dealing with a complex topic

ABSTRACT Objective We investigated how individuals deal with the limits of their own knowledge and productively cope with their dependence on experts as they engage with the socio-scientific topic of nuclear energy. We scrutinized the effects of content features of an interview text and of individuals’ communicative engagement with the information read. Method In a 2 × 2 factorial design study (N = 273), adult participants opposing nuclear energy read an online interview with a geophysicist. The same factual information was presented, but the geophysicist either took a stance for decommissioning nuclear energy plants or took no stance. After reading, participants were instructed to communicate their own position in an informative or persuasive manner. Dependent measures evaluated participants’ intellectual humility, strategies, perceived easiness of a simple solution, willingness to act and written arguments. Results Expert taking a stance led to lower intellectual humility, higher perceived easiness of a solution and stronger willingness to act against nuclear energy. Having the goal of persuading resulted in participants offering more one-sided arguments. Strategies were not significantly influenced by the independent factors. Conclusions The contrasting effect on individuals’ intellectual humility and willingness to act is discussed from the perspective of climate-oriented action and science education.

SINEMATIK TEROR: EKSEPSIONALISME AMERIKA DAN PROPAGANDA ANTI-ISLAM DALAM FILM 12 STRONG

<p><em>The concept of American exceptionalism in American cinema is a way for propagandists to instill certain values or doctrines in the audience. This is clearly depicted through the narrative and non-narrative aspects where each dialogue, characterization, setting and also the way the camera take a shot reflects an effort of exceptionalism that is implanted throughout the film. These efforts led to the practice of propaganda against Islam and Muslim. By using a descriptive analysis method described using binary opposition theory, this research reveals the existence of American exceptionalism indoctrination which has an impact on the emergence of anti-Islamic ideology. The existence of a propaganda technique that is reflected in the film, such as card stacking, creates a cinematic terror in the film about the depiction of Middle Eastern people, especially Muslims.</em></p>

سلوب تحسين الصورة في حملة ترامب الرقمية: حالة أفعال الخطاب االقناعية

Trump is an exceptional politician and so was his 2016 campaign. He did not choose traditional methods of campaigning, but rather he has changed the way campaigns are run. The most prominent feature of his campaign was his constant attempts to polish his image. The current paper analyzed the speech act in his tweets as an attempt to reveal what techniques he used to polish his image and how he took advantage of the features of social media to reach this goal. This goal was accomplished by identifying the illocutionary point of 470 tweets that were selected from the verified account of Donald Trump according to their themes. After that, the way that the different illocutionary acts were used in shaping the mode of image polishing to fulfill the perlocutionary object of persuasion was clarified. Two developed taxonomies were used for analyzing the tweets. The first one was an integration between the taxonomies of Searle's classification of illocutionary acts and Bach and Harnish’s taxonomy of communicative and non-communicative illocutionary acts. The second one was a development of Aristotle modes, Cialdini’s principles, and Shabo's techniques of persuasion. The results showed that Trump concentrated on using the expressive and representative acts to gain the trust of the majority of the American people by turning their minds to his merits and Hillary’s drawbacks. He used the techniques of card stacking, retweeting anti-opponents tweets, and mudslinging to achieve negative-opponents representation. The techniques of retweeting supportive tweets and showing authority were used to achieve positive-self representation. The contrasting technique was used to achieve both negative-opponents and positive-self representation.

CORR Insights®: Is There an Association Between Bundled Payments and "Cherry Picking" and "Lemon Dropping" in Orthopaedic Surgery? A Systematic Review.

CORR Insights®: Is There an Association Between Bundled Payments and "Cherry Picking" and "Lemon Dropping" in Orthopaedic Surgery? A Systematic Review.

Is There An Association Between Bundled Payments and "Cherry Picking" and "Lemon Dropping" in Orthopaedic Surgery? A Systematic Review.

Is There An Association Between Bundled Payments and "Cherry Picking" and "Lemon Dropping" in Orthopaedic Surgery? A Systematic Review.