Human Discourse Research Articles

Urban identity and perception of the city in management discourse

The discourse on the city, its forms, planning and management under uncertainty is undoubtedly the most widespread and relevant in the last ten years. The prospects for the development of the city and its urban community depend rather on the articulation and representation of the content of social demand from society, the population of specific cities, than on external factors. Citizens have a clear vision for the future and present of their city. The city perception of its inhabitants is correlated with the citizens’ ideas about the modern city and appears as a discourse in their judgments, opinions and assessments. Urban discourse is defined as positioning, representation of urban identity of citizens and reflection of the perception of the city identity. The presence of this discourse is found in the citizens’ narratives about the city. The study is based on the personal experience narratives, specifically the informants’ reflections upon their evaluation and perception of their city were analyzed. Narrative analysis, supplemented by sentiment analysis (positive or negative presentation of the material) was chosen as a research tactic, the research method is content analysis. The major purpose of this work is to study the perception of the identity of the city by citizens. The novelty of the work is determined by the design of the study, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, the method of triangulation according to N. Denzin., as well as the choice of a subjective parameter (perception by citizens of their city) as a guideline for managerial actions in shaping the identity of the city in order to achieve connectivity “city – citizen”. An additional contribution of this paper is the construction of a paired logic of connectivity: “city – citizen” through the correlation between the citizens urban identity indicators and the identity of the city on the basis of empirical data of six cities in the Tyumen region. The study showed that citizens with a high level of urban identity perceive the city through personal participation in its life, through the manifestation of subjectivity.

Pension Management Challenges and Retirement Life Experiences: A Policy Implication

Remarking on the discourse of pension management in Nigeria, scarce research attention can be traced to the understanding of pension management challenges and life after retirement experience through the prism of policy implication. To address this gap, the study assesses the pattern of pensioners’ life after retirement, the arrays of pension management challenges, and appropriate policy implications for effective pension management. A mixed-method research approach was employed. 345 retirees were randomly recruited and administered a questionnaire, and 18 purposively semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria. Quantitative data were analyzed with the frequency distribution and the Q-Q plot to determine the normal probability plot, while the NVivo (12) qualitative software was used for the identification of themes and sub-themes from the transcribed data. Findings revealed prolonged health challenges, poverty, and abrupt pension payment as life after retirement experiences. Verification bottleneck, poor monitoring and evaluation efforts, and administrative incompetency were issues around pension management challenges. The implication includes addressing political interference in pension management and administration, safeguarding retirees’ savings through legal commitment, and a call for employers’ contributions. The study recommends that the National Pension Commission become more responsive in its role of providing quality pension service, especially in terms of quality leadership, monitoring, and evaluation of Pension Fund Administrators.

Online corporate communication of diversity and inclusion: washing as aspirational talk

PurposeThe article aims to investigate how washing practices focused on appeasing sceptics of diversity work in for-profit organizations play out in corporate online communication of diversity and inclusion efforts, and how these enable communication to a wide audience that includes social equity advocates.Design/methodology/approachOnline corporate communication data of diversity and inclusion themes were compiled from the websites of eight Swedish-based multinational corporations. The data included content from the companies’ official websites and annual reports and sustainability reports as well as diversity and inclusion-themed blog posts. A thematic analysis was conducted on the website content.FindingsThe study showcases how tensions between conflicting external demands are navigated by keeping the communication open to several interpretations and thereby achieving multivocality. In the studied corporate texts on diversity and inclusion, this is achieved by alternating between elements catering to a business case audience and those that appeal to a social justice audience, with some procedures managing to appease both audiences at the same time.Originality/valueThe article complements previously described forms of washing by introducing an additional type of washing – business case washing – an articulation of the business case rhetoric that characterizes the diversity management discourse. While much has been written about washing to satisfy advocates of social change and equity, washing to appease shareholders and boardroom members, who are focused on profit and economic growth, has received less attention. The article suggests that online corporate communication on diversity and inclusion, by appeasing diverse audiences, can be seen as aspirational talk.

The semiotics of humor in cultural trauma: a pilot study on digital methodology concerning the evolution and overcoming of trauma through humor on the example of Rick and Morty

Abstract This pilot study on humor in cultural trauma uses innovative digital methodologies in speech recognition and social media analysis via Postman and Python in the Twitter API v2 to propose different forms to gather and analyze empirical data on semiotics and humor to be used in a broader context. The given example of humorous instances on the cultural trauma of 9/11 in the fictional sitcom Rick and Morty is limited but corroborated by a second example that is structurally different from the first: humor about 9/11 in stand-up comedy by Louis C.K. Based on the data, humor in trauma seems to undergo a 5-phase-typology related to the Kübler-Ross model of grief, which is mended by the (digital) participation of society. Society, we argue, both shapes the discourse on humor in trauma and overcomes the traumatic effects through humorous discourse.

Is it possible to overcome the paradoxes of the modern conceptualization of the Universe?

The article comprehends the natural science approach to the interpretation of the Universe. At the same time, the author relies on the material of studies of the Universe and galaxies conducted by the Russian philosopher Vadim Kazyutinsky, who shows that natural science studies of the Universe are paradoxical and more like a humanitarian discourse. Hannah Arendt's assessment of these studies is no less paradoxical, she argues that the natural science approach has led to the fact that the universe is inaccessible in practice and even unthinkable. In turn, the author argues that cosmology should be classified as a scientific discipline of the humanities type, which does not exclude the presence of various physical and other natural sciences in it. The object of cosmology (similar to the objects of biology, cultural studies, and sociology) cannot be described in one scientific discipline, it is multilevel, and at each level there are different patterns that must be described by different cosmological theories. Implementing this methodology, the author proposes a scheme of three successive terrestrial Universes - "cosmic" (physical), "vital" (biological) and "social". Within the framework of the latter, a person appeared and a culture developed. Each subsequent terrestrial universe included the previous one as its component or substrate. Another understanding of the Universe is proposed, based on the following provisions: a person must re-establish himself in his understanding of the Universe, recognize its presence (conditionality) in his actions; agree that the development of the social universe has acquired a catastrophic character; begin to think through the established sociality in order to understand what needs to be changed. According to the author, the universe resembles a matryoshka doll, including the cosmic, physical, biological, social and noospheric Universes (the latter is just beginning to take shape). At the same time, there are two multidirectional processes in the social universe: one works for man and culture, the other process, due to the diverse orientation that takes place in all Universes, in fact, acts against man and culture. Two important features of the noospheric Universe will have to be the attitude towards salvation and real changes aimed at realizing this attitude.

Disappointment and awkwardness as ugly feelings

Abstract What does transnational humanitarianism look like when considered from the perspective of a “Global East”? Ethnographically studying the disappointment and awkwardness generated by two transnational humanitarian projects illuminates a sense of suspended agency among Montenegrin citizens that was developed after the end of the Cold War. Montenegrins are often simultaneously included in the racialized and class-based humanitarian discourses of the Global North and excluded from actual participation in transnational humanitarian projects due to structural constraints. The article suggests that suspended agency emerges when there is both a sense of belonging to a certain humanitarian endeavor that should enable particular kinds of action (e.g., transnational humanitarianism) and a lack of infrastructure capable of sustaining such a sense.

Interactional Infrastructure across Modalities: A Comparison of Repair Initiators and Continuers in British Sign Language and British English

Abstract: Minimal expressions are at the heart of interaction: Interjections like "Huh?" and "Mhm" keep conversations flowing by establishing and reinforcing intersubjectivity among interlocutors. Crosslinguistic research has identified that similar interactional pressures can yield structurally similar words (e.g., to initiate repair across languages). While crosslinguistic comparisons that include signed languages remain uncommon, recent work has revealed similarities in discourse management strategies among signers and speakers that share much of their cultural background. This study contributes a crossmodal comparison of repair initiators and continuers in speakers of English and signers of British Sign Language (BSL). We combine qualitative and quantitative analyses of data from sixteen English speakers and sixteen BSL signers, resulting in the following: First, the interactional infrastructure drawn upon by speakers and signers overwhelmingly relies on behaviors of the head, face, and body; these are used alone or sometimes in combination with verbal elements (i.e., spoken words or manual signs), while verbal strategies alone are rare. Second, discourse management strategies are remarkably similar in form across the two languages: A held eye gaze or freeze-look is the predominant repair initiator and head nodding the main continuer. These results suggest a modality-agnostic preference for visual strategies that do not occupy the primary articulators, one that we propose is founded in recipiency; people maintain the flow of communication following principles of minimal effort and minimal interruption.

Who Is Centered in the Humanitarian Response to Gender-Based Violence? A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Survivor-Centered Approach.

Since the 1990s, the international humanitarian system has developed approaches, tools, and standards for addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in emergencies premised on the survivor-centered approach (SCA). Utilizing critical discourse analysis, we explore how articulation of SCA within humanitarian discourse aligns with its stated intent to return control to survivors. The analysis reveals that humanitarian system power dynamics distort the application of SCA, leaving humanitarian service providers in charge of assessing the best course of action or severely limiting survivors' choices. We propose a survivor led approach as more aligned with the feminist and transformative goals of humanitarian action against GBV.

Managing rapport through persuasion

This study analyses COVID-19 persuasive communication in the context of Chinese Weibo. Although COVID-19 has been investigated by linguistics scholars, little attention has been paid to how communication can help persuade and comfort people during the pandemic. Considering the exponentially augmented impact of digital platforms and their obvious public utility in the handling of future pandemics, it is worth studying the social media persuasive communication about COVID-19. Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, is an immensely popular platform where celebrity “influencers” shape views of the pandemic. From perspectives of relational acts and rapport management, this analysis of Chinese celebrity Weibo posts identifies persuasion at the lexical, syntactic and discursive levels to elucidate how celebrities reassure the public and manage relationships with their audience during the pandemic. The findings reveal that the celebrities use interactional metadiscourse lexicons, syntactic rhetorical devices and discursive framing strategies to maximise persuasion. This study broadens data sets of COVID-19 communications pertaining to the Chinese social media context, offers novel insights into rationales and frameworks of persuasion, and sheds light on the research of rapport management in celebrity discourse. Ultimately, it suggests that creating positive social media communication is an important goal during the pandemic.

Dialogues across Languages: Hermeneutic Perspectives on Interpreting Multilingual Conversations

Multilingual conversations are now commonplace in our increasingly interconnected world, promoting cross-cultural exchanges and enhancing the diversity of human discourse. But there are a lot of difficulties because of this linguistic diversity, especially when it comes to interpretation. The subtle and frequently complex nature of multilingual dialogues, where interpretations may differ not only between languages but also have distinct cultural connotations, is the central issue of this study. This study's major objective was to better understand the challenges associated with translating conversations between several languages by applying hermeneutic perspectives. This study attempted to uncover the intricate layers of meaning interwoven in these exchanges by analyzing the ways in which languages, cultures, and the interpretation process interact. The research employed a qualitative research method, utilizing a hermeneutic approach to explore and interpret the complexities of multilingual conversations. This method aligned with the study's objective of delving into the nuanced meanings embedded in the dialogues across languages and cultures. This qualitative research design aimed to uncover the depth of interpretation in multilingual conversations, providing a rich and contextually grounded exploration of the phenomena under investigation. As a result, It is clear from the foregoing that cultural sensitivity is essential to successful multilingual interpretation. Interpreters need to be skilled at navigating cultural contexts in addition to linguistic nuances in order to ensure accurate and contextually relevant communication. The interpreters' dedication to maintaining cultural authenticity within their respective languages is demonstrated by the examples given, which range from honoring elders in community meetings to communicating familial relationships and hierarchical structures.

Humanitarian discourse as racism disclaimer

Abstract Roma communities remain Europe’s most marginalized and disadvantaged population, facing increasing discrimination, especially after the 2015 refugee crisis. European media often portrays them as criminals or anti-social, furthering misunderstanding and social exclusion. This article examines Swedish news media’s representation of Roma, which, at a surface level, appears much less negative. Using Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, we analyze two Swedish newspapers’ coverage of the controversial law which sought to criminalize begging, which targeted Eastern European Roma migrants. Our findings reveal that ‘Swedish exceptionalism’–a discourse of human rights, equality, colorblindness, characterized by limited racial literacy–serves to obscure and act as a disclaimer for anti-Roma sentiment and government actions which in fact resemble those criticized in other EU countries.

Theoretical modeling of organizational reflex in human resource management from the perspective of organizational biological approach

This article presents a framework that informs about routine and creative decision-making and management practices within an organization. The primary focus of the study is on the preparedness of human resources within the organization to effectively respond to information from the global environment and ensure optimal decision-making. Analysis of human resource management discourse, a review of biological organization theory, and a detailed examination of reflex arc theory using elements of human body analogy such as neurons, allowed us to model a system that examines the basis of decision-making of information coming from the global environment in an organization, and the conducted research allowed to discover how to improve organizational abilities to respond to external stimuli. Theoretical modeling techniques revealed connections between the organization and various systems, and computer simulation allowed to examine these connections in different situations using Spyder (Python 3.8 environment based on SciPy, NumPy, etc.), with all the necessary functions to perform calculations and visualize the results. In order to gain a deeper understanding of decision-making in the organization, a model has been developed that is able to effectively make a decision from the perspective of the organization’s biological approach. A computer simulation conducted in the course of the study indicated: (1) that according to the interests of the organization the model selected (20%) of information of interest, from which, according to the ability of the created model, (95%) was directed to form a routine response and (5%) was directed to a creative response; (2) the time efficiency of the routine response may be more effective than that of the creative response from (63.6%) to (90.7%); (3) the efficiency of the realistic scenario of the model’s performance is inferior (about 21%) than that of the optimistic scenario, but more effective (about 17%) than that of the pessimistic scenario, this means that the realistic scenario works better than predicted in the pessimistic scenario, making it positive for the suitability of the model. These findings provide valuable insights into an organization’s ability to respond quickly and make decisions in a competitive environment, which may have practical implications for organization management and strategies to improve the ability to respond to external factors.

Allostructions and stancetaking: a corpus study of the German discourse management constructionsWo/wenn wir gerade/schon dabei sind

AbstractThe paper reconciles the sociolinguistic concept of stance and stancetaking and Construction Grammar (CxG); it shows that overlapping allostructions may differ in terms of the stances they convey. Drawing on a corpus study of Wikipedia Talk pages, the paper presents a case study of German discourse management markers such aswo wir gerade dabei sind‘speaking of which’ orwenn wir schon dabei sind‘while we’re at it’. By statistically comparing the observed frequencies of the filler items with the expected ones (using Hierarchical Configural Frequency Analysis and Distinctive Collexeme Analysis), I will argue that there are two different collocational types, namelywo wir/ich gerade beiNPsind/bin‘as we are/I am just at NP’ andwenn wir/du schon beiNPsind/bist‘as we/you are already at NP’. Both serve as discourse management markers, topic orientation markers in particular, whose purpose it is to shift the topic. They involve the same fixed pattern, combining the same categorical slots. However, they diverge in collocational preferences. I will argue that these collocational preferences are indicative of the stances the allostructions conventionally convey: While the allostructionwo wir/ich geradePPsind/binseems to be neutral in terms of stance (face-less stance),wenn wir/du schonPPsind/bistis often used to express negative evaluation of a previous utterance made by an interlocutor, thus marking disalignment. The expression of disalignment seems to be related to the construction’s propensity to reference utterances made by an interlocutor.

Raced and risky subjects: The interplay of racial and managerial ideologies as an expression of "colorblind" racism.

Contemporary manifestations of race are dynamic and elusive in the forms and shapes they take. "Colourblind" racism is effective at drawing on seemingly objective and race-neutral discourses to obfuscate racialized forms of structural exclusion. Framed by Critical Race Theory and Critical Narrative Analysis this paper presents an example from the Australian context that examines the relationships between a grassroots initiative developed by creatives from the African diaspora and two not-for-profit human services organizations, to illustrate how ideologies of race are enacted and obscured by managerialist ideologies and discourses of risk. Specifically, it shows how harmful dominant cultural narratives of deficit and danger transforms racialized Africans in Australia into "risky subjects." In a managerialist organization, risk must be controlled, and thus risk becomes the rationality for the control of racialized and risky subjects. Resistance to control by those subjects produces forms of organizational defensiveness that are mobilized through managerialist discourses and practices that work to structurally exclude. These findings illustrate the ways ideologies of race work alongside and through other ideological discourses and practices which render racialized dynamics of oppression race-neutral.

Persian comedy whispers out loud: a critical discourse analysis of Persian televised stand-up comedy

This paper probes into the Iranian society through the ‘discourse access’ that Persian stand-up comedy provides. It is posited that Persian humorous discourse can be an effective and relatively safe communication toolkit to speak truth to power and address cultural deficits. Hence, it may be an insightful ‘point of entry’ into the below-the-surface construct of various social wrongs (e.g. social class inequality, cultural illiteracy). In particular, Persian stand-up comedy, as a young and burgeoning genre of Persian comedy, seems to be reliably reflecting such concerns in Iran. Within the general framework of critical discourse analysis (CDA), this article inspected into a corpus of stand-up comedy performances by the Iranian participants of the first and largest televised stand-up comedy contest in Iran. The corpus included 11 stand-up comedians and 14 performances from the three seasons of the contest (2016–2022). The reflexive thematic analysis of the stand-up routines unmasked a wealth of social criticism which is discussed under four major themes of ‘economic stress’, ‘social class inequality’, ‘more equal decision-makers’ and, ‘agents of change’. The paper elaborates on Persian stand-up comedy as a potent driving force within the society to effect individual and social changes. It contends that Persian comedy can greatly contribute to discourses of awareness and transformation within the Iranian society.

Majority and Immigrant Students’ Positionings towards Refugees as Represented in Media Texts

The recent immigrants’ and refugees’ movements towards western nation-states undermine symbolic national boundaries. Such movements are perceived as a threat to linguistic and cultural homogeneity, and reinforce the reproduction of national discourse. The present study focuses on how majority and immigrant students attending a Greek elementary school position themselves towards the Greek national discourse concerning refugees. Using analytical tools from Critical Discourse Analysis, we demonstrate that both majority and immigrant students reinforce Greek national discourse which takes the form of either racist or humanitarian discourse.

Neutrosophic analysis of the factors determining the development of humorous discourse in videos using the TOPSIS method

YouTube is moving towards personalized media. In 2011, Enchufe TV became an Ecuadorian online comedy series known for its witty humor. Taking advantage of the openness of the Internet, the video is currently available to watch on the YouTube platform. The purpose of this study is to conduct an unbiased analysis of the factors that determine the development of humorous discourse in TV Antufe's YouTube videos using the TOPSIS method. To understand the growth of the show and its audience, we compared its premiere year to 2022 across 10 years. At the same time, data such as comedy type, language level, audio-visual narrative, and humorous discourse were collected to quantitatively understand the popularity and influence of the play at the time. There. Variables such as views, audience engagement, and subscriber base growth are analyzed, as well as objective measures of content relevance and influence within the platform environment. Enchufe TV's decline in user activity can also be explained by several factors, such as the emergence of new platforms and content saturation. We also found that blue spoken words were the most widely used, with popularity varying by year of study.

Antinomies of globalization goals in social and humanities discourse

Antinomies of globalization goals in social and humanities discourse

‘Because of People Like You…’: Banal Politics in the Making of the Pandemic Governmentality in Italy

At first sight, social media comments seem to be the place where anti-vaxxer discourse and mocking regularly occurred during the global pandemic. Based on an exploratory analysis of comments that were published on the social media account of the Italian Department of Civil Protection from February 2020 to December 2021, this paper argues that social media comments can also help to detect the subjectivity augured by discourses of COVID19 crisis management: the responsible subject. Drawing on governmentality studies and a social semiotic understanding of social media comments as ‘banal politics’, this paper discusses the reconfiguration of the political during and beyond the global pandemic. It looks at the reconstitution of a new political subject that emerged throughout the COVID19 crisis: the responsible, a subject who does not limit herself to following the governmental rules but also reproduces and enforces them on a molecular communication scale.

Public Governance in the Context of Global Turbulence: Risk-Reflexive Approach

The article examines methodological trends and combinations in the discourse of political strategic management of dangers and threats under the conditions of the new specific type of risk society formation, which is qualitatively different from the classical version of the ‘risk society’. In this study, using a risk-reflexive approach, authors propose a research route to analyze the transformation of public governance and enlighten the main directions of social behaviour strategies modeling, designing tools for prevention and reducing negative effects of emerging risks. Based on the analysis of the ‘Giddens paradox’ and the concept of ‘organized irresponsibility’ by U.Beck, the problems of the efficiency of public governance institutions in ensuring security and preventing threats are considered. The authors’ attention is focused on analyzing the hierarchy of ways to justify the acceptability of risk and the subjects of risk management. Approaches to the classification of types of power used by subjects of public risk management are investigated. In this regard, the article identifies three mechanisms for the formation of risk-reflexivity (forced, imitative, normative). A theoretical perspective is presented for considering informational, strategic, institutional, motivational and simulation risk reflections in public governance process. Special attention is paid to the main forms of public governance competencies in political risk management, especially in the context of digital transformation, which opens up new opportunities for information impact and cognitive programming of risk perception.