Implicit Messages Research Articles

Exploring Curriculum In Outdoor And Environmental Education: Uncovering The Hidden Curriculum In Leave No Trace Master Educator Courses

Demonstrated though the illustration of uneven distribution of benefits, disproportionate representation of diverse populations, and the perpetuation of negative perceptions and biases, the fields of outdoor and environmental education have fallen short in providing inclusive and equitable experiences. Though efforts to address discrepancies can be explored through multiple avenues, the present study centers on understanding the presence of hidden curriculum within the Leave No Trace Master Educator Course. Distinct from the overt curriculum, the hidden curriculum includes both positive and negative implicit messages taught alongside the written goals and objectives. Through a qualitative thematic analysis in which interviews with course instructors were coded inductively, we identified the presence of 18 elements of hidden curriculum. Though half of those elements support positive additional knowledge, skills, and attitudes, the remaining half showed the presence of learning and messages related to knowledge and attitudes that may negatively impact learners and contribute to inequities within the field.

“Only some can succeed Here”: A mixed methods study of how faculty unproductive mindsets relate to Gender, Racial, and First-Gen representation in higher education

Gender, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities pervade academia. Though there are a wealth of established reasons for these gaps, recent research has begun to examine how faculty beliefs contribute to representation outcomes for groups stereotyped as lacking intelligence. Extending prior research and using a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach, the present study investigates how field-specific ability beliefs (beliefs about the importance of brilliance) and fixed mindsets (beliefs about the immutability of intelligence) relate to the representation of women, racial/ethnic minorities, and first-generation students at various levels of academia. In a quantitative study of 1,025 faculty from 83 departments, self-reported beliefs exhibited negative correlations with representation outcomes in the small to very large range (−.16 > r’s > -0.44). Qualitative findings, however, suggest a more complicated relationship. Focus group data from undergraduate and graduate students in two departments differing in faculty beliefs (N = 32), suggested that both explicit and implicit messages from professors, peers, and the learning environment are important contributors to students’ experiences, beliefs, and decisions. The results call for more intentional considerations, both in research and in practice, of the messages students receive from the environments in which they learn.

Accurate minority Language Representation in the Public Space: the case of Arabic in Israel

ABSTRACT Although Arabic is the native language of a fifth of the Israeli population, its representation in the Israeli linguistic landscape (LL) is problematic. Adopting a sociolinguistic framework that underscores the political nature of language (Ben-Rafael 2009), this study invited Palestinian-Israeli college students to reflect on the linguistic reality in their area through the participatory documentary photography tool ‘PhotoVoice’. The students captured photos of linguistic landscapes, analysed them, and wrote commentaries voicing their reflections. Students ‘PhotoVoices’ shed light on the abundance of mistakes in Arabic words on the signs. Content analysis of the ‘PhotoVoices’ on this issue highlighted students’ cognitive and emotional perceptions and emerging awareness of the explicit and implicit messages delivered through the signage.

Pragmatic Implicature and the Articulation of Protest in Femi Osofisan’s Plays

This study was motivated by the need to explore the pragmatic strategies employed by Femi Osofisan in his plays Women of Owu, Morountodun, and Red Is the Freedom Road to depict protest and resistance. The purpose was to analyze the use of pragmatic implicature in these plays, illustrating how implied meanings and contextual cues enhance the expression of socio-political struggles. Utilizing a qualitative research design, the study conducted a content analysis of key speeches within the selected texts, examining the pragmatic implicature of the language used. Three major findings emerged: first, Osofisan’s use of implicature effectively exposed the moral hypocrisy and brutality of oppressors; second, the speeches affirmed the importance of unity and collective action in resistance movements; third, the implicit messages within the dialogues fostered a deeper emotional and ethical engagement with the audience, enhancing the plays' impact. The study concluded that pragmatic implicature is a crucial linguistic tool in Osofisan’s work, which enriches the narrative and powerfully conveys the dynamics of protest and resilience. This study contributed to a better understanding of how language can be used to articulate and inspire resistance within socio-political contexts.

“I could 100% see myself getting hurt if I did it wrong”: a qualitative exploration of exercise perceptions in people with chronic low back pain

Purpose Traditionally, a specific “core” exercise focus has been favoured for chronic low back pain (CLBP) which contrasts holistic exercise approaches. This study aims to explore the perceptions of exercise in people with CLBP and whether exercise itself can convey implicit messages regarding its use in CLBP management in the absence of a clinical narrative. Materials and methods Participants were asked about their CLBP history, views of exercise for CLBP, and current exercise behaviours through online semi-structured interviews. Then, participants watched the interviewer perform the deadlift, Jefferson curl, and bird dog and were asked if they thought each individual exercise was beneficial for CLBP, and why. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis through a critical realism and social constructivism lens. Results All participants (n = 16) viewed all exercises as beneficial for health and pain relief, but perceived efficacy varied. “Core” exercises were deemed crucial for CLBP relief, while spinal flexion and external load were often perceived as potentially injurious. Distrust towards healthcare practitioners also influenced exercise perceptions. Conclusion People with CLBP perceive different exercises to either relieve pain or improve health. Healthcare practitioners can influence these perceptions, highlighting the need for consideration of exercise perceptions in clinical contexts.

A double standard in evaluating implicit threats

ABSTRACT The perceived acceptability of implicit threats, as a function of messenger type, was examined. Across two experiments, participants (79 undergraduates and 160 community members) read a news article about how a police officer or gang member used an implicit threat to obtain an admission of wrongdoing from a store owner. Participants then provided their opinions about the implied messages, the messenger, and the admissibility of the confession evidence, and were asked to render a verdict. Results showed that the implied threats were viewed more negatively when uttered by a gang member. Ratings of admissibility of the confession evidence were high in both groups and varied little between the groups. Our findings are indicative of a double standard in the justice system whereby the same implicit message is viewed differently depending on who utters the message. The potential implications of these findings on legal decision-making and future research are discussed.

Fossil-fueled stories: an ecolinguistic critical discourse analysis of the South African government’s naturalisation of fossil fuels in the context of the climate crisis

ABSTRACT In recent years, aging coal power plants, lack of maintenance, and issues of poor governance have resulted in a high frequency of rolling scheduled blackouts, throughout South Africa. This has led to greater urgency being placed on switching to renewable energy sources, which South Africa has great potential for. Despite this, and the current reality of the global climate crisis, South Africa continues to rely heavily on coal, not only as an energy source at home, but also as a key part of the country’s export economy. This paper utilises a corpus-assisted, ecolinguistically-informed critical discourse analysis framework to investigate the ways in which members of the South African national government construct the use of coal and other fossil fuels in light of a global climate crisis. The data for this paper consists of a variety of public-facing texts from the South African national government on the topic of climate change. Our analysis revealed that despite a stated commitment to prioritising renewable energy by the government, its implicit messaging normalises the continued use of fossil fuels and minimises their serious negative impacts.

Environmental Wisdom Reflected in Uluan Pantun from a Symbolic Interactionism Perspective

Traditional oral literature has long served to preserve and pass down cultural values and wisdom. In the Uluan society of South Sumatra, pantun, a traditional Malay poetic form, plays a central role in communicating messages related to societal norms and environmental stewardship. This study explores the environmental wisdom embedded in Uluan pantun, using a symbolic interactionism perspective to examine how these oral traditions convey ecological messages. The research employs a qualitative methodology with an ethnographic communication approach. Data were collected through documentation of ancient pantun texts, in-depth interviews with cultural practitioners and local community members, participatory observation in key Uluan regions, and focus group discussions (FGD) to provide a comprehensive view of how pantun is actualized in contemporary environmental conservation efforts. The results show that pantun is an important medium for conveying explicit and implicit messages about the natural environment, reflecting the community’s deep connection with nature. However, modern challenges such as deforestation and land degradation have threatened the sustainability of these traditions. The novelty of this research lies in its examination of pantun as an instrument for ecological communication, an area that has received little attention in previous studies. The findings imply that revitalizing the ecological messages within pantun could significantly promote environmental awareness and community-driven conservation in Uluan society today.

Moral underpinnings of accounting for nature in the global North

PurposeEnvironmental philosophies have guided cultures throughout history and continue to do so. This paper uses a framework of environmental philosophies drawn from history and the present, to analyse contemporary corporate environmental reporting. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the philosophical underpinnings of corporate reporting allows for a nuanced understanding of the relationship between corporate activities and nature, and in so doing demonstrates the moral practices of accounting for nature.Design/methodology/approachThree themes are extracted from a historical review of western environmental philosophy: dualism, transcendence and interconnectivity. These themes are applied to a sample of corporate environmental reports through discourse analysis, enabling the illustration of otherwise obscured moral characteristics of the corporate relationship with the natural environment.FindingsThis paper uses environmental philosophies to better understand some of the implicit messaging of corporate environmental reporting. Evidence of each of the three themes is found in a sample of environmental reports, predominantly dualism and interconnectivity.Research limitations/implicationsUnderstanding that accounting is not just a technical, but also a social and moral practice expands the way the authors can interpret the outcomes of accounting. By presenting an exemplar of how accounting practice such as the corporate sustainability report can be analysed through a moral lens, this paper offers new insights intentioned to inform a more meaningful approach to environmental reporting.Originality/valueA novel framework to explore the corporate sector’s relationship with the natural environment is presented. In light of current and predicted environmental changes, much of which has been attributed to the impact of corporate activities, the importance of a detailed explication of this relationship – such as the one proposed here – becomes imperative.

The effect of music to encourage responsible health-related behaviours among reluctant tourists: analysis of high – and low-context cultures

ABSTRACT The tourism sector is known to suffer significant volatility associated with safety issues. Among the factors that influence tourists’ decisions in this regard are health-related concerns about the destination country. However, when it comes to taking responsibility for their own health, there is a gap in the literature regarding effective communication strategies for motivating tourists who are reluctant to perform desirable health-related behaviours, such as getting vaccinated. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of music in communicating implicit messages about such responsible behaviours to reluctant tourists. To this end, two factors are experimentally manipulated: the type of communication stimulus (verbal/musical) and the cultural context of the tourist (high/low). The main findings are that: music exerts a greater effect on reluctant tourists than ‘average’ tourists; music is capable of conveying referential as well as emotional messages; and music’s effectiveness in this kind of communication is greater in high-context cultures.

Bulletin Boards and Classroom Decorations: A Visual Representation of Your Music Teaching Philosophy

In this manuscript, we introduce four philosophical camps and provide bulletin board and classroom decoration examples of how music teachers can visually communicate their teaching philosophies to their students, parents, colleagues, and administrators. The categories emerged from our review of bulletin board examples created by our music teacher colleagues and include (1) music, emotion, and expression; (2) praxialism; (3) extramusical benefits; and (4) social justice. Bulletin boards may indirectly represent teachers’ philosophies when compared with explicit curricula, such as lesson plans, textbooks, and other instructional materials. However, teachers can foster holistic learning experiences for students by harmonizing their implicit messages on bulletin boards and classroom decorations with the explicit curriculum.

Message patterns of online gender-based humor discriminatory practices biases stereotyping and disempowering tools through discourse analysis

This study explored the message patterns of gender-based humor in social media in different layers of discriminatory practices against certain genders, language biases against women and LGBT including elements of stereotyping and disempowering tools against the personal images of subordinate genders. This research used discourse analysis based on the mapped-out online posts and comments of the fourteen (14) profiles of individuals and extracted their important testimonies based on the collected online gender-based humor to elicit the message patterns. Gender-based humor online enhanced the language use in creating messages that express biases towards women and the LGBT. Humor has both implicit and explicit messages that stereotype women and LGBT as weak and slow. These senses of humor also disempower the women and LGBT's personal images as groups who are easily dominated or are cowards. As asserted, gender-based humor posed a threat to community as it highlights hierarchy-enhancing social roles. Gender-based humor in social media appeared as a mainstreamed form of social differentiation.

Animal Conceptual Metaphors in Kotowaza: A Cognitive Linguistic Study

The primary objective of this study is to examine the cognitive linguistic perspective of Japanese culture in relation to animal-related kotowaza. This study employs a qualitative descriptive approach to analyze 15 kotowaza from the comic book dictionary "Doraemon no Kotowaza Jiten." The objective is to determine the grammatical and idiomatic meanings of these kotowaza, as well as to comprehend the mental metaphor of animals present in them. The research findings suggest that Japanese society employs animal kotowaza as metaphors to convey implicit messages about an individual's character. The kotowaza conveys intricate messages regarding moral principles in everyday life, as well as a profound comprehension of flawed circumstances, through the use of conceptual analogies. Various animal metaphors, including fish, horse, bird, cat, and monkey, are employed to symbolize different facets of existence and human nature.

Lost in Translation? Unpacking Paul Bowles' Approach to Morocco's Literary Gems through a Case Study of For Bread Alone

This study aims to scrutinise the method of translations that Paul Bowles opted for while rendering Moroccan literary texts. The researcher adopted Mouhamed Choukri’s autobiographical novel Al Khubz Al Hafi (2000) and its English translation For Bread Alone (2002) as an example. This research takes Peter Newmark’s communicative and semantic translation as a theoretical background to approach the target text. The research examines the translator's rendering of the source text's form, meaning, and culture and whether they were rendered semantically or communicatively. The researcher read both the source text and its translation, then nominated 24 sentences and their English translation. The selected sentences stand as examples for many more in the novel. After selecting the sentence, the translation method adopted by Bowles is determined. The study’s results suggest that communicative translation was employed more frequently. The analysis reveals that the translator opted for communicative translation to clarify culturally bound terminology or omit certain features linked to the source text that the translator designated as unnecessary to the target reader. The results showed that employing communicative translation led to an awkward translation and mistranslation. The translator resorted to semantic translation to maintain the feature of faithfulness. However, due to cultural and linguistic barriers, the translator could not produce a clear translated message. This research shows that communicative translation cannot reflect the implicit message of the source text, while semantic translation must always be associated with footnotes or glossaries.

The Influence of The Reality Show 'Indonesia’s Next Top Model' on Beauty Perception Among Instagram Followers

Reality shows serve as entertainment platforms for society, conveying implicit messages and portrayals that influence how audiences perceive and follow what is presented. Audiences utilize Instagram and YouTube as mediums to engage with the frequency, attention, duration, and appreciation of the reality show "Indonesia’s Next Top Model." Instagram, in particular, serves as an interactive tool through which viewers express comments and appreciation for the show. This study aims to investigate whether there is an influence of reality show content on the perception of female beauty, focusing on the viewers of "Indonesia’s Next Top Model" among the followers of Instagram account @intm_nettv. The research employs a quantitative method with an explanatory research design. The unit of analysis comprises individuals who are followers of the Instagram account @intm_nettv. Data collection is conducted using probability sampling, obtaining a sample of 100 respondents who watch "Indonesia’s Next Top Model." The findings reveal a small influence of 8.2% of the reality show on the perception of female beauty among the followers of Instagram account @intm_nettv. This minimal impact is attributed to the followers' ability to distinguish between the beauty of models and that of other women. Various factors can affect the perception of female beauty, particularly reality show content as entertainment for its audience. Therefore, future research is encouraged to further explore the concept of reality show content and its influence on the perception of female beauty.

Loss framing increases entity theorists’ vaccine uptake

Although vaccination is an effective way to protect individuals against contagious diseases (e.g., COVID-19 and influenza), vaccine hesitancy remains widespread. This research seeks to understand why some individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and proposes communication strategies to increase their vaccine uptake. Specifically, we examine how individuals’ implicit theory orientation (entity vs. incremental) drives their vaccine hesitancy and how different message framing techniques (gain vs. loss) can mitigate this tendency and increase vaccine uptake. Across six studies (N = 2,773, among which three studies were pre-registered), we demonstrate that entity (vs. incremental) theorists exhibit lower intentions for vaccination against various contagious diseases. Moreover, entity theorists’ vaccination intentions were higher when framing the consequences of not getting vaccinated as a loss than framing the benefits of getting vaccinated as a gain. In contrast, message framing does not affect incremental theorists’ intentions for vaccination. In conclusion, this research enhances our understanding of factors influencing vaccine uptake, sheds light on the interaction between implicit theory orientation and message framing in the context of infectious diseases and offers practical communication strategies for health officials and policymakers to address vaccine hesitancy.

Interweaving Narratives of Lived Experience in Mental Health Social Work Curriculum

ABSTRACT This study explored the metacurriculum of an undergraduate mental health social work subject that was developed and delivered collaboratively by lived experience and social work academics in a regional Australian university. Metacurriculum refers to implicit messages about how students learn how to learn that is, the ontological and epistemological positioning of curriculum. In this subject, students were invited to reflect on multiple, diverse, lived-experience narratives of mental distress as they developed their understanding of mental health social work practice. Using cooperative inquiry, we collectively critically reflected on the experience of teaching and learning with this curriculum. Coresearchers included a student who had completed the subject; a mental health social work practitioner/tutor, a social work academic, and a lived-experience academic who coproduced the subject material; and mental health academics acting as critical friends. Findings revealed engaging with lived-experience narratives was experienced as generating compassion for all humanity; challenging stigma by sharing the responsibility of positioning; and enabling critically reflexive dialogue. We concluded that diverse, lived-experience narratives can be incorporated to enact metacurriculum that aligns social work teaching and learning with emerging transformative approaches to mental health. IMPLICATIONS Incorporating diverse narratives of mental distress into curriculum can highlight the operation of intersectionality and privilege. Engaging with multiple narratives of mental distress undermines the binary construction of “them” and “us”. Metacurriculum enacting inclusive, collaborative knowledge development aligns teaching and learning with transformative mental health.

Theatre dialogues with machines

This article highlights artistic strategies that deal with algorithms, machines, and the interplay between humans and machines in the context of theatre. It is written from the perspective of a theatre practitioner and researcher, and focuses on the question of what artistic strategies can be used to express the interplay of humans and machines at this specific point in history and technological progress. The article draws on two historical references, the concept of a rule-based theatre in pre-modern theatre and strategies to address the android in the avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century. It identifies features of a ‘cyborg art’ and counterposes them to more traditional humanistic approaches, in order to identify modern artistic strategies in theatre, that deal with human–machine interaction. It then raises the question of whether these strategies need to be expanded or reinvented to accommodate the latest developments in AI, identifying three new qualities of concurrent machines, their ability to ‘hallucinate‘, their ‘softness’ and their implicit message ‘meaning is improbable‘. In the last section I will describe own approaches to stage artificial intelligence using improvisational theatre ‘Almost Human‘ (2019) and ‘The Answering Machine’ (ongoing) and address basic problems of how we can represent digital machines on a stage.

How to Deal with Uninformed and Poorly Informed Opinions of Citizens? A Critical Approach to Online Public Engagement

Public engagement is increasingly recognized as a mutual learning of perspectives between lay and expert stakeholders. Still, the intention to educate citizens sometimes prevails over an open and honest exchange. Because of this overemphasis on education, researchers may more easily label lay opinions invalid if uninformed or based on distorted beliefs. Our experience with uninformed and poorly informed (UPI) opinions in an online public engagement initiative (the DNA Debate) has taught us to think differently. First, UPI opinions might be ethically instructive, provided that one searches for the implicit message participants try to convey related to their values, fears, or needs. Since there will always be less informed or uninformed citizens, that would avoid rejecting their voices. Second, UPI opinions may highlight misconceptions in the general population for which more targeted education is necessary. This article is an invitation to reflect ethically on why and how researchers should deal with UPI opinions, illustrated by quotes from the DNA Debate.

Nurturing Empowering Perceptions: Exploring High School Girls' Perspectives on Gender Equity in Formal Educational Context and Factors Beyond

The primary objective of this article is to conduct an in-depth analysis of multiple factors-cultural, religious, and educational—that shape the perceptions of gender equality among female high school students. Focusing specifically on this demographic sample enables a nuanced exploration into how adolescence interacts with these factors to influence their perspectives on gender roles and expectations. This study employs a mixed-methods approach, going beyond the traditional educational paradigms, to include a variety of external influences such as familial backgrounds, religious texts, sociocultural norms, and the overall school environment. The research aims to contribute to the scholarly discourse on gender equality by enriching our understanding of how societal attitudes permeate classroom walls to shape young girls' viewpoints. By doing so, this study aspires to unearth the implicit and explicit messages received by female students that sustain gender imbalances. This serves the dual purpose of not only highlighting these influencing variables but also leveraging this knowledge to develop targeted interventions. The ultimate goal of this research is to formulate insightful strategies that promote a more equitable and empowering perception of girls and, by extension, women in society. These strategies will be rooted in the findings, which delineate the complex relationship between culture, religion, and education in shaping these perspectives. Thus, the research provides practical insights that could serve as foundational elements for fostering a more inclusive and empowering socio-educational environment for female students and women in the future.