Narrative Features Research Articles

Children's Sociodramatic Play: The Imaginative Level and its Narrative Quality

The study examined children's sociodramatic play, hypothesizing that higher imaginal play object-use leads to higher level of play narratives' structure and communication. Two steps were performed to examine this hypothesis: (a) an intervention method in situations other than play; and (b) correlating the level of imaginative objects use in sociodramatic play, and the level of its narrative, measuring two aspects: (1) The quality of the play’s narrative: Its structure, its complexity, and the level of its sophistication; and (2) the level of interactive communication used to construct the narrative. The research examined natural sociodramatic play situations in 16 kindergartens with children of different SES (socio-economic status) backgrounds. Four experimental and 4 control groups of each of two SES levels were sampled. The results indicated that the level of the imaginative object use performance over time, impressively improved in all experimental groups in comparison with the control groups, indicating that the imaginative level of object use was highly correlated with the level of the play narrative and communication. This was found in plays with more complex components and higher structure of the narratives, and more effective communication, in the experimental as compared to control groups, in both low- and medium-SES background. The latter's standard of play was superior as compared to the former, and the gap between groups expanded over time. The results of the study point to the important role of imagination in pretense play narratives and strengthens the potency of narrative theory approach in explaining children’s fantasy in play.

Measuring identification with narrative characters: the development and validation of a new scale

During narrative reception, one psychological response audiences may experience toward story characters is identification, which involves a sense of merging between self and character. Given the lack of formally validated measures of this construct in the literature, the current paper introduces a new 12-item scale for measuring identification. Scale development and validation took place over three sequential studies. Exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 (N = 224) indicated four related factors: merging, perspective-taking, understanding, and emotional involvement. In Study 2 (N = 191), confirmatory factor analysis suggested that a second-order four-factor model provided a good fit to the data and a more parsimonious explanation of the scale’s factor structure compared to a first-order model. In addition, the overall scale and subscales demonstrated adequate internal consistency and correlated in the expected directions with theoretically relevant and irrelevant constructs. Using a more demographically diverse sample, Study 3 (N = 290) established measurement invariance of the scale across two narratives in terms of configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance, and provided further support for its factor structure, reliability, and validity.

영국 역사교과서의 고고학 자료 서술 특징과 시사점

This paper examines the characteristics of archaeological narratives in British history textbooks, where modern archaeology was established early. In the England, the National Curriculum has been in place since 1988, and the government has provided guidelines on what should be taught in history classes. According to the recently revised National Curriculum, the study of British prehistory and ancient history is intensively taught at the Key Stage 2, which corresponds to the 3rd to 6th grades of elementary school in Korea, and it is very characteristic that archaeological descriptions are intensively taught in the upper grades of elementary school in history textbooks. In other words, according to the most recent national curriculum in 2014, English students focus on prehistory, the Roman Britons, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Viking Age in the Key Stage 2, and in middle school, they move on to medieval history, and in high school, the subject of study in history textbooks becomes similar to our world history. In this situation, the history textbook of Key Stage 2, which is the upper grade of elementary school in the UK, was able to point out the current situation of effective use of various archaeological materials. The astonishing quality of British history textbooks is likely to have significant implications for Korean archaeology at the present stage of the full-fledged pursuit of popularization of archaeology. However, at the middle and high school levels, modern and contemporary history is mainly discussed, so the proportion of archaeology in textbooks is relatively reduced. The archaeological narrative aspect of the British history textbooks is considered to be very different from the current state of history textbooks in Northeast Asia, including Korea, and it is necessary to examine the background of the archaeological narrative in the future and the effect of educational activities using the textbooks on students.

Lost in Adaptation: Exploring the Phenomenon of Over-Translation in Arabic Translations of English Movies

This study examines the process of Arabic translations of English movies, focusing on their impact on cultural and linguistic fidelity. It uses comparative, textual, and linguistic analysis and audience perception surveys to understand the differences between the original English source material and the Arabic translations. The comparative analysis reveals significant differences in cultural references and humour between the two languages, with over-translation being a significant theme. However, the study acknowledges instances where fidelity to the source text is maintained, showcasing the translators’ success in preserving cultural authenticity. The textual analysis highlights occasional deviations from the original text due to cultural and linguistic adjustments, impacting the overall translation quality. The linguistic analysis examines translators’ strategies to bridge linguistic gaps, highlighting cases of over-translation and substantial deviations. The study also highlights translators’ challenges in conveying humour, wordplay, and cultural references within subtitles and dubbing constraints. Audience perception surveys reveal instances where translations fail to convey specific cultural nuances, indicating a minor loss of impact and understanding. The findings highlight the need for a refined and culturally sensitive approach to audiovisual translation to enhance the quality and authenticity of cross-cultural narratives.

Young adults’ personal and relationship memories: recollections of self, siblings, and family

ABSTRACT We investigated the phenomenological and narrative characteristics of young adults’ self- and other-related memories within the context of significant relationships. We also examined whether participants’ gender and/or gender concordance between participants and their siblings was associated with autobiographical memory characteristics. We collected data from 108 college students who had only one sibling. All participants provided narratives in response to three memory prompts (i.e., self-related, sibling-related, and family-related) and rated their memories along dimensions such as significance, emotional valence, clarity etc. The narratives were coded on thematic content, transformativeness, mentions of others, and event type dimensions. Results revealed differences between self-related memories and sibling- and family-related memories across several dimensions. However, sibling-related and family-related memories were mostly similar to each other. No statistically significant gender or gender concordance differences were observed. Further exploratory analysis showed that memory narratives describing extended events were more transformative than single event narratives. The findings enhance our understanding about the self-in-relation to others through relationship memories.

Identitas Budaya Bugis Dalam Kumpulan Cerpen Sala Dewi Karya Emil Amir Serta Pemanfaatannya Sebagai Alternatif Pembelajaran Sastra Di Sma

This study aims to describe and explain the Bugis culture which exists in the collection of Sala Dewi's short stories by Emil Amir. It was chosen because it has contain values of viscous local culture, character building that can be used as a role model for students, and each short story has good reputation, so this collection can be told has good credibility. This study is uses a descriptive qualitative method with an ethnographic research design that uses the Spradley data analysis method. Words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs are the source of the data which represent physical culture, social system, cultural system, and cultural values of Bugis culture. This research adapted from Koentjaraningrat's theory. The data were collected by documentation and interview, and analyzed by using the Spradley analysis method, including domain analysis, taxonomic analysis, componential analysis, and cultural theme analysis. The results of this study shows that the four forms of Bugis culture in the collection of Sala Dewi's short stories are mutually sustainable, spread over four short stories, and expressed through inter-character dialogue, character monologues, or character narratives. Hereinafter, the results of this study were used as teaching materials in the XI grade of senior high school students in Indonesian as a part of Language and Literature materials.

The Ordeal of Private Henry Fleming: Reflections on War and Maturity

The purpose of this work is to depict Private Henry Fleming, the leading character in Stephen Crane's narrative, in the grip of doubt and fear. He is tormented by the specter of war, and his overactive fancy plays havoc with his fears and uncertainties. More precisely, using the theory of character development, the article shows that this fear has, over the course of his history as a young soldier, become the catalyst for his metamorphosis, revealing the subtleties of his personality and the depths of his emotional maturity.

Aesthetics and symbolic meaning of ancient Chinese snowy landscapes from the IV to the XX century.

The article examines the aesthetic and symbolic aspects of ancient Chinese snowy landscapes, covering the period from the IV to the XX century. The focus of the research is Guohua painting, representing classic snowy landscapes, compositions with birds and flowers, as well as snow portraits. An in-depth analysis of the symbolism and meaning of elements such as "four seasons", "snow", "snowy mountains", "three friends of cold time" and "cold beasts" was carried out, as well as the narrative characteristics of snowy landscapes were studied. It was revealed that snow scenes reflect the vitality and stability of a person, causing reflections on life difficulties. The work highlights how snowy landscapes have become a means of expressing emotions, reflecting sadness, but also demonstrating strength, well-being, morality and the sublimity of cultural values. The study uses the methodology of symbolism and iconology analysis to study the aesthetics of ancient Chinese snowy landscapes. A comparative approach is applied to various eras and techniques, including ink painting and engraving, to assess the cultural and emotional meanings of snow in Chinese art. The research touches on a rarely covered topic in the history of art — the aesthetic and symbolic depth of ancient Chinese snowy landscapes, from the IV to the XX century. Introducing into scientific discourse a deep analysis of changes in the perception and image of snow, the work presents a comprehensive study using iconology and semiotics to uncover hidden meanings in Chinese Guohua painting. She reveals how artists have reflected the emotional and philosophical aspects of life through snowy landscapes, demonstrating their influence on cultural representations of nature, man and society. The innovation of the study lies in the fact that it connects the aesthetic elements of snow with cultural and historical changes in China, showing their importance for understanding Chinese identity and aesthetic perception. This study not only enriches the academic understanding of Chinese painting, but also highlights the layering of symbols and metaphors in traditional art, reflecting a unique combination of natural phenomena and cultural meanings.

The Benefits of Bad Events for Narrative Characters: Limits of Symhedonia as a Hidden Gem

The Benefits of Bad Events for Narrative Characters: Limits of Symhedonia as a Hidden Gem

Researching the Narrative Features in the Translation of Xi Jinping’s Political Discourse from the Perspective of Narrative Theory

Researching the Narrative Features in the Translation of Xi Jinping’s Political Discourse from the Perspective of Narrative Theory

“The journalistic licence of it all”: Crime, Fiction, and Journalism in David Peace’s Nineteen Seventy Four

This paper analyzes David Peace’s novel Nineteen Seventy Four (1999), first part of his Red Riding Quartet, to revise how the author uses the dynamics and conceptions of journalism and noir fiction to problematize the concepts of truth and fiction within the genre, on the one hand, and to reflect on the notion of historical past in relation to the present, also subordinated to the crossings between truth and fiction, on the other. By constructing a detective that in this case is embodied by an ambitious journalist in the Yorkshire County of 1974 and exploiting his sordid narrative style, the novel demands comparisons between the contemporary context and the past he fictionalizes through the presence of real-life events. Taking meticulous advantage of the precepts and expectations of noir fiction, the novel leads to a conscientious reading that exacerbates the growing instability of the boundaries between the discourses of reality and fiction in the 21st century. This analysis focuses first on the characterization of the protagonist since the construction of a reporter as the detective and narrator of a noir novel emphasizes the thematization of journalism when seen in relation to the search for truth for profit. Then, it turns to the importance of the journalistic style of the narrator and protagonist, since the narrative characteristics of the text outline very peculiar ways of reading that lead to questioning hegemonic discourses.

Divided Selves in Exile: Third Space in Louis de Bernières’ Birds Without Wings

Set in the early 20th century, Louis de Bernieres’ novel Birds Without Wings focuses on the divided identities negatively influenced by wars, exile, and migration in southwestern Anatolia just before the decline of the Ottoman Empire and foundation of Republican Turkey. Based on the decision of population exchange, a great number of non-Muslim people were deported to a foreign land (Greece), away from the newly defined borders of the new Turkish Republic. In his novel Birds Without Wings, Louis de Bernières scrutinizes this social phenomenon and questions the significance and validity of the notions such as race, religion, ethnicity or language in the nation building process. The author deplores the loss of multicultural lifestyle in a utopian, idyllic Anatolian town with the displacement of Greek and Armenian residents. The multicultural structure of society penetrates into the formal and narrative features of the novel, such as multiplicities in viewpoints, a mixture of genres, different languages and the use of nicknames for protagonists. Intercultural encounter provokes hybridity and leads to the emergence of multiplicities in society. However, the exchange of population puts an end to the long-established multicultural society structure, a dynamic cultural exchange and negotiation. The use of multiple voices, multiple characters, narrative techniques, and multiple languages in fact celebrates the hybridity and plurality of worlds throughout the novel. Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of the in-between third space challenges the formation of cultural identity in hybrid societies, simultaneously embracing multiplicities, pluralities, and hybridity. The writer signals to the existence of such a harmonious heterogenous society in Anatolia in the past time and laments for the loss of such an idyllic lifestyle reigned by mutual love, respect, tolerance and cooperation. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate how Bhabha’s conceptualisation of “third space” finds a place in the lives of divided selves in Louis de Bernières’ Birds Without Wings and to demonstrate how it deconstructs the binary thought and essentialist identity in intercultural encounters.

Narrative and aesthetic features of micro-short plays on short video platforms: -A case study of Douyin micro-short plays

With the trend of decentralization, fragmentation and popularization of media communication, “micro-short plays”, which integrate the characteristics of short videos and TV dramas, emerge at the opportune moment. They have since developed a unique narrative system and aesthetic style. With the Douyin platform as an example, the narrative characteristics of micro-short plays are closely related to the platform and media characteristics of short videos. As for narrative objects, micro-short plays present a weakening of the environment and the focus of characters. They pursue a “fast-paced” and “refreshing” structure and plot, themed by both topicality and network IP.

Narrative Characteristics in Refugee Discourse: An Analysis of American Public Opinion on the Afghan Refugee Crisis After the Taliban Takeover

The United States (U.S.) military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 was met with turmoil as the Taliban regained control of most of the country, including Kabul. These events have affected many and were widely discussed on social media, especially in the U.S. In this work, we focus on Twitter discourse regarding these events, especially potential opinion shifts over time and the effect social media posts by established U.S. legislators might have had on online public reception. To this end, we investigate two datasets on the war in Afghanistan, consisting of Twitter posts by self-identified U.S. accounts and conversation threads initiated by U.S. politicians. We find that Twitter users' discussions revolve around the Kabul airport event, President Biden's handling of the situation, and people affected by the U.S. withdrawal. Microframe analysis indicates that discourse centers the humanitarianism underlying these occurrences and politically leans liberal, focusing on care and fairness. Lastly, network analysis shows that Republicans are far more active on Twitter compared to Democrats and there is more positive sentiment than negative in their conversations.

School shootings, the media, and the spatialities of dark belonging

This article discusses how news reports attendant to crisis events are used by the media to construct the logic of inclusion and exclusion. The focus of the paper is on rampage school shootings, which represent an illustrative example of how emotions and socio-politics become entwined in a spatial manner. The article also discusses how parties involved in the shooting event – the perpetrator, victims and the bereaved – are profiled in news reports as narrative characters through which the logic of inclusion and exclusion is constructed and conveyed, in different ways, and various spatial scales. This article illustrates how the media narratives of school shootings engage readers with the logic of belonging, offering normative understandings of how belonging and non-belonging should be comprehended. This paper contributes to both the geographical studies of belonging and media research.

‘I Don’t Want to Be Other. I Want to Be Normal’: Mental Boundaries and the Polish Experience in the UK in Agnieszka Dale’s Fox Season and Other Short Stories

Borders and frontiers are often problematized in Agnieszka Dale’s Fox Season and Other Short Stories (2017), where mental borders seem to be more divisive than spatial boundaries. Many of these narratives feature Polish immigrants in Britain who struggle with their displaced condition in various ways. As some of the stories in the collection reveal, the scenario of post-Brexit Britain compromises conviviality amongst different groups, including the Polish community. Special attention is placed upon how several narratives in the volume underscore the prevalence in British society of Polish stereotypes as the crystallisation of the still widespread animosity against non-Europeans. Homi Bhabha’s notions regarding the formation and dynamics of stereotypes will be helpful in understanding the mechanisms beneath such constructions. Likewise, some of the major tenets of social theory, as well as Edward Said’s notion of ‘Orientalism’, will contribute to shedding light upon this resentment towards the Polish minority, occasionally adopted too by already established immigrants against their former compatriots. This article will ultimately intend to draw attention to the cautionary nature of Dale’s collection as a call for harmony and the appreciation of difference among nations, thus preventing the gloomy perspectives the dystopian futures of some of these stories forecast upon Europe.

On the Epistemic Role of Narrative Features in Determining Unsubstantiated Scientific Practices

Purpose: This study explores the disciplinary narrative structured in a specific scientific context: cancer research. Specifically, it examines the narratives of ten biologists vis-à-vis the use of machines and consumables within a cancer research lab in Belgium. The aim is to answer the following main research question: What is the relationship between the scientists and the lab's machines and consumables?Design: A qualitative analysis is conducted over 18 months of a) participant-observation recordings, b) semi-structured individual interviews, and c) collective interviews with ten lab scientists. The analysis is guided by Walter Fisher's narrative paradigm and Mona Baker's narrative features.Findings: The findings expose a problematic relationship between the scientists and their lab machines and suggest that scientists trust machines and consumables unquestionably. This problematic relationship is evidenced as the scientists' narratives violate four narrative features: 1) temporality, 2) causal emplotment, 3) relationality, and 4) selective appropriation. The study claims that these narrative features are well-positioned to identify unsubstantiated scientific practices.

Wyczerpanie. O kondycji bohaterek narracji maladycznych

This article deals with chronic fatigue, one of the characteristic features of contem-porary illness narratives written by women authors. First, it focuses on Małgorzata Ba-ranowska’s To jest wasze życie. Być sobą w chorobie przewlekłej [ This Is Your Life: How to Cope with a Chronic Illness], a story of her own life impaired by SLE (systemic lupus erythe-matosus). The descriptions of her experiences (the disruption of her daily life caused by chronic pain and her attempts make sense of it) provides a frame for the reading of other narratives, Anne Boyer’s The Undying and two journalistic texts on endometriosis, one by Dr Katarzyna Szopa and the other by Dr Karolina Wigura. The article defines chronic fatigue as a social condition which combines a resistance to regenerative therapies with the stress of having to act in demanding situations of real life. The precarious condition of exhausted bodies hovering between a life fully lived and a debilitating morbidity is compared with Byung-Chul Han’s philosophy developed in The Burnout Society and The Palliative Society: Pain Today (originally published in German in 2010 and 2020 respec-tively).

Development and Dilemmas of Mass Democratic Identity Construction in the Context of the Myanmar Coup: An Analysis of Political Narratives

This study examines the process of mass democratic identity construction in Myanmar and delineates the distinct characteristics of the government's political narratives during the period of Myanmar's democratic reform. The research finds that Myanmar managed to establish a democratic identity that continues to exhibit resilience in the aftermath of the coup. This resilience, observed at the level of political narratives, can be attributed to the transcultural features of ideological construction and the prominent influence of Buddhism, both well-suited to Myanmar's deep-seated social and religious foundations. However, following the coup, the loss of agency by the original narrative source, combined with the long-standing issues within Burmese society, has resulted in several political dilemmas hampering the development of democratic consciousness. These dilemmas are characterized by an immature democratic political culture, underdeveloped civil society, and frequent ethnic conflicts. The underlying reasons for these challenges can be traced back to the limitations of democratic political culture during Myanmar's democratic reform period and the absence of historical and cultural foundations in the country's democratic political system, which may constrain the long-term development of democratic consciousness following changes in the power structure.

<설운 장군> 당설화로 본 남성 인어 장군 인물 연구

This study aims to investigate the character of a male mermaid general in the shrine tale General Seolun handed down on the islands near Suu Island, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. This study found that although male mermaids rarely appear in Korean dang-folk tales or literary records, this folk tale called General Seolun has been handed down on the Suu and the nearby islands in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do and that there is a shrine called ‘Jiryeongsa’ on Suu Island. Therefore, a shrine ceremony was held, and a character study of the shrine god ‘General Seolun’ was necessary. The shrine tale, General Seolun, was recorded by Kim Young-il from 1992 to 1996. Based on the transcription, the morphological characteristics of the dang-folk tale were identified by comparing the original interpretation of the shaman myth and the folktale structure. The morphological characteristics were revealed through the Janggundang-related tale by focusing on the shrine tale told at the shrine on a small island that was unknown at the time. This can be seen as an outstanding achievement in research. However, it also signifies the meaning of the character ‘male mermaid general’ and its narrative, which was deemed insufficient. This study was based on existing and added data after a visit to Suu Island in October 2023 to find the kind of person Seolun was as a ‘male mermaid general’. The oral data of General Seolun was reviewed and organized by dividing it into birth and miracles, growth and trials, death, and transmission attitude. The narrative characteristics reveal ambivalent meanings, such as the fate of loyalists and traitors in birth and activity, the existence of humans and non-humans in their mysterious abilities, and fear and gratitude given to the inheritors in the death stage. The shrine tale, which forms an ambivalent pair of opposites, depicts General Seolun as a character who changes through opposing values at each stage of the narrative. As a ‘male mermaid general’ in shrine tales, Seolun was, firstly, a male traitor regarding gender and possessed peripheral masculinity. Second, as biological beings, male mermaids are middle-earth beings between the god of water and humans, possessing extraordinary abilities representing physical characteristics. Third, he is a general who realizes the wishes of the fishermen regarding succession. Unlike the historically real general god, this can be seen as the fact that the contemporary perceptions and desires of the transmitters formed the shrine tale of Seolun as a ‘male mermaid general.’