Negative Metaphors Research Articles

Perception Of The Concept Of Death Among Children, Young And Older People And The Comparison Of These Perceptions: A Qualitative Study

Death is one of the most important concepts that make life meaningful and it is the inevitable end. From the moment we are born, we are one step closer to death with every passing second, and this creates the stage of consciousness that enables people to connect and make sense of life more tightly. Death, which means the definitive end of life, has been seen as an important event in all societies and in every period of life. The purpose of the current study is to determine and compare the perceptions of children, young people and older people about death through metaphors. The study is a qualitative research. A total of 192 people, 57 children, 63 young and 72 older people, determined on a voluntary basis constituted the sample of the study. A questionnaire form consisting of open-ended questions was used in the study. Descriptive analysis technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the analysis of the data. It was tried to determine with which metaphors the participants would present their perceptions of death and the common characteristics of the metaphors that would emerge. In the evaluation of the data obtained, content analysis method was used in accordance with the qualitative research design. According to the research findings, 29 metaphors were produced by the children, 37 by the young people and 46 by the older people to express the concept of death. The children compared the concept of death most with old age, sadness, grave, accident, earth, sleep, ending, separation; the young people compared it most with beginning, extinction, exam, loneliness, longing, leaf, fear and the older people compared it most with migration, destiny, happiness, reunion, longing, salvation, bridge. The children predominantly expressed death with negative metaphors, the young people used lively metaphors drawn from life experiences while the older people often portrayed death with positive metaphors. The metaphors created by the children, young and older people were categorized into groups. The metaphors generated by individuals regarding the concept of death and the categories formed from these metaphors reveal how the concept of death is perceived..

Turkish Language Prospective Teachers’ Perceptions of Metaphors Regarding Artificial Intelligence

The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) initially emerged as a term in the field of computer science. In the subsequent years, this concept transcended its origins and became relevant across various domains of human life. Nowadays, it’s possible to encounter AI in nearly every aspect of human life. In this context, it’s considered noteworthy to examine individuals’ metaphorical perceptions of AI. Accordingly, the purpose of the research is determined as the investigation of Turkish prospective teachers’ metaphorical perceptions of AI. Phenomenology, a qualitative research method, is employed in the study. The study group consists of 115 voluntary Turkish prospective teachers, 94 of whom are female and 21 are male, studying at the Faculty of Education at Artvin Çoruh University. Among the prospective teachers, 36 are first-year students, 37 are second-year students, 26 are third-year students, and 16 are fourth-year students. Data for the research are collected through semi-structured interview forms prepared by the researchers. Content analysis method is used for data analysis, and the data are presented by tabulating them along with frequency values. The analysis reveals that 115 Turkish language prospective teachers produced a total of 110 metaphors. Among these metaphors, 21 belong to male prospective teachers, while 89 belong to female prospective teachers. Metaphors such as human (f19), robot (f10), future (f4), ocean (f3), storm (f2), spring (f2), assistant (f4) are found to be generated by both female and male prospective teachers. In addition to positive metaphors, Turkish language prospective teachers also generated negative metaphors like threat (f2), massacre (f1), monster (f1), etc., concerning AI. Consequently, although Turkish language prospective teachers developed some negative metaphors, it’s observed that their perceptions of AI are predominantly positive.

Metaphoric perceptions of individuals with diabetes in Turkey: A content analysis.

The diagnosis of diabetes mellitus adversely impacts the quality of life due to treatment, changes in daily life, functional disability, and emerging complications. Using metaphors to convey perceptions of diseases and life experiences is crucial for understanding healthcare behaviors. This study aimed to explore the metaphorical perceptions of "diabetes" and "being a person with diabetes" within a sample group of individuals with diabetes in Turkey. A qualitative design was employed to investigate the metaphoric perceptions of 72 people with diabetes. Data were collected face-to-face between 15 May and June 2023 using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using content analysis. From the statements of the individuals with diabetes in the sample, seven metaphoric themes related to diabetes - "pain and distress, helplessness and hopelessness, instability, attention and sensitivity, captivity, positive outlook and acceptance, deprivation" - and six metaphoric themes concerning being a person with diabetes - "suffocation and distress, helplessness, powerlessness and disappointment, captivity, attention and sensitivity, guilt, and being worn out" - were identified. Commonly recurring sub-themes with negative connotations included "darkness, well, convict, prison, captivity, microbe, infectious disease, a hot flush, guilt, clouding life, and being ruined." Some positively framed statements included "friend, traffic sign, and driving a car." The majority of patients in the study used negative metaphors, with fewer expressing positive sentiments regarding the necessity of accepting and paying attention to the disease. Defining individuals' metaphorical perceptions of their disease may enable the provision of better quality and holistic care. Nurses, in particular, play a crucial role in facilitating behavioral changes for patients with diabetes to achieve self-management.

Sustainable Green Future from a Multimodal Positive Discourse Analysis Perspective: Investigating Environmental Metaphors in Some Selected Cartoons

A substantial body of research pertaining to ecological issues has significantly centered its attention on laying out the deleterious, harmful and destructive consequences stemming from human actions upon the environment. This emphasis often revolves around negative metaphors that evoke fear, threats, and danger, leaving the positive aspects of green and sustainable future relatively unexplored. This paper adopts a Multimodal Positive Discourse Analysis (MPDA) approach to scrutinize visual socio-cognitive metaphors presented in 11 environmental cartoons disseminated by the Indian Council of Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) on diverse ecological issues. The study aligns with Forceivelle's (1996 & 2009) theory of multimodal metaphor and Hart's (2008) model of critical metaphor analysis in the light of Martin's (2004) Positive Discourse Analysis (PDA) theoretical framework. Therefore, emphasizing the significance of visual metaphor in the formulation of new and positive eco-friendly scenarios through the process of projection and integration across two distinct input spaces. The results of the study show that positive scenarios such as hope, success, aspiration, ambition, and optimism have been motivated in the generic space, providing an antithesis to the predominant negative scenarios characterized by stereotypes of eco threat, harm, insecurity, and instability.

Evaluation of Teacher Candidates' Metaphorical Perceptions Regarding STEM Education Concepts

This study aimed to examine the metaphorical perceptions of science teacher candidates regarding STEM education. Participants were given four-week STEM Application Training, which included STEM activities. In line with the answers given to the metaphor before and after the training, opinions about STEM education were determined and possible changes were examined. The method of the research was determined as a case study. In the study, it was determined that one-third of the participants had never heard of STEM education before. However, STEM education is mostly associated with metaphors such as "life, game, scientific game, invention, universe, imagination, machine, transition from abstract to concrete, science, puzzle, textbook, different perspective and dream". While 41 different metaphors were produced for STEM before the training, this number increased to 50 after the training. At the end of the training, participants' negative metaphors about STEM were replaced by positive ones, four of the categories remained the same and six categories changed. In the study, it was concluded that ideas about the purpose of STEM education were formed.

ՏՆՏԵՍՈՒԹՅՈՒՆԸ ՀԻՎԱՆԴ ՕՐԳԱՆԻԶՄ Է ՓՈԽԱԲԵՐՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՀԱՍԿԱՑԱԿԱՆ ԱՐՏԱՊԱՏԿԵՐՈՒՄԸ / CONCEPTUAL MAPPING OF «ECONOMY IS A SICK ORGANISM» METAPHOR

The aim of the article is to study the conceptual mapping of the metaphor ECONOMY IS A SICK ORGANISM within Armenian economic discourse. The primary goals of the study encompass analyzing the semantic-structural characteristics of the source domain "sick organism" and exploring the cross-domain mappings of metaphorical patterns derived from the conceptual domains "sick organism" and "economy." The topicality of this article arises from the increasing scholarly attention to conceptual metaphors within economic discourse, both as cognitive instruments and as influential tools for manipulation. The selection of linguistic analysis methods is justified by the nature of the examined data and the research objectives. The examination of the material was carried out through linguistic descriptive analysis and contextual analysis. The research findings led us to conclude that the metaphor ECONOMY IS A SICK ORGANISM gains increased relevance in the press during periods of external economic shocks such as pandemics or wars. The primary intent behind employing this metaphor in press publications is to elucidate the country's economic condition to the non-professional audience through the most familiar source domain ("sick organism"). Throughout the phases of economic crisis, negative metaphors predominated, depicting the economy as weak and vulnerable, with symptoms similar to diseases. Conversely, during post-crisis periods, positive metaphors emphasizing economic recovery become more prominent.

Elementary school students' metaphor perceptions of foreign students

The main purpose of this study is to analyze the metaphor perceptions of Turkish students who have foreign students in their classrooms about foreign students. In the study, phenomenology design was used as the qualitative research method. Criterion sampling, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used to determine the study group. In the selection of the participants in this study, the main criterion was the presence of Turkish students with foreign students in their classrooms. According to this criterion, a total of 84 primary school students constituted the study group. As a data collection tool, two sentences were used as the data collection tool: "In my opinion, foreign students are like .... Because ..." form consisting of two sentences was created. Content analysis technique was used to analyze the data. According to the findings obtained from the analysis of the collected data, a total of 39 metaphors were produced in the study group. These metaphors were categorized as positive and negative. While the positive metaphors of the students were divided into 6, that is, categories diversity, kind-heartedness, equality, industriousness, beauty and protectiveness, no negative metaphors were found. It can be concluded that Turkish students who have foreign students in their class have positive perceptions towards their foreign friends. In order to enrich and reinforce positive perceptions, value-sensitive education plan practices are recommended.

Metaforik Bir Analiz: İngilizce Öğretmeni Adaylarının “Teknoloji” ve “Web 2.0 Araçları” Kavramlarına İlişkin Algıları

As they provide a fresh perspective to comprehend a difficult topic, metaphors can be seen as interpretive communication tools. The objective of this study was to examine, via a metaphorical analysis, how pre-service EFL teachers view the ideas about technology and Web 2.0 tools. 97 students from a state university's department of ELT participated in the study throughout the 2022–2023 academic year. Because it describes the current condition, the study is descriptive. As a data collection instrument, a metaphor elicitation sheet including two prompts “Technology is (like)……. because ……and Web 2.0 tools are (like)…… because……….” was utilized to get the data. A qualitative data study design was employed to examine the data. The phenomenological research design was adopted in this current study. The procedures for the data analysis were the naming/labeling stage, sorting stage, categorizing stage, determining the inter-rater reliability ratio, and analyzing the data quantitatively. In order to ensure inter-reliability, the two faculty members were asked to review the accuracy of the metaphors. The results indicated that pre-service EFL teachers had positive and negative metaphors for technology and Web 2.0 technologies.

Making sense of emotion and identity construction through metaphors: a prompt-based study in an English as a Foreign Language context

ABSTRACT The study of teachers’ cognitive processes has received considerable attention in the past decades. However, the scope of research on the way teachers cognitively represent and understand emotions and how such representations relate to the sociocultural particularities shaping their identities demands further attention. Inspired by the phenomenographic approach, the present study sought to examine how Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers represent emotionally charged prompts through metaphors. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews in which 17 EFL teachers were asked to represent fear, sadness, anger, and happiness emotions through metaphors. The analysis of the qualitative data indicated that the teachers used metaphors that instantiated the interconnection between emotions and sociocultural particularities of teaching. Moreover, despite the exclusive directionality of the metaphors used to characterise sadness, fear, and happiness, the teachers described anger bi-modally via both positive and negative metaphors. The findings of the study emphasise the mediating role of contextual idiosyncrasies in shaping the metaphors teachers draw on to characterise emotions. These findings may have some significant implications for teacher educators.

OVERVIEW OF ONLINE SHOPPING THROUGH METAPHORS DURING THE PANDEMIC PERIOD

With this study, it is aimed to examine the metaphorical perceptions of the teachers participating in the research regarding the concept of "online shopping" during the pandemic period. In the literature review we conducted, no metaphorical research was found to determine the perceptions of teachers about the concept of online shopping of any person or institution.
 
 A total of 138 teachers, who are the teachers of our school as a participant group, constitute the research. The teachers participating in the research were asked to complete the statement "Online shopping is like/similar to………… because……" in order to reach the findings regarding the teachers' use of online shopping during the pandemic period and the metaphors they have regarding the concept of online shopping, through an online form. Of the 138 teachers participating in our research, 131 of the questionnaire forms were evaluated; The metaphors produced by the teachers for the concept of online shopping were first categorized under 2 main headings as positive metaphors about online shopping and negative metaphors about online shopping, and after this categorization, positive metaphors about online shopping were divided into 6 different categories; Negative metaphors were grouped into 3 different categories. According to the results of the research, 70.2 of the metaphors used by teachers for online shopping were in the positive category and 29.8 in the negative category. In the positive metaphor category, food, poetry, friend, need; In the negative category, it was seen that the themes such as swamp, closed box, poison, laziness were emphasized.
 
 Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in the analysis and interpretation of the data obtained at the end of the study. The process of analyzing and interpreting data; It was carried out in five stages: (1) coding and elimination stage, (2) metaphor identification stage, (3) category development and classification stage, (4) validity and reliability stage, and (5) transferring the data to the SPSS package program for quantitative data analysis.
 
 After the findings obtained from the research were categorized, they were also evaluated in terms of gender, age and professional experience variables; It has been observed that a total of 9 metaphorical categories, positive and negative, created by teachers regarding the concept of "online shopping" during the pandemic period differ in terms of these variables.

Delicious angst and tooth-rotting fluff: Distant reading community discourses of emotion in Harry Potter fanfiction comments

This article employs distant reading to examine discursive norms for expressing emotion in comments on Harry Potter fanfiction on Archive of Our Own (AO3). Using text analysis tools to identify collocational patterns, the article shows how fanfiction engages this community and how community members express their engagement in accordance with community discourses. The analysis transcends the level of individual utterances by examining large-scale patterns in the data. Comparing comments for three fanfiction genres (angst, fluff and hurt/comfort) reveals three patterns. First, commenters frequently describe stories about suffering in positive terms. Second, metaphors likening fanfiction consumption to food consumption are prevalent in all genres. Commenters also use language blending physical and emotional sensations. Finally, commenters describe stories about positive emotions using negative metaphors of rot, decay, gluttony or overload. This use of positive or negative language need not indicate positive or negative judgements but instead reveals discursive fields to which fanfiction reading is linked. Additionally, comments indicate that fanfiction is used to influence emotional states. These findings contribute to an understanding of the impact of fanfiction within its community and raise questions regarding the role of emotion in fanfiction reading.

Algının Çerçevelenmesi: İngiliz Basınında 1896 Osmanlı Bankası Baskını

This study aimed to explore how British newspapers framed the Ottoman Bank Raid in 1896 and how they might have functioned in the political and social reconstruction of Ottoman Empire within the international sphere. A qualitative inductive framing analysis was carried out. The results of textual analysis revealed two main frames: (i) human interest: internal unrest and fracture within the Ottoman Empire and (ii) emphasis on unification: isolation policy within international relations. While the former frame mainly included disinformation regarding the number of Armenians killed or wounded, combined with constant use of negative metaphors for Ottoman Empire and Muslim population, the latter frame focused on national, international support and forceful intervention of Europe rather than diplomatic pressure.

Preschoolers and Adults Learn From Novel Metaphors

Although adults use metaphors to guide their thinking and reasoning, less is known about whether metaphors might facilitate cognition earlier in development. Previous research shows that preschoolers understand metaphors, but less is known about whether preschoolers can learn from metaphors. The current preregistered experiment investigated whether adults (n = 64) and 3- and 4-year-olds (n = 128) can use metaphors to make new inferences. In a between-subjects design, participants heard information about novel artifacts, conveyed through either only positive metaphors (e.g., “Daxes are suns”) or positive and negative metaphors (e.g., “Daxes are suns. Daxes are not clouds.”). In both conditions, participants of all ages successfully formed metaphor-consistent inferences about abstract, functional features of the artifacts (e.g., that daxes light up rather than let out water). Moreover, participants frequently provided explanations appealing to the metaphors when justifying their responses. Consequently, metaphors may be a powerful learning mechanism from early childhood onward.

Doctoral students’ English academic writing experiences through metaphor analysis

Doctoral students are expected to contribute to their academic community by presenting their research findings in an internationally acceptable manner and to submit their dissertation. Students from non-English-speaking backgrounds might face challenges when writing publishable papers and dissertations in English. The aim of this study is to explore conceptual metaphors doctoral students used for characterizing their English academic writing experiences during their doctoral studies. A survey was conducted in the spring of 2022 inviting all non-native English-speaking doctoral students. They were asked to finish the sentence: “Writing an academic paper in English is like …..”. A total of 255 doctoral students (125 females; 127 males; 3 not stated) studying at 14 Hungarian universities volunteered to participate. They were from 49 countries and used 52 mother tongues. The metaphor dataset was analyzed following Lakoff and Johnson’ (1980) theoretical framework. Ten conceptual domains emerged from the dataset: WORK, TEXT PRODUCTION, CHALLENGE, STRUGGLE, CHANGING PLACES, ACTIVITIY, NOURISMENT, EASY TASK, CONSTRUCTION, and COMPLEX PROCESS. Only four students shared very negative metaphors on their experiences; whereas most students’ metaphors reflected optimism, even though they implied various demanding features of English academic writing. Students’ metaphors offered new authentic insights into their emic perspectives on their lived experiences.

‘The monster in the back seat’

People living with dementia (PWDs) often experience stigma that is reinforced by negative representations of the condition in discourse. This paper addresses the lack of research into this stigma by analyzing the representation of the condition in naturally occurring texts of people in direct contact with PWDs. Two blogs from Flemish family caregivers and one blog from a Flemish health professional were selected based on word count and keyword relevance, and studied both quantitatively and qualitatively. For the quantitative analysis keywords, n-grams, and collocations were identified in 225 blog posts, using Sketch Engine. For the qualitative analysis, 26 blog posts were analyzed by categorizing conceptual metaphors according to their conceptual mappings. The quantitative analysis indicates that the health professional employs a different approach in reporting, compared to the family caregivers. The qualitative analysis results in five conceptual mappings: PWDs as living dead, PWDs as trees, dementia as concealment, dementia as an acting entity and dementia as an attack. The frequency of these mappings shows that the condition is being dissociated from the PWDs, and described with more negative metaphors than the PWDs themselves.

The perceptions of international students learning Turkish through distance education on Turkish language course and language skills: A metaphor study

In this study, the perceptions of international students who were learning Turkish through distance education regarding Turkish language course and language skills were examined. The research was designed in accordance with the phenomenology pattern. The study group of the research consisted of 27 international students who received Turkish preparatory education at a state university in Türkiye. To collect the data of the study, the students were asked to create a metaphor for the Turkish language course and language skills and to write the reason for this metaphor. The data of the research were collected electronically. The form created for this purpose was transferred to electronic media via Google Forms and sent to the e-mail addresses of the students. As the result of the study, it was seen that the metaphors created by international students about Turkish language course were gathered in six categories. Two of these categories consisted of positive and four of them were negative metaphors. When the students' metaphors for language skills were examined; three of the five categories created for reading skill were positive and two were negative; three of the four categories for writing skill were positive and one was negative; three of the four categories for listening skill were positive and one was negative. It was also determined that four of the five categories created for speaking skill consisted of positive metaphors and one of them consisted of negative metaphors.

An Examination of Pre-Service Teachers' Metaphorical Perceptions about Turkish Language Lessons Taught through Distance Education

This study aims to determine the mental images created by pre-service teachers regarding Turkish lessons taught within the framework of four basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) depending on the distance education practices carried out during the COVID-19 epidemic. In this study, phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used. Criterion sampling, which is one of the purposive sampling methods, was used to determine the sampling method of the research. The study group of the research consists of 90 teacher candidates, 78 women and 12 men, who participated in the research voluntarily. Pre-service teachers' views on “Turkish lessons taught in the distance education process” were determined through metaphors. In this context, pre-service teachers “Turkish lessons in the distance education process… like/similar; because…” They were asked to fill in the open-ended question form. Content analysis technique was used in the analysis of the obtained data. The general findings of the research are 80 different metaphors related to the Turkish lesson of the teacher candidates participating in the research, and these metaphors were collected in 10 different categories. As a result of the analysis of the findings obtained from the research, it was determined that the pre-service teachers explained Turkish lessons with metaphors that could be described as positive for them, but they also produced some negative metaphors. Especially in the distance education process, it has been determined that negative metaphors are produced due to the problems related to application, communication, interaction, lack of motivation and technological infrastructure arising from systemic problems.

Metaphors of University-Industry Relations: Interpretations on Technology Development Zones Unveiled

The purpose of the study is to examine metaphors that are used to explain university-industry relations. Metaphors are a lucrative qualitative tool in organizational analysis because extracting and interpreting metaphors that are used by participants in an organization can not only allow researchers to access hidden perceptions or feelings of the participants but also helps them gain insights about a key organization of university-industry relations: Technology Development Zones (TDZ). In this multiple-case study, 20 participants were involved from two universities and an institute of high technology, and their embedded TDZs in Turkey. Participants are high-rank manager-academics, faculty affiliated with university-industry relations, high-rank managers from TDZs and those of firms inside these TDZs. In order to collect data, semi-structured interviews were used in the study. Results from a content analysis of within-case and cross-case data from the three cases in the study showed that participants use superordinate themes of positive and negative metaphors to explain university industry relations. The positive metaphors superordinate theme involves the metaphors of interface, machine, bars district, showcase, and plants, while the negative metaphors superordinate theme includes zombie, babies, and real-estate metaphors. Based on the participants’ descriptions of these metaphors and their justification for their use, some conclusions were made on the participants’ evaluations of the university-industry relations phenomenon, which is the focus of the study.

Can simidi mi kâbus mu? Ebeveynler acil uzaktan eğitim hakkında ne düşünüyor?

Bu araştırmanın amacı, ebeveynlerin Covid-19 pandemisi sürecinde gerçekleştirilen acil uzaktan eğitime yönelik algı ve görüşlerini belirlemektir. Bu doğrultuda ebeveynlerin metaforik algıları ile acil uzaktan eğitim hakkındaki olumlu ve olumsuz düşünceleri belirlenmiştir. Araştırma, nitel araştırma desenlerinden durum çalışması ve fenemenoloji desenleri temelinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma grubunu birçok farklı meslek, eğitim seviyesi ve şehirden 57 ebeveyn oluşturmuştur. Veriler metaforik algı formu ve yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile elde edilmiştir. Verilerin analizi sonucunda, velilerin acil uzaktan eğitime yönelik hem olumlu hem olumsuz algılarının var olduğu saptanmıştır. Bazı veliler acil uzaktan eğitimi can simidi, kurtarıcı gibi olumlu metaforlarla tanımlarken bazıları ise bu kavramı kâbus, işkence gibi olumsuz metaforlarla tanımlamıştır. Acil uzaktan eğitimin, duyuşsal, öğretimsel, teknik, sağlıkla ilgili, etkileşimsel, özel hayatla ilgili, çalışan ebeveynlerin zorlanması ile ilgili birçok olumsuz etkisi olduğu ifade edilmiştir. Olumlu etkiler ise öğretimsel, etkileşim, tasarruf, sağlık, esneklik, kişisel gelişim, duyuşsal etkiler ve diğer olumlu etkiler olmak üzere kategorilendirilmiştir.

: “Akademik Türkçe… Gibidir”: Uluslararası Öğrencilerin Akademik Türkçe Kavramına İlişkin Agıları

The aim of this study is to reveal international students' perceptions of academic Turkish through metaphors. The participants of the study consist of international students who study academic Turkish at Erciyes University Continuing Education Center. The data of the research were obtained by filling the gaps in the expression given as "Academic Turkish, in my opinion, is like… Because… ” " by international students. This research was carried out by using a phenomenological research design and the data obtained were analyzed by content analysis. The findings of the study show that there are more positive and valid metaphors formed by international students towards the concept of academic Turkish. Positive metaphors reveal that international students perceive academic Turkish as a need and that academic Turkish prepares a substructure. Besides academic Turkish guides, and improves. Negative metaphors reflect that Academic Turkish is seen as a waste of time.