Rhetorical Appeals Research Articles

Future Lives and Deaths with Purpose: Perspectives on Capacity, Character, and Intent

Abstract The articles in this issue of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy explore emerging technologies, medical innovations, and shifting moral norms, expanding present discussions around topics in bioethics both old and new. Some question whether novel definitions of death and harm change the moral permissibility of killing, particularly at the hands of a physician. Others question how increased or decreased abilities affect responsibility and achievement. Another illustrates how rhetorical appeals to character have been used to justify otherwise morally illicit actions within the clinic. Together, these articles shed new light on topics in the field of bioethics.

Diverging paths, converging goals: Framing crisis to kairos in Bill Gates's and Greta Thunberg's climate discourse

This article introduces a typology of nine communication frames and analyzes how they operate in Bill Gates's How to Avoid a Climate Catastrophe (2021) and Greta Thunberg's The Climate Book (2022). The typology draws special attention to how non-fiction books are vehicles that can appeal for timely action (i.e. kairos), establish authorial ethos, disseminate climate science, and advocate for climate activism and energy transitions. The application of the typology highlights the books' narrative arcs: Gates and Thunberg both begin by acknowledging the reality and severity of the climate crisis and the correspondence between social progress and justice. Then, their arguments diverge: Thunberg critiques ineffective policies, cites climate science, and urges immediate social action; Gates provides economic context to support his appeals for innovation spurred by applied science. Towards their conclusions, the two authors' rhetorical appeals converge again as they each advocate for timely action. The results of this thematic analyses reinforce the value of book-length arguments that engage scientific evidence and envisage urgent individual and collective responses to climate crises.

The Patterns of Reforming in the Legacy of Al-Imam Al-Sajjad (PBUH):A Rhetorical Pragmatic Analysis

This paper deals with the study of pragmatic strategies and rhetorical devices to demonstrate the patterns of reforming: self,social , and moral reforming in the legacy of Imam Al-Sajjad(pbuh) ,that is represented by prayers and supplications .This heritage combines the spirit of revolution against tyranny and jihadist enthusiasm against deviations in all aspects of life . Imam Al-Sajjad(pbuh) adopts several ways for reforming including preaching ,calling people to have morals , directing people to know the truths ,causes of happiness and misery . These ways are intended to warn people against mindlessness by addressing the mind ,spirit ,and emotion .Hence ,this study focuses on the persuasive discourse in which pragmatics and rhetoric are integrated and aims at investigating the pragmatic strategies and rhetorical devices that are utilized as analytical tools to analyze the supplications and prayers of Imam Al- Sajjad (pbuh) delivered under the topic of reforming . Accordingly ,the study attempts to answer the following questions: What are the pragmatic strategies and rhetorical devices that Imam Al- Sajjad (pbuh) uses in this verbal legacy ? How are the pragmatic and rhetorical devices are utilized to present the idea of reforming ? The study hypothesizes that Imam Al- Sajjad (pbuh) uses many pragmatic and rhetorical devices that contributed significantly to highlight the idea of reforming of all its kinds as a model of stupendous legitmate literature. Additionally ,the rhetoric devices are connected with the three rhetorical appeals: logos ,ethos , and pathos .The study is finalized with some conclusions that these pragmatic and rhetorical devices reflect sympathy , mercy ,and emotional involving through which Al-Imam (pbuh) conveys a reformist message that could be called a message of spirit and insight . It is worth to mention that any translation of Arabic texts within this paper is the researcher's humble effort except the experts.

Rhetorical strategies in the climate change disclosures of Bangladeshi banking companies

PurposeThe main objective of this article is to explore the rhetorical persuasive strategies in the climate change-related disclosures of the annual reports of Bangladeshi banking companies.Design/methodology/approachTo fulfil this objective, content and rhetorical analyses are conducted on the climate change-related disclosures in the annual reports of Bangladeshi banks. The analysis is interpreted with the help of Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos and pathos).FindingsEvidence suggests that Bangladeshi banks disclose climate change-related issues in annual reports. These issues include demonstrating a genuine concern for climate change and exhibiting commitment to green finance and investment, paper and energy conservation, tree plantation, biodiversity and climate change risk funds. They also underscore challenges linked to carbon emissions, air pollution, and natural disasters. These disclosures are persuasive, and rhetorical strategies such as ethos, logos, and pathos are evident. However, the disclosures lacked consistency and comparability because of the absence of reporting regulations and a prescribed framework.Practical implicationsThis study informs managers and policymakers about climate change disclosures in Bangladesh, particularly within the banking industry. The research suggests the need for improved reporting consistency and comparability, potentially achieved through standardised climate change reporting guidelines and mandatory requirements.Originality/valueThis paper’s uniqueness lies in its application of Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle to enhance our understanding of how banking companies in a developing economy strategically employ climate change-related disclosures to influence readers. Rhetorical analysis is limitedly used by accounting scholars in analysing corporate climate-change disclosures.

Analyzing the Use of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Professional Communication

Effective communication is paramount in the professional business world, serving as a crucial tool to bridge gaps and foster collaboration in workplace settings. The standard measurement of an organization's success lies in the professionalism of its communication, ensuring a seamless conveyance of messages to constituents. Daily interactions are influenced by numerous individual, institutional, and societal factors, which may complicate what might initially seem like a natural and straightforward process. The inability to communicate in a professional manner, both verbally and in writing, can lead to breakdowns in communication among colleagues. This qualitative research aims to explore the practical application of Aristotle's ethos, pathos, and logos in writing within the workplace, with the objective of enhancing professional communication in the 21st century. The focus is on the reliance on persuasive email writing to elaborate on how these three rhetorical appeals are employed in professional communication. The study will delve into various situational factors, including audience characteristics, the type of communication, and the organizational culture, and their influence on the application of ethos, pathos, and logos. The research also seeks to quantify the use of these rhetorical appeals across diverse forms of professional communication, such as reports and emails. A sample of fifty employees from the Klang Valley region participated in the study. Surveys were conducted, and samples of formal email writings were collected from participants who have agreed to remain anonymous, adhering to organizational requirements. The acquired data underwent a thematic analysis grounded in Aristotle's Rhetorical Theory to extract meaningful insights. This research aspires to contribute to a deeper understanding of effective professional communication, providing practical insights for the improvement of communication skills in the contemporary workplace. The thematic analysis will illuminate patterns and nuances in the application of ethos, pathos, and logos, ultimately facilitating more nuanced and impactful communication strategies.

Black Men Writing, Reflecting, and Discovering Self: Personal Narrative Essays of College-aged African American Men at an All-male Historically Black College or University (HBCU)

<p>Personal narratives are studied in many disciplines, but theoretical analysis of the personal narrative in composition classes has lagged behind the research. This qualitative study examines the personal narratives of thirty Black college-aged men. This study presents the feelings and thoughts of Black males through their personal stories and perspectives; in the study, they detail their life experiences. The narratives were analyzed for elements of narrative discourse, which include (1) Thesis; (2) Transitions; (3) Use and Evaluation of Sources; (4) Audience, Tone, and Rhetorical Appeals; (5) Organization; (6) Claims, Warrants, and Support; (7)Paraphrases, Direct Quotes, and Summary; (8) In-text Citations and Works Cited Page; (9) Style and Syntax; and (10) Mechanics (see scoring procedures). Each narrative was analyzed according to the criteria described in the Personal Narrative Rubric; the number of elements was counted for each category. The researcher recommends additional narrative studies of Black men in different age groups, educational backgrounds, social and economic levels, and geographical regions.</p>

Priming through Persuasion: Towards Secure Password Behavior

Users tend to create weak passwords even for the important accounts. The prior research shed light on user's insecure password behavior, and why the interventions, including requirement specification (e.g., password composition policies) and feedback systems (e.g., password meters) fail in practice. To this end, we propose and evaluate the concept: priming-through-persuasion in the realm of secure password creation. In particular, we created visual designs, aimed at priming users about the repercussions of weak passwords before their password creation. We base our designs on two forms of persuasion methods: pathos and logos. Pathos appeals to people's emotion in order to persuade them towards an expected behavior, where logos-based rhetoric appeals to a person's sense of reason. We conducted a lab study including participatory design and semi-structured interview with 20 participants. We updated our designs in an iterative manner based on the feedback from our participants in the lab study. To evaluate our updated designs, we conducted a between-subject online study with 131 participants over Amazon Mechanical Turk. Our study provides insight into how the use of persuasion techniques contributed to user attachment and engagement with the design, as well as the comprehension of the conveyed message about password vulnerabilities. Our findings lead to the guideline for future research on leveraging the priming-through-persuasion to complement the existing techniques in encouraging users towards secure behavior.

The Rhetoric of Covid-19 Pandemics: Insights from The Indonesian Government’s Public Media Statements

In response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Indonesian government must take anticipatory steps to fight against global infections increasingly unsettling the public. Many media have highlighted the government's way of dealing with the pandemics, such as providing the latest news and information related to Covid-19. In this light, this study aims to identify the rhetorical appeals used in Indonesian government statements in times of Covid-19 pandemics and describe how those rhetorical appeals used by Indonesian government public addresses from The Jakarta Post online edition from March until December 2020. This study is expected to look at how texts and practices during the pandemic and its panic were in line with the Indonesian government to support their case. The result of this study can be used as a reference for the lecturers who want to help their students understand texts and their practices in online media. In addition, this study is expected to add new content to the study of rhetoric and discourse analysis and how the language of the pandemic is represented in the media.

Research on Determinants Affecting Users' Impulsive Purchase Intention in Live Streaming from the Perspective of Perceived Live Streamers' Ability.

As an innovative marketing pattern, live-streaming e-commerce supplies advantages over traditional e-commerce in stimulating impulsive purchases. This study developed a theoretical model that examines how perceived live streamers' abilities (perceived live interaction ability and perceived linguistic persuasion ability) affect impulsive purchase intention based on interaction theory, affective distance theory, trust theory, and Aristotle's rhetorical appeals. We conducted empirical research through a survey questionnaire to verify the effectiveness of the model. A total of 330 valid samples were gathered from live-streaming users, and partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for data analysis. The results indicate that perceived live interaction ability, encompassing responsiveness, entertainment, and personalization, significantly impacts affective distance. Among the four dimensions of perceived linguistic persuasion ability, emotional contagion significantly influences affective distance, whereas expertise, logic, and morality significantly affect cognitive trust. Both affective distance and cognitive trust promote consumers' impulsive purchases through affective trust. Our research findings provide theoretical and practical recommendations for live-streaming platforms and merchants engaged in live marketing.

Situating Evaluation and Authority: Direct Sponsorship in Letters of Recommendation

The letter of recommendation (LOR) is a stylized form of direct sponsorship, a rhetorical appeal that confers favor on a person or object in keeping with the writer’s—or sponsor’s—character, authority, and expertise. In response to Swales’s call to “unveil” the rhetorical features of occluded genres, this research employs a move-step analysis to determine the rhetorical features of a sample of 83 LORs written by college faculty and administrators for a nationally competitive, postgraduate fellowship. This study finds five core moves expressed in its LOR sample: (1) sponsor positioning, (2) applicant performance, (3) applicant attributes, (4) future projection, and (5) audience appeals. Our discussion offers three key insights and provides macro-level takeaways in an effort to raise rhetorical awareness for LOR writers and requestors alike.

Semiotic Analysis of Persuasion Elements in Lung Cancer and Colorectal Cancer Posters

The study examines the persuasion elements of the textual and visual contents of lung cancer and colorectal cancer posters. Aristotle’s (1954) rhetorical appeals and Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2021) social semiotic visual analysis were employed for analysing posters produced by the National Cancer Institute, Malaysia Ministry of Health, and NGOs. Results show that a focus on the location of cancer, symptoms, risk factors, and screening methods. Textual content analysis identified 143 rhetorical appeals with a predominant focus on logos (79.7%), emphasising factual information about cancer risks, signs, and treatment. Ethos elements (14.7%) are present in seven posters, primarily in the form of the official logo of the organisation and source credits to enhance the credibility of the poster. The study revealed the sparing use of pathos (5.6%), which was found in only two posters, in the form of questions to get the audience to think about their own risk. The social semiotic visual analysis highlighted the similarity of the posters in representing the cancer site, risk factors and signs using visuals and text. The lung cancer and colorectal cancer posters are also similar in the compositional dimension in terms of the use of clipart and diagrams. As for the interactive dimension, the posters engage the audience through close-up views of the cancer site and long and medium shot of human figures. The paper concludes with principles for the message design of the health posters based on rhetorical appeal and social semiotic visual frameworks.

Get back! Methods for Exploring Discourses of Nostalgia and Nostalgic Discourses Using Corpora

Nostalgia for something lost (factual or imagined) has shaped nations and continues to shape national self-image and pol-icies. The rhetorical appeal to nostalgia has been blamed for a range of phenomena, from populism to reactionary politics at large, and yet research in psychology has suggested that nostalgising has a beneficial cognitive function. The dis-sonance between the negative reputation of nostalgia and the science of how it works for us, as a positive and useful emotion, is related to the fact that nostalgia is not a given content, but a situated cultural practice. I here use corpus linguistics methods to pursue the mismatch between the “discourse of nostalgia” and “nostalgic discourses” and to move from expressions that denote nostalgia, to expressions that signal it. This paper reports on the methodological ex-plorations analysing large newspaper corpora and working on the overlaps between the collocational profile of nostalgiaand the markers of nostalgic discourse. The aim is to exploit corpus studies’ ability to systematically analyze patterns as a gateway to access nostalgic narratives. Nostalgia is, in fact, intrinsically discursive: it is a story of transformation, and it is the story of felt absences in the present compared to an ‘elsewhen’. Understanding the narratives of nostalgia and identifying a typology of nostalgic discursive triggers may of-fer insights into how this pervasive, powerful and often prof-itable emotion gains purchase in public discourse.

Strategi Kreatif Konten PPID Kota Semarang Dalam Memperkenalkan Informasi Layanan Melalui Media Sosial Instagram

<p><em>This study focuses on explaining the creative strategies of PPID Kota Semarang in introducing information to the public and to find out the supporting factors and describe PPID information services. Using a qualitative approach method. Using a case study field research strategy, in goal-oriented research to understand the characteristics of individuals and groups, institutions, certain settings in depth. The results of the findings and discussion of the Analysis of the Content Creative Strategy of PPID Kota Semarang in Introducing Service Information to the Public through the Instagram Social Media Platform, several points can be taken, namely the content creative strategy carried out by PPID Kota Semarang, creative idea discovery, content topic discovery, division of labor, content production implementation, information sources or data, content management and content strategy evaluation. Overall, creating a content strategy using Rhetoric theory can help content creators build stronger and more persuasive arguments in their writing. By identifying rhetorical appeals.</em></p>

COMPARING THE USE OF RHETORICAL APPEALS BY TWO MALAYSIAN POLITICIANS IN THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION

Drawing upon Aristotle’s rhetorical appeal theory, the study was conducted to compare the use of rhetorical strategies by two Malaysian politicians namely Syed Saddiq [P1] and Hannah Yeoh [P2] in their social media communication. Two research questions were formulated for the study: (a) What were the rhetorical strategies used by the two politicians? (b) Which type of rhetorical appeals were used the most among the two politicians? This study employs a qualitative content analysis approach and the data for the study were social media postings collected from the target politicians’ social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) related to the Taman Sri Muda flood crisis dated from the 17th of December 2021 to the 10th of January 2022. The data were analysed and classified based on Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos. It was found that both politicians adopted different types of rhetorical strategies depending on the message they intended to convey. Syed Saddiq [P1] used more pathos while Hannah Yeoh [P2] utilised more ethos. It can be concluded based on the findings that Syed Saddiq and Hannah Yeoh had utilised Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos in their social media posts during the Taman Sri Muda flood crisis to establish their credibility as politicians, to appeal to the public’s emotion and sympathy as well as to provide evidence to back up their arguments and claims. This study contributes to the literature on persuasive strategies used by politicians and political communication. Keyword(s) : Rhetorical appeals; communicative practices; social media interaction; ethos, pathos; logos.

Youth Storytelling for Social Change: Guiding Questions for Effective and Ethical Delivery

Storytelling is a powerful medium through which to nurture and amplify youths' voices. When employed effectively and ethically, storytelling has been shown to foster connection, improve intergroup relations, promote socioemotional well-being, and motivate social action. Drawing on foundational research, Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals, and our experience pilot testing the #PassTheMicYouth curriculum, we developed ten guiding questions for effective and ethical youth storytelling for social change. 4-H professionals can use these questions with youths to guide them through social impact storytelling creation and delivery.

Bhandari’s Rhetoric in the 1990s Political Dynamics: Institutionalizing Democracy in Nepal

Rhetoric can be described as an art of persuasion, encompassing both words and actions. It is associated with the relationship between an addresser and an addressee in the process of communication. In the early post-1990 era in Nepal, CPN (UML) Secretary General Madan Bhandari emerged as a popular leader with his political philosophy of People’s Multiparty Democracy (PMPD), effectively employing the art of rhetoric to connect with a diverse audience. The rhetorical analysis of Bhandari’s speeches, which covered topics such as monarchy, constitution, parliamentary elections, and the Tanakpur Treaty, had a profound impact on shaping the Nepali psyche. Using rhetorical appeals – logos, pathos, and ethos – Bhandari brilliantly persuaded the intended audience in the post-democracy Nepali society early in the 1990s. Exploiting myths and metaphors, and repetitions and parallelism, Bhandari skillfully projected a sense of hope and expectation amidst contemporary political exigencies. Bhandari’s rhetoric contained substantial democratic values and ideas for socio-economic transformation, which deeply inspired the newly liberated Nepali psyche. With a high level of respect for his audiences, he envisioned a future course of progress and prosperity for Nepal embedded in the principles of People’s Multiparty Democracy, all within the context of global political dynamics. Through a perfect balance of rhetoric and reality, Bhandari not only instilled new hope in the Nepali people but also created an image of an iconic leader dedicated to the welfare of the country and its people. As an innovative political philosophy, PMPD resonates with democratic practice in the Marxist philosophy for the masses that earned him the status of a hero in contemporary Nepali politics, relevant now, and directed to continue for decades in the South Asian geopolitical sphere.

Large Language Models Can Argue in Convincing Ways About Politics, But Humans Dislike AI Authors: implications for Governance

ABSTRACT All politics relies on rhetorical appeals, and the ability to make arguments is considered perhaps uniquely human. But as recent times have seen successful large language model (LLM) applications to similar endeavours, we explore whether these approaches can out-compete humans in making appeals for/against various positions in US politics. We curate responses from crowdsourced workers and an LLM and place them in competition with one another. Human (crowd) judges make decisions about the relative strength of their (human v machine) efforts. We have several empirical ‘possibility’ results. First, LLMs can produce novel arguments that convince independent judges at least on a par with human efforts. Yet when informed about an orator’s true identity, judges show a preference for human over LLM arguments. This may suggest voters view such models as potentially dangerous; we think politicians should be aware of related ‘liar’s dividend’ concerns.

Provocative greenness and staged rebellion: Youth’s rhetorical performances of environmental citizenship

The paper examines the rhetorical use and function of a provocative “rebel” persona in argumentative texts, collected from the youth column in Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten and the national speech contest for high school students, Ta ordet!, seeking to influence the audience’s attitudes towards green lifestyles. Approaching “the rebel” as a persona construction and a rhetorical appeal, I explore how young people engage with and participate in environmental debates and how their rhetorical intervention invites the audience to experience and perform environmental citizenship.

Rhetorical Appeals Used by The New Generation of Malaysian Politicians in Their Social Media Communication

Rhetorical Appeals Used by The New Generation of Malaysian Politicians in Their Social Media Communication

Entrepreneuring and family firms cofounders' familiness at work through rhetoric appeals

PurposeThis research objective was to explore how Romanian IT family businesses' co-founders enable entrepreneuring through familiness practices. The authors explored what familiness practices emerge and how these are facilitated and supported by the rhetoric framework.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on Romanian IT entrepreneurs' practice from five case studies of IT family businesses and purposive revelatory cases, the authors considered the family co-founders' narratives and representations of familiness presented in 31 interviews.FindingsThe respondents' communication in entrepreneuring is a joint collaborative effort of the family co-founders to function well. Family entrepreneurs generate positive perceptions in favour of enterprising families using persuasive communication via rhetoric appeals to familiness ethos, familiness logos and familiness pathos, leading to constructive conflict management. The rhetoric of persuasion supports family entrepreneuring.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors conducted multiple case studies, profiling technological co-founders and family entrepreneurs in the challenging circumstances of an emerging economy.Practical implicationsThe analysis of the use of rhetoric contributes to a better understanding of familiness practices in the family business. Through appeals to ethos, family business entrepreneurs enforce family values built on shared history, complementarity and moral exemplarity. The appeals to logos in entrepreneuring involve fulfilling complementary roles, alignment and continuous learning and coaching. The appeals to pathos are about emotions and how the family entrepreneurs' discourse enforces constructive handling of emotions.Social implicationsThe perceived familiness communicated through appeals to ethos, logos and pathos contributes to legitimating the family firm structures.Originality/valueTheorising from family entrepreneurs' familiness practices, the authors suggest that entrepreneuring requires good communication of the representation of familiness for co-founders, employees and other stakeholders to also serve constructive conflict handling. The perceived familiness communicated through appeals to ethos, logos and pathos helps family businesses leverage their unique strengths and resources in the entrepreneuring process.