Social Construction Of Meaning Research Articles

Finnish queer teachers’ understanding of their language use in the workplace

ABSTRACT Finnish queer teachers work in an esteemed profession but also belong to a marginalized minority group. This article analyses interview data focusing on non-heterosexual teachers’ understanding of their language use in schools, drawing from sociolinguistic research with queer linguistics. Methodologically, Critical Discourse Analysis is applied to the data to explore the influence of heteronormativity shaping the way queer teachers understand their language use, resting on the knowledge that language use constructs social meanings and establishes discourses. The analysis provides discourses of safety, incompatibility and resistance that demonstrate the construction of social meanings to the understanding of language use, suggesting the main issues in heteronormative schools are connected to safety and experiencing incompatibility as a teacher. Queer teachers are also compelled to resist heteronormativity in many ways. The article concludes that there are heteronormative power settings specific to educational contexts, information that could be utilized for initiating change.

Hospital corridors as lived spaces: The reconfiguration of social boundaries during the early stages of the Covid pandemic.

This article explores the meanings and uses of a hospital corridor through 98 diary entries produced by the staff of an English specialist hospital during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on Lefebvre's (1991, The production of space. Blackwell) threefold theorisation of space, corridors are seen as conceived, perceived and lived spaces, produced through and enabling the reconfiguration and reinterpretation of social interactions. The diaries depict two distinct versions of the central hospital corridor: its 'normal' operation prior to the pandemic when it was perceived as a social and symbolic space for collective sensemaking and the 'COVID-19 empty corridor' described as a haunting place that divided hospital staff along ostensibly new social and moral boundaries that impacted negatively on lived work experiences and staff relationships. The mobilisation of the central hospital corridor in the daily social construction of meaning and experience during a period of organisational and societal crisis suggests that corridors should not be only seen as a material backdrop for work relationships but as social entities that come into being and are maintained and reproduced through the (lack of) performance of social relations.

The Critical Thinking Process: A Holistic View to Promote Critical Problem-Solving in Health Profession Education

Context: Critical thinking (CT) has been recognized as a key learning outcome in health profession education (HPE). A holistic, well-defined process for initiating CT is essential to promote critical problem-solving in HPE students. Various perceptions of CT have emerged from different paradigms and disciplines. Integration of this variability into the CT process could be beneficial for medical educators to develop CT in learners. This study aimed to outline the CT process in view of the multiple conceptualizations of CT. Evidence Acquisition: In this narrative review, SID, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases were searched. After studying 35 selected articles, the CT process was formulated based on the multiple conceptualizations of CT. Results: Multiple perceptions of CT, emerged from disciplines and paradigms, should be incorporated into the CT process to achieve strong CT. In view of this multiplicity, not only the CT skills but also its dispositions are of key importance in the CT process. Furthermore, the essential role of the context in which the CT takes place, one’s own creativity, metacognition over the thinking process, social construction of meaning, caring to others, and seeking problems through challenging the systems should be considered. Conclusions: We outlined the CT process, grounded from multiple conceptualizations of CT, and advocated for the use of it by HPE students to promote critical problem-solving in facing complex challenges during their professional careers.

Climate Innovations and Local Meaning-Making Dynamics

We draw on the institutional theory emphasizing the social construction of meaning, Neo-Gramscian theory, and the framing literature to examine how meanings associated with climate innovations are shaped, interpreted, evolved, and even change the field frame. Climate innovations are the context that technological and institutional meaning-making are intertwined, and local interests and power relationships interact. Developing these technologies needs change in norms, rules, business models, and more importantly, the meaning of the field and breaking the hegemony of fossil fuel incumbents. We elaborated on three main processes (theorization, translation and experimentation, and public deliberation) through which a new collective technological frame is shaped that results in the formation of a new field frame. We theorize how pluralization and hegemonization processes unfold in each phase and counteract with each other in the process of framing, meaning-making, and institutional change.

Coffee Culture in Indonesia: A Symbolic Interactionism Point of View

The coffee industry has evolved in several waves which resulted in coffee culture among a culturally diverse society. Drinking coffee culture has taken part in consumers’ daily life not only as cultural drinking, and routine but also as a medium for interaction and communication. Millennials are seen as a group of society who consume coffee on a day to day basis. The issues highlighted in this study is regarding how the meaning of drinking coffee is constructed and shared among millennial as coffee consumers through their interaction and communication. This is a phenomenological study conducted based on the constructivism paradigm whereby a qualitative approach is employed. Five (5) focus group discussions with a total of 23 informants were conducted. A snowball sampling process was applied to identify participants in this study based on the characteristics defined, whilst Symbolic Interactionism Theory is used to guide the study. Discussion is presented towards textural and structural descriptions of coffee culture meaning. Findings show that coffee culture is seen both as personal and social construction of meanings. Interactions with surroundings have given experience whereby individuals created the construction of drinking coffee as a personal journey and social tool for interaction. Keywords: Drinking coffee, culture, consumption, meaning, symbolic interactionism.

Metaphors of War in Effective and Ineffective Coping of Medical Directors of COVID-19 Wards in Public Hospitals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged medical professionals worldwide with an unprecedented need to provide care under conditions of complexity, uncertainty, and danger. These conditions, coupled with the unrelenting stress of overwhelming workloads, exhaustion, and decision-making fatigue, have forced clinicians to generate coping mechanisms. This qualitative study explored the use of metaphors as a coping mechanism by clinical directors of COVID-19 wards in Israeli public general hospitals while they were exposed to death and trauma throughout the pandemic's first wave in Israel (March to June 2020). The study employs discourse methodology and metaphor mapping analysis to capture the personal, organizational, and social dimensions of effective and ineffective processes of coping with an extreme health crisis. Analysis revealed that the metaphors that clinical directors used reflect a dual process of mediating and generating the social construction of meaning and facilitating effective and ineffective coping. Effective coping was facilitated by war metaphors that created a sense of mission and meaningfulness at both the organizational and the individual levels. War metaphors that generated a sense of isolation and sacrifice intensified helplessness and fear, which undermined coping. We propose actionable recommendations to enhance effective coping for individuals and organizations in this ongoing pandemic.

When Wor(l)ds Collide: Negotiating and Renegotiating Meaning in Interorganizational Relationships

An integral feature of organizational enactment is the social construction of meaning. Over time, organizations create an often implicit canon of meaning, which is an essential ingredient for the social construction of what is collectively perceived to be valid and true. This interpretation-guiding, idiosyncratic canon of meaning can be challenged, however, when organizations form interorganizational relationships and the interpretive worlds of two organizations collide. In this paper, we investigate the partners’ continuous efforts to negotiate and renegotiate meaning by examining the extent to which meaning manifests in contractual definitions which we understand as explicit outcomes of meaning (re)negotiations. Taking a socio-cognitive perspective, we suggest that the partners more likely strive for explicit definitions the larger their social and technology overlaps because overlaps (1) unleash the ability for explicit definitions and (2) establish mutual esteem of explicit definitions. We also argue that when uncertainty is high, the impact of social overlap on explicit definitions is stronger, while when uncertainty is low, the impact of technology overlap is more pertinent. We test our conceptual model on a longitudinal dataset of 1,672 interorganizational relationships in the biopharmaceutical industry and find general support for our predictions. Our paper contributes to research on interorganizational sensemaking and the literature on contract design and adaptation.

Uncovering conceptual metaphors in Donald Trump’s Twitter before and after the COVID-19 outbreak

Global leaders have addressed the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways and registers well beyond the scientific-technical genre, some of which have been unexpectedly undermined by a war-like undertone broadcast by both the media and social networks (cf. conceptual metaphor as discussed, for example, by Lakoff, & Johnson 1980, and Koller 2011). According to Hartmann-Mahmud (2002), metaphors are often exploited to manipulate emotion and to justify courses of action related, in this case, to a pandemic scenario, thereby potentially fostering the labelling of the virus with lexemes such as an enemy, invisible or hidden, or even as a prompter for war, hatred, prejudice and racism. Particularly interesting for this research paper is the study in progress of the occurrence of metaphors, associated with the pandemic, retrieved from the Twitter of Donald Trump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump), especially given his reported high engagement with interlocutors in social media (Walther 1992, Crystal 2006, Greengard 2009, Murthy 2013, Baym 2015, Burgess, & Baym 2020). The corpora comprise all original tweets disseminated by Trump in two periods: the first from September 2019 to January 2020; and the latter from February to June 2020. Drawing on corpus linguistics and a discourse-based approach (Baker 2006), it is possible to account for metaphors associated with the lemma COVID in Trump’s Twitter. Research findings indicate 123 occurrences of the lemma virus closely associated with the following lexical items: corona, Covid, China, Chinese, hidden enemy, invisible enemy and war. This study analyses conceptual metaphors in Trump’s communicative strategies throughout the early and mid-stages of the pandemic. Hence, it reflects upon the impact of figurative language in the social construction of meaning, particularly that of leaders’ interactions with citizens and internet followers in real world interactions via social media, which borrows increasingly from online exchanges (Sousa, & Ivanova 2012) more than any other media (for instance international press).

The Curious Construct of Active Learning

The construct of active learning permeates undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but despite its prevalence, the construct means different things to different people, groups, and STEM domains. To better understand active learning, we constructed this review through an innovative interdisciplinary collaboration involving research teams from psychology and discipline-based education research (DBER). Our collaboration examined active learning from two different perspectives (i.e., psychology and DBER) and surveyed the current landscape of undergraduate STEM instructional practices related to the modes of active learning and traditional lecture. On that basis, we concluded that active learning—which is commonly used to communicate an alternative to lecture and does serve a purpose in higher education classroom practice—is an umbrella term that is not particularly useful in advancing research on learning. To clarify, we synthesized a working definition of active learning that operates within an elaborative framework, which we call the construction-of-understanding ecosystem. A cornerstone of this framework is that undergraduate learners should be active agents during instruction and that the social construction of meaning plays an important role for many learners, above and beyond their individual cognitive construction of knowledge. Our proposed framework offers a coherent and actionable concept of active learning with the aim of advancing future research and practice in undergraduate STEM education.

Caritas in social work: one university’s paradigm shift through the social construction of meaning

ABSTRACT We adopted caritas as a way to support students’ inherent inclination to care about others and to support their genuine care and concern for the clients they will see. Our aim was to explore how students are using learning resources to socially construct a concept of caritas. Students were asked to explain in a family case study how social work services motivated by caritas might be distinguished from the services of a social worker who did not adopt this philosophy. We conducted a content analysis of 20 student papers. After reviewing the completed assignments, we identified categories and themes as part of the content analysis. Five categories were examined: caritas as love; caritas as motivation; caritas as an ethical act; caritas as a relationship; and caritas as an attitude. Student responses tended to fit into more than one category. This suggests they view caritas as a multidimensional construct. Future research will explore how students move beyond a conceptualization of caritas to its application in everyday interactions. The program can then use this knowledge to further develop its philosophy of caritas.

Using Bayesian induction methods in risk assessment and communication

Bayes's theorem allows us to use subjective thinking to find numerical values to formulate assessments of risk. It is more than a mathematical formula; it can be thought of as an iterative process that challenges us to imagine the potential for "unknown, unknowns." The heuristics involved in this process can be enhanced if they take into consideration some of the established risk assessment and communication models used today in technical communication that are concerned with the social construction of meaning and the kairos involved in rhetorical situations. Understanding the connection between Bayesian analysis and risk communication will allow us to better convey the potential for risk that is based on probabilistic assumptions.

Gender-based Socio-semiotic Analysis of Honour Killing in Pakistani Paintings

Episodes of ideological concern related to honour norms and construction of social meanings depicted through paintings are pertinent in foregrounding the social realities of Pakistan. This paper analyzes the grammar of paintings from the perspective of gender roles assumed in the context of honour. The grammar of the visual design of five paintings painted by male and female Pakistani painters belonging to different areas of Pakistan have been qualitatively studied in the light of the social semiotic framework suggested by Kress and Leeuwen (2006). The results show that women are represented as helpless, outcast and oppressed beings; while men have been depicted, indirectly through signs, as oppressors. Paucity of research in this area and implications of the analysis for gender studies, anthropological linguistics, violence studies and visual literacy, make it a significant contribution to the existing literature.

예술의 사회적 의미구성과 의식 활동: 칸트, 푸코, 정동이론, 신경미학, 사회적 체계이론 비교

예술의 사회적 의미구성과 의식 활동: 칸트, 푸코, 정동이론, 신경미학, 사회적 체계이론 비교

Regionale Sprache als Identitätsmarker Hamburger Fußballfans.

The dissertation project Regionale Sprache als Identitätsmarker. Zur Konstruktion sozialer Bedeutung bei Hamburger Fußballfans ‘Regional language as identity marker. The construction of social meaning among football fans in Hamburg’ examines different practices of identity construction of fans from the two football clubs FC St. Pauli and Hamburger Sportverein (HSV). By analysing a group interview with HSV fans, this paper investigates the potential of identification with regional language. Identity constructions can be identified in the following three aspects: (a) the conceptualisation of the local substandard, (b) the speakers’ positioning concerning the use of the local substandard and (c) language attitudes.

Cultura emotiva e ordem moral: medo e risco na nova sensibilidade contemporânea

A questão desenvolvida neste trabalho é a de que o medo é uma emoção social e uma construção social de sentidos. Parte da hipótese de que o medo é uma emoção forjada nas relações sociais. Este trabalho objetiva compreender as bases da construção social do medo no imaginário do homem comum, como um jogo de manutenção, conformação e transformação de ensaios sociais e individuais, enquanto redes de conflito que informam e formulam culturas emotivas e processos morais. O trabalho analisa as relações entre indivíduos ou grupos, apreendidas como entrelaçadas na presença direta ou indireta do medo.

A Computational Approach to Scribal Practice

The study of the construction of social meaning in ancient Maya communities of Mesoamerica poses a variety of methodological problems in historical sociolinguistics due to the reliance on written records by means of a writing system that exhibits variation itself. While variation in writing systems has been previously studied in terms of diachronic shifts and dialectal variation, systematic approaches still remain elusive. This paper explores new avenues for the computational extraction of sociolinguistic features, resulting in the automatic extraction of useful sociolinguistic information from written corpora using Machine Learning algorithms. We show that these features can help illuminating the contribution of pragmatic choices in the selection of graphemes to stylistic practices that are key in the construction of Mayan scribal communities of practice.

Meaning construction in legislative discourse: a sociosemiotic interpretation on supervision system reform in China

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the reform of supervision system in China through the Supervision Law, and identifies this Law as a sign within its corresponding social and political purposes and intentions from the sociosemiotic perspective. Within its legislation process, the Supervision Law could be identified as both a sign textualized among the disciplinary regulations, and as a signifier configured with the successive interpretants by relevant laws, for example, the Constitution Amendment 2018 and the Criminal Procedure Law 2018, showing the social construction of legislative meaning as infinite semiosis. In other words, from the whole process of sign perception, reception, acceptation, and interpretation, a legislative text could be interpreted both as a sign constructed in the external but relevant sign systems and as a signifier reconstructed with the successive but infinite interpretants in the internal sign system. This study also finds that the social construction of meaning is achieved and represented to the extent which is constructed through the representation and interpretation of law-making process by sign receivers or legal participants.

The Axiological Strategies of Innovation Discourse and Ways of their Argumentation

The research features the ways of innovation discourse and is based on the concept of axiological parameterization of social media discourse. It contributes to the construction of social meanings on the basis of what is particularly significant and valuable in the interpretation process. It also defines the conceptual status of "innovation" as one of the axiologemes of modern discourse. The authors set the parameters of the strategic organization of innovation discourse based on the dynamic approach to the discourse analysis in the model of the trajectory of discursivisation and interpretative approach to the discourse description. The authors also reveal the prevalence of axiological strategies of conceptual status improving as a positive valorization realized in the tactics and techniques of valorizing positive nomination as well as tactics of axiological programming. The theoretical significance of the work lies in the fact that it contributes to the description of discursive construction of the value of "innovation". The results of the analysis are applicable in the field of social discourse theory, speech influence, argumentation theory and axiological strategies.

The storyscapes of teenage pregnancy. On morality, embodiment, and narrative agency

ABSTRACTYoung women tell different stories about teenage pregnancies. Their stories are embedded in the storyscape of their environment, which offers a limited set of narratives. Normative discourses influence the stories young women tell about their pregnancies. Social norms and stigma play an important role in the construction of the meaning of teenage pregnancies. However, the embodiment of being pregnant constitutes meaning as well. This paper draws on findings from a qualitative study conducted in 2015 among 46 young Dutch women who got pregnant before their 20th birthday. Our study explores how young women navigate the moral arena when they are confronted with a teenage pregnancy and which role the embodiment of pregnancy plays in the construction of social meanings. The concept of storyscapes visualises how young women are constrained by their embeddedness in multiple storyscapes, defined by different and often contrasting audiences. Nevertheless, our study indicates that the momentum of pregnancy can offer agentic possibilities to take up another position towards their social environment and develop narrative agency.

Collective Trauma and the Social Construction of Meaning.

Collective trauma is a cataclysmic event that shatters the basic fabric of society. Aside from the horrific loss of life, collective trauma is also a crisis of meaning. The current paper systematically delineates the process that begins with a collective trauma, transforms into a collective memory, and culminates in a system of meaning that allows groups to redefine who they are and where they are going. For victims, the memory of trauma may be adaptive for group survival, but also elevates existential threat, which prompts a search for meaning, and the construction of a trans-generational collective self. For perpetrators, the memory of trauma poses a threat to collective identity that may be addressed by denying history, minimizing culpability for wrongdoing, transforming the memory of the event, closing the door on history, or accepting responsibility. The acknowledgment of responsibility often comes with disidentification from the group. The dissonance between historical crimes and the need to uphold a positive image of the group may be resolved, however, in another manner; it may prompt the creation of a new group narrative that acknowledges the crime and uses it as a backdrop to accentuate the current positive actions of the group. For both victims and perpetrators, deriving meaning from trauma is an ongoing process that is continuously negotiated within groups and between groups; it is responsible for debates over memory, but also holds the promise of providing a basis for intergroup understanding.