Specific Narrative Research Articles

The Role of Photography in Breaking News Events: The Trump Assassination as an Example

This paper explores the role of photography in breaking news events through photographs taken by Evan Vucci during the Trump assassination. Using content analysis, the study analyzed 105 public articles to explore the visual guiding power of photography and how the media uses images to influence public opinion. The study found that photography can quickly attract public attention and influence the emotional level, while media can shape a specific narrative framework through selective display. The life of a news report lies in vividness, truth, and vividness. The same is true of news photography. Capturing real moments with both visual and emotional impact is the best news photo [1]. Meanwhile, it points out the shortcomings of China’s WeChat in reporting, such as ignoring the victims and the deep-rooted causes, and suggests that the media should reflect on the problems in reporting and take social responsibility. The study also offers suggestions for future reporting practices, emphasizing the key role of photojournalism in shaping public perception and the importance of media ethics. The limitation of the study is that the sample mainly focuses on WeChat, with a short timeframe, and future research will expand the sample and deepen the analysis of the audience’s psychological and emotional responses.

Developing an mpox risk assessment matrix for social listening and infodemic insights generation

Abstract Issue Any effective response to an infodemic, requires prioritizing public health response on identified narrative themes that pose highest risk to health and well-being of populations. High-risk narratives often require more swift and far-reaching action and low-risk narratives require little or no response. Description of the problem Different countries are assigned different levels of risk to specific narratives or concerns, recognizing that for some issues there may be a large gap between the true public health threat and what is generating lots of conversations, concerns and press coverage that indicate a high degree of risk perception that may be unwarranted. WHO developed a risk matrix to apply to global analysis of questions, concerns and narratives about mpox, which resulted in biweekly infodemic intelligence reports that risk-assessed identified infodemic themes and corresponding recommendations for action. Results Risk assessment criteria were defined in the context of WHO’s global infodemic insights analysis for low, medium and high risk and positive sentiment in mpox global outbreak context before conducting the integrated analysis so that insights were reproducible and infodemic response actions were prioritized. This implemented the WHO/UNICEF training manual on 6 steps to produce an infodemic insights report, which includes tools on how to develop and apply a risk matrix for a specific public health question of concern and apply it in analysis. Lessons The approach resulted in rapid, systematic, reproducible and evidence-driven decision-making to respond to the infodemic accompanying the mpox global outbreak. Risk matrices must be adapted to the context of the public health event and the mandate of the health authority taking action. An mpox risk matrix for narratives included adaptation to reflect high-risk from stigmatizing narratives, as well as narratives circulating around or within LGBTQI+ communities. Key messages • A risk matrix must be developed and adapted to the context of each health emergency and level of health authority action. • Prioritization for rapid infodemic response based on a risk assessment is that it facilitates more effective response in a health emergency.

Exploring the Vital Role of Colors and Shapes in Architectural Design and Education

This study investigates the crucial influence of color and form on architectural design and architecture education, highlighting how these elements shape the aesthetics of the built environment and impact human experiences. The central problem addressed is the need to understand the interaction between color and form in creating spaces that evoke specific emotions and cultural narratives, contributing to an architecture that goes beyond functionality. The importance of this study lies in demonstrating how the careful integration of these elements can enrich the built environment and improve the quality of architectural education. The methodology adopted includes the analysis of case studies and expert opinions, along with the exploration of innovative methods in the teaching of architecture, which combine practical learning, virtual simulations and interdisciplinary collaboration. The results indicate that an in-depth understanding of the dynamic relationship between colors and shapes allows architects, but also society in general, to enhance their creativity, contributing to a more culturally significant and aesthetically impactful built environment.

Escaping Online: Teacher Student Engagement in a Digital Escape Game

Escape games have become popular as a learning activity and are being used in a large variety of subjects (e.g., chemistry (Peleg et al, 2019), music (Babazadeh et al, 2022)). Research has shown that they are generally engaging for students (Veldkamp et al, 2020). However, the study of engagement is often limited to its observable aspect (e.g., the students are having fun; they are participating in the learning activity) or is not the focus of the analysis. Fewer studies are also investigating the use of escape games in fully online settings, when students are each playing from their own location. This research study is exploring engagement from the students’ perspective, within a fully online course in a teacher education program at a Norwegian university. Teacher students were invited to play Radioaktiv, a digital escape game for natural sciences on the topic of radioactivity. Six pairs of students also participated in guided interviews after playing. Reflexive thematic analysis of the interview data with the students was conducted to investigate what characterised the students’ experience of engagement while playing the online escape game Radioaktiv. Through this research question, the study is taking a closer look at what it means when the students say they were engaged in the game. Findings show four main aspects of the students’ experience of engagement. First, the time pressure was found to be a double-edged sword. Students found the timer engaging, but some were also too stressed by its presence to the detriment of learning outcomes. Second, students were engaged in completing tasks for their own sake, independently from other game aspects. Third, students appreciated having a read thread, but were not engaged in the specific narrative of the escape game. Finally, students positioned themselves as teachers and it strongly defined their experience of engagement in the game. They saw the game through the potential it held for their own pupils. These findings raise questions about the selection of escape games for learning in online environments and when and how to use them (e.g., discover a new theme, repetition, focus on soft skills).

Decoding prognosis: Unraveling physicians' responses in electronic treatment plans.

230 Background: Communicating prognosis to cancer patients is a critical aspect of shared decision making in healthcare. Practices in The US Oncology Network (The Network) use an electronic version of a treatment plan based on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) care management plan for patients receiving cancer treatment. Physicians document in their own words the prognosis section of the treatment plan. This study seeks to better understand the responses provided by physicians in the prognosis section. Methods: We evaluated word frequency analysis using FreqDist library, conducted sentiment analyses using the Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) Sentiment Intensity Analyzer, and performed thematic analyses using Latent Dirichlet Allocation library on a random sample of 35,000 treatment plans developed in 2023 for practices in The Network. Results: 32% of the responses were 5 words or less, with 3.8% single word responses. Words like “excellent, good, fair, poor, guarded” or a combination thereof were commonly used to describe the prognosis. 26% of responses were ≥12 words in length, and generally were personalized to the patient’s disease, treatment, and/or contained situation specific narratives. Responses <12 words generally contained templated phrases, or minimally customized responses. 38% of the responses contained a numerical value, representing either a percentage probability of survival, chance of response to treatment, or a quantification of time (months, years). Thematic analyses conducted on responses ≥12 words revealed that the predominant theme focused on survival represented in different ways, followed by response to therapy, probability of recurrence or relapse, and disease control. Sentiment analyses revealed that 60.6% of responses denoted a negative sentiment. 71.7% of responses ≤5 words in length had a negative sentiment, compared to 58.3% of responses ≥12 words in length. Conclusions: This study reveals that prognosis responses from physicians used on treatment plans shared with patients are very diverse. The manner in which prognosis is presented to patients can greatly influence their understanding, engagement, and involvement in making treatment decisions. To optimize shared decision making in cancer care, healthcare providers must strive to effectively communicate prognosis by using clear and empathetic language, ensuring patient comprehension, and tailoring the information to individual patient needs and preferences. The data set has high potential for further study to better understand the role and impact of written treatment plans to help physicians refine this documentation for better patient understanding.

Relationship between Media Coverage and Public Opinion during Political Campaigns in South Africa

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between media coverage and public opinion during political campaigns in South Africa. Materials and Methods: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study indicated that media coverage significantly influences public opinion by shaping perceptions, framing issues, and highlighting particular aspects of candidates and policies. During political campaigns, the media serves as a primary source of information for the electorate, often determining the salience of issues and the prominence of candidates. Extensive and favorable media coverage can enhance a candidate's visibility and credibility, potentially swaying undecided voters and reinforcing the views of supporters. Conversely, negative coverage can damage a candidate's public image and diminish their support base. The framing of news stories, the selection of topics, and the tone of coverage play critical roles in this process. For instance, media emphasis on certain campaign issues can lead to a phenomenon known as agenda-setting, where the public perceives these issues as more important. Additionally, the portrayal of candidates through specific narratives can influence voter perceptions, contributing to the formation of public opinion. The interplay between media coverage and public opinion underscores the media's power in shaping political landscapes and affecting electoral outcomes. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Agenda-setting theory, framing theory and spiral of silence theory may be used to anchor future studies on assessing the relationship between media coverage and public opinion during political campaigns in South Africa. From a practical standpoint, political campaigns must adopt strategic media engagement to shape public opinion effectively. In terms of policy, there is a pressing need for regulations that promote accountability and transparency in media coverage during political campaigns.

We Do Not Let History Shroud Us: The Body as Curriculum and Its Refractive Possibilities

As two South Asians in the diaspora, we situate the significance of the body as a curriculum, where our lived experiences and stories supported us in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. We engage in the method of life writing to attend to specific narratives that have framed our diasporic identities. Through that engagement, we seek to demonstrate how we struggle with questions about belonging and dislocation, while also finding ways to overcome those challenges and realities in our everyday lives. Gripped by memories formed through phone calls and visits, with miles between us and the place we know as South Asia, we posit that the diasporic body forms a curriculum by way of a Brown(ing) body. We make the case that such a body has always had to refract in all its complexities and nuances—pandemic or not. Accordingly, we then consider how our lived experiences and subjective bodies informed the pedagogical possibilities of navigating the morbid pandemic as it touched the lives of the students we worked with. Our collaborative writing is therefore an offering of hope and sustenance that emerged during a pandemical time of grave uncertainty and profound loss.

Scaling Globalization: The Circulation of Language Resources in Two Indonesian Global Social Movements

This study explores two social movements in Indonesia to measure the extent to which the locals mobilize towards the center. This objective departs from two contradictory statements, namely 'Global Language' (Crystal, 2003; see also the issue of Linguistic Imperialism) which argues that globalization always moves towards the center and produces uniformity, and another statement which argues that globalization results in varieties and differences (Blommaert, 2007, 2010; Machin & van Leeuwen, 2003; Pennycook, 2006). Therefore, two significant global social movements in Indonesia were chosen in this article. The first one is the social movement of Tragedi Kanjuruhan which started from specific local issues and narratives, and the second one is Global Climate Strike social movement which started from global issues shared by people worldwide. Both social movements have a specific language rhetoric. It is shown through the languages used in each social movement which reflects locality and globality. To examine this mobilization, this study employs scaling or scale measurement as a method (see sociolinguistic scales from Blommaert, 2010; scalar practice from Canagarajah & De Costa, 2016), focusing on scope and value (horizontal and vertical measurement). From the analysis, it is known that the differences in linguistic resources contribute to different elements of locality and mobility which circulates with different motives. In the end, this study can offer valuable insights into understanding how global and local are mobilized in one example of globalization.

A systematic review of the Narrative Policy Framework: a future research agenda

The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) has become instrumental in understanding how policy narratives impact public policy processes. This article presents a systematic analysis of the historical development of NPF research, drawing on a review of 189 NPF articles to investigate its evolution. The findings are presented across five temporal stages, examining the use of the NPF’s theoretical elements. The analysis indicates a consistent focus on the core theoretical components, demonstrating the framework’s robustness. Additionally, the article examines whether the NPF’s ambition to bridge positivist and interpretivist approaches has been achieved. The proposed future research agenda highlights areas for further exploration. First, researchers are encouraged to combine the NPF with interpretivist approaches in policy narrative research. Second, our findings show a need for more in-depth analyses of specific narrative components, such as narrative characters, to gain deeper insights into their effects on policy processes. Third, there is a clear need to investigate whether and how practitioners are using NPF research to inform their communication strategies. This systematic analysis highlights patterns and trends in the literature, identifies gaps and proposes future avenues for empirical applications and theory development. Thus, this article offers new insights into the NPF, contributing to existing knowledge in the field.

Archival Opacity on Genocide Perpetrators in Rwanda

This article discusses the methodological challenges of archival research on perpetrators of genocide, especially with regard to the selectivity, accessibility, and availability of perpetrator testimonies in the Genocide Archive of Rwanda, which is primarily a victimary archive, to use Sara Kendall’s term. The discussion extends beyond Rwanda to include reflections on the purpose and focus of post-conflict archives, the silencing or enhancing of perpetrators’ voices in archives, and the impact of archives on transitional justice processes. Archives are not neutral places that present objective facts. Rather, they are sites of power that contain specific narratives about the perpetrators and victims, which can negatively affect reconciliation between groups. Conflicts and genocides are dynamic, and the affected individuals have fluid identities: they can, for example, be victims as well as perpetrators. Do archives mirror these dynamics, and do they allow counter-histories? The article explores the testimonies available in the Genocide Archive, their meta-data, and narratives as well as gaps and omissions. Since archives tell stories and describe places of memorialisation, their policies and content influence how individuals and collectivities remember history – and how they can transition to a peaceful co-existence.

Ideology as a Commodity. Authoritarianism in a Populist Form

The subject of the article is the phenomenon of successes of alt-right parties and their leaders. The contemporary rise of radical populism and its geopolitical scope are reflected in the discourse of its new features. Such a discussion offers a wealth of concepts and notions. Most of them describe practices of “dismantling” democracy, threats of dictatorship or even fascism. The presented analysis focuses on the question of the ideological identity of cases that can be specified as consolidated populism. The thesis I advance shows that the source of the durability of electoral support is a specific narrative based on a thinking style which Zygmunt Bauman termed “retrotopia.” This popular world view functions as a legitimizing myth, which the process of limiting democracy hides in the form of culture war. I conclude that the concept of retrotopia as a popularistic ideology adds more to the distinction between today’s different varieties of populist movements and political leaders.

Narratives, Knowledge Objects, and the Making of Great Power Competition

Abstract What makes great power relations more (or less) competitive? One key argument in International Relations (IR) is that interpretations matter and shape how competitive great power relations are. This article seeks to further develop this argument. Drawing on objectual IR and the sociology of expectations, it proposes a constructivist framework that unpacks two crucial, yet surprisingly little studied aspects of the making of great power competition: (i) the constitution and organization of great power relations as a contest over scarce goods and (ii) the interplay of narratives and knowledge objects that underpins it. To illustrate the framework and contribute to theory development, the article reconstructs the dynamics of two prominent dimensions of great power competition in the past decade: The tensions between NATO and Russia in Europe and the economic competition between the United States and China. It shows that the making of great power competition involves three interrelated elements: the framing of relations among powerful states as contests over some valued goods, the production of knowledge about the distribution of these goods, and governance arrangements stipulating rules for the contests. What underpins the three elements is an interplay of narratives and knowledge objects: General narratives of what the competition is about and what is at stake preconfigure which knowledge objects are regarded as pertinent. The pertinent knowledge objects, in turn, shape the specific narratives that are told about how the competition unfolds.

“Heroes”, “victims”, and “villains”: policy narratives on inclusion in Norwegian and Italian educational documents

ABSTRACT This paper will investigate how specific narratives on the inclusion of minority language students (MLSs) are constructed in Norwegian and Italian educational policy documents. We will employ the Narrative Policy Framework’s (NPF) analytical categories with an interpretative narrative approach to reconstruct the two national policy narratives and compare their salient features. In response to international trends of inclusive education, Norway and Italy have developed two different educational policy models for the inclusion of MLSs. Norway operationalised inclusion through ‘adapted education’ for all students, while Italian policy defined an ‘Italian path towards the intercultural school’. The results will show that the Norwegian approach to inclusive education is sustained by what we define as a technocratic (efficiency-oriented) narrative, while the Italian intercultural education employs a normative (ideologically-based) narrative. Despite the differences, the two policy narratives share an unresolved tension between a universalistic and particularistic stance. In the policy documents, the inclusive/intercultural education for all students is ambiguously complemented by integration measures designed explicitly for MLSs. The study will illustrate the travelling nature of inclusive and intercultural education in the policy domain and show that the policy shift towards inclusion needs to be understood as an ongoing and non-linear process.

Getting from here to there: The contingency of historical evidence and the value of speculation

Here I look to some work in the historical sciences in order to draw out some of the epistemic benefits of “speculative narratives,” which bears on some more general epistemic benefits of speculative reasoning. Due to the contingent nature of much historical evidence, some degree of speculative reasoning is necessary to get the epistemological ball rolling in the historical sciences, and I argue that speculative narratives provide the necessary sort of frameworking apparatus for doing precisely this. I use contemporary work on the first peopling of the Americas (the “Clovis First Debate”) for illustration.

COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT: INTEGRATED GEOGRAPHY AND SIRAH ELEMENTS THROUGH GEOSIRAH LEARNING TOOL

Sirah provides a significant history and chronology of a specific narrative, which requires accurate comprehension and retention through the study of details such as dates, locations, and events. However, most students expressed an apathetic disposition and were prone to boredom when required to comprehend Sirah history through extended reading. The purpose of this study is to determine the understanding level of secondary school students in the Sirah subject, which incorporates geography elements through a GeoSirah learning tool version 2. By employing a quantitative method, a questionnaire form was distributed among 31 respondents from Sekolah Menengah Agama Nurul Islam, Kedah, and the cognitive improvement (knowledge (C1) and comprehension (C2) was assessed through the implementation of the pre-test and post-test methods. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis and a paired-sample t-test approach using SPSS software. The pre-test and post-test results demonstrated a positive impact, with a significant increase in the mean rate of 23.44%. This study concludes that the integration of geographical elements into Sirah learning through GeoSirah aid improves students' cognitive knowledge and comprehension of Sirah subjects, thereby enhancing their interest and enjoyment in the subject matter.

Narratives in exposomics: A reversed heuristic determinism?

Since the completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP), biomedical sciences have moved away from a gene-centred view and towards a multi-factorial one in which environment, broadly speaking, plays a central role in the determination of human health and disease. Environmental exposures have been shown to be highly prevalent in disease causation. They are considered as complementary to genetic factors in the etiology of diseases, hence the introduction of the concept of the "exposome" as encompassing the totality of human environmental exposures, from conception onwards (Wild in Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 14:1847-1850, 2005), and the launch of the Human Exposome Project (HEP) which aims to complement the HGP. At first sight, and seen as complementary to the genome, the exposome could thus appear as contributing to the rise of novel postgenomic deterministic narratives which place the environment at their core. Is this really the case? If so, what sort of determinism is at work in exposomics research? Is it a case of environmental determinism, and if so, in what sense? Or is it a new sort of deterministic view? In this paper, we first show that causal narratives in exposomics are still very similar to gene-centred deterministic narratives. They correspond to a form of Laplacian determinism and, above all, to what Claude Bernard called the "determinism of a phenomenon". Second, we introduce the notion of "reversed heuristic determinism" to characterize the specific deterministic narratives present in exposomics. Indeed, the accepted sorts of external environmental exposures conceived as being at the origins of diseases are determined, methodologically speaking, by their identifiable internal and biological markers. We conclude by highlighting the most relevant implications of the presence of this heuristic determinism in exposomics research.

Городская идентичность и историческая память: сравнительное исследование прикладных кейсов малых городов Ленинградской области

The article delves into material gathered as part of applied research for urban planning. The sample includes 7 small towns in the Leningrad region: border towns (Ivangorod and Svetogorsk), a satellite town of St. Petersburg (Kommunar of Gatchina district), and towns of Ladoga Lake and the river Svir’ (Novaya Ladoga, Volkhov, Syasstroy, and Podporozhye). Through necessarily brief fieldwork and specialized open-ended questions in questionnaires aimed at filling gaps in field data short due to lockdown 2020, the following aspects were identified: themes of local history present in the current discourse of residents, personalities known to the townsfolk, semantic clusters of local identity for internal use and for external representation, mental map of local objects important for representation of the town. The meta-analysis uncovered that for the examined towns, the preservation of specific historical narratives is tied to two main factors — the incorporation of these narratives into the core of urban identity and their manifestation in the physical environment (in objects and toponyms). Historical memory correlates with the length of time families have lived in the city: the later the last mass influx of new residents occurred, the less widespread and varied historical narratives are. The preservation of historical memory demonstrates an inverse correlation with the demographic prosperity of the city: population growth, in the cases examined, is only observable in satellite towns and only due to migration, which further “washes out” local narratives. The most common and important of the latest for the residents of these towns were stories about the Second World War; tales of the industrial glory of the early Soviet Union; lamentations over the “lost paradise” of the Soviet era and the “ruin” that followed it; residents’ reflection on the urban status of their settlement.

The “Team Tree” Professional Tree of Life intervention: development and evaluation within the acute inpatient psychiatric setting

PurposeMental health staff often experience significant levels of stress working in the acute psychiatric inpatient setting. Team-building interventions can mitigate stress in health-care settings, via improvements in team-cohesion, staff interactions and communication skills. The “Tree of Life” (ToL) is a specific narrative therapy approach which uses the metaphor of a tree to facilitate the construction and sharing of strength-based stories. This study aims to describe the development of and evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and staff experiences of the “Team Tree”, an adapted Professional ToL (PToL) intervention.Design/methodology/approachA one-hour, Professional ToL intervention was designed for multidisciplinary acute inpatient staff teams working within a psychiatric hospital in London, UK. A mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and staff experiences of the session.FindingsParticipants were 46 multidisciplinary staff (33 women; 13 men) working across four acute psychiatric wards. The intervention was feasible to deliver and was acceptable to participants. Results showed significant improvements in self-reported mental well-being and team-cohesiveness scores post-session.Practical implicationsPsychologists face myriad barriers in working with staff teams in the acute inpatient setting. The “Team Tree” intervention was both well received by staff and practical to deliver within the challenging environment of the acute ward.Originality/valueThis adaptation of the original PToL emerged from the author’s work with distressed inpatient teams with limited time resources. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first description of this intervention using a single tree metaphor to facilitate a reflective and creative session with health-care teams.

Seeing and Sensing

In this article traditional paradigms of photographic seeing undergo scrutiny through the perspective of non-human sensory processes, notably echolocation, fostering a diverse, interspecies interpretation of vision. This inquiry unsettles the anthropocentric norms prevailing in photographic scholarship and technological innovation. Redefining “seeing” as a layered, multisensory activity extending past human limitations propels a revision of photography’s foundational assumptions, undermining the conventional dependency on light and human vision for defining the essence of photography. Incorporating non-human perspectives, like the echolocative engagements of bats and dolphins, introduces “active sensing” – an interactive engagement between emitter and receiver, shifting away from the static, observer-centric photography paradigm. This conceptual transition advocates for an engaged, participatory framework in image creation, challenging established passive viewing models. The article particularly emphasizes the implications of these insights for autonomous transportation, like vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication systems, which arguably mirror biological active sensing methods. This confluence of biological senses and technological advancements not only enhances our understanding of autonomous systems but also invites a dialogue with speculative narratives from science fiction, where the fusion of organic and engineered forms of sensing often prefigures the future trajectories of technological evolution and societal adaptation.

The masculinized feminine body: The body politics and the construction of female identity in Mohiniyattam

The article explores the sociocultural construction of aesthetic identities and the ways in which the dominant ideologies have perpetuated specific narratives of the development of Mohiniyattam. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of ‘episteme’ and Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, the study examines the femininity embodied in Mohiniyattam and argues that the dance form has been a tool for patriarchal ideologies, transmitted through generations of dancers manifested in their performance practice. The analysis extends to the contemporary scope of Mohiniyattam, questioning the rigid notion of femininity that has defined the dance form through erotic expressions of the dancer and exploring how innovative choreographies and performative interpretations can challenge such norms. The study uses oral histories and case studies to present a multifaceted view of Mohiniyattam’s historical evolution as a dance form. The revival of Mohiniyattam at different times reflects the dominant epistemes, marked by an embedded male gaze on the female dancing body. The performers’ own initiatives reframed the concept of femininity and its portrayal by exploring the potential of the trained dancing body.