Subject Discourse Research Articles

Famous protagonists interfere with discourse topicality during pronoun resolution

Famous protagonists interfere with discourse topicality during pronoun resolution

Social Media Users’ Engagement with Religious Misinformation: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed-Methods Analysis

As the world's fourth-largest Muslim country with a growing community of social media users, Bangladesh has been experiencing frequent online religious misinformation, inspiring violence against minorities and threatening interreligious harmony. Following an exploratory sequential mixed-methods analysis combining a qualitative thematic analysis and a quantitative content analysis, we answer two pertinent research questions. We found three ways users engage with misinformation: their topics of discourse, reactions, and appraisal. Users’ discourse revolves around religious, radical, and political issues. Radical issues (60.4%) dominate users’ discourse, followed by political issues (37.1%). Users’ reactions are primarily negative (94.1%), exhibiting different destructive behaviors. Alarmingly, the negative reactions are more than seventeen times the positive reactions (5.5%). Results for misinformation appraisal suggest that 69.3% of users believe misinformation, and only 25.9% can identify and deny misinformation. Nearly half of the users (48.21%) concomitantly talk radical, react negatively, and trust misinformation. This research suggests that religious misinformation-led violence may have more political connections than religious ones.

“I’ve had constant fears that I’ll get cancer”: the construction and experience of medical intervention on intersex bodies to reduce cancer risk

ABSTRACT Purpose This paper examines the subjective experience of medical interventions on intersex bodies to reduce cancer risk. Methods Twenty-five individuals with intersex variations took part in semi-structured interviews, analysed through thematic discourse analysis. Results Intersex bodies were positioned as inherently sick and in need of modification, with cancer risk legitimating surgical and hormonal intervention. This resulted in embodied shame, with negative impacts on fertility and sexual wellbeing. However, many participants resisted discourses of bio-pathologisation and embraced intersex status. Some medical interventions, such as HRT, were perceived to have increased the risk of cancer. Absence of informed consent, and lack of information about intersex status and the consequences of medical intervention, was positioned as a human rights violation. This was compounded by ongoing medical mismanagement, including health care professional lack of understanding of intersex variations, and the objectification or stigmatization of intersex people within healthcare. The consequence was non-disclosure of intersex status in health contexts and lack of trust in health care professionals. Conclusions The legitimacy of poorly-evidenced cancer risk discourses to justify medical intervention on intersex bodies needs to be challenged. Healthcare practitioners need to be provided with education and training about cultural safety practices for working with intersex people.

Alimentary Problems in Philosophy: Key aspects of Thematization

The article introduces the idea of alimentary problems into philosophical consideration. Highlighting this range of problems seems to be a solution not only to the lack of philosophical developments on the topic of food and nutrition, but also to overcoming prejudices and stereotypes that philosophy studies of food are not sufficiently theoretical. Alimentary problems in philosophy are proposed to be understood as formed by a wide range of ontological, anthropological, cultural, ethical and social philosophy issues, namely food consumption in all its aspects, its production, including cooking and storage, and ways of representing these topics in discourse. As an important guideline for the development of such research, the article offers a detailed explication of four thematic fields of alimentary issues relating to the history of philosophy, ontology, analysis of the language of theories, anthropology, ethics, social philosophy and futurology. In our opinion, if we carry out such a generalization (“alimentary problems”), then in the end we will get a clearer idea of the new class of objects under study and will be able to identify its operational or even essential features. Which, in turn, will become a new stimulus for the development of research in this area.

“Living with HIV” – Changes in HIV and AIDS Metaphors in South African Educational Policy

ABSTRACT Health metaphors are commonly used in a variety of contexts. While war metaphors are common in medicine, there are also other conceptualizations and other metaphors employed in different contexts. In policies, metaphors can play an important role in framing thought and discourse, and have an important effect, and even more so in educational policy. In this article, we analyze the two South African policies regarding HIV and AIDS in the educational context – the first policy from 1999, and the one that replaced it in 2017. The focus is on identifying and categorizing the metaphors directly related to HIV and AIDS. We identified 29 such metaphors in policy 1, and 71 in policy 2, using the principles from the MIPVU, and thematic discourse analysis was used to categorize the metaphors into themes. The most prominent changes in the metaphors from policy 1 to policy 2 regard the focus of the imagery, as well as the conceptualization of HIV itself. These are then interpreted in the Southern African context.

Unpacking Sociotechnical Discourses on Telehealth Use and Data Protection: A Path Towards Digital Health Value Creation.

Telehealth uptake will remain sub-optimal without consumer trust. Safeguarding the security and privacy of health information plays an important role in building trust and acceptance of telehealth. This study seeks to unpack the sociotechnical discourses on the use of telehealth with a focus on privacy and security in the context of United States health services. A search of the media outlets facilitated via the Factiva database was conducted. Using a qualitative method, thematic analysis was performed on the news texts to identify the key themes and provide contextual explanations. The analysis led to the identification of three key themes: 'data protection practice', 'clinical resilience', and 'digital health business value' perspectives. These themes focus on various concepts of telehealth use including data privacy, security, public health emergency, compliance activities in the use of telehealth, meeting stakeholders' needs, reducing costs of service delivery, the potential of telehealth for informed action, and improving users' experience. Among these themes, 'data protection practice' was directly associated with privacy compliance and telehealth use. Other thematic discourses have provided an indirect reflection on the role of privacy compliance, with a greater emphasis placed on health service delivery and market dynamics rather than compliance in practice. Our study revealed the importance of the COVID-19 pandemic in telehealth use, highlighting the move towards 'good faith' and responsible use of telehealth.

Female archetypes in the mythological model of television news culture

This study is aimed at identifying patterns of the embodiment of the female image in the information stories of domestic and foreign TV channels. The subject of this article is a mythological model of constructing reality in modern mass media. The object is television news stories in 2017-2023, in which female archetypes are most clearly revealed. Special attention is paid to the information coverage of the foreign topic of the feminist action MeToo and the domestic criminal case of the Khachaturian sisters. The research is aimed at comparing the mythological structure of the plot with the techniques of television broadcasting and understanding the broadcast of the female image on television screens. Thus, the article puts forward a hypothesis: when covering information topics, the media uses a model of a mythological structure, and as a result, a system of archetypes that forms the viewer's opinion. This work is based on the theory of archetypes developed by the scientist K. Jung, which is visualized in the information topics of the last decade. The analysis is of scientific interest in connection with the growing feminist discourse in society, of which television is becoming one of the key broadcasters. Of particular importance is the study of the symbolization of the female image on the television screen through the concepts of C. Jung and E. Neumann, using the example of the main themes of feminist discourse in recent years. The novelty of the research lies in a new theoretical understanding of the ways in which television content affects the viewer. The main conclusions of the study are the confirmation of a scientific hypothesis: about the use of the media of a mythological structure through which a system of archetypes is broadcast, which in turn leads to a stable formation of public opinion. In addition, the author examines the mythological archetypes of communication, which represent the main ways of transmitting information in the modern world.

Restructuring Value Base of Social Sciences in the Age of Neo-Liberalism

Social sciences emerged at the onset of the Enlightenment age. Immanuel Kant proclaimed that henceforth the central theme of discourse in philosophy will be human beings and not God. Since then, the relationship between ‘me’ and ‘the other’ has become a central theme of intellectual endeavour. Now, me and other relationships have three forms: conflict, competition and cooperation or harmony. Three world views developed around these three patterns. The socialist worldview had conflict as a base, with equality as a cherished value. Competition is the base of liberalism, with freedom (to compete) as a cherished value. Harmony is at the base of humanism, with fraternity as a basic value. Today, liberalism and neo-liberalism have become almost unipolar world views. Liberalism claims to be following the three great values of the French Revolution: liberty, equality and fraternity. In recent times, neo-liberalism has developed a system that makes all three values truncated. Liberty, or freedom, has been reduced to the level of my choice as a consumer. Equality has been taken as reducing and abolishing old ascription-based inequality. The rising new and achievement-based inequality is not only not opposed but also eulogised in the name of creativity and achieving society. In place of fraternity and harmony, we have cutthroat competition. A competitive society is considered good. The market is more important now. We have achieved growth. But the basic harmony between human beings and between human beings and other elements of the environment has vanished. So, environmental issues, rising achievement-based inequalities, violation of human rights, rising poverty, failure of market institutions and unnatural lifestyles giving rise to many lifestyle diseases have made many thinkers and social scientists to change the value base of social sciences to restructure social sciences. The new value base could be ethics, equity (social equity, to be specific) and ecological harmony. Keeping these three values as the base, we will have to restructure social sciences to have a better and more humane world order.

The Merits of Mobile Instant Messaging for EFL Learners: Learning Engagement, Achievement, and Authentic Relationships

Despite the recent growth of mobile instant messenger (MIM), research into the correlation between English learners’ learning gains, learning engagement, and how this engagement helps develop authentic relationships remains underexplored. This mixed-method study involved 222 college English learners to investigate their engagement in team-based mobile learning (TBML) assisted by WhatsApp as an MIM and its relationship with their learning gains. In addition, it was designed to document the social construction of existential and relational authenticity between teacher and students. The study collected data on students' online learning engagement through an online survey, and their learning achievement was measured by the course final examination. Grounded in thematic discourse analysis, the study collected qualitative data from the archives of WhatsApp group chats. Retrospective reflection was also used to triangulate the findings. The findings show the value of MIM to develop strong engagement and authentic relationships in socio-constructivist learning as the precursor to learning achievement.

The deficiency of democratic principles in the evolution of the inflexible structure of albanian society during the 1990s uprisings: An examination through the lens of Rancière

This paper presents an exploration of democracy, a recurrent theme in political discourse, particularly amid socio-economic shifts in Europe and political transitions in Albania. Although the complexities of this subject, the paper was conceived, acknowledging the challenge of navigating subjective interpretations. The paper does not aim to assert absolute truths but rather offers an alternative perspective on the 1990s events in Albania. The thesis posits that the political movement of that era lacked democratic essence and was politically manipulated. Drawing heavily from Jacques Rancière's conceptual framework of democracy, the paper argues that the movements of the 1990s did not align with Rancière's notion of a "field of battle", but rather transpired at the negotiation table. Moreover, the actors lacked consciousness of their roles, did not pursue socio-political equality, and remained oblivious to institutional change. Ultimately, the paper suggests that this lack of awareness allowed the oligarchy to exploit the movement to perpetuate power without altering its fundamental composition.

Emerging Trends in Sustainable Entrepreneurial Behavior: Bibliometric Data Insights

The present study explores the current trends in sustainable entrepreneurial behavior to contribute fundamental knowledge for future academic research in the dynamic field of sustainable entrepreneurship. This study employs a bibliometric analysis using the Scopus database to identify significant changes and emerging topics in academic discourse about the selected keywords. By employing a systematic approach, one can attain a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter and establish a solid foundation for subsequent research. The analysis comprises a total of 666 articles obtained from Scopus. This study utilizes methodological tools like Microsoft Excel, Harzing’s Publish or Perish program, and VOS viewer. These tools were used to quantify and evaluate citation frequencies. This method enables the assessment of the academic output and influence exerted by document type, evolution of published studies, subject area, and prominent keywords. Nevertheless, there are several constraints associated with this study, including the omission of articles published after 2022 and a specific emphasis on English-language publications from 1991 to 2022. Notwithstanding these limitations, there has been a substantial and continuous academic emphasis on the study of sustainable entrepreneurial behavior. Future research should investigate sustainable behavior within the context of social entrepreneurship. The government and policymakers have the ability to significantly contribute to the creation of an ecosystem that promotes sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainable development.

Exploring the relationship between mothers' competence and comfort in sexual and reproductive health discourse with adolescent girls and its related factors.

The mothers-adolescent discussion regarding sexual and reproductive health (SHR) issues plays an important role in preventing negative outcome associated with sexual risk behaviors. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between mothers' competence and comfort in SHR discourse with adolescent girls and its related factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 160 mothers from July to September 2020. Data were collected through questionnaires covering demographic characteristics, Mother's Comfort in Sexual Discourse (MCSD), Mother's Interest in Sexual Discourse (MISD), and Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC). The collected data were analyzed using simple and multiple linear regression models. The mean scores for MCSD, MISD, and PSOC were 45.49±16.15 (13-78), 7.9±4.2 (0-13), and 64.07±9.44 (45-94), respectively. The primary topics of mother-adolescent discourse on SRH were menstruation (5.61±0.98) and the delivery process (4.55±1.57). The mean age for "sex talks" and age-appropriate "sex talks" with daughters was 11.76±1.85 (range: 6-15) and 17.05±1.86 (range: 14-23) years, respectively. Significant associations were found between MCSD and MISD (β=0.482, p<0.0001), PSOC (β=0.223, p<0.005), self-efficacy (β=0.202, p<0.011), mother's job (β=0.185, p<0.019), mother's education (β=0.173, p<0.029), and father's age (β=0.161, p<0.042). After adjusting for other variables, major influencing factors on MCSD included MISD (β=0.487, p<0.0001), self-efficacy (β=0.143, p<0.039), satisfaction (β=0.169, p<0.015), daughter number (β=-0.235, p<0.014), son number (β=-0.219, p<0.024), birth rank (β=0.263, p<0.008), and residency (β=0.172, p<0.014). MISD, PSOC, and certain demographic characteristics emerge as significant factors influencing MCSD in mother-daughter sexual discourse. As such, it is imperative to consider these determinants when devising strategies to maintain and enhance the sexual health of teenage girls.

God’s Gift of Science: Theological Presuppositions Underlying Exploration of the Natural World

God’s Gift of Science: Theological Presuppositions Underlying Exploration of the Natural World

God’s Gift of Science: Theological Presuppositions Underlying Exploration of the Natural World

God’s Gift of Science: Theological Presuppositions Underlying Exploration of the Natural World

‘Hit me like a brick wall’: women’s accounts of balancing cancer survivorship with fertility concerns while dealing with gynaecological cancer

Objective This study explored the impact of gynaecological cancer on women’s expectations for motherhood, their concerns regarding their fertility, and how they negotiated these concerns in the survivorship context. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 Australian women with gynaecological cancer, aged between 27 to 53 years, who were on average five years post-diagnosis (range 1–10 years). Thematic discourse analysis, from a material-discursive-intrapsychic approach, was used to explore how women narrated their fertility-related concerns in the broader social and healthcare contexts. Results While narrating their experiences of having gynaecological cancer, the women in our study negotiated their accounts within two competing discourses – the pronatalist discourse and the survivorship discourse. Women’s talk appeared conflicted by the social expectation to become a ‘good’ mother and focus on ensuring their fertility, while also managing the ‘survivorship’ imperative to focus exclusively on ‘fighting’ and beating cancer. Many women struggled to negotiate their fertility concerns and treatment decisions because of these two competing discourses. Conclusion Dominant discourses around survival and prioritising motherhood create enormous conflict for women with gynaecological cancer coping with fertility concerns. Helping women to develop meaningful narratives is needed, particularly for women with ovarian cancer.

Signalling digression in Spanish and English: Evidence from parliamentary discourse

Digression is a discourse function that is identifiable and distinct from other similar functional strategies, and varies cross-linguistically. This paper investigates the way speakers of Spanish and English digress from their main discourse topics and how these transitions are marked. Once digression is defined by the proposal of four features considered to be inherent in this concept, the paper focuses on so-called 'digression formulating phrases', recurrent expressions which make explicit reference to the digression and signal that a new direction with respect to topic is proposed. The paper thus adopts a less common than the usual approach to discourse coherence and digression, whose literature has largely focused on discourse markers. The dataset, extracted from a corpus of parliamentary discourse, is analysed in an attempt to address two research questions. I investigate, first, the frequency and distribution of the selected digression formulating phrases in the two languages, and discern which of the two contexts of digression (i.e. beginnings and ends) is more highly marked, and, second, their use in connection to aspects such as syntactic configuration and position, and co-occurring features of semantic and pragmatic meaning. The contrastive perspective adds precision and richness to the treatment of digression.

Charting an Economic Sustainability Path: Quantile Regression Analysis of Green Finance and Financial Development in Newly Industrialized Economies

Sustainability, once a fringe concept, has become a central theme in global discourse, commanding the attention of governments, industries, and individuals alike. Newly industrialized countries (NICs) stand as exemplars of economies in transition, teetering on the precipice of prosperity and vulnerability. The present study aimed to chart economic sustainability through green finance and financial development in NICs. The study uses Panel Quantile Regression (PQR) and robustness analysis using annual data from 1998 to 2022. Overall, the study results indicate heterogeneity in the impacts of green finance, financial development, and foreign direct investment on the economic sustainability of NICs. The findings from the PQR unveiled that green finance contributes to economic sustainability in lower and middle quantiles (15th, 25th and 50th quantiles) while showing negative but insignificant effects in higher quantiles (75th and 95th quantiles). Financial development is proxied through three distinct variables; however, the heterogeneity in the results of all the quantiles can be witnessed. In addition, the positive and significant impacts of FDI were validated approximately across all quartiles (15–75th), but positive and insignificant effects are endorsed in the 95th quantile. Compared heterogeneous panel estimators support analogous results; however, the amplitude of their parameters varied substantially. Finally, quantile slope equality and symmetric quantiles test as robustness analysis confirmed the authenticity of the results. Therefore, this study’s empirical findings can assist policymakers in comprehending how green finance, financial development, and FDI can achieve economic sustainability and address sustainability issues. JEL Classification F43, F65, O11, Q20

Semiotics and political discourse in the post-truth era

Abstract The concept of post-truth has been on the world’s agenda since 2016. Perhaps this concept, which is frequently encountered in political life, provides the speaker with a freer speaking platform. Politicians, instead of presenting the reality to their constituents as it is, want to reshape this reality according to their own ideology and present it to the recipient. Politicians have certain objectives in creating such a virtual reality. These aims can be listed as keeping the voters, increasing the voting potential, and attracting undecided voters to their favor. The common result of all these aims is to gain political power or to remain in the existing power. Post-truth reality is constructed relatively more easily in social media environments. The construction of reality can be through beliefs or emotions. In such ways, the recipient is tried to be persuaded, and thus behavioral change is achieved. One of the most necessary subjects for this artificial reality atmosphere is the anti-subject. The idea that the anti-subject does not know the truth that we (you and I) know and believe and is trying to destroy it is the main theme of post-truth discourse. Politicians try to persuade the voters to believe in their own truth by expressing this idea to them. There are many examples of this around the world. In this study, firstly, the concept of post-truth is examined and its various definitions are discussed. The distinctions between the concepts of real and truth are analyzed and then it is explained how and for what purposes the concept of post-truth is used in politics. Following the comparison of post-truth and fake news, the concept is discussed within the framework of sender-receiver interaction in terms of communication. The concept is tried to be elucidated with the modalities such as /convincing/, /believing/, /being/, /appearing/. Besides, using the semiotic square, the study also tries to reveal the different purposes and forms of use of the concept of post-truth. As a result, it has been observed that the concept of post-truth is effective in many areas of contemporary societies, and rather than real information, expected and desired information has become more important.

Discourse Practices and Identity Remodeling of Hosts on Live Streaming Platforms under the Background of Informatization

Abstract In the age of informationization, webcasting has gradually become an essential form of media. On the live broadcasting platform, hosts transmit information through discourse practice and continuously reshape their identities, a phenomenon of great significance in both academic and practical fields. Qualitative and quantitative methods analyze the host’s discourse characteristics and identity construction process. It is found that the moderator’s discourse patterns are mainly affectionate, humorous, simple and commonplace, and the role of discourse practice in the construction of identity is revealed through Foucault’s discourse theory and the SMCR communication model. The empirical analysis shows that the hosts’ discourse themes in beauty and fashion account for up to 20% of the total, and enhance the communication effect through multimodal discourse (visual and auditory). The study also found that hosts reshape their identities through live discourse, such as transforming traditional TV anchors into online KOLs, to portray a pro-people and professional image. Hosts realize effective identity reshaping on live broadcast platforms through discourse practice, profoundly impacting emerging marketing models such as live bandwagon.

Практики сбора персональных данных и их восприятие в общественном сознании

The problem of collecting personal data has long been and remains on the periphery of interest on the part of Russians, being in the second echelon of topics of public discourse that are important to them. Citizens traditionally rely not on themselves, but on government agencies in this matter, with little or no reflection on how protected they actually are from potential risks. Privacy in our world is becoming illusory; any action on the Internet a priori implies a citizen’s refusal to have reasonable expectations for the safety of posted data. Various companies often use this for different purposes, including interference in socio-political processes. In this article, based on materials from a quantitative study conducted in April–May 2023 among 1,000 residents of the Republic of Mordovia, surveyed using a representative quota sample, we examine their attitude towards the practices of collecting personal data from companies. The results of the study show that every second respondent does not know that companies collect personal data about users on social networks and can subsequently use it to their advantage. Such practices are subject to severe obstruction: the vast majority experience expressed negative emotions in relation to them, such as hostility, irritation, fear, disgust, and hatred. The consequence of this is a low level of trust in these types of companies. It was revealed that, with a high degree of probability, the main predictor of awareness of the practices of collecting personal data is the type of place of residence – the indicator increases noticeably in the regional capital and decreases beyond its borders. Another parameter that could potentially have an impact is the level of education; as a rule, greater awareness is recorded among people who have ever studied at a university. The problem of perceptions of personal data collection may have significant implications for social theory as a whole. Even classic works in the field of sociology postulate that, as soon as individuals become aware of excessive control from others, they are forced to change their behavior, and sometimes this becomes the cause of a number of destructive phenomena (for example, increased suicide rates). Managing privacy regimes is becoming an important idea, but it must be of a conscious nature to individuals; they must take a responsible approach to signing user agreements and building behavioral boundaries on the Internet and social networks.