Persuasive Tool Research Articles

Genomic surveillance uncovers ongoing transmission of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) and identifies actionable routes of transmissions in an endemic setting.

In our center, previous infection prevention and control (IPC) resources were concentrated on multidrug-resistant organisms other than CRAB because the rate of CRAB was stable with no evidence of outbreaks. Triggered by an increase in the baseline rate of CRAB isolated in clinical cultures, we investigated horizontal transmission of CRAB to guide targeted IPC actions. We prospectively collected clinical data of patients with positive CRAB cultures. We identified genetic relatedness of CRAB isolates using whole-genome sequencing. Findings were regularly presented to the IPC committee, and follow-up actions were documented. During the study period, 66 CRAB isolates were available for WGS. Including 12 clinical isolates and 10 environmental isolates from a previous study, a total of 88 samples were subjected to WGS, of which 83 were successfully sequenced and included in the phylogenetic analysis. We identified 5 clusters involving 44 patients. Genomic transmissions were explained by spatiotemporal overlap in 12 patients and by spatial overlap only in 12 patients. The focus of transmission was deduced to be the intensive care units. One cluster was related to a retrospective environmental isolate, suggesting the environment as a possible route of transmission. Discussion of these findings at multidisciplinary IPC meetings led to implementation of measures focusing on environmental hygiene, including hydrogen peroxide vapor disinfection in addition to terminal cleaning for rooms occupied by CRAB patients. We showed that WGS could be utilized as a "tool of persuasion" by demonstrating the presence of ongoing transmission of CRAB in an endemic setting, and by identifying actionable routes of transmission for directed IPC interventions.

Древнекитайские прецедентные тексты в современном китайском политическом дискурсе (на материале поздравительных речей председателя КНР Си Цзиньпина)

Since its inception, modern Chinese political discourse has been heavily influenced by traditional cultural thought, Confucianism’s idea of a people-oriented and benevolent government; the Taoist idea of atheism and the Taoist law of nature; the legist idea of governance by law, etc. These concepts have a very profound influence on the language of political discourse in the new period. The political discourses of various periods and dynasties in antiquity had an equally important influence on the political language of the new period leader Xi Jinping. Ancient Chinese precedent texts are an important object of study in Chinese modern linguistics, because they are related to the system of Chinese civilization and reflect the specifics of the interaction of language, thought and traditional culture. The presence of ancient Chinese precedent texts characterizes Chinese traditional linguocultures, representing different perceptions of existing values and ways of perceiving the picture of the world. The presence of ancient Chinese precedent texts is a prerequisite for successful speech in Chinese political discourse. The semantic and contextual analysis of congratulatory speeches in the structure of Xi Jinping’s discourse shows the role of precedent texts from 礼记 (“Book of Rituals”), 周易 (“Zhou Yi”), 道德经 (“Dao De Jing”), which not only function as tools of persuasion and motivation for the recipients to rally, but also development of traditional Chinese culture.

Fear of the Russian bear? Negotiating Finnish national identity online

AbstractNational identities are an important tool for collective political persuasion and mobilisation among political elites and lay people. Recent research on nationalism has shown that the negotiating of national identities, like any political deliberations and operations, increasingly occur on the Internet. In this study, we contribute to this research by examining the relational construction of Finnish identity online. More specifically, we focus on how the users of the largest discussion forum in Finland constructed Russia as a threat. A massive dataset spanning 12 years enables us to map the recurring patterns and temporal shifts in the discussions. We show that the construction of Russia as a threatening national other was used to both oppose and support Finland's alliance with the West, namely, becoming a member of NATO.

Role of humour in tourism discourse

This paper focuses on the role of humour as a persuasive tool of tourism destinations' communication and as a means of creating the destination’s image and uniqueness in tourism discourse. According to Aristotle’s appeals, humour belongs to pathos, which is - besides ethos and logos – an essential means of persuasion in successful communication. In the introductory part, the paper offers a short theoretical insight into the functions of tourism discourse and the role of humour in it, further on some examples of online promotional texts about Montenegro are analysed and discussed using discourse analysis. The results, presented in the conclusion, confirm that successful promotion can only occur through the efficient use of tourism discourse which addresses the needs of potential tourists and that humorous texts about destinations are appealing to readers. Based on the analysis, it can be established that branding of tourism destinations, products and services with elements of humour may be outstanding in positive ways, and consequently employed in promotional texts as a successful means of communication.

RHETORICAL ELOCUTION IN THE PUBLIC Speeches of American Business Leaders

The article explores the rhetorical elocution of speeches given by the most famous American business leaders, seen from the point of view of persuasiveness. The aim of the research is to analyse the figurative expression of the speeches in question, to determine and generalise the most common elements of their rhetorical stylistics. Fifty speeches by American business leaders, given on various occasions in the period 1981 to 2020, were chosen and analysed for this article. The research is intended to reveal how various rhetorical figures used by contemporary orators serve as tools for persuasion and emotive argumentation.

Modality as a Persuasive tool in English and Arabic Self-Improvement Books

Modality as a Persuasive tool in English and Arabic Self-Improvement Books

Making Muslim the Enemy: A Transitivity Analysis on Anti-Islam Hate Speech

This article presents an analysis on online anti-Islam hate speech in term of its persuasiveness. Like the other types of hate speech, in anti-Islam hate speech there is an element of persuasion to make its readers believe on the truth of the statements. Using Halliday’s transitivity framework in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) the data which were taken from the comments responding to the Video of Donald Trump’s speech on Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city in four selected YouTube channels were analyzed to reveals how the process types used in the clauses expressing anti-Islam hate speech becomes a persuasion tool to persuade the readers on the truth of the messages conveyed in the hate speeches. The result shows that the process types are employed to provide evidences. All of the evidences are presented to prove the readers on the negativity of Muslim and Islam. Keywords: Online anti-Islam hate speech, Transitivity, process type, persuasion. DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/12-8-06 Publication date: April 30 th 2022

The negotiation of authorial persona in dissertations literature review and discussion sections

Writing at a postgraduate level is not only meant to obtain a degree in a specific field but also, and more importantly, to secure that ones research is published nationally as well as internationally. In other words, conducting research is first and foremost about making ones distinctive voice heard. Using Martin and Whites (2005) appraisal framework, the present study examines the way Tunisian MA and PhD EFL researchers in applied linguistics establish a dialogue with the reader as a persuasive tool in their texts. The comparison is meant to unveil cross-generic differences in authorial voice manifestation that distinguish postgraduate writers at different degrees. A corpus of 20 Literature Review and 20 Discussion sections taken from 10 MA and 10 PhD dissertations written in English by Tunisian EFL writers is qualitatively and quantitatively explored. Linguistic markers denoting the writers stance are identified in the corpus and are qualitatively studied using the engagement subsystem to qualify the utterance as dialogically contractive or expansive. A quantitative analysis then compares how dialogicality is manifested across the degrees and sections using SPSS. The results show that the negotiation of voice seems to be more problematic for MA researchers in both sections in comparison to PhD writers. Dialogic contraction in the MA subcorpus conveys a limited authorial positioning in the Literature Review section and a failure to stress personal contribution in the Discussion section. PhD researchers frequent reliance on expansion in both sections displays their academic maturity. The critical evaluation of previous works in the Literature Review and the claim for authorial ownership in the Discussion section distinguish them from MA writers. The comparison not only stresses the strengths that distinguish PhD writers but also points out problematic instances in establishing a dialogue with the audience in postgraduate writings. The study findings can be used to consider EFL researchers production in pedagogical contexts in terms of identity manifestation and stance-taking strategies across the different sections of the dissertation.

A Novel Diagnostic Decision Support System for Medical Professionals: Prospective Feasibility Study

BackgroundContinuously growing medical knowledge and the increasing amount of data make it difficult for medical professionals to keep track of all new information and to place it in the context of existing information. A variety of digital technologies and artificial intelligence–based methods are currently available as persuasive tools to empower physicians in clinical decision-making and improve health care quality. A novel diagnostic decision support system (DDSS) prototype developed by Ada Health GmbH with a focus on traceability, transparency, and usability will be examined more closely in this study.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to test the feasibility and functionality of a novel DDSS prototype, exploring its potential and performance in identifying the underlying cause of acute dyspnea in patients at the University Hospital Basel.MethodsA prospective, observational feasibility study was conducted at the emergency department (ED) and internal medicine ward of the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. A convenience sample of 20 adult patients admitted to the ED with dyspnea as the chief complaint and a high probability of inpatient admission was selected. A study physician followed the patients admitted to the ED throughout the hospitalization without interfering with the routine clinical work. Routinely collected health-related personal data from these patients were entered into the DDSS prototype. The DDSS prototype’s resulting disease probability list was compared with the gold-standard main diagnosis provided by the treating physician.ResultsThe DDSS presented information with high clarity and had a user-friendly, novel, and transparent interface. The DDSS prototype was not perfectly suited for the ED as case entry was time-consuming (1.5-2 hours per case). It provided accurate decision support in the clinical inpatient setting (average of cases in which the correct diagnosis was the first diagnosis listed: 6/20, 30%, SD 2.10%; average of cases in which the correct diagnosis was listed as one of the top 3: 11/20, 55%, SD 2.39%; average of cases in which the correct diagnosis was listed as one of the top 5: 14/20, 70%, SD 2.26%) in patients with dyspnea as the main presenting complaint.ConclusionsThe study of the feasibility and functionality of the tool was successful, with some limitations. Used in the right place, the DDSS has the potential to support physicians in their decision-making process by showing new pathways and unintentionally ignored diagnoses. The DDSS prototype had some limitations regarding the process of data input, diagnostic accuracy, and completeness of the integrated medical knowledge. The results of this study provide a basis for the tool’s further development. In addition, future studies should be conducted with the aim to overcome the current limitations of the tool and study design.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04827342; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04827342

Metaphor-Based Analysis of Joe Biden’s and George Washington’s Inaugural Speeches

This paper analyzes how conceptual metaphor is used as a persuasive tool in Joseph Biden’s and George Washington’s inaugural speeches. The speeches are analyzed using Conceptual Metaphor Theory. A source-based approach to metaphor analysis is adopted in this paper. Statistical findings are used to examine how metaphor is utilized to frame certain political topics. The study demonstrates that metaphor is a vital persuasive tool in political discourse. The use of conceptual metaphors persuades and appeals to people’s emotions. The paper shows that Biden utilized more conceptual metaphors than Washington. This indicates the need and importance Biden attaches to persuasive rhetoric of which the use of metaphor successfully provides and attains. The nature of conceptual metaphor in both speeches reveals the existence of diachronic differences in how metaphors were used. This metaphor variation which reflects changes in society is ascribed to the differences in ideologies and the zeitgeist of the two eras in which the speeches took place.

Transitivity and evaluation in American and Spanish parliamentary discourse: the 2015 State of the Union Address in the US vs. the 2015 State of the Nation Address in Spain

ABSTRACT The present study explores the interplay of evaluation and transitivity in an American and Spanish parliamentary debate by President Obama and PM Rajoy aiming at legitimizing their actions and at convincing candidates to vote for them in the upcoming elections. A further objective is to investigate whether the transitivity and appraisal analyses illustrate the politicians’ ideological positions. Within the general framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), we use the results obtained for Appraisal following Martin and White’s appraisal scheme [Cabrejas-Peñuelas, A. B. (2020). Metaphor, metonymy and evaluation as political devices in American and Spanish parliamentary political discourse. Ibérica, 40, 75–99] and add a study of the interplay with transitivity [Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2014). Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar. Routledge]. The results reveal that both politicians used transitivity differently: Obama used mental desiderative processes for expressing desires and showed the active role of ‘us’ to bring about positive changes. In contrast, Rajoy preferred relational, verbal and existential processes. These contribute to his particular picture of reality, which is ideological in nature. Also, the results show that evaluation and transitivity were used as an ideological tool for persuasion and legitimization of the politicians’ economic decisions.

A Revolution Or A Journey Towards Liberty? A Cognitive Metaphorical Analysis Of The Jasmine Revolution In English And Arabic News Discourse

This study offers a cognitive metaphorical analysis of the events framing the Tunisian Revolution in English and Arabic news discourse between 2010 and 2014. The study addressed two central questions: (1) How has the Tunisian Revolution been metaphorically represented in English and Arabic political news discourse based on the cognitive domain of journey? What are the similarities and differences between the metaphorical representations in the same news discourse? The conceptual integration network emerging in the analysis is single-scope as the two input spaces of journey and revolution were demonstrated to have different organizing frames. Specifically, only the frame of journey is projected to organize the blend. Findings showed that anchoring the concept of revolution to that of journey has created a kind of semantic tension that helped journalists to evoke emotional responses and manipulate the discursive function of metaphors as persuasive tools. Because of the cross-space mappings between journey and revolution, nearly all concepts related to the revolutionary experience proved to have a counterpart in the journey frame. Equally important, the results of comparing and contrasting cognitive metaphors in English and Arabic news discourse could offer insights into the way language develops based on a cognitive basis. Therefore, learners of both English and Arabic could access the system governing language learning concerning the formation of semantic networks based on different conceptual frames, thereby enhancing their metaphorical competence. Developing learners’ metaphorical competence would help them in analyzing, reconstructing, and translating diverse textual data

National Myth in UK–EU Representations by British Conservative Prime Ministers from Churchill to Johnson

Britain’s withdrawal of its EU membership has a number of political and economic implications for UK–EU relations. In seeking to understand the 2016 EU referendum outcome, it is insightful to study the historical development of discourses representing the UK–EU relationship. Doing so reveals the trends of British exceptionalism and British Euroscepticism as integral to these discourses. Applying a diachronic approach, this paper examines ten speeches by nine Conservative Prime Ministers (PMs) held at the annual Conservative Party Conferences from 1945 to 2020. The speeches include, among others, those by Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron and Boris Johnson. The qualitative analysis traces the discursive strategies employed by PMs in their construction of the Conservative narrative of national myth, focusing especially on the issues of British national identity in relation to Europe. Methods of Discourse Historical Analysis (DHA) and Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) are applied in order to identify strategies employed by PMs as tools of persuasion for the purpose of consolidating political power and promoting their policies. This study has identified three major interrelated strategies—myth, ally and enemy creation—which are used to narrate the story of Britain’s relationship with Europe as a potential member of the Union, as a member, and up to its efforts to leave the EU.

Capturing Injustice: The Screenshot as a Tool for Sousveillance

Framing the screenshot as a tiny-but-mighty tool for digital sousveillance, this case study explores the use of screenshots in online social justice movements, specifically those dedicated to identifying and eradicating systemic racism. Using one antiracism-focused Twitter account as a single case for analysis, we examined how social justice advocates may use the screenshot to “watch from below.” Grounded theory qualitative analysis of 228 screenshots posted to the Racism Watchdog account (@RacismDog) between June 2019 and June 2020 revealed that screenshots offer a means to capture and call attention to injustices in online spaces. Equipping users with the ability to select and frame content appearing onscreen, screenshots also allow users to emphasize portions of racist comments, incorporate information to support an argument, juxtapose bits of information to highlight rhetorical contradictions, and occasionally to bring levity to those engaged in online activism. We discuss the screenshot as an effective, visually persuasive tool in online sousveillance.

Analysing authorial identity construction in the review article genre in Applied Linguistics

Authorial identity construction is one of many professional rhetorical strategies employed by authors in academic review genres. Authors usually create a persona to represent themselves, their seniority in the field, and the community to which they belong. The author’s visibility is made possible through several rhetorical devices. Perhaps the most remarkable way of such authorial identity construction in the review article genre is self-mentions. The aims of this research are (1) to find out what types of self-mention are frequently used in review articles, (2) to determine the frequency of use and distribution of self-mentions in the review articles, and (3) to investigate the rhetorical function of self-mentions in the different analytical sections of the review articles. The data, drawn from a randomly selected corpus of thirty-two review articles, were analysed using WordSmith Tools Version 6. The findings indicated that first-person plural pronouns were more frequently used than singular pronouns in the whole corpus except in the two review texts. It was also observed that the frequency of occurrence for the exclusive and inclusive pronouns was very close to each other. Most importantly, the inclusive pronouns were used not only as a politeness strategy to appreciate the readers and keep the writers’ claims balanced but also as a persuasive tool to seek the readers’ agreement in the evaluation of research developments. This study revealed that authors construct various professional personas as a rhetorical strategy to carve their authorial identity and credibility in the review article genre. The findings of this study have pedagogical implications in the field of academic writing in applied linguistics as well as other disciplines.

The Impact of Product Tagging on Trust and Purchase Intention: A cross-cultural perspective in visual e-commerce

The present study aims to examine the opportunity of in-app shopping, more specifically, analyzing the influence of product tags and cultural background on consumers’ trust and purchase intention. For this purpose, a comparison was made between European and South American female consumers from two cultures: the Netherlands and Paraguay. A total of 225 subjects, 143 from the Dutch background and 82 from the Paraguayan background, participated in an experimental survey where they judged an Instagram product page (product tag: present vs. absent). The analysis of the results revealed that the Paraguayans had higher purchase intentions than the Dutch. Additionally, the presence of a text appeal in the visual product presentation had a direct positive effect on consumers’ purchase intentions and perceived trust in the shopping environment, for both the Dutch and Paraguayan cultural groups. In virtual web shops, perceiving trust is a decisive point for purchase intentions. This study contributes to the fast-growing investigations on social media effectiveness and visual marketing as an informative and persuasive tool. The findings pinpoint the synergic value of visual and textual cues of product presentation online in the atmospheric trust of in-app shopping.

Persuasive rather than ‘binding’ EU soft law? An argumentative perspective on the European Commission’s soft law instruments in times of crisis

ABSTRACT This paper starts from the premise that argumentation in EU (Commission) soft law instruments is essential for their effectiveness, mainly due to its function to persuade addressees as a means to enhance compliance. Notwithstanding their importance in the EU legal-political landscape, the problem is how to ensure that these instruments devoid of formal legally binding force can function as effective governance tools by convincing addressees to comply, particularly during crisis periods such as the Covid-19 crisis, when fast and effective action is urgently needed. By pointing at a number of significant legal problems and concerns deriving from the Commission’s ‘hardened’ soft law instruments, we suggest a normative approach focusing on the potential of EU soft law instruments to act as highly persuasive tools. By making the instruments’ argumentation a core concern, we examine its role as a means to improve the intrinsic quality of EU (Commission) soft law and to foster effective compliance. To this end, we propose a theoretical-analytical framework combining insights from law and argumentation theory, that puts forward an argumentative toolbox for the analysis and assessment of EU (Commission) soft law instruments. This toolbox comprises four argumentative parameters that need to be taken into account in the drafting and evaluation of EU (Commission) soft law instruments: (1) the content of the argumentation, (2) the design of the arguments pointing at persuasive suggestions for cooperation, (3) the factors influencing argumentative effectiveness, and (4) the soundness of argumentation.

Modern Approach of Artistic and Persuasive Marketing Communication

"Persuasion sparks interest among the general public and marketers. Persuasive strategies activate discourses on responsible and sustainable business. This is an interesting phenomenon that needs to be studied, explained, and understood in order to destroy the myth among consumers. The purpose of this paper is to explore influence techniques used in marketing communication in order to test and develop a theoretical approach of art implication as a persuasive tool. This article, based on a secondary source case study, is reviewing the influence of art on consumer behavior. Related results from persuasive literature and survey results, based on 689 respondents, mainly from Romania, indicate that persuasive power has an impact according to the style of communication. Some advertisements try to increase persuasiveness, as a company’s marketing communication needs to appeal to ethics and morality. Art represents “one of the world’s most sacred cultural resources”. Different categories of artwork are mentioned, as well as their degree of cultural recognition. Art and persuasion are also the main principles for luxury retailers. After a conceptual framework, we developed a study that embraced art and science. Studying art as an influence technique represents interest among marketers, as a notoriety topic, not enough studied. The implications and findings of this research suggest that persuasive techniques based on art require continued research. This paper helps to place this subject in a proper perspective and clarifies much of its confusion. The results advance specialty theory and provide insights for marketers. Keywords: persuasion, art, influences technique, advertising, marketing. JEL Classification: M31, M37, M39 "

Conceptualisation of Sustainability

Metaphors are language phenomena commonly used as tools of persuasion, as evident in different kinds of public discourses, most notably in political addresses. They are particularly potent in this respect because they function on the principle of connecting the logical with the emotional. This persuasive role has also been attested in media reports, usually employed for the purposes of framing and the creation of a specific narrative. The purpose of this paper is to outline a theoretical and methodological account of metaphor choices related to sustainability and restoration, as issues related to climate change, made by the contemporary media and the perceptions formed by repetition and reinforcements of certain kinds of imagery present in their choice. An additional purpose is to understand which information sources, and possible instances of influence and leverage, could be of importance in terms of the media reporting on sustainability-related issues. Therefore, the paper offers novel conceptual and analytical guidelines for future research in the field of sustainability communication.

De los muertos no siempre se habla bien: muestras de la ironía en los textos periodísticos sobre Hugo Chávez Frías

In the present paper, irony is perceived as a rhetorical strategy used to emphasize certain issues described in selected discourses. It goes beyond the scope of antiphrasis which was a traditional way of referring to irony. It is a pragmatic phenomenon and the context is crucial for its understanding. Since irony is a perfect tool for persuasion, it can be analyzed within press discourse. The present paper sets out to analyze instances of irony in press articles extracted from the Spanish newspaper El País published over a period of 30 days following the death of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.