Humorous advertisement categories

Author(s): Emese Babinszki,Katalin Balázs / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2023

Humour is a prevalent strategy in advertising, but research findings are contradictory regarding its effectiveness. A potential resolution of the contradictory findings could be to create a category system distinguishing between the basic types of humorous advertisements, which could systematically be used in future research. Several classifications have been reported and some typologies have been suggested, but none is based on the audience’s representations. Our aim was to identify the basic types of humorous advertisements with an approach that considers both the previous typologies and the non-experts’ representations.In the present study, 18 humorous advertisements were assessed based on a questionnaire study with 13 questions and 246 adult participants. Based on the cluster analyses of the empirical data, three basic types of humorous advertisements were identified: taboo-breaking, exaggeration, and cute or sentimental humour. Eight items were differentiated most clearly among the humorous advertisement types. Both the humorous advertisement categories and the applied items are worth consideration in further studies. Conscious use of the identified categories in future research could help to develop a more comprehensive model of humorous advertising effects.

MENTAL TRANSLATION AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

Author(s): Adriana Toma,Daniel Dejica / Language(s): English Issue: 16/2023

The aim of this article is to present a series of analytical considerations concerning the use of mental translation in communicative teaching and learning English as a foreign language. The main part of the article focuses on the literature review concerning the impact of mental translation method on students’ language acquisition level during their English learning practice. The existing research on this topic has shown that learners use mental translation as a strategy to compare and establish similarities and differences between their first language and the foreign language. Learners create a translational field where they store the results of the similarities and differences between their native language and the foreign language. These mental translation results become some procedural knowledge, stored in their long-term memory. While communicating in a foreign language, learners automatically reuse the information previously stored in their translational field. The last part of the article contains some directions of research in relation to the use of mental translation in communicative language learning and teaching.

TEACHING EFL TO THE DIGITAL-BORN GENERATION. CHALLENGES AND EXPECTATIONS

Author(s): Cornelia-Patricia Grigoraș,Daniel Dejica / Language(s): English Issue: 16/2023

This paper is part of a wider research and targets the present demand for using technology in teaching English. The relevance of the study is justified not only by the pandemic and post-pandemic backgrounds regarding the use of technology in teaching EFL, but also by the needs and expectations of the new generation we teach. One of our main objectives is to come up with tangible digital solutions, which may complement existing teaching methods and facilitate the teaching and learning processes. Some of the advantages of using technology in EFL classes include, but are not limited to a better learning process, more interactive lessons, reduction of time spent by teachers preparing the lessons, improvement of the students' learning quality, decrease in dependence on the teacher, increase towards the positive attitude upon EFL and access to the information available on learning platforms.

Transhumanist dream. When global survival meets ultimate digitalisation

Author(s): Veselin L. Mitrović / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2023

Human Enhancement Technologies (HET) encompass bio-, nano-, cognitive, and info-communication technologies and sciences aimed at enhancing and improving human capacities and characteristics beyond the statistical norm of normal human functioning. Bioethics is defined as a bridge between natural and social sciences and the humanities. It has served as the science of global survival for a long time, spanning millennia. In contemporary bioethics, there are two mainstreams and several factions: transhumanism and bio-conservatism. This theoretical and ideological divisionism has opposing arguments due to the usage of HET. While the former supports all types of human enhancement, arguing that human survival is facilitated by the use of new biotechnologies, information technologies, and other advancements, the latter opposes such usage, even in some medical and diagnostic cases. In this paper, we will analyze the usage of various Transhumanist narratives illustrated by mythology. For this purpose, we have created two methodological triangles: the Survival Triangle and the symbolical Mythological Triangle. These triangles are constructed between the following points: Anticipation/Proteus, Autonomy/ Icarus, and Survival/Odysseus. The paper indicates that survival, as the ultimate goal of humans, is justified using new biotechnologies—the transhumanist aim. However, what is the ethics of the means used in this respect, and what could be the cost of ultimate digitalization for the sake of survival?

Слово, созидающее реальность. Некоторые особенности пространственно-временной организации романа Гузель Яхиной Дети мои

Author(s): Veronika Stranz-Nikitina / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2024

The article is devoted to some aspects of the chronotope of the novel My children by Guzel Yakhina. This study attempts to determine constitutive elements, which co-create chronotopic structure of the text. The aim is to deepen the insight into the functioning of the space-time units in the fictional world of the novel. Specifically, through a detailed analysis of the constellation of the main character’s communicative vectors within each of the chronotopes, the article investigates the impact of these communication focuses on the interconnected space-time units. In this context, communicative vector is defined as a range, direction and intensity of ongoing communication processes of the speaker. The analysis describes in detail how the main protagonist executes his communicative vectors in the text. The study then shows the key importance of these processes for the chronotopic structure of the novel.

JAVNI MEDIJI PRIPADAJU GRAĐANIMA

Author(s): Mehmed Agović / Language(s): English Issue: 100/2022

Ratni dio moje novinarske karijere imao je poseban utjecaj ne samo na profesionalno sazrijevanje i iskustvo već i prvi put na neposredan uvid u ulogu javnih medija u ratu i odnos novinara i vlasti prema medijima u ratnim, ali i poratnim okolnostima. Činjenica je da vlasti u Bosni i Hercegovini ni nakon skoro tri decenije dejtonskog perioda nisu omogućile nezavisan i samoodrživ rad javnih medija, čak ni u situaciji kada je to postavljeno kao uslov na putu države u Evropsku uniju. Ni jednoj od etnonacionalnih stranaka, koje su u tom periodu uglavnom bile na vlasti, cilj nije bio sloboda medija već, kao i u ratu, njihova instrumentalizacija za etnostranačke potrebe.

ВЛИЯНИЕ НА ЛЕКСИКОГРАФСКОТО ОПИСАНИЕ НА ПОЛСКИТЕ И БЪЛГАРСКИТЕ ФЕМИНАТИВИ И МАСКУЛИНИЗМИ ВЪРХУ ДЕБАТА И РЕШЕНИЯТА ЗА УПОТРЕБАТА ИМ В ПУБЛИЧНИ ПЛАТФОРМИ ЗА ОБМЕН НА СЪДЪРЖАНИЕ

Author(s): Andreana Eftimova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The aim of the research is to study the influence of the lexicographic description of Polish and Bulgarian feminatives and masculinisms on their usage in public communication. Using two dictionaries – Wielki słownik języka polskiego (WSJP) and Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language (DBL), the entries for the masculine and feminine forms of 100 names taken from the Bulgarian National Classification of Professions and Positions were reviewed. The analysis was carried out according to four criteria. The results show that more than half of the selected names are present with their masculine and feminine forms in DBL (80%) and in WSJP (61%), but the feeling of asymmetric representation of the names of occupations according to gender is reinforced by the definition of the meanings of occupation only in masculine forms (88%) in DBL, while in WSJP this percentage is very small (7%). Approaches to the definition of feminatives in WSJP and DBL show the use of gender identification markers. Both dictionaries note an imbalance in the representation of feminatives, which are less frequently included in prestige collocations. The paper also reveals that in recent years, public texts in both languages show unsystematic use of job titles.

ЗДЕСЬ ПТИЦЫ НЕ ПОЮТ... (РОССИЙСКИЕ АНТИВОЕННЫЕ ПЕСНИ)

Author(s): Svetlana Shnitman-Mcmillin / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2023

After 24 February 2022, antiwar songs emerged as a new phenomenon in Russian culture. They cover a variety of genres, from bardic song to rap, from travesty to tragedy. Songs containing clear anti-war stances reflect the shock of war, the tragic death of people, the destruction of culture and society in which the authors lived or with which they were spiritually connected before the attack on Ukraine, the end of an era in the existence of the Russian Federation. Anti-war songs mark a constantly expanding thematic field, and this article is only an early attempt to analyse and survey them. The presented text collection reveals the clear awareness among creative circles that after the war against Ukraine Russians will face the task of rebuilding their country on the wreckage of a failed state.

From Post-Modernism To Critical Art

Author(s): Grzegorz Jarmocewicz / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

“[…]. Human existence – a vast, unlimited space of reflections on life and death, in the fields of philosophy, morals, history, culture… Grzegorz Jarmocewicz, reaching into all these areas and categories, gives us his own interpretations to launch in us layers of associations and references to our own experiences. […]”. Critic, art historian Marek Grygiel. “[…]. Jarmocewicz’s work presents a variety in the form of a search. It contains a modernist tradition, as well as an oppositional, postmodernist tradition. From the psychological side, through a specific form, it is contained between heaven and hell. […]”. Critic, art historian Dr. Krzysztof Jurecki. “ […]. (His photographs are) economic reflections of the diversity of cultural codes, which are the artist’s modest contribution to certain areas of reflection, at the same time defining them and remaining outside the framework of the term […]”. Prof. Jerzy Olek. “ […]. He fits in with his attitude and creative search in the area of photographers of philosophers who, with the help of their pictures-photographs, reflect on life, death, time, history, culture. […]”. Prof. Marek Szyryk.

Walking with a Camera

Author(s): Peter Korček / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

In his work, the author primarily focuses on the urban landscape and its impacts on human life. His entire documentary work is linked by a unified authorial idea. In the “Jungle City” cycle, he works with the visual counterpart of the current form of the Bratislava metropolis, full of transportation routes, dense modern development, and concrete surfaces. The means to create unexpected views of the city for him are carefully selected locations on the urban peripheries surrounded by dense vegetation – trees and wild grasses. He thus achieves a completely new view of Bratislava, in which it returns to the wilderness. The project “Quiet Sunday Afternoons in the Town by the Refinery” is the author’s reflection on the impacts of industry in the rural surroundings. The focal point is the technical structure of an oil factory, which covers a significant part of an otherwise tranquil landscape of a small Austrian town. However, through austere visual expression, Korček delivers an urgent message about the adverse impact of the factory on the ecosystem. As part of the series “Here Is Our Paradise”, which unifies the theme of lawns and trees, Korček addresses the disruption of the stereotype of urban housing estates through the small self-help interventions of their residents. While walking with a camera, he supplements these plants with various found mixtures of folk interventions placed in front of panel buildings. In the “Searching” series, he adopts the position of an observer of urban movement, consisting of figures of pedestrians in narrow rays of the low-lying sun. This time he works in the environment of New York, but unlike the previous series, he does not specify this location, only utilizing its elemental potential. Korček does not work with photographic effects; he fully utilizes the poetics of the chosen locations. He skillfully works with perspective, multiple plans, or the selection of a location. Through their specific combination, he succeeds in creating authentic images of the location, in which we still find a lot of personal fantasy.

The Relevance Of Illustration In Book Marketing In The 18th And 19th Centuries In Slovakia

Author(s): Eva Augustínová,Slavka Pitoňáková / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

In each era, there are distinctive features that have influenced the possibilities of promoting intangible art products in the broader context of marketing. The possibilities, methods and forms of promotion have changed and evolved over the centuries and have depended on the development of mass means of communication, as well as on new methods and forms of promotion that reflected the requirements of the target groups during a particular period of time. In the present article, we focus on brand building of the printer (i.e. the printer’s signet), on the relevance of illustration in book marketing that takes the form of an artistic reference to the content of the work (the content frontispiece) and we also focus on building the PR of the author (the frontispiece portrait). The present study deals with the period from the 18th to the 19th century and in terms of geography, it is concerned with the territory of Slovakia.

Visual Communication Of Festive Shop Window Displays With Customers

Author(s): Daniela Kollárová,Eva Habiňáková,Andrea Tománková,Andrii Kushnarevych / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The object of the authors’ research was the festive Christmas window displays of brick-and-mortar retail stores. The main objective of the research was to identify the dominant colours, symbols and signage of Christmas festive displays of retail brick-and-mortar stores across different product categories and countries around the world. A total of 229 retail Christmas window displays, from 14 countries around the world, across 11 assortment categories, ready for the Christmas season in 2020, 2021 and 2022, were examined. The theme of Christmas resonates in retail store windows from the beginning of November until 24 December. After this date, the issue of sales dominates the window displays. The main method of the research was the content analysis used to analyse the documents in order to determine the frequency of occurrence of the pre-given categories. Given that our interpretation of Christmas is based on its Christian foundation, it is not surprising that the main universal colours and symbols of interpretation identified are rooted in Christianity, while other, complementary ones (e.g. Santa Claus with a reindeer sleigh, a snowy landscape, or a gingerbread house) and the signage are the result of changes in popular culture over time.

Discourse Of Expression Of Image Representations In Contemporary Audiovisual Culture

Author(s): Hana Pravdová,Magdaléna Ungerová / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The presented study deals with the issue of the discourse of pictorial portrayals in present-day audiovisual culture. The authors aim to find the basic parameters of the current discourse and discursive practices within audiovisual creation, especially film and television. They define basic concepts and categories and submit them to analysis. From this aspect, they examine aesthetic categories, especially aesthetic values ​​and functions in relation to the interpretation of image representations. They formulate the premise that the expressions of visual presentations are reflections of the digital technical-technological platform of audiovisual making, the ethos of postmodernity and postmodernism, and the ideal of consumption of experiences as one of the most important values ​​of present-day Western civilization. In a logical sequence, they deal with the matter of the ethos and value-related frameworks of postmodernism as relevant factors that condition the discursive practices of audiovisual creators. On the other hand, they name the mindsets of individuals, recipients of audiovisual statements, testifying to their specific desires for emotional encounters. They reach the conclusion that the discourse of the expression of visual representations in contemporary audiovisual culture has clearly defined parameters of creative approaches and reception expectations.

Men With No Story. On The Work And Exhibition Kronos By Martina Lukić

Author(s): Martina Ivičič / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The article reviews Martina Lukić's exhibition "Kronos," which juxtaposes analog and digital photography, specifically the historical anthotype technique with AI-generated visuals. Lukić explores the relationship between subject and object, creating anthotypic portraits using AI tools like Stable Diffusion and DALL-E. The process involves generating negatives, applying natural dyes like turmeric and cherry juice to paper, and exposing them to UV light. The exhibition reflects on themes of time, power, and the ephemeral nature of images, questioning the distinction between human and AI perception of wisdom and emotion.

An ethical perspective on the relationship between Media Communication – Education: Case study

Author(s): Dritan Idrizi,Tomi Treska / Language(s): English Issue: 22/2023

Purpose: Since advertising to children and adolescents has become ubiquitous, scholars who study the significance and influence of adverts on children raise questions about the communication approach towards this category of the audience. This study focuses on two national TV stations which have the highest number of viewers and consequently the highest number of advertisements and time dedicated to it. Some of the adverts repeatedly broadcast on these television channels do not comply with the ethical standards of MES or the legal framework for Audiovisual Media in the Republic of Albania. Design/Methodology/Approach: The method used in this case study is the observational method - the monitoring of the national TV media stations during particular time slots. Findings: The findings and recommendations will be relevant to all the stakeholders. Originality/value: Advertisements in time slots, in which children are actively watching television, are not in accordance with the ethics that are trumpeted by the law on pre-university education and the law on audio-visual broadcasts. We can identify the violation of some articles of the law on which the Audiovisual Media Authority operates.

THE ROLE OF RHETORIC IN TEACHER VIRTUAL EXCHANGES: NAVIGATING DIGITAL COMMUNICATION IN EDUCATIONAL CONTEXTS

Author(s): Maja Kerneža,Metka Kordigel Aberšek / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2024

Educators’ rhetorical skills are pivotal in virtual collaboration between teachers and parents, enhancing communication clarity and overcoming cultural barriers, thereby enriching educational experience and fostering intercultural understanding. A review of scientific databases such as Academic Search Complete, ERIC, SCOPUS, and Web of Science, was conducted to identify peer-reviewed articles from 2018 onwards that explore the role of rhetoric in teacher virtual exchanges. Articles were analysed for themes, findings, biases, and research gaps. A notable finding is the lack of research on rhetoric in virtual teacher exchanges, despite its potential to overcome cultural barriers and enhance collaboration. The study reveals that effective rhetorical techniques can improve clarity, persuasiveness, and intercultural understanding in virtual exchanges, indicating a need for more research and educational programs in this area. Furthermore, the study extends to virtual communication between teachers and parents, especially with non-native speakers or those with limited proficiency in the official language. This highlights the need for teachers to use sophisticated rhetorical strategies in diverse linguistic situations to improve understanding and involvement. In summary, the research underscores the significant impact of rhetorical skills in virtual teacher exchanges, with broader implications for global collaboration and intercultural understanding in the educational sphere.

Book review

Author(s): Villy Tsakona / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2023

Comic innocence

Author(s): Dick Zijp / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

In recent years, humour has re-entered the public sphere as a serious and potentially explosive topic of debate, giving rise to social conflicts and controversies. Paradoxically,however, humour has at the same time been passionately (and often aggressively) defended as innocent and harmless. I propose the notion of ‘comic innocence’ to make sense of this paradox. I take Dutch and American studies of racism, white innocence and racial ignorance as a starting point to construct a theory of comic innocence, which is tested through the analysis of responses in both legacy and social media to a serious opinion article on humour(written by the author of this paper), which sparked a scandal in the summer of 2021. Ianalyse 265 tweets and a small number of related newspaper articles and blog posts to demonstrate the respondents’ “humour ideologies”. I argue that, in the context of the “re-politicisation of humour”, those who defend humour as innocent mobilise and re-articulate three older ideas on humour. First, they emphasise the overall positive psychological, social and political functions and effects of humour. Second, they believe that humour should be protected against a ‘woke’ culture of high sensitivity and censorship. Third, they argue that humour research is a joke, and humour scholars lack a sense of humour. The humour scholar appears in this debate as the most important source of danger: a humourless, left-wing scientist keen on curtailing and censoring humorous expression.

Polarised but similar:

Author(s): Liisi Laineste,Anastasiya Fiadotava / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

Conflict divides society by bringing out opposing opinions and social, political and cultural difference. Humour becomes a way to disseminate and comment on opinions as well as to mark divisions in the public sphere. Even though humour is ambiguous in nature, its stance (Shifman2014) is made evident through content and/or context. In cases where the content of pro- and anti-democratic humour is similar, meta-discourse decides the stance.In this article we look at the (mainly online) humour that has emerged as a reaction to politically polarising conflicts. We use as examples the 2020 protests in Belarus and the Russian war in Ukraine. We analyse common and unusual motifs in pro- and anti-democratic humour born from these conflicts and discuss the sources used to create this humour. The results show that anti-democratic humour has fewer layers of reference and is less subtle than pro-democratic humour as the latter needs to circumvent censorship. Pro-democratic humour makes ample use of self-irony in contrast to the more rigid and offensive position taken in anti-democratic humour. Pro-democratic humour also needs to be more inclusive as it often spreads within a wider, more global audience catering for wider tastes in humour.

Content Brand Journalism Impact on Consumption and Consumer Behavior of 'Big Five' Football Clubs' Digital Products

Author(s): Zeki YARKIN,Erman DOĞAN,Çağan KILIÇ / Language(s): English Issue: 85/2024

This study has been built as a market research which aims to examine the usage of today’s new technological processes along with developing digital marketing tools in sports, to measure the resultant reactions of sport consumers and to provide a better understanding of consumer behaviours, which are examined as a result of the alternative contents produced by football as well as the contents produced by its natural assets. At the same time, the difference between the consumer reaction for both the main and alternative products is measured and the answer to the question whether or not the potential products that can be produced have consumption potential as much as the main products, is searched. This study aims to analyse two football clubs selected from each of the top 5 European football leagues regarding the popularity rates of chosen social platforms. In conclusion, the results state the importance of content creation and support the idea of using players as a product to produce contents, apart from their natural assets, as an effective digital sport marketing strategy. Additionally, it is aimed to incorporate new marketing methods and tools that are actively used by sports clubs with the academic literature.