Philosophical Reflections on Technology, Politics and Communication in an Ever-changing World

Author(s): Salvatore Schinello / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

This article is an overview and introduction of the current issue of Filosofija. Sociologija, thematically divided into five chapters. The topics cover various aspects of contemporary world: from the challenges related to technology and democracy to researches on youth values and worldview. What seems to unite all these articles (in spite of their plurality of themes, views and approaches) is the idea of an ever-changing world in which philosophy is interconnected with other sciences and disciplines, in order to provide more consistent and perhaps universal interpretations to the challenges that human beings must face in the contemporary world.

„… chroń mnie panie od pogardy, przed nienawiścią strzeż mnie boże”. Kiedy słowa wyrażają pogardę

Author(s): Alicja Gałczyńska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 43 (48)/2023

The article is devoted to the concept of contempt, understood as a feeling of disrespect and aversion and a sense of superiority towards someone towards whom our contempt is directed. It is an emotion of a social nature, winding up a spiral of hatred. Contempt presupposes the speaker’s superiority, who considers himself superior to the person/group of people he is speaking to. I treat the rhetoric of contempt as an element of verbal aggression, which is sometimes expressed through various linguistic means. Here I would like to show how words change their meaning and start to express contempt and hatred towards another human being. Referring to the determinants of hate speech indicated by Michał Głowiński (ruthlessness of reason, objectification of the „hero” of the statement, dichotomy of values, conspiracy view of reality, arbitrariness of assessments and depersonalized sender), I indicate why the use of the term LGBT ideology is such an immoral way of using language. Language analyses focus on statements from public discourse – they were taken primarily from Internet portals and social media.

Władze Komitetu Krakowskiego PZPR wobec redakcji „Gazety Krakowskiej” od września 1980 do grudnia 1981 roku

Author(s): Piotr Juchowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 13-14/2022

During the “Revolution of Solidarity” (September 1980 – December 1981), some of the magazines of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PUWP) became an independent way of local structures PUWP, which had controlled them. One of the example is the editorial office “Gazeta Krakowska” (GK), which during this period, presented often autonomous views towards to PUWP. In this article, the author analyzes the attitude of the authorities of the Krakow Committee PUWP (KC) towards to the content of GK. The attention was paid to the specificity of the reports and the impact of authorities KC on the editorial office of GK, as well as their resonance among journalists. The text also refers to the evolution of these relations and the reasons for their change in the second half of 1981. The author pays particular attention to the view authorities KC towards to specific autonomy of GK. In the article, the author presented in which spheres were allowed for freedom and in which party discipline was demanded. The text also refers to the “common interests” that could have been linked by the liberal-minded authorities of the KC and the editorial staff of GK for example in striving for internal party reforms or fighting the conservative part of PUWP.

Когнитивно-дискурсивные особенности выступления Джо Байдена на совместном заседании Конгресса США 29 апреля 2021 г.

Author(s): O. I. Afonina / Language(s): Russian Issue: 5/2022

This article examines the cognitive and discursive aspects of Joe Biden’s April 2021 statement on the epidemiological situation in the United States and the American Jobs Plan. The relevance of the research stems from the need to better understand the tactics and strategies employed by politicians to influence their audiences at the times when politics plays a key role in our lives. Here, the lexical and syntactic features of U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech were considered in order to describe him as a linguistic personality. The main methods used were descriptive, contextual, and keyword analyses. A number of examples prove that Joe Biden uses very expressive linguistic devices to achieve the maximum effect on his listeners: firstly, the U.S. President was found to place particular emphasis on stylistic devices; secondly, various parenthetical elements were highlighted; thirdly, certain distinctive expressive devices were identified; finally, special attention was given to the study of the syntax of the statement. Based on the obtained results, the linguistic personality of Joe Biden within political discourse was characterized in detail. For example, he uses linguistic and pragmatic devices to influence the audience rather than to convey the message. An important generalization is that the discourse of a politician reflects social problems, and the functions of lexical means vary depending on the socio-political situation in a state.

Finding a Dead Dove in the Refrigerator. The Anti-Shippers’ Call for Exclusion of Sensitive Content as a Means of Establishing Position in the Field of Fan Production

Author(s): Agnieszka Urbańczyk / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2022

The author of this paper uses Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory to discusses the anti-shipper movement and its call for exclusion of problematic content from online repositories of fanwork. Anti-shippers, who oppose indiscriminate inclusion of potentially harmful content and its creators in the field of fan production, are a relatively new and vocal faction inside the field. While the research on antis has focused on their methods of harassment and its effects on fan community, this paper discusses the conditions inside the field before the movement’s emergence, focusing on the affordances and terms of service of online fanwork repositories. The author proposes to treat the question of exclusion of sensitive content and its creators as one concerning the field’s autonomy, and presents the anti controversy as a way for newcomers to establish their position in the field and change its problematic.

From Braille Code to Smart Book Readers: Technology as a Tool for Reading Emancipation of the Visually Impaired Persons

Author(s): Kamila Albin / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2022

This paper illustrates how, over the course of the last two centuries, the autonomous access of the visually impaired to reading material has expanded. The author coins the term “reading emancipation” to describe these processes. She illustrates it by referring to her own research involving in-depth interviews with the visually impaired readers regarding the use of various forms of books, such as books printed in Braille, talking books and e-books. The author also traces the historical background of the transformation of alternative book formats, from the development and spread of Braille code to digital books. The description of the evolution of book formats is set against the background of the transformations taking place in Europe with a strong emphasis on the impact of these transformations on Poland.

“Tedious by Design.” Institutionalized Labor of Content Creators in the Game as a Service Model: The Path of Exile Case Study

Author(s): Mateusz Felczak / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

This study investigates the work of content creators in relation to developers and fans, focusing on digital platforms in a case study of the video game Path of Exile which functions in the game as a service (GaaS) model. The analysis was based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of aspiring content creators and on the assessment of data extracted from distribution, streaming, and social digital platforms. The institutionalized labor of content creators, which is subjugated to the live service model curated by the developers, could be characterized by the notions of transactional play, aspirational boredom, and gaming the markets. These three elements stand for the commodification of play time, substituting actual play with broadcasted footage, and actively shaping the in-game economy, respectively. The study acknowledges the rising importance of content creators as contributors to the financial well-being of a game employing the GaaS model, while raising awareness of the cultural, economic, ethical and health issues associated with it.

“Too Easy” or “Too Much”? (Re)imagining Protagonistic Enhancement through Machine Vision in Video Games

Author(s): Ragnhild Solberg / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

This article explores how video games that valorize techno-masculine imaginaries of superhuman domination also present humans as depending on computational and non-human agencies to succeed. Through close readings of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward 2007) and Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red 2020), I illustrate the close connection between machine vision and militarized visions of domination and agency. The analyses show how beyond-human vision enhances player characters and players, complicating the human-machine relationship in the process. Video games can build on and feed into anthropocentric and masculinist narratives. This article demonstrates how even when the technology appears to support these fantasies of human control, there are moments when it takes over or otherwise disrupts the god-like interventions of the human. By analyzing failures, glitches, and the consistent machine participation in the assemblage, I unpack explicit cases of machine agency as part of a broader assemblage, revealing a more complex power dynamics than those that are initially presented to the player. In doing so, this article demonstrates how the superhuman machine vision was never exclusively human to begin with. Understanding vision and agency as shared with machines both enables and complicates fantasies of dominance in video games.

Barack Obama i Donald Trump w Polsce – obraz medialny wizyt amerykańskich prezydentów w polskiej prasie codziennej

Author(s): Monika Góra / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2022

Visits by American presidents in Poland are important, socio-political and media events. This fact was the motivation to conduct research on media presentation of the visits of two American presidents – Barack Obama in 2011 and Donald Trump in 2017 – to Poland which were presented in Polish daily newspapers. The content analysis was based on opinion-forming titles: “Gazeta Wyborcza”, “Rzeczpospolita” and “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”, and tabloids: “Fakt” and “Super Express”. The aim of the paper is to show the differences in how selected dailies cover two visits and explain where these differences might come from. The research hypothesis assumes that the ideological profile of chosen daily press determines media image of the American presidential visits in Poland, and that the significance of press materials may impact the formation of readers’ views and opinions about leaders of the USA. The author tried to answer the following questions: do the selected titles show bias against any of the presidents?, is the narration of daily newspapers similar to the tabloid press?, and do they undergo tabloidization? The article consists of five parts. The first part discusses the special relationship between Poland and the USA and the perception of American presidents’ visits to Poland. The second section describes agenda-setting, which is the theoretical framework for this study. The third part of the article describes the research methodology, which is based on content analysis. The fourth section is a description of the study of materials published in Polish daily press. The article ends with a summary of the study results. The bias was demonstrated in “Gazeta Wyborcza” (numerous articles, critical of Donald Trump), “Fakt” (numerous articles with positive attitude towards Barack Obama and Donald Trump) and “Super Express” (numerous satirical articles about Barack Obama). In the context of the discussed issues, daily newspapers did not make their narration similar to tabloid press and did not succumb to the tabloidization of media.

Komunikowanie rządowe w Polsce w pierwszym roku pandemii koronawirusa – wybrane aspekty

Author(s): Waldemar Sobera / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2022

This article presents selected tools and communication channels used by the Polish government during the crisis management related to the SAR S-CoV-2 pandemic in Poland. The aim of the research was to analyze the most popular tools used in the crisis communication, their characteristics and an evaluation of their effectiveness. Crisis communication during the fight against a pandemic is especially important because its purpose is to preserve the health and life of citizens. Mixed research methods and techniques were used in the study, such as desk research, content analysis and comparative analysis. The methods and techniques allowed for answering the research questions, for example: adaptation of communication tools to the different age of recipients; the channels and forms of communication used; changes in the methods of communication related to restrictions; using new technologies. The comparison of the used methods of reaching the audience, visual creations, and costs incurred helps to assess the effectiveness of communication of the authorities in the first year of the pandemic.

Leksykalna ilościowa analiza zawartości. Wojciech Kajtoch: Leksykalna ilościowa analiza zawartości jako metoda rekonstrukcji tekstowego obrazu świata. Analizy i problemy. Kraków 2022, s. 315.

Author(s): Alena Podviazkina / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1 (253)/2023

Wykorzystanie sztucznej inteligencji w postępowaniach sądowych na przykładzie Chin i Estonii

Author(s): Marta Dargas-Draganik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 22/2022

The greatest challenge related to using artificial intelligence systems in court proceedings is to create appropriate databases, and, even more, a black box, to understand the process of obtaining one and not another judgment with an algorithm. Simultaneously, regulations at both European and national levels will have to guarantee technological neutrality. In Poland, we are far from the system of internet courts that are operating in China. Based on the example of Estonia, however, we can see that the use of modern technologies in the justice system is possible and, most importantly, effective.

Covid-19 and the emotional health of Romanian students

Author(s): Ovidiu Damian,Alberto Duhomnicu / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on societies around the world, causing various reasons for concern among the population, from anxiety, stress, psychosomatic symptoms depression, or even suicidal thoughts. One of the most affected groups and a particularly vulnerable sector is that of students, who were able to fully feel the consequences of the pandemic and the psychological pressure related to it. This introduced several stress factors that had the potential to impact their emotional health. The most common problems were the sudden transition to online education, reduced or even non-existent social interactions, the fear of infection and the economic difficulties they faced during this period. We seek to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the youth have been affected, but also potential sources of support and intervention. We used a self-reporting online survey based on the “Balance model” from Positive Psychotherapy in order to assess the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on their emotional health and we also questioned the students about their coping strategies and the actions they consider helpful in such situations. The survey was completed by 1574 students from twenty universities in Romania and showed that a lot of them had professional, physical, and emotional difficulties which they faced mostly alone, without seeking assistance from any type of professional care, such as psychologists or specially designed helplines.

Winning battles with a joke:

Author(s): Bhowmick Sumagna,R Vijaya / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

Humour in military organizations can be antithetical given the rigid hierarchy, high degrees of work formalization, and obedience to hierarchy. This paper explores how humour is initiated, propagated and maintained in the Indian Army. We conducted twelve in-depth interviews with retired army professionals and used Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis to capture the study's main findings. Three major themes emerged – organizational humour, leader humour, and team humour. We found humour is essential in combating stress, increasing social cohesion, facilitating newcomer assimilation, and promoting a positive work environment. We also found evidence of subversive humour used in forms of resistance to challenge the hierarchical structure subtly. We have provided a three-part schema of workplace humour which sheds interesting insights on workplace humour. Our findings will contribute to understanding how military humour helps to maneuver challenges of a stressful work situation.

A multimodal analysis of humour as an engagement strategy in YouTube research dissemination videos

Author(s): Edgar Bernad-Mechó,Carolina Girón-García / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

Science popularisation has received widespread interest in the last decade. With the rapid evolution from print to digital modes of information, science outreach has been seen to cross educational boundaries and become integrated into wider contexts such as YouTube. One of the main features of the success of research dissemination videos on YouTube is the ability to establish a meaningful connection with the audience. In this regard, humour may be used as a strategy for engagement. Most studies on humour, however, are conducted solely from a purely linguistic perspective, obviating the complex multimodal reality of communication in the digital era. Considering this background, we set out to explore how humour is used from a multimodal point of view as an engagement strategy in YouTube research dissemination. We selected three research dissemination videos from three distinct YouTube channels to fulfil this aim. After an initial viewing, 22 short humoristic fragments that were particularly engaging were selected. These fragments were further explored using Multimodal Analysis - Video (MAV)1, a multi- layered annotation tool that allows for fine-grained multimodal analyses. Humoristic strategies and contextual features were explored, as well as two main types of modes: embodied and filmic. Results show the presence of 9 linguistic strategies to introduce humour in YouTube science dissemination videos which are always accompanied by heterogeneous combinations of embodied and filmic modes that contribute to fully achieving humoristic purposes.

Every corona is not a virus:

Author(s): God’sgift Ogban Uwen / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

This study is a visual semiotic analysis of Coronavirus memetic humour, aimed at ascertaining the implied meanings of selected Covid-19-related Facebook memes that stimulated virtual discourse among Nigerian netizens during the pandemic. The study adopts Visual Semiotics Theory and Encryption Theory of Humour to account for meanings derived from the presuppositional assumptions and shared sociocultural knowledge which serve as the decrypting ‘key’ to meaning. The ‘key’ activates the appropriate disambiguation and interpretation of the significations in the semiotic resources conveyed in the humorous memes. Nineteen Facebook Covid-19-related memes were selected as a representative sample for a descriptive and qualitative analysis. The analysis is coded into 11 discourse domains based on the related semiotic contents of the memes which include: preventive protocol, media reportage, religious beliefs, health sector, sociopolitical domain, socioeconomic domain, security, science, transportation, relationship and lifestyle to account for the differentials in perceptions by Nigerian netizens. Findings show that Nigerians created Coronavirus memetic humour to stimulate laughter in the rather consequential circumstances generated by the pandemic derived from the humorous contents of the image macros. In the Nigerian social context, the Coronavirus memes humorously instantiate the apprehension and helplessness of a people, and thrive to express protest, insecurity, corruption, religiosity, economic hardship and a poor health system. These, altogether, combine as a myriad of the challenges faced by the people who consolably devised coping strategies to trivialise the pandemic, while yearning for an inclusive government that prioritises the welfare of its citizens.

‘Are we laughing at the same?’

Author(s): Iveta Žákovská,Carmen Maíz-Arévalo,Ying Cao / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

Humour is often employed as a coping mechanism, with therapeutic effects on those producing and receiving it (Christopher 2015; Samson & Gross 2012). This buffering effect of humour might explain why, at the time of an international pandemic like Covid-19, human beings, independently of their cultural origin, have resorted to humour as a means of alleviating uncertainty and fear, and of enhancing feelings of connection and bonding with others. The proliferation of Covid-related humour has also led to a wide range of studies, with special attention to memes. However, contrastive studies are more limited, especially those comparing very different languages and cultural realities such as the Chinese, the Czech and the Spanish ones. This paper aims to redress this imbalance by analysing a corpus of 300 Covid-memes (100 memes per language). More specifically, we intend to answer the following questions: (i) what dimension(s) of humour are predominant in each language? (ii) what actors do the memes in the three countries target? and (iii) to what extent can these preferences relate to cultural differences/similarities? Applying a mixed-method approach, results show that there seems to be a global preference for affiliative humour while aggressive (and self-deprecating) humour appears to be more culturally bound, with a higher frequency in the Czech and Spanish datasets in contrast to the Chinese one. Likewise, the Czech and Spanish dataset share a significantly higher number of common frames, which might be pointing to a more European, Western type of humour in comparison to the Chinese approach (Jiang et al. 2019).

Anti-Ukrainian narratives of Russia in the global information space

Author(s): Olena Shevchenko,Anatoliy Yalovets / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

The article examines the anti-Ukrainian narratives that russian propaganda produces and spreads to various target audiences, in particular, to the Ukrainian and russian populations and citizens of Western countries. It is shown that the goals of russian propaganda differ depending on the audience, in particular, for Ukraine's foreign partners, russian narratives justify the need to seize Crimea, the importance of russian patronage over Ukraine, and the legitimacy of the separation of part of the East. For the russian domestic consumer, the purpose of narratives is to shift attention from internal problems to external factors; to explain the need for russian support of the self-proclaimed "republics" as part of the "russian peace" and to show that putin's regime has no alternative. For the Ukrainian population, it is to show the inability of the authorities to solve the internal problems of the state, the fallacy of the chosen path of European integration, and the inability of the leadership of Ukraine to carry out reforms. The authors also showed how russian propaganda messages evolved in the russian information space, as well as how the information space of Ukraine changed after the start of the full-scale invasion. A conclusion is made about the informational resistance of Ukrainian society in relation to russian narratives after the start of a full-scale invasion.

The ambivalent affordances of humour in capitalist organisations

Author(s): Massih Zekavat / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

Responding to concerns raised by Michael Billig (2018) regarding the functions of humour incapitalist organisations, this essay strives to convey how humour and satire can have liberatingand empowering affordances for subjects in organisational contexts as they can potentiallyintervene in the negotiation and exercise of power through fostering negative dialecticalthinking and estrangement. Revisiting the scepticism of Marcuse, Fromm, Horkheimer andAdorno toward humour, it strives to provide an initial theoretical framework to accommodatea more nuanced understanding of the functions of humour in power structures by locating itwithin the contingencies acknowledged by Frankfurt School critical theorists. Although humourcan be co-opted to serve power and consolidate the status quo, it can also serve as a potentialresistance strategy in capitalist societies and organisations.

Book review

Author(s): Ibukun Filani / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023