scholarly journals Metapragmatics in a courtroom genre

Pragmatics ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isolda E. Carranza
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Closing Arguments ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Societal Context ◽  
Trial Lawyer

Taking as a starting point a broad conception of metapragmatics (Lucy 1993), this study describes a wide range of reflexive elements in closing arguments of criminal trials, and on the basis of their habitual use by trial lawyers, it enquires about the general underlying function as part of the sociocultural practice (Bourdieu 1990). The corpus of was collected at twenty-two criminal trials observed and recorded by the researcher. Five kinds of metapragmatic indexes – from the maximally explicit to the implicit – are identified and analyzed in their interactional, situational and societal context: (1) performatives, which count as official acts by the trial lawyer, (2) formulations and other evaluations of speech, (3) descriptions of aspects of the sociocultural practice and allusions to the principles governing the event, (4) strategic descriptions of contextual conditions, which are exploited with group identity and relational effects, and (5) style. The analysis reveals that these metapragmatic features contextualize the communication as expressing a specific social capital, and at the same time, they contribute to define what does not count as legitimate practice. Apart from the specific effects of individual types of indexes, in closing arguments metapragmatic indexes basically function signaling that the social actor and the practice they are engaged in rightfully belong to the social field of the law.

Editorial: Refashioning stories for celebrity counterpublics

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Moro ◽  
Samita Nandy ◽  
Kiera Obbard ◽  
Andrew Zolides
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Public Intellectuals ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Dominant Ideologies ◽  
Ted Talks

Using celebrity narratives as a starting point, this Special Issue explores the social significance of storytelling for social change. It builds on the 8th Centre for Media and Celebrity Studies conference, which brought together scholars and media practitioners to explore how narratives inspired by the lives of celebrities, public intellectuals, critics and activists offer useful rhetorical tools to better understand dominant ideologies. This editorial further problematizes what it means to be a popular ‘storyteller’ using the critical lens of celebrity activism and life-writing. Throughout the issue, contributors analyse the politics of representation at play within a wide range of glamourous narratives, including documentaries, memoirs, TED talks, stand-up performances and award acceptance speeches in Hollywood and beyond. The studies show how we can strategically use aesthetic communication to shape identity politics in public personas and bring urgent social change in an image-driven celebrity culture.

Bowling Together

2020 ◽  
pp. 239-254
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Fein
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Practical Action ◽  
Clinical Ethnography ◽  
Shared Interest ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social

The Conclusion ends this clinical ethnography with recommendations, suggesting that interventions for autism attend not only to individual bodies but also to the repair of strained social ties and the rebuilding of social capital. Drawing on follow-up interviews with the youth on the spectrum whose experiences inform the rest of the book, as they now move into young adulthood, the chapter describes the places where they have successfully found and maintained a sense of connection and community. Using literacy scholar James Gee’s concept of an “affinity space” as a starting point, this chapter identifies characteristics shared by the communities favored by these youth. Such spaces tend to be organized around a shared interest, activity, or affinity, characterized by an ethic and aesthetic of connection and repair, and motivated by an accessible notion of virtue that can be cultivated through practical action. As such, they may provide advantages not offered by traditional social skills groups. Through such work to maintain local connections, the social disorder arising from Asperger’s syndrome, autism, and other forms of neurodevelopmental difference can be addressed where it takes place: not only within individuals but between us as well.

scholarly journals Social Capital, Well-Being and Municipality: Salaspils Municipality (Latvia) Case

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-75
Author(s):  
Inga Jēkabsone ◽  
Biruta Sloka
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
Participatory Techniques ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract During the last three decades, social capital has gained prominence throughout the social sciences. The concepts has been analysed in various manners (from perspectives of economics, political sciences, sociology, anthropology etc.) providing wide range of theoretical conceptualizations. The aim of paper is to analyse the relation of social capital and possibility to improve the well-being of the municipality’s citizens using co-responsibility approach. In order to achieve the aim, the tasks are formulated as follows: 1) to review theoretical background for concept of social capital and subjective well-being, 2) to analyse the factors of social capital at local level, and 3) to use the results of conducted empirical research at Salaspils municipality in analysing the correlation of level of social capital and possibility to improve well-being implementing inclusive local management. Research methods used: Scientific literature studies, several stages of focus group discussions, statistical data analysis, SPIRAL methodology, scenario method. The main findings of the paper - there are evidences on relation of social capital and possibility to improve the well-being of the municipality’s citizens. In municipalities with sufficient level of social capital are good opportunities to use participatory techniques for achieving higher level of overall well-being. The paper consists of practical value how to mobilise the social capital of the municipality in order to ensure the inclusive management of the territory.

scholarly journals Medical Field Exercise With a Social Telepresence Robot

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Henkel ◽  
Jesus Suarez ◽  
Vasant Srinivasan ◽  
Robin R. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Role Conflict ◽  
Medical Professional ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Medical Field ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Telepresence Robot ◽  
Field Exercise

AbstractThis article reports observations from a field study in which medical responders used a social telepresence robot to communicate with participants playing the role of a trapped victim in two search and rescue exercises. The interaction between the robot, victims, and responders suggests the coexistence of two distinct social identities for the robot. One which is a pure conduit for the remote medic, and another in which the robot is treated as an independent social actor. Participants acting as victims demonstrated fluidity in interacting with each identity. The social identify of a robot has important implications for the development of future telepresence systems, particularly in the healthcare domain. Since victims in the exercises gave attention to both the robot and the remote medic, it is possible that the robot’s social actor role may divert attention from the remotely connected individual. The work provides a starting point for investigation of role conflict between a remote medical professional and the robot they are using to assist a patient.

scholarly journals Religion in the Age of Social Distancing: How COVID-19 Presents New Directions for Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph O Baker ◽  
Gerardo Martí ◽  
Ruth Braunstein ◽  
Andrew L Whitehead ◽  
Grace Yukich
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Historical Moment

Abstract In this brief note written during a global pandemic, we consider some of the important ways this historical moment is altering the religious landscape, aiming our investigative lens at how religious institutions, congregations, and individuals are affected by the social changes produced by COVID-19. This unprecedented time prompts scholars of religion to reflect on how to strategically approach the study of religion in the time of “social distancing,” as well as moving forward. Particularly important considerations include developing heuristic, innovative approaches for revealing ongoing changes to religion, as well as how religion continues to structure social life across a wide range of contexts, from the most intimate and personal to the most public and global. Although our note can only be indicative rather than exhaustive, we do suggest that the initial groundwork for reconsiderations might productively focus on several key analytical themes, including: Epidemiology, Ideology, Religious Practice, Religious Organizations and Institutions, as well as Epistemology and Methodology. In offering these considerations as a starting point, we remain aware (and hopeful) that inventive and unanticipated approaches will also emerge.

Trust but verify: social capital and moral behavior

1999 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric M. Uslaner
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Behavior ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ten Commandments ◽  
Social Capital Perspective ◽  
Government Benefits

Rational choice approaches suggest that decisions to behave morally depend largely on how people expect others to act. A social capital approach suggests that moral codes, rather than expectations of others, lead people to endorse strong standards of moral behavior. Using the 1981 World Values Study in the United States, I find strong support for the social capital perspective and at best limited backing for the rational choice approach in explaining why people endorse strong standards of moral behavior. Core values such as religion and trust in others, together with a belief that one adheres to the Ten Commandments, lead people to abjure a wide range of “immoral” acts from lying to buying stolen goods and claiming government benefits unfairly.

scholarly journals What is a mode? Smell, olfactory perception, and the notion of mode in multimodal mediated theory

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigrid Norris
Keyword(s):  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Olfactory Perception ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Mediated Action ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Mediational Means

AbstractMoving towards multimodal mediated theory, I propose to define a mode as a system of mediated action that comes about through concrete lower-level actions that social actors take in the world. In order to explain exactly how a mode is a system of mediated action, I turn to a perfume blog and use one blog entry as my starting point. The mode that I primarily focus on in this article is the mode of smell, explicating that the mode of smell is not synonymous with olfactory perception, even though modal development of smell is certainlyAs I am ostensibly focusing on theEven though the concept of mode is problematical - and in my view needs to always be problematized - I argue that the term and the notion of mode is theoretically useful as it allows us to talk about and better understand communication and (inter)action in three respects: 1. The notion of mode allows us to investigate regularities as residing on a continuum somewhere between the social actor(s) and the mediational means; 2. The theoretical notion of mode embraces socio-cultural and historical as well as individual characteristics, never prioritising any of these and always embracing the tension that exists between social actor(s) and mediational means; and 3. The theoretical notion of mode demonstrates that modal development through concrete lower-level actions taken in the world, is transferable to other lower-level actions taken.

scholarly journals Could Public Procurement Become an Incentive for Developing the Non-profit Sector in Russia?

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-128
Author(s):  
Надежда Геннадьевна Сироткина ◽  
Елена Евгеньевна Зуева ◽  
Светлана Владимировна Павловская
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Non Profit Organizations

Non-profit organizations deliver a wide range of meaningful resources to communities in such diverse areas as education, arts, social services, etc. However, compared to the private sector, their funding potential is much more limited. The increasing social and economic impact of the non-profit sector is a reason why there is a need to persistently enhance these opportunities. State contracts have the potential to be regarded as one of the most essential sources of funding for non-profit organizations in the social sphere. In Russia, recently passed laws ensure substantial benefits for 'socially oriented' non-profit organizations that participate in public procurement. Nevertheless, despite the existence of norms allowing socially oriented NPOs to be granted preference in tenders, the presence of the non-profit sector in the Russian public procurement market is still insignificant. This study seeks to analyze the peculiarities of Russian public procurement legislation. The main question of the study is why state procurement failed to become a driver for the development of the non-profit sector in Russia? To answer this question, firstly we consider the functioning mechanisms of socially oriented NPOs in the public procurement market. Then, we analyse the results of expert interviews, which let us identify the following barriers limiting the participation of NPOs in public procurement: economic, financial, social, and organizational. Finally, we draw the conclusion that, for the majority of non-profit organizations, state procurements are an optional source of funding in view of the barriers identified above. This study is relevant for government and public authorities as it can serve as a starting point for improving the mechanisms of attracting the non-profit sector to the sphere of public procurement.

scholarly journals The dynamics of social capital: The case of Serbia I

2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 131-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alpar Losonc
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Weak Institutions ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social

This is the first part of the paper that is presented at the conference of EBEN 29-31.2003. In this paper, I am dealing with the relationships between the social capital and some antinomies in the light of business performance in Serbia. The starting point is that Serbia is burdened by odd, postponed transition. The odd transition destroyed some forms of social capital and the postponed transition in business switched the necessary grey/black networks into certain forms of modified social capital. Besides, I explore the path-dependences that determine the dynamic of social capital in Serbia. Hereafter, I uncover some issue related to the weak institutions and uncertainty.

scholarly journals After supersynchronisation: How media synchronise the social

2021 ◽  
pp. 0961463X2110125
Author(s):  
Helge Jordheim ◽  
Espen Ytreberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Broadcast Media ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
Nature Of Time ◽  
Historical Moment ◽  
Social Orders

The multiple nature of time has by now been well established across a wide range of scholarly traditions in the humanities and social sciences. The article takes that insight as a starting point, in order to discuss the tools, work, sites and contestations involved in common temporal frameworks and structures that cross and join together time’s multiplicities. We thus articulate and discuss key components of synchronisation, a concept with significant potential for understanding common temporalities and social orders. Our emphasis is particularly on media, their technological and representational affordances for synchronisation. The article’s approach to social and mediated times presents an alternative to Hartmut Rosa and François Hartog’s influential theories about the temporal configuration of the present historical moment. Their understanding of the present tends more towards unity and uniformity, particularly by means of chronology. We follow Luhmann in arguing that ‘there is no supersynchronization’ producing such privileged, unitary temporal orders. We propose pursuing an understanding of both present and past through investigations of synchronisation itself, which always exists in plural, always involves different synchronisations in competition with each other, is subject to social and historical contingencies. The article combines theoretical and conceptual arguments with historical and contemporary cases. We investigate the synchronisation of national collectives by means of broadcast media, of individuals in everyday life by means of social media, and the recalibration of various contemporary media to a global scale in order to tackle the issue of climate change. These cases move from past and relatively comprehensive forms of synchronisation, via more localised forms today, to highly uncertain and heterogeneous ones in the future.

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