scholarly journals From ‘no dogs here!’ to ‘beware of the dog!’: restricting dog signs as a reflection of social norms

2019 ◽  
pp. 147035721988752
Author(s):  
Mia Halonen ◽  
Petteri Laihonen

Signs in public space reflect ‘normalcy’ in a community. The authors ask what restricting signs tell us about a society? In order to explore the system and variation in the ways dog signs manifest different norms and control, they compare two different data sets: dog signs in a Northern European town, Jyväskylä in Finland, and two Eastern European villages in Romania. They apply a qualitative methodology based on visual communication, geosemiotics and linguistic landscape studies. The focus of the article is on the resources of addressing and the visual semiotics of the image. The investigated communities seem to create a complementary distribution of what they regulate that is also displayed through their semiotics: the Jyväskylä examples are prohibitions for dogs ‘being’ while the Romanian cases consist of warnings or threats. Both prohibitions and warnings implicate the norms and normalities in the communities, showing where they stand in terms of a continuum between a ‘dog as a pet’ and a ‘dog as a (co-)worker’. As images, the urban signs in Jyväskylä can be characterized as icons of a small collared pet, placed as a part of top-down communication in ‘tight’ public spaces. In contrast, the photographs of big dogs in the open and private Romanian village spaces refer to some specific guard dog, through which their owners communicate a benevolent warning or an intimidating threat.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Yendra Yendra ◽  
Ketut Artawa ◽  
I Nyoman Suparwa ◽  
Made Sri Satyawati

This study concerned with language in written form that is visible as graffiti in the Padang city, Indonesia landscape. The mushroomed of graffiti in Padang city landscapes increasingly has been a growing problem in society. Even local government as the official authority has created some task to prohibit graffiti, but a new graffiti has always been emerging in public space. Therefore graffiti has been considered a crime. It is interesting to explore graffiti in Padang city landscapes from other perspectives, particularly the symbolic functions of graffiti. The study uses qualitative approaches by applying Critical Discourse Analysis. The result shows that graffiti in Padang city landscapes accomplished two principal symbolic functions; first graffiti as a medium of demonstration in which providing space for marginalized expression with the opportunity to voice controversial ideas publically; second graffiti as social critics in which providing input into the public discourse that is not concerned by other conventional media.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Ghazi K. Al-Naimat

The political discourse of protesting which comprises carrying signs for clarifying demands and expressing feelings constitutes a significant area of study in the signs of online platforms within the linguistic landscape field. Taking as a case in point the Jordanian protest on May 30, 2018, a few examples of the signs of protest are analyzed using some aspects of visual semiotics, particularly the code choice. The study is grounded on both quantitative and qualitative data culled from online sources. The analysis of the data finds a variety of linguistic codes used in attaining different readerships: the standard form of Arabic as the official language in the country and in other Arab countries; Jordanian Arabic investigated as the device of speaking out the voice of the local audience; English viewed as the language of addressing the global audience; and the multilingualism occurrence as a significant feature in the corpus for achieving further readerships. These codes are largely motivated by other significant semiotic resources, including multimodality, font size, color relevance, and materiality practices. The study further views the signs of protest as a new trend of mobility, often considered a challenging notion to the territoriality of fixed signs in most linguistic landscape studies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkholedzeni Sidney Netshakhuma

This study was conceptualised in order to assess the strategies used to incorporate the homeland of KaNgwane into Mpumalanga province after the cessation of apartheid in 1994. The specific objective of the study was to investigate the compliance of records and archives with the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (Act No 43 of 1996), during the incorporation of the homeland of KaNgwane into Mpumalanga. The study adopted a qualitative methodology through document analysis, interviews and observations. The key findings revealed that the archives of the former homeland of Kangwane were not aligned with the requirements of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (Act No.43 of 1996.) Institutions seem to lack experience when it comes to the challenges of storing records and implementing arrangement and control systems. The frequent lack of a records management policy and few to no staff with record-keeping and archival backgrounds was also a concern. A shortage of space to store records safely was also one of the major issues that the study uncovered. There appears to be no concerted effort to retain important historical records. Many records are stored in several different locations in government buildings.  I conclude that archives play an essential role to the nation as the institutional memory.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Balea-Fernandez ◽  
Beatriz Martinez-Vega ◽  
Samuel Ortega ◽  
Himar Fabelo ◽  
Raquel Leon ◽  
...  

Background: Sociodemographic data indicate the progressive increase in life expectancy and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is raised as one of the greatest public health problems. Its etiology is twofold: on the one hand, non-modifiable factors and on the other, modifiable. Objective: This study aims to develop a processing framework based on machine learning (ML) and optimization algorithms to study sociodemographic, clinical, and analytical variables, selecting the best combination among them for an accurate discrimination between controls and subjects with major neurocognitive disorder (MNCD). Methods: This research is based on an observational-analytical design. Two research groups were established: MNCD group (n = 46) and control group (n = 38). ML and optimization algorithms were employed to automatically diagnose MNCD. Results: Twelve out of 37 variables were identified in the validation set as the most relevant for MNCD diagnosis. Sensitivity of 100%and specificity of 71%were achieved using a Random Forest classifier. Conclusion: ML is a potential tool for automatic prediction of MNCD which can be applied to relatively small preclinical and clinical data sets. These results can be interpreted to support the influence of the environment on the development of AD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 672-689
Author(s):  
Vlada Baranova ◽  
Kapitolina Fedorova

AbstractThe study deals with linguistic prejudices of citizens of the two main Russian cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, toward speakers of foreign languages. It aims to reveal possible recent changes in the language ideology dominating Russian society. Monolingual and linguistically normative orientations rooted in the Soviet ideological approach are being challenged nowadays by global processes of migration and cultural diversification, which influence the everyday reality of Russian megalopolises. The research is based on the analysis of two sets of data: (1) meta-discourse on language attitudes derived from interviews with labor migrants and native Russian speakers in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and posts and comments on issues of language, migration, and linguistic landscapes, collected from websites and social media and (2) linguistic landscape data collected in 2016–2019, mainly in St. Petersburg, which reflect recent changes in attitude toward linguistic diversity in public space. These data show, on the one hand, that most city dwellers still relate to monolingual speech norms and try to implement control over public space; on the other hand, that the tolerance toward multilingual communication has been increasing over the years. The study suggests that these “first cracks” in monolinguals facades of Russian cities could eventually lead to the establishing of a less rigid language regime.


Author(s):  
Kapitolina Fedorova ◽  

Multilingualism in urban spaces is mainly studied as an oral practice. Nevertheless, linguistic landscape studies can serve as a good explorative method for studying multilingualism in written practices. Moreover, resent research on linguistic landscapes (Blommaert 2013; Shohamy et. al. 2010; Backhaus 2006) have shed some light on the power relations between different ethnic groups in urban public space. Multilingual practices exist in a certain ideological context, and not only official language policy but speaker linguistic stereotypes and attitudes can influence and modify those practices. Historically, South Korea tended to be oriented towards monolingualism; one nation-one people-one language ideology was domineering public discourse. However, globalization and recent increase in migration resulted in gradual changes in attitudes towards multilingualism (Lo and Kim 2012). The linguistic landscapes of Seoul, on the one hand, reflect these changes, and However, they demonstrates pragmatic inequality of languages other than South Korean in public use. This inequality, though, is represented differently in certain spatial urban contexts. The proposed paper aims at analyzing data on linguistic landscapes of Seoul, South Korea ,with the focus on different contexts of language use and different sets of norms and ideological constructs underlying particular linguistic choices. In my presentation I will examine data from three urban contexts: ‘general’ (typical for most public spaces); ‘foreign-oriented’ (seen in tourist oriented locations such as airport, expensive hotels, or popular historical sites, which dominates the Itaewon district); and ‘ethnic-oriented’ (specific for spaces created by and for ethnic minority groups, such as Mongolian / Central Asian / Russian districts near the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park station). I will show that foreign languages used in public written communication are embedded into different frameworks in these three urban contexts, and that the patterns of their use vary from pragmatically oriented ones to predominately symbolic ones, with English functioning as a substitution for other foreign languages, as an emblem of ‘foreignness.’


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Prepeliczay ◽  
Henning Schmidt-Semisch

Purpose This study aims to describe and analyse an approach in the city of Bremen (Germany) to establish streetwork-supported tolerance zones for local open drug and alcohol scenes to reduce related disorder and nuisance in public spaces. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative methodology included systematic participant observations at public sites of drug and alcohol use, and problem-centred interviews with different groups of respondents (residents, passers-by, trades people, drug users, experts from addiction help and police). Findings In residential districts, tolerance zones were well accepted by their target group and found to reduce perceived disorder and nuisance in public space. However, their success depends on the social and spatial conditions of the chosen location, its surrounding urban infrastructure, cooperation among local actors and characteristics of drug using groups. Originality/value Usually, policing of open drug scenes focuses on repression and law enforcement. The example of Bremen suggests that streetwork-supported tolerance zones dedicated to the drug scene can substantially reduce disorder and nuisance in public space.


Author(s):  
Perikles Simon

AbstractDuring a pandemic, robust estimation of case fatality rates (CFRs) is essential to plan and control suppression and mitigation strategies. At present, estimates for the CFR of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection vary considerably. Expert consensus of 0.1–1% covers in practical terms a range from normal seasonable Influenza to Spanish Influenza. In the following, I deduce a formula for an adjusted Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) to assess mortality in a period following a positive test adjusted for selection bias.Official datasets on cases and deaths were combined with data sets on number of tests. After data curation and quality control, a total of IFR (n=819) was calculated for 21 countries for periods of up to 26 days between registration of a case and death.Estimates for IRFs increased with length of period, but levelled off at >9days with a median for all 21 countries of 0.11 (95%-CI: 0.073–0.15). An epidemiologically derived IFR of 0.040 % (95%-CI: 0.029%– 0.055%) was determined for Iceland and was very close to the calculated IFR of 0.057% (95%-CI: 0.042– 0.078), but 2.7–6-fold lower than CFRs. IFRs, but not CFRs, were positively associated with increased proportions of elderly in age-cohorts (n=21, spearman’s ρ=.73, p =.02).Real-time data on molecular and serological testing may further displace classical diagnosis of disease and its related death. I will critically discuss, why, how and under which conditions the IFR, provides a more solid early estimate of the global burden of a pandemic than the CFR.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Patrícia Silveira de Farias

Resumo: Este artigo apresenta uma discussão sobre as noções de democracia, democracia racial e ordem social, a partir da análise do processo de construção de duas pesquisas efetuadas sobre um mesmo espaço: a orla do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil – em dois momentos distintos: a virada do século XX para o XXI e os anos 10 de século XXI. As noções acima citadas são estudadas a partir dos pontos de vista dos diversos segmentos sociais que frequentam e trabalham no local, inclusive agentes do Estado, no caso do segundo momento, que privilegia a ação de segurança pública intitulada “Choque de Ordem”. Para isso, usou-se metodologia qualitativa, através de entrevistas em profundidade e etnografia, além de levantamento documental de leis, ordenamentos e pesquisa bibliográfica sobre tais temáticas. Como conclusões, salienta-se que as formas de entendimento do que seja democracia e ordem dependem da posição que cada grupo social ocupa na sociedade brasileira mais ampla, e são atravessadas e modeladas por critérios étnico-raciais e de classe. Observa-se também a importância política que o espaço público praia assume para dar visibilidade às disputas de sentido em torno de questões como igualdade, liberdade e hierarquias de classe e de cor na sociedade brasileira.Palavras-chave: praia; ordem social; “Choque de Ordem”; democracia. ***Abstract:  This paper is intended to discuss the notions of democracy, racial democracy and social order, by analyzing the building process of two researches which focused the same place: Rio de Janeiro’s beaches, in Brazil. These two researches took place at distinct historical moments; one, at the last years of XX century, and the other, in the first decade of the XXI century. The notions cited above are studied from the perspectives of the various social segments that frequently go or work there, especially State agents which are part of the public policy named “Choque de Ordem” (a kind of “Order Assault”). In order to do this, these researches are based on qualitative methodology, with interviews and ethnography, and also on documental study of the laws which inflects on this public territory, and bibliographic research on these issues. As a conclusion, the article points out that the way people understand democracy and social order will depend on the position each group has in the broader Brazilian society, and that these ideas are tied to and are modeled by ethnic and class criteria.  Its stresses also the political relevance that this public space, the beach, assumes, in order to give visibility to the dispute around the meaning of equality, freedom and hierarchies of color/race and class in Brazilian society.Key words: beach; social order; “Choque de Ordem”; democracy. ***Resumen:Este paper presenta una discusión de las ideas de democracia, democracia racial y orden social, a partir de la análisis del proceso de construcción de dos pesquisas efectuadas en lo mismo local: las playas de Rio de Janeiro, en Brasil, en dos momentos distintos: fines del siglo XX e mediados del siglo XXI. Las dichas nociones son analizadas a partir del punto de vista de los diversos segmentos sociales que van o trabajan en este local, incluso agentes del Estado, en lo segundo momento, que se detiene en la acción de seguridad publica denominada el “Choque de Ordem”. Para eso, se usó la metodología cualitativa, con base en entrevistas y etnografía, y también en las leyes, ordenamientos e demás estudios sobre tales temáticas. Como conclusiones, enfatizase que las formas de comprenderse el significado de democracia y de orden dependen de la posición que cada grupo social tiene en la sociedad brasileña más amplia, y son travesadas y modeladas por criterios etnicoraciales y de clase social. Observase también la importancia política que éste espacio público, la playa, asume en dar visibilidad a las disputas de sentido sobre asuntos como igualdad, libertad y jerarquías de clase y de color en la sociedad brasileña.Palabras clave: playa; orden social; “Choque de Ordem”; democracia.       


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