Toward dialogue through a holistic measuring framework – the impact of social media on risk communication in the COVID-19

PurposeDespite the huge potential of social media, its functionality and impact for enhanced risk communication remain unclear. Drawing on dialogic theory by integrating both “speak from power” and “speak to power” measurements, the article aims to propose a systematic framework to address this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe impact of social media on risk communication is measured by the correlation between “speak from power” and “speak to power” levels, where the former primarily spoke to two facets of the risk communication process – rapidness and attentiveness, and the latter was benchmarked against popularity and commitment. The framework was empirically validated with data relating to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) risk communication in 25,024 selected posts on 17 official provincial Weibo accounts in China.FindingsThe analysis results suggest the relationship between the “speak from power” and “speak to power” is mixed rather than causality, which confirms that neither the outcome-centric nor the process-centric method alone can render a full picture of government–public interconnectivity. Besides, the proposed interconnectivity matrix reveals that two provinces have evidenced the formation of government–public mutuality, which provides empirical evidence that dialogic relationships could exist in social media during risk communication.Originality/valueThe authors' study proposed a prototype framework that underlines the need that the impact of social media on risk communication should and must be assessed through a combination of process and outcome or interconnectivity. The authors further divide the impact of social media on risk communication into dialogue enabler, “speak from power” booster, “speak to power” channel and mass media alternative.

Précis of Talking to Our Selves

One of the most unsettling lessons from recent psychological research is that people are routinely mistaken about the origins of their behavior. Yet philosophical orthodoxy holds that the exercise of morally responsible agency typically requires accurate self-awareness. If the orthodoxy is right, and the psychology is to be believed, people characteristically fail to meet the standards of morally responsible agency, and we are faced with the possibility of skepticism about agency. This chapter is derived from Doris’s Talking to Our Selves (2015b), which responds to the skeptical threat by developing an “anti-refectivist” dialogic theory, where the exercise of morally responsible agency emerges through a collaborative conversational process by which human beings, although afflicted with a remarkable degree of self-ignorance, are able to realize their values in their lives.

The Bakhtin Circle’s dialog in Vietnam

In this article, we use Jacques Derrida’s deconstructive method to study the influence of Mikhail Bakhtin in Vietnam in the 1990s and 2000s. By using evaluations of Bakhtin by researchers in Vietnam and around the world, we argue that he is not the only owner of the theory of dialog and polyphony. His friends, Pavel Medvedev and Valentin Voloshinov, also played important roles in defining these concepts. The Bakhtin Circle’s dialog theory is related to the sense of democracy in society. The work of Bakhtin was introduced to Vietnam in the 1980s and led to a “Bakhtin fever” throughout Vietnam. However, he has been less overrated recently. We also discover a mistake in the dialogic theory of the Bakhtin Circle. The members of the Circle said that the nature of language is dialogic, which means that whenever language is used, either in literature or in common life, it is always polyphonic. Based on this claim, novels use language to tell stories, so novels are polyphonic. The Bakhtin Circle was mistaken when labeling Dostoevsky’s novels as polyphonic and Tolstoy’s novels as monologic. In the same vein, the Bakhtin Circle strongly believed that language in poetry is always monologic. We think this claim is also wrong. Dialogicality appears in all kinds of poetic languages.

What’s in an @reply? A case study of two-way communication in Target Canada’s Twitter @replies

This paper analyzes the Twitter @replies (responses to a user’s initial tweet) of Target Canada as the organization entered the Canadian retail landscape in the Spring of 2013. The @replies posted by Target Canada are analyzed through two lenses: Grunig’s (1992) two-way symmetrical model of public relations and Kent & Taylor’s (2001) dialogic theory of public relations. Grunig’s model argues that the symmetrical model of communication serves the interests of both organizations and their publics by emphasizing dialogue and mutually beneficial relationships (Grunig & Jaatinen, 1999). Similarly, Kent & Taylor advocate for relational interaction and relationship building between organizations and their audience. This case study will contribute to the small body of literature that focuses on Twitter’s @reply function. As social media use is an increasingly important marketing and branding tool, it is important for organizations to realize the potential that each platform can offer. Through Twitter @replies, organizations can create a balanced dialogue (where both the organization and its public participate in a dialogic exchange) and build open, mutually beneficial relationships.

What’s in an @reply? A case study of two-way communication in Target Canada’s Twitter @replies

This paper analyzes the Twitter @replies (responses to a user’s initial tweet) of Target Canada as the organization entered the Canadian retail landscape in the Spring of 2013. The @replies posted by Target Canada are analyzed through two lenses: Grunig’s (1992) two-way symmetrical model of public relations and Kent & Taylor’s (2001) dialogic theory of public relations. Grunig’s model argues that the symmetrical model of communication serves the interests of both organizations and their publics by emphasizing dialogue and mutually beneficial relationships (Grunig & Jaatinen, 1999). Similarly, Kent & Taylor advocate for relational interaction and relationship building between organizations and their audience. This case study will contribute to the small body of literature that focuses on Twitter’s @reply function. As social media use is an increasingly important marketing and branding tool, it is important for organizations to realize the potential that each platform can offer. Through Twitter @replies, organizations can create a balanced dialogue (where both the organization and its public participate in a dialogic exchange) and build open, mutually beneficial relationships.

Pluralitas Mesir dalam Imarah Yakubian

Al-Aswany is known as the writer who often calls for Egyptian democracy. In his creative work, al-Aswany made the themes of democracy, freedom of speech, equality of rights and so on. The various thematic (democracy) in Bakhtin terms are called carnivalistic and/or polyphonic, have many voices. In this paper the author will map carnivalistics/polyphonic through the novel Imarah Yakubian written by al-Aswany. The carnivalism and polyphony of the Jacobian Empire are tested by Bakhtin's dialogic theory. The elements studied include: 1) carnivalization, 2) composition of the polyphonic novel, 3) character and author position, 4) dialogue of the novel consisting of: a) dialogue between characters; b) representation of ideas; and c) intertextual dialogue. As a result, the Jacobian Imarah can be categorized as a polyphonic novel with predominantly carnivalistic features. In the novel there are many dialogical voices. The dialogue is in the form of dialogue between figures as well as dialogue between novel texts (Imarah Yakubian) and other texts.

INTERTEXTUAL MARKERS IN THE EDUCATIONAL PEDAGOGICAL DISCOURSE

The article addresses the issue of intertextual links in the educational pedagogical discourse. The research is based on the theoretical findings and provisions of foreign scholars as well as the linguists of the post-soviet information space, who consider the intertextual links in the aspect of M.M. Bakhtin’s dialogic theory. The basic methods of the research are general scientific (descriptive and analytical) and a specific method of linguistic abstraction. The material of the research is a modern coursebook Focus 1, 2, 3, 4 used in teaching a foreign language in mid-school. The main objective of the case study is to specify the notion of intertextuality, define its role in the didactic text, and to analyze the main intertextual markers in the English coursebook. The coursebook is viewed in the plane of the “supertext” where all heterogeneous didactic materials are interconnected in the aspect of their sense and situational context. Intertextuality in the didactic text stands in close relation with the category of addressability. It suggests a dialogic link with other texts, actualizes precedence of the didactic text, ensures intersubject connections and fosters socio-cultural competence of pupils. The author differentiates the notions of inner and outer intertextuality. The intertextual markers in the coursebook are precedent names, utterances, events and texts of different genres. There has been cleared out that the most productive spheres for borrowing precedent names are the social sphere and the sphere of arts; precedent utterances are mostly expressed by complete quotations, proverbs and sayings; precedent situations reflect nationally and universally significant events; precedent texts are adopted authentic text fragments of different genres. Non-verbal intertextual markers are schemes, tables, diagrams and artistic images.

Fostering Dialogic Engagement: Toward an Architecture of Social Media for Social Change

Dialogic theory and engagement hold great potential as frameworks for thinking about how social media can facilitate public discussions about social issues. Of course, having the potential for dialogue is very different than finding actual instances of dialogic engagement. This article explores the philosophical and technical features of dialogue that need to be present for social media to be used dialogically. Through the metaphor of “architecture,” this article reimagines dialogic communication through social media. We introduce four design frameworks including user expectations, engagement, content curation, and sustainment that may facilitate dialogic engagement for fostering social change.