Effects of ICTs in mega events on national image formation: the case of PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in South Korea

Purpose Among a wide array of information and communication technologies (ICTs) used to directly or indirectly support the mega events are reality boosting technologies and smart tourism technologies. Building upon the halo effect, this study aims to explain the connection between satisfaction with ICTs used in mega event, national image and event participants’ future behavior. Design/methodology/approach The analyzed data included survey responses from 246 foreigners who visited PyeongChang as a visitor for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Findings The results showed that both reality boosting technologies and smart tourism technologies directly or indirectly influence overall experience satisfaction by way of transaction satisfaction. Furthermore, the two types of satisfaction were found to positively influence the national image of the host country, which consequently has a positive effect on visitors’ future behavior. Originality/value This study aimed to explore two different roles of ICTs in mega events by focusing more on the visitors who came to PyeongChang for the Olympics. The originality of this study lies in its attempt to examine the mechanisms in which visitors’ satisfaction from ICT-based experiences in mega events contributes to forming a positive image toward the host country.

A Review of the Research on Mongolia’s Perception of China

Mutual perception is an important indicator of the degree of closeness between countries, and it can more intuitively reflect the degree of mutual favorability between the two peoples and the perception of each other's national image. Mongolia's perception of China is an important fundamental aspect in the bilateral relations. This article reviews and examines the current research status of the given topic in academic circles. In general, (1) The public opinion surveys of some research institutes on Mongolia’s perception of China are relatively objective and neutral, so their survey results have higher reference value and application value. (2) Regarding the specific studies of Mongolia’s perception of China, some studies are relatively neutral, objective and of keen insights, and some are difficult to divorce from the perspective of the ‘self’ or the western interpretation mode, often presuppose their positions and tend to place too much emphasis on historical and cultural factors. Mongolia's perception of China is the result of the interaction of various factors mainly including history, emotion/psychology, realistic issues, and external factor. Хятадын талаарх монголчуудын ойлголтын тухай судалгааны тойм Хураангуй: Монголчуудын Хятадын талаарх ойлголтын тухай асуудал бол хоёр улсын харилцааны чухал сэдвийн нэг байдаг. Энэхүү өгүүлэл нь академик судалгааны хүрээнд уг сэдвийн судалгааны өнөөгийн байдлыг ангилан дүгнэж харуулах юм. Ерөнхийдөө: (1) судалгааны байгууллагуудын монголчуудын Хятадыг танин мэдэх ойлголттой холбоотой тоо баримт санал асуулга харьцангуй бодитой, тийм учраас судалгааны үр дүн хэрэглээний ач холбогдол өндөр гэж үзэж болно. (2) Хятадын талаарх монголчуудын ойлголтын тухай нарийвчилсан судалгаанаас харахад, зарим судалгаа харьцангуй бодитой төвийг сахисан, гүнзгийрүүлж судалсан байдаг ч зарим судалгаа нь нэг талыг барьсан, соёл хоорондын мөргөлдөөний онолоор тайлбарлаж, анхнаасаа байр суурь дүгнэлт нь тодорхой, хэт түүх соёлын хүчин зүйлийг дөвийлгөсөн шинжтэй байдаг. Монголчуудын Хятадыг танин мэдэх ойлголт нь түүх, сэтгэл зүй, бодит нөхцөл байдал, гадаад хүчин зүйлс зэргийн харилцан үйлчлэлийн үр дүнд бүрэлдсэн юм. Түлхүүр үгс: Монгол, Хятадыг танин мэдэх ойлголт, судалгаа, онцлог

“The Image of the World in the Word Appeared...” (Based on the Creative Work of the Bilingual Poet Bakhyt Kairbekov)

The purpose of this article is to show that the image of the world of the Kazakh poet, represented by the Russian language, differs both from the Russian image of the world and from the Kazakh, i.e. a foreign language is capable to transform the national image of the world. On the basis of the creative work of the Kazakh poet, translator Bakhyt Kairbekov, the possibility of forming a transnational consciousness through universal and national images is shown. The appeal to his work is due not only to his outstanding talent, but also to the fact that we almost do not know what a modern Kazakh is like, what the world of his ancient homeland is like, nevertheless we live side by side. It was achieved using the method of lingua-cultural interpretation, with the help of which, firstly, the discrepancy between the images of the Kazakh and Russian ethno cultures was revealed, and, secondly, the transformation of the national image of the world was recorded. All the main problems raised in the poetry of Bakhyt Kairbekov draw images of Kazakh culture, the Motherland for him has become one of the main chords of creativity, but in his work there are almost no direct nominations (fatherland, country, etc.), the homeland appears through conjugated images of a horse, heath , freedom, rivers, water, mountains, sky, stars, etc. His poetic image is not a photographic copy of the real world of a Kazakh (heath, mountains, etc.), it contains the attitude of the depicted person to the aesthetic, moral and intellectual values of his people.

Canon Studies in China: Traditions, Modernization, and Revisions in the Global Context

Though particular texts have long held culturally foundational authority, debates over the idea of a canon and the texts that are to compose it are a much more recent phenomenon, one that originated in the United States and quickly spread to other countries. The present article situates China in the international trend of canon studies by tracing how the Chinese conceptualization of the canon was modernized in the 1990s by Western ideas when canon studies were introduced to China by Dutch scholar Douwe W. Fokkema. While embracing the Western notion of the canon as always in a dynamic process of change that involves aesthetic qualities as well as a power mechanism, Chinese scholars, under the influence of culturally specific practices of literary criticism, the Confucian principle of the golden mean, and the more recent Marxist teaching of dialectical thinking, refuse to replicate Western discourses, instead adhering to a more dialectical treatment of the mutually antagonistic positions. Moreover, China's rising international status and its pursuit of wider global influence have led Chinese scholars to approach literary (re)historiography as an opportunity to showcase Chinese scholarship and to enhance China's national image.

Construction of China’s National Image in the Fight against the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Post-Epidemic Era from the Perspective of Transitivity

In the Post Covid-19 Era, taking the advantage of shaping a true, active, and the positive national image is of strategic significance for China to transform the fake national image constructed by other countries, and also for its development in the future. Based on the corpus of a white paper Fighting Covid-19: China in Action, the paper is intended to focus on the transitivity system to examine how China constructs a positive national image in the fight against the pandemic. The findings show that China has constructed four kinds of national images in the fight, including; the persistent image of solidarity and bravery; the responsible image of duty-shouldering and challenge-facing; the humanism image of respecting human lives and rights; the diplomatic image of dedication and commitment. By virtue of self-constructing national image, it is conducive to telling Chinese stories, spreading Chinese image, and sharing Chinese experience in the battle of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sport as a tool of politics: A study on Myanmar's Southeast Asian Games 2013

<p>Since a new semi-civilian government came to power in March 2011, Myanmar has embarked on sweeping reforms to end its isolation and integrate its economy with the international economy. As a signal of stimulating the economic stagnation, President Thein Sein's government revamped finance and investment laws to draw more foreign investment into the country and asked for financial and technical assistance from the international community at the same time. However, the image of a military-influenced civilian government has created administrative problems for Myanmar's policy of national re-unification and economic development. So Myanmar badly needed to improve its national image and legitimacy in order to reduce the obstacles to its regional and international political and economic objectives. As a diversely populated country, Myanmar leaders thought that projecting a positive national image will contribute to a higher level of national brand and uplift their political legitimacy. Therefore the government decided to host the 27th SEA Games which may be vital for re-branding of Myanmar and so they prepared to formulate this idea since before the transfer of power from military government to a new semi-civilian government in 2011. The Games was a good opportunity for the former Myanmar military leaders to showcase their top-down democratization model. Eventually, with the honour of hosting the Games in December 2013 that returned to the country after 44 years, Myanmar successfully hosted the biggest regional sporting event as a promotion for the new Myanmar. Especially, Myanmar showed its kind hospitability throughout the Games while sport athletes uplifted the nation’s image by earning the most medals for the first time since the competition began in 1959. Therefore, it can be said that hosting the SEA Games could revitalize the standard of Myanmar sports. After the Games, Myanmar people proudly say the words, "That's Myanmar". They have swallowed those words under an oppressive era for decades. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the once-pariah state, Myanmar, used the 2013 SEA Games to present itself as a normal and friendly country and to achieve international recognition.</p>

Sport as a tool of politics: A study on Myanmar's Southeast Asian Games 2013

<p>Since a new semi-civilian government came to power in March 2011, Myanmar has embarked on sweeping reforms to end its isolation and integrate its economy with the international economy. As a signal of stimulating the economic stagnation, President Thein Sein's government revamped finance and investment laws to draw more foreign investment into the country and asked for financial and technical assistance from the international community at the same time. However, the image of a military-influenced civilian government has created administrative problems for Myanmar's policy of national re-unification and economic development. So Myanmar badly needed to improve its national image and legitimacy in order to reduce the obstacles to its regional and international political and economic objectives. As a diversely populated country, Myanmar leaders thought that projecting a positive national image will contribute to a higher level of national brand and uplift their political legitimacy. Therefore the government decided to host the 27th SEA Games which may be vital for re-branding of Myanmar and so they prepared to formulate this idea since before the transfer of power from military government to a new semi-civilian government in 2011. The Games was a good opportunity for the former Myanmar military leaders to showcase their top-down democratization model. Eventually, with the honour of hosting the Games in December 2013 that returned to the country after 44 years, Myanmar successfully hosted the biggest regional sporting event as a promotion for the new Myanmar. Especially, Myanmar showed its kind hospitability throughout the Games while sport athletes uplifted the nation’s image by earning the most medals for the first time since the competition began in 1959. Therefore, it can be said that hosting the SEA Games could revitalize the standard of Myanmar sports. After the Games, Myanmar people proudly say the words, "That's Myanmar". They have swallowed those words under an oppressive era for decades. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the once-pariah state, Myanmar, used the 2013 SEA Games to present itself as a normal and friendly country and to achieve international recognition.</p>

From “Sea Turtles” to “Grassroots Ambassadors”: The Chinese Politics of Outbound Student Migration

International student migration/mobility (ISM) has long come under the spotlight in migration and education studies. Previous research has focused primarily on inbound students in Western host countries, with much less attention on sending countries’ policies. Based on evidence from interviews, ethnography, and policy analysis in China, the world’s largest source country of student migrants, I argue that outbound student migration can be integrated into the home country’s broader diaspora politics to serve economic, governmental, and geopolitical policy objectives. These diverse, sometimes-clashing, interests are predicated upon China’s domestic politics and global positioning. To establish a conceptual bridge between ISM and diaspora studies, I depart from the mobility paradigm’s emphases on neoliberalism and de-regulation and, instead, foreground nation-states’ changing, yet-unabating, interests in regulating and strategizing about overseas students. I find that following decades of prioritizing the economic and governmental impacts of student returnees ( haigui, or colloquially “sea turtles”) in boosting the domestic economy and maintaining political stability, China now attaches growing importance to student migrants’ geopolitical value as “grassroots ambassadors” ( minjian dashi) in expanding China’s global influence and enhancing its national image abroad. This geopolitics-focused national reorientation, however, may not be well received by student migrants themselves or fully implemented by street-level migration bureaucrats. By examining tensions between the central Chinese state, student migrants, and frontline local officials, this article sheds new light on ISM as a dynamic policy arena where state ambitions crosscut individual desires and national grand plans are confronted with flexible local improvisation.

The Construction of China’s National Image From Transitivity Perspective—A Case Study of Fighting COVID-19: China in Action

Using the theory of transitivity system within Systemic Functional Linguistics as the theoretical basis and the white paper named Fighting COVID-19: China in Action, which was published by the Chinese government on June 7, 2020 as the corpus, with the help of corpus analysis tool, UAM Corus Tool 3, this paper uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the construction of China’s national image. The results show that the frequency of material processes is extremely high, which is 88.26%, while existential processes and behavioral processes occupy only an extremely small proportion, 0.73% and 0.09% respectively. Relational processes are in the second rank, 5.34%. The frequencies of verbal processes and mental processes are similar, accounting for 2.97% and 2.6% respectively. Through a detailed analysis of the six transitivity processes, a national image that advocates “people supremacy”, selfless collectivism, with strong executive ability and mobilization, and a great responsibility in the international society is found to be constructed. This paper lays a foundation for further studying China’s national image in the path of SFL. It also sheds some light on the construction of China’s image in the official government document.