The Aesthetic Triad

Following the rapid growth of neuroaesthetics, there was a need to systematize and organize the findings into a coherent and testable framework. With the “aesthetic triad,” the authors presented a model according to which aesthetic experience was viewed as the emergent property of the interaction of three large-scale systems in the brain: sensory-motor, emotion-valuation, and knowledge-meaning. Features that distinguished this model from others was that it was meant to apply to all aesthetic episodes (e.g., art, faces, architecture, etc.) and it acknowledged explicitly that a large variety of aesthetic experiences can emerge as a function of the specific ways in which these systems interact in the course of their emergence. To probe the model, the contribution of the knowledge-meaning system is likely of greatest interest, at least in part because that system encapsulates a large breadth of factors ranging from the personal to the cultural.

Analisis Resepsi Objektifikasi Seksual Dalam Tayangan Puteri Indonesia 2020

Rejection and support are present in the implementation of the Puteri Indonesia beauty contest. There were rejections from feminists and religious organizations regarding the issue of sexual objectification. On the other hand, support is present through the enthusiasm of the community, one of which is through the acquisition of high ratings in the Puteri Indonesia 2020 show. The reality of the support and popularity of beauty contests behind sexual objectification has become a research problem. Based on the situation, this study aims to determine the audiences' reception towards the sexual objectification of contestants in the Puteri Indonesia 2020 program. This study involved eight informants who had watched the Puteri Indonesia 2020 show. Based on the research results, the audience's meaning system functioned theoretically to develop concepts from Standpoint Theory and Reception Theory. The study results apply the concept of Standpoint Theory, such as a standpoint of the dominant group, the interests of the dominant group, and situated knowledge that is useful for explaining the phenomenon of sexual objectification in the Puteri Indonesia 2020 show. The concept of the Reception Theory shows the audience's active role through a meaning system of 8 informants based on 10 preferred readings, which resulted in 3 positions of meaning, such as dominant, negotiation, and opposition. The majority of the meanings of the eight informants are in a dominant position. 4 Female informants showed 18 dominant meanings, 12 negotiations, and 10 oppositions. Meanwhile, 4 male informants showed 22 dominant meanings, 17 negotiations, and 1 opposition. The research results add to reception studies for established program genres. In this case, the Puteri Indonesia contest has proven existence until 2020 that successfully held and broadcast on national television stations 25 times.Keywords: beauty pageant; preferred reading; Puteri Indonesia; reception analysis; sexual objectification Abstrak Penolakan dan dukungan hadir dalam penyelenggaraan kontes kecantikan Puteri Indonesia. Penolakan hadir dari para feminis dan organisasi agama terkait isu objektifikasi seksual. Di sisi lain, dukungan hadir melalui antusiasme masyarakat, salah satunya terlihat melalui perolehan rating tinggi dalam penayangan acara Puteri Indonesia 2020. Realita berupa dukungan dan kepopuleran kontes kecantikan di balik isu objektifikasi seksual menjadi permasalahan penelitian. Untuk itu, studi resepsi digunakan untuk mengetahui pandangan khalayak terkait objektifikasi seksual dalam kontes Puteri Indonesia 2020. Penelitian ini melibatkan 8 informan yang telah menyaksikan acara Puteri Indonesia 2020. Sistem pemaknaan khalayak berdasarkan hasil penelitian berfungsi secara teoritis mengembangkan konsep dari Teori Standpoint dan Teori Resepsi. Hasil penelitian menerapkan konsep Teori Standpoint yaitu, sudut pandang kelompok berkuasa, kepentingan kelompok berkuasa, dan pengetahuan tersituasi yang berguna untuk menjelaskan fenomena objektifikasi seksual dalam tayangan Puteri Indonesia 2020. Konsep dari Teori Resepsi menunjukkan peran aktif khalayak melalui sistem pemaknaan 8 informan berdasarkan 10 preferred reading yang menghasilkan 3 posisi pemaknaan yaitu: dominan, negosiasi, dan oposisi. Mayoritas pemaknaan 8 informan berada dalam posisi dominan. 4 Informan perempuan menunjukkan 18 makna dominan, 12 negosiasi, dan 10 oposisi. Sedangkan, 4 Informan laki-laki menunjukkan 22 makna dominan, 17 negosiasi, dan 1 oposisi. Hasil penelitian menambah studi resepsi pada genre program mapan. Dalam hal ini, kontes Puteri Indonesia membuktikan eksistensinya hingga tahun 2020 telah berhasil diselenggarakan dan ditayangkan di stasiun televisi nasional sebanyak 25 kali. Kata Kunci: analisis resepsi; kontes kecantikan; objektifikasi seksual; preferred reading; Puteri Indonesia

The Sufferings of the Biblical Job as an Icon of Postmodernity: The ‘loneliness’ of God and the human being in a consumerist paradise

This article explores ways in which the attitudes of the biblical Job may enrich postmodernist philosophy by addressing some of its inherent problems. The discussion focuses in particular on the biblical Book of Job that can serve as an example of confronting suffering as a dramatic implication of human life that denies the sense of happiness. In an attempt to suppress this fear, the postmodern human contests, in various ways, the truth of their ontic frailty and the fragility of their constructed “happiness”. The questions that the biblical Job posed to God with a distinct air of resentment and regret seem at first sight to be meaningless as they are thrown into the void of a terrifying Universe. The critique offered here comes out of a Christian philosophical and theological base which posits that belief in the sacrum, transcendence, God and the hope of eternal life are key elements in a meaning system that fosters mental health and human happiness. In the postmodern system of meaning, individuals may no longer question the existence of God for the sake of human freedom, nor seek evidence of God’s non-existence, but simply live as if God does not exist. From a Christian perspective, it appears that non-belief in a transcendent spiritual dimension can inline people in postmodern society to feel that they live in an atmosphere of existential anxiety. Similarly, a Christian critique would consider that it is the postmodernist view of fluidity in all aspects of human life that leads to uncertainty and suffering, a causal consequence that people may not advert to. In this way, confronted with many postmodern phenomena, they may unknowingly live in a world of illusion. The Christian critique would also see it is as necessary and important to address constructively the challenges raised by cultural postmodernity. For this reason, the article will reflect on the realism of human suffering, the forgetting and rejection of God, as well as transcendence.

Resepsi Remaja Terhadap Dampak Pergaulan Bebas Di Dalam Film Dua Garis Biru

The film is one of the mass communication media which has a big influence on society at large. a film is also a form of a message consisting of various symbols and signs that form a meaning system so that it can be interpreted by each person differently, depending on the person's reference and ability to grasp the meaning conveyed. The film Dua Lines Biru by Gina S. Noer takes the theme of teenage pregnancy in promiscuity. The interpretation of the conflict in this film scene becomes the background for the research to see the reception of the audience or the public in watching the film Dua Garis Biru. The purpose of this study was to analyze the reception of adolescent audiences on the impact of promiscuity in the film Dua Garis Biru. This research uses a qualitative method with an analytical approach to encoding and decoding theory from Stuart Hall, which observes the audience's position on the meaning of a work. An understanding of the impact of promiscuity in the film Two Blue Lines. The results of this study the audience dominates the Hemegony Position which means the message is conveyed and the audience accepts the meaning or message as it is. But several scenes are in the Negotiated Position and Oppositional Position because the informant has its own alternative meaning or reference in certain scenes.

The Religious Meaning System and Resilience in Spouse Caregivers of Cancer Patients: A Moderated Mediation Model of Hope and Affect

The character of the relationship between religiosity and resilience depends to a large extent on mediation and moderation mechanisms which rely on cognitive and emotional processes. Research conducted within hope theory and the broaden and build theory indicates that hope and affect can mediate and moderate this relationship. The present study explored whether the relationship of the religious meaning system with resilience in spouse caregivers of cancer patients can be mediated by hope and simultaneously moderated by positive and negative affect. A total of 241 spouse caregivers completed a set of questionnaires. The results revealed that hope mediated the relationship between the religious meaning system and resilience. Furthermore, positive affect but not negative affect moderated the indirect effect of the religious meaning system to resilience through hope.

Senior High School Students’ Anxiety and Performance in Learning English

This study focused on the anxiety and performance of the students in learning English specifically in speaking. It sought to find out anxieties and its causes that affect their English performance in terms of inter-language phonology, grammar and meaning system. The study covered the use of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) that measure the English learners’ anxiety levels while learning English in the classroom. The respondents of the study were the selected Grade 12 senior high school students from the selected public schools in Maguindanao Division, Philippines. Descriptive-correlational survey method was used in the study. The findings show that English language speaking anxiety does exist among Senior High School students in Maguindanao Division and their level of anxiety in learning English is high. It is further concluded that students’ anxiety levels in speaking English in terms of inter-language phonology, inter-language grammar and inter-language meaning system contributed to students’ performance in learning in English.

COMMUNICATION STYLE: THE MANY SHADES OF GRAY

"The major aspects of communication include the communicating individual, the addressee, and the style of communication which can be more objective or subjective. The present study examines the role of the communicator’s motivation and the identity of the addressee of the communication in regard to the style of communication. The motivation was assessed in terms of the cognitive orientation approach (Kreitler & Kreitler) which assumes that motivation is a function of beliefs that may not be completely conscious. The motivation to communicate may be oriented towards sharing and self disclosure or towards withdrawal and distancing oneself from others. The style of communication was assessed in terms of the Kreitler meaning system which enables characterizing the degree to which the communication is based on means that are more objective and interpersonally-shared means (viz. attributive and comparative means) or more personal-subjective ones (viz. examples and metaphors). The hypothesis was that the style of communication is determined by one’s motivation and by the recipient’s characteristics, which in the present context was gender. It was expected that when the motivation supports sharing and the addressee is a woman the style would be mainly subjective, while when the motivation supports withholding information and the addressee is a man the style would be objective. The participants were 70 undergraduates. The tool was a cognitive orientation questionnaire. The experimental task was a story that had to be recounted. The narratives were coded in terms of the Kreitler meaning system. The data was analyzed by the Cox proportional hazards model. The findings supported the hypothesis of the study. Major conclusions referred to the motivational determinants of communication styles."

The Loss of Self-Dignity and Anger among Polish Young Adults: The Moderating Role of Religiosity

Does the way we think or feel about ourselves have an impact on our anger-based reactions? Is the direction and strength of this relationship direct, or affected by other factors as well? Given that there is a lack of research on the loss of self-dignity and anger, the first aim of the present study consisted in examining whether or not there is a connection between both variables, with particular emphasis on early adulthood. The second purpose was to explore the moderating role of religiosity on the relationship between loss of self-dignity and anger. Methods: Data were gathered from 462 participants aged 18 to 35. The main methods applied were the Questionnaire of Sense of Self-Dignity, Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire, and Religious Meaning System Questionnaire. The results show a statistically significant positive correlation between loss of self-dignity and anger, a negative correlation between religiosity and anger, and no significant association between the loss of self-dignity and religiosity. However, all other dimensions of the sense of self-dignity correlated positively with religiosity. Our findings also confirm that the level of anger resulting from the loss of self-dignity is significantly lower as the level of religiosity increases. Such outcomes seem to support the conception that religiosity may act as a protective factor between the risk (loss of self-dignity) and the outcome factor (anger).

How Finnish and Portuguese Parents’ Implicit Beliefs About Learning Actualize at Home

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore parental engagement in the home learning environment, and parents’ implicit beliefs about learning underlying such engagement. Nineteen parents of school children between 7 and 12 years old were interviewed in two different cultural contexts, Finland (N = 10) and Portugal (N = 9). The interviews were subjected to inductive and deductive content analysis. Forms of parental engagement at home were similar in both countries, divided between two main categories: engagement with their child’s holistic development and engagement with the child’s schooling process. Parental narratives about engagement were, for the most part, embedded in a growth mindset (or an incremental meaning system). The most common actualizations of engagement included considering the child’s learning contexts and emotions; encouraging effort, persistence and practice; approaching difficulties as a natural part of learning and suggesting strategies for overcoming them. Parental practices of engagement were combined with the actualization of their implicit beliefs to create parental engagement–mindset profiles. Twelve parents were classified as having a growth mindset to support the child’s holistic development profile, and the other seven were distributed amongst the three remaining profiles. The study contributes to the growing interest on the association between parental engagement and their learning-related implicit beliefs, giving clear first-person illustrations of how both occur and interact in the home learning environment. Implications for practice are discussed.

Towards a stratified metafunctional model of animation

Animation is widely acknowledged for dynamically visualizing information and has been increasingly used in educational context. However, the growing presence of educational animation has not been accompanied by well-informed studies that focus on the semiotic features of animation. An emerging perspective influenced by Social Semiotics and Systemic Functional Linguistics greatly complements the current trend of animation studies in the field of science education. Studies taking that perspective model animation as stratified systems (consisting of an expression plane and a content plane) of meaning-making options. Building on their work, this paper further develops the systems of animation on the two planes. Besides the concept of stratification, this paper also introduces a metafunctional perspective for the modeling of animation, focusing on building the ideational meaning system and textual meaning system for animation on the content plane based on an examination of online science animations. It is found that educational animation is not homogenous: animation can construe different human experience and can be used to fulfill different functions. The paper closes with a discussion of the advantages of adopting a stratified metafunctional model in studying animation and the implications for future studies in the field of multimodal semiotics and science education.