Cooperative Learning With and About Internet Forums: A Case Study on a Unit on the Consumption and Chemistry of Mineral Water vs. Tap Water

In today’s society, digital media play an increasing role in gathering and exchanging information. A growing part of communication takes place in the Internet and many people are increasingly influenced by information provided via digital and social media. Development of critical media literacy is needed, if the general public is expected to effectively deal with this flood of information and to become able to distinguish between correct and false information sources. Thus, critical media education becomes an important aim of education in general, and of chemistry education in particular when considering questions directly related to chemistry and its associated consumer products or technologies. The article describes a curriculum development case study investigating the integration of media education with chemistry learning along the case of learning with and about Internet forums on the topic of water chemistry. A unit integrating theoretical and practical chemistry learning based on student communication is described, which is built around a digital forum operated by Moodle. The unit design and findings from the implementation are presented.

Aesthetic perception of the Russian sound speech by Germans (a case study of German internet forums)

The article is devoted to the aesthtic assessment of the sound of Russian speech as reflected in German Internet forums. Segmental and suprasegmental features of Russian pronunciation which evoke in native speakers of German empathy and / or antipathy towards Russian sounding speech, are described. The ordinary Germans' naive assessment of Russian souding speech differs from that by professional linguists. Germans who are not familiar with the theoretical basis of the phonetic structure of the Russian language pay attention, first of all, to those pronunciation features that are not characteristic of the phonetic basis of the German language. Among them on segmental level are the following: trembling sonant [r̥], vowel [ᵻ] and back-lingual slit [ɣ] after vowels [e], [i] and consonants [lʲ], [nʲ], [j], the pronunciation of which in German in this position is pronounced as ich-Laut [ç]. The Germans also seem to dislike clusters of consonants that are absent in the German language, for example, -рск-, -здр- etc. The presence of these sounds in the Russian language allows ordinary Germans to characterize Russian sounding speech as rude, despite the remarks of the Germans that there are many “soft” sounds i.e. palatalized consonants in the Russian language. The main difference at the suprasegmental level, which in the scientific literature is designated as the opposition of the German “staccato” and Russian “legato”, finds its confirmation in the statements of German members of the forum. The rhythmic organization of Russian speech is assessed by common Germans as discordant and indistinct, since, unlike German speech, Russian speech is characterized by relaxed articulation, non-forced vocalization, an extended melodic range and an irregular rhythmic patterns. In addition, the use of different pitch movements in friendly and aggressive communication encourages Germans to qualify the speech of Russian speakers in obvious situations of friendly communication as confrontational.

Is Polish patients’ fear too big to be true? Emotions expressed by patients on medical portals

The article examines the question of emotions experienced by patients, users of medical portals, who “found themselves” in the complex structure of the healthcare system in Poland, emotions arising from interactions with medical professionals, and in the process of experiencing the course of disease. Statements published by users of medical portals/internet forums were analyzed. The research sample consisted of 15 medical portals with high level of activity of registered users. The analysis was based on statements describing the situation (or its context, or actions of participants involved in the interactions) determining the experienced emotions.

Funkcje ekspresywizmów gwarowych w komunikacji internetowej

Functions of Dialectal Expressivisms in Internet CommunicationThe subject of the article is the functioning of dialectal expressivisms in unofficial internet communication. In their statements on internet forums, internet users use numerous dialectisms, a significant percentage of which are expressive lexemes. This group consists not only of dialect expressivisms, but also of neutral dialect lexemes that have become expressivisms in colloquial communication. In the analyzed texts, dialectal expressivisms perform various functions, namely nominative, evaluative, persuasive, identifying, characterizing and ludic. Often, the use of a particular lexeme involves the realization of several functions simultaneously, but only one of them is the main one, while the other is secondary. Funkcje ekspresywizmów gwarowych w komunikacji internetowejPrzedmiotem artykułu jest funkcjonowanie ekspresywizmów gwarowych w komunikacji internetowej o charakterze nieoficjalnym. Internauci w swoich wypowiedziach na forach internetowych wykorzystują liczne dialektyzmy, wśród których znaczący odsetek stanowią leksemy nacechowane ekspresywnie. Na tę grupę składają się nie tylko leksemy mające takie nacechowanie w gwarach, lecz także leksemy neutralne w wyjściowych systemach, które w komunikacji potocznej nabierają ekspresywności. Ekspresywizmy gwarowe w analizowanych tekstach pełnią różne funkcje, a mianowicie nominatywną, wartościującą, perswazyjną, identyfikującą, charakteryzującą i ludyczną. Często użycie konkretnego leksemu wiąże się z realizacją kilku funkcji równocześnie, ale tylko jedna z nich jest główna, inne – sekundarne.

A TYPOLOGY OF MALE CONSUMERS ON THE MEN’S ELEGANT FASHION MARKET: CASE STUDY OF POLAND

The authors of the presented article conducted primary research among contemporary gallants, aiming to identify consumer types within the niche of elegant men’s clothing, including possible dandies. In the conducted study, online surveys were posted on internet forums and thematic groups focused on Polish male smart dressers. As many as 30% of respondents considered themselves as dandies, and three types of customers were distinguished: exacting sartorialists, low-budget gallants and phonies. The difference between the first two is mainly due to disparities in purchasing budgets. Phonies, on the other hand, appear to be superficial in purchase decisions, perhaps gaining interest in an elegant style only as a temporary whim. The results will prove useful for brands in the men’s elegance segment, broadly highlighting the in-depth characteristics of different customer groups. Moreover, contrary to the subject literature, the research shows that dandyism is still a lively trend.

‘Gender Activists Will Kidnap Your Kids’: The Construction of Feminist and LGBT+ Rights Activists as Modern Folk Devils in Czech Anti-Gender Campaigns

This chapter examines how internet forums such as Facebook can be used in creating and spreading misleading stories and stimulating fear and panic. With the example of the Czech society, the author analyses various web forums that are based on anti-LGBT rights and anti-feminist ideologies, promoting these as threats to nuclear families and traditional gender norms. The text shows the paradoxical portrayal of LGBT activists as, on the one hand, freaks living on the fringe of society, not much more than a laughing stock, and, on the other hand, as a threat with the potential power to destroy traditional values in Czech society.

STRUCTURAL AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE NEOLEXES ON THE DESIGNATION OF THE CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC SPHERE

The article clarifies the meaning and features of word-formation development of new words and terms to denote the cultural and artistic field, which appeared in the modern Ukrainian literary language at the beginning of the XXI century and due to linguistic and extralinguistic factors are widely used. The object of research are words and terms of the cultural and artistic sphere, as they are best able to nominate concepts in special vocabulary, to reflect the diversity of the semantic spectrum of the conceptual sphere of «culture and art». The subject of research is lexical-semantic, structural-word-forming and spelling features of words and terms of cultural and artistic sphere in the Ukrainian language. Scientific novelty of the research. The classification of neolexes by semantic criterion is offered. The place of innovations in the lexical structure of the Ukrainian language is determined, the main stages of adaptation and structural and semantic features of words and terms to denote the cultural and artistic branch are characterized; the factors of creation of neolexes and their inclusion in the lexical-semantic system of the Ukrainian language, which supplement the corresponding lexical-semantic group with new tokens, are clarified; factors of word-forming activity of neolexes are revealed; It is proved that one of the reasons for the problem of qualification and spelling of neolexes with creative bases-Englishisms is the lack of mastery of innovations by the grammatical system of the Ukrainian language. The existing achievements of linguists in the field of studying innovative derivatives are analyzed, it is stated that the issue of the dynamics of the language system is always at the center of current linguistic research. Innovative words and terms of the cultural and artistic sphere of the beginning of the XXI century in the language of mass media, Internet forums and in dictionaries of neologisms of the modern Ukrainian language are revealed, globalization tendencies in their use are testified. The main thematic groups of neolexes for the designation of the cultural and artistic sphere are singled out, structural and semantic innovations and productivity of their use are determined. It is proved that one of the reasons for the problem of qualification and spelling of neolexes with creative bases-Englishisms is the lack of mastery of innovations by the grammatical system of the Ukrainian language.

Wissenstransfer in medizinischen Internetforen. Am Beispiel des Akustikusneurinoms

More and more patients are seeking advice on medical internet forums, which give them the chance to communicate easily with other laypeople as well as with doctors. Examining a forum on acoustic neuroma, this paper investigates the features of this specific type of medical discourse, in particular how the medium influences the way of communicating information, as well as the changing role of laypeople and moderators in the online environment.

Human Rights at the Time of a Global Pandemic: The Case of Muslim Tatars

How are the human rights pertaining to the freedom of conscience/religion, health, and distinct culture intersect in the context of a global pandemic in the Muslim-minority areas? How do Russia’s Muslims make sense of the challenges to those rights caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic? In this paper, I focus on diverse Muslim Tatar communities, primarily of the Middle Volga region, who have recently witnessed numerous political and socioeconomic challenges infringing on their human rights. Attending on the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, in this paper I gauge the nature of human rights in the areas of health and religion by interrogating how the general Muslim publics and elites understand, justify, and explain those challenges in an environment of creeping authoritarianism. I call for a conceptual shift from the elite-driven traditional security perspectives to those of human rights as quotidian/everyday experiences while considering these vital issues. I use the Tatar-language Internet forums for the empirical analysis, offering and delineating the discursive repertoires and categorizing the areas of public concern in the new pandemic world.