A Postmodern Cultural Study of Media Manipulation and Capital Market Expansion

Media manipulation is rampant in the present postmodern culture since people are constantly monitored by screens due to the advancement of technology. In the postmodern world, the media have become an inseparable part of everyday life, where there is hardly any scope to spend a single moment without the screen and media. Thus, the current researcher got the impetus to unravel the media's simulated world, which uses images, advertisements, and signs to expand global capitalism. The objective of the study is to explore inquisitively the power and influence of the media and the way these are used to manipulate people. This is a qualitative study that delves into media politics and media economy in an investigative way to uncover the covert targets of the media. The study's major finding is that the media play a vital role in attracting consumers and expanding world commercialism in today’s globalized world. Several modern and postmodern writings were extensively studied to scrutinize the manifold facets of media manipulation through different presentations of print and visual formats.

Affective Scaffolding to Mediate the Use of Emergent Technology

Technology is reshaping the micro-ecologies of developing, becoming a part of it. It impacts and enables reconfiguration of social interaction in everyday situations. The study aims to bring a macro and micro discussion about close interconnection with complex technology and how these interactions have reciprocal implications between materiality and subjectivity. The broad research question is: How do we deal and interact with daily increasingly complex technology? A theoretical perspective is outlined about the subject and object relationship, focusing on new technology in the baby day living. One key point stressed in this paper is the affective scaffolding that could be a key point for social mediation with technology. To support the reflection, some illustrative examples are proposed from a naturalistic observation. In particular, the study focus on one 1-years old baby interacting with a smartphone and a robot toy. A final discussion is proposed to discuss the material and subjective dialectic interactions.

Dualistic Audience Model in Public Diplomacy

This paper examines the theoretical frame regarding the audience with special focus on foreign diasporas as part of the potential stakeholders for initiatives in contemporary public diplomacy. Within the light of recent developments in digital communication and the widespread use of social media, we investigate the evolution of the concept for exclusively foreign audience in public diplomacy initiatives. The hypothesis of the author is that within the highly digitalized and globalized contemporary environment, it is impossible to completely separate domestic and foreign audiences. Thus, the dualistic Yin and Yang Model of the audience in public diplomacy is introduced. The concept can be useful for future theoretical and empirical research in the field, as well as a starting point for further academic debates and analysis.

Old Japanese Capital Local Community Festivals: The Matsugasaki Case

The aim of the article is to explore the importance of local festivals for building and strengthening social ties and solidarity between local community members in the Matsugasaki district of the old Japanese capital Kyoto. The analysis is based on the results of qualitative surveys conducted by the author in 2012-2013, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 at three local festivals. During all three periods, the Summer festival and the Obon (The festival of the Dead) were studied, and during the last period, the Autumn festival, which was restored after a seven-year break, was also examined. The enterprising local actors playing a leading role in the preservation, organization and performance of these festivals have been identified, characterizing their activities and motivation. The relationships between the native and the newcomers in the neighborhood are investigated, considering the problems between them, arising from the non-admission of the newcomers to participate in the organization and performance of Obon rituals. Conclusions are reached on the ways in which local traditions have been preserved and/or changed over the years, indicating the factors influencing these processes.

Gender Equality: Approaches and Strategies in University Context

This article is aimed at presenting a series of activities and systematic efforts that have found a place in the development of a Plan for Gender Equality in Research and academia. This endeavor is part of SPEAR project "Supporting and Implementing Plans for Gender Equality in Academia and Research“ under the EU Horizon 2020 Program: to develop specific approaches, activities, and measures systematized in Plans for gender equality to be implemented in the university environment, taking into account the specific national and regional characteristics of universities and structures. The SPEAR project involves universities and non-governmental organizations from 9 European countries: Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Austria, Croatia, Portugal, Lithuania, and Bulgaria (SWU "Neofit Rilski” and PU “P. Hilendarski”). The article reveals the purposeful actions of the team from SWU "N. Rilski" in the direction of creating such a plan, which refers to several structural and organizational aspects. As a basis for the development of the Plan, the article shows the results of a quantitative online survey, which presents attitudes and opinions on the topic of gender equality in social activities and research, as well as the results of in-depth interviews with the SWU deans' and rector's authorities under the topic of women's participation in management and research activities. The article shows the importance of gender equality as an opportunity for active participation in research and teaching of capable and proactive people.

Product Placement in Cinema-Good Model or Irritative Advertising

Product placement is one of the forms of financing in cinema. This is a legal form for realizing hidden advertising. Adherence to strict rules when implementing a product in the final version of the film for advertising purposes is a good tool, both to fill the budget and purely plot. In American film production, product positioning is intended to add a few percent to the film's budget. In Bulgarian cinema, product positioning is used as the main source of funding for the creation of an independent film outside those funded by the National film center (NFC).

Defense Information - Semantic Aspects

The study focuses on the semantic aspects of information, the role of cognitive technologies in the time of information defense, the emergence of new concepts related to information security and protection, cybersecurity, and resilience. It can be argued that information is a complex quantity; measuring information means measuring complexity. Artificial intelligence and problem areas related to this area are also the subject of analysis. We are also looking for an answer to the link between cybernetics and cyber technology and to the popular term “cyber” that has recently become buzzword. Another aspect of the study is various models of data structuring and information protection from the point of view of modern strategies.

Exploring the Irony in Japanese Popular Culture. A Cross-Cultural and Linguistic Analysis.

The present study addresses the status and use of irony in Japanese popular culture by closely examining its’ cultural variations on a corpus consisting of ironic utterances and situations from three popular culture media: Japanese drama, anime, and manga. While it is likely that Western popular culture abounds in ironic aesthetics and standpoints, the concept of “irony” faces cultural reconstruction within Japanese culture and society, a fact easily reflected in national media and cinematographic productions. In such cases, the cultural and linguistic distance between Japanese and English, and the striking difference, which exists between these two geographical and cultural contexts, increase the challenge interposed by the understanding and interpreting of irony. Moreover, on a conversational level, ironizing one’s communication partner is considered socially unacceptable and penalised accordingly. It stands against the much-expected politeness and traditional Japanese concepts such as “honne” and “tatemae,” which, if preserved, can create harmony in communication. In conclusion, the ambiguous definition of irony, together with the negative perception and reluctance of Japanese people towards its usage, has contributed to frequently branding irony strictly as a Western phenomenon. However, as the present research attempts to demonstrate, the usage of irony in Japanese popular culture embraces multifarious approaches, and it extends to reach the borders of semantics.

Intimate Partner Femicide in Romania: An Analysis of the Online Media News

The study presents the results of the analysis of the way in which the Romanian online media covered the cases of intimate partner femicide committed between 2011-2015. The term intimate partner femicide was used to designate all the homicide committed intentionally by a current or former intimate partner against the woman partner (wife, girlfriend, concubine). The information regarding the intimate partener femicide was identified with the help of Google Chrome search engine and some key words. In the end, I identified N=2282 articles where 184 femicide cases committed between intimate partners. The analysis of the information regarding the intimate partner femicide cases was made with the help of a grid analysis structured on four dimensions: data regarding the violence act, data regarding the aggressor and victim, and data regarding the history of the relationship. The study highlights the journalists’ lack of interest in describing the context in which femicides occurred and the lack of correlation between the acts of domestic violence and intimate partner femicides. Moreover, few journalists include information regarding the way of contacting the institutions of victim protection and thus they do not use an important occasion to contribute to the readers’ information about the way in which they can interfere and help a victim.

Media and Communication Strategies Supporting Parents and Children in COVID-19 Pandemic Environment

The article addresses the social and emotional problems of children and students during the isolation that transformed the lives of children, parents, and society. Emphasis is placed on the need to support parents and train them in skills that will be useful in the fight against childhood obesity in Bulgaria (based on media and communication strategies) in the context of the COVID-19.