{"title":"Relevance and multimodal prosody: implications for L2 teaching and learning","authors":"Pauline Madella","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1181805","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1181805","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, I build on Scott's relevance-theoretic account of contrastive stress. Contrastive stress works as an extra cue to ostension in altering the salience of a particular constituent in an utterance and, as a result, the salience of one particular interpretation of that utterance. I draw on Scott's argument that contrastive stress does not encode procedural meaning. Contrastive stress is un predictable and, as such, it is in confounding the hearer's expectations that it draws his attention to the accented word and prompt his search for different interpretive effects. I argue that contrastive stress is interpreted purely inferentially precisely because it is one of many pointing devices. It is to be interpreted by virtue of its interaction with other paralinguistic behaviors, all of which being different aspects of the same ostensive act of communication. This leads me to focus on the gestural nature of contrastive stress working as an act of pointing, which, as an ostensive communicative behavior, conveys that if you look over there, you'll know what I mean . Finally, I present the implications of analyzing contrastive stress in its multimodal context—as prosodic pointing—for the teaching and learning of L2 prosodic pragmatics and the development of interpretive abilities in the L2 hearer's mind.","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"100 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135193443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Henk Erik Meier, Samuel Tickell, Mara Verena Konjer
{"title":"A tale of two scandals: scale shift and the inefficacy of crisis communication management in Olympic scandals","authors":"Henk Erik Meier, Samuel Tickell, Mara Verena Konjer","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1155747","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1155747","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction Mega sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, provide niche sports with unique opportunities to attract public attention. However, scandals during these events can pose serious threats to these sports. In particular, if a sport scandal enables hostile stakeholders to achieve a scale shift, it becomes almost impossible for a niche sport organization to manage the scandal. Methods The article employs a comparative research design that examines the trajectory of two scandals related to the German Olympic team that differ with regard to the occurrence of a scale shift. The first scandal involved a racist slur made by a German official during a cycling event; the second scandal was a case of animal cruelty during the modern pentathlon's equestrian event. Research relies on a mix of qualitative document analyses and quantitative analyses of the German Twitter discourse on both scandals. The analyses focus on the vulnerability to scandals, the potential for contentious politics, the scandal triggering events, the crisis communication, the reception, and the outcomes of both scandals. Results and discussion Our results show the detrimental impact of a scale shift on niche sports. The animal cruelty scandal put the future of the modern pentathlon at the Olympics at risk and triggered far-reaching reforms. The case supports the idea that a scale shift becomes more likely if there exists an effective collective action frame. In contrast, the German sports organizations effectively ended the racist slur scandal by imposing a limited sanction on the offender.","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135424988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Social interaction, support preferences, and the use of wearable health trackers","authors":"Natalie Pennington, Linda Dam","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1256452","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1256452","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction Drawing on uses and gratifications theory, social cognitive theory, and related work, this research assessed how social factors relate to reported weekly use and behavioral intentions toward the use of wearable health trackers (WHT). Methods Through two studies we surveyed current users of WHT, including smartwatches, to better understand what factors encouraged engagement. Study One ( N = 333) consisted of a college student sample. Study Two ( N = 319) was conducted through an online panel from Prolific. Results For Study One, results suggested that connection, social comparison, and one's comfort with seeking support predicted weekly use, while need for support was a negative predictor of device use. In terms of behavioral intentions, connection and one's comfort with seeking support remained positive predictors. For Study Two, only one's comfort with seeking support predicted weekly use, while one's comfort with seeking support and social sharing both predicted behavioral intentions. Additional analysis in Study Two comparing users of dedicated WHT and smartwatches also found differences in terms of behavioral intentions and social sharing. Discussion Collectively, the two studies offer insight into what social factors contribute to the use of WHT, including evidence that one's need for support for exercise may serve as a barrier to WHT use.","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135425266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dawn Branley-Bell, Richard Brown, Lynne Coventry, Elizabeth Sillence
{"title":"Chatbots for embarrassing and stigmatizing conditions: could chatbots encourage users to seek medical advice?","authors":"Dawn Branley-Bell, Richard Brown, Lynne Coventry, Elizabeth Sillence","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1275127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1275127","url":null,"abstract":"Background Chatbots are increasingly being used across a wide range of contexts. Medical chatbots have the potential to improve healthcare capacity and provide timely patient access to health information. Chatbots may also be useful for encouraging individuals to seek an initial consultation for embarrassing or stigmatizing conditions. Method This experimental study used a series of vignettes to test the impact of different scenarios (experiencing embarrassing vs. stigmatizing conditions, and sexual vs. non-sexual symptoms) on consultation preferences (chatbot vs. doctor), attitudes toward consultation methods, and expected speed of seeking medical advice. Results The findings show that the majority of participants preferred doctors over chatbots for consultations across all conditions and symptom types. However, more participants preferred chatbots when addressing embarrassing sexual symptoms, compared with other symptom categories. Consulting with a doctor was believed to be more accurate, reassuring, trustworthy, useful and confidential than consulting with a medical chatbot, but also more embarrassing and stressful. Consulting with a medical chatbot was believed to be easier and more convenient, but also more frustrating. Interestingly, people with an overall preference for chatbots believed this method would encourage them to seek medical advice earlier than those who would prefer to consult with a doctor. Conclusions The findings highlight the potential role of chatbots in addressing embarrassing sexual symptoms. Incorporating chatbots into healthcare systems could provide a faster, more accessible and convenient route to health information and early diagnosis, as individuals may use them to seek earlier consultations.","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"96 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135580783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Technical issues and engagement processes: support for citizen and expert deliberation regarding the management of nuclear waste","authors":"Justin Reedy, Chris Anderson, Matthew C. Nowlin","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1237736","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1237736","url":null,"abstract":"Deliberative forums have been increasingly used to involve citizens in policymaking, but it is unclear whether people trust their fellow citizens to make decisions in highly technical areas like nuclear policy relative to more commonly used expert bodies. We examine public support for citizen and expert deliberation regarding the siting of nuclear waste facilities and note the role of values, views on deliberation, and civic experiences on support for each type of deliberation. We find that past civic experiences are associated with increased support for citizen decision-making. In addition, we find that underlying views on nuclear power may be more important in shaping support for a decision on nuclear waste facility siting than attitudes toward particular kinds of governance processes.","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135580174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial: Evidence-based science communication in the COVID-19 era","authors":"Alexander Gerber","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1279202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1279202","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139335479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Uber structure's managerial algorithmic communication and drivers' health issues: sensemaking of work strategic resistance","authors":"Salma El Bourkadi","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1213679","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1213679","url":null,"abstract":"This article focuses on the role that algorithms play as a communicative infrastructure that contributes to poorer occupational health in the gig economy by interviewing 50 Uber drivers based on the life-story methodological approach. Specifically, the paper draws attention to Uber structure's managerial algorithmic communication and its effects on drivers' occupational health by engaging with Giddens's theoretical framework of structure-agency and Weick's theory of sensemaking. Furthermore, the study also explores the different factors contributing to the construction of individual and collective resistance of drivers to Uber's monopoly. The findings reveal that Uber's structure imprisons the users' freedom of negotiation and action, which creates a stressful work environment as managerial algorithmic communication only functions effectively in ideal working conditions, while abnormality is very frequent in a profession like transportation. Driver agency consists of organizing individual and collective resistance to change Uber's work decisions and weaken them. On an outside platform, resistance strategies are deployed by drivers to pressure Uber, with the goal of protecting their occupational health.","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"295 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135719382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Being an expert in pandemic times: negotiating epistemic authority in a media interaction","authors":"Mariapia D'Angelo, Franca Orletti","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1214927","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1214927","url":null,"abstract":"Since the so-called phase one of the Coronavirus pandemic, media professionals have shown great attention to communication about the epidemic, so much so that a “glottology of COVID-19” has even been advocated to reflect on war metaphors referring to the disease. Despite media solicitations, however, reflection on communication at the time of COVID was not immediately the subject of linguistic analysis, at least in the Italian context. However, the issue of the relationship between language and culture, society, and thought has recently been explored in the face of the limitation of only formal analyses on language at the time of COVID. In the first stage, it quickly became apparent that the people in charge of institutional communication were used to talking mostly with experts on public health problems or research results, without the necessary training to modulate their language according to the degree of specialization of the audience. Instead, it is currently possible to detect an improvement in communication skills, and to observe the emergence of opposing factions with respect to the new resources of both preventive and therapeutic medicine, respectively the pro-vax and no-vax movements. These issues have been the focus of many Italian TV talk shows, such as the program “Non è l'Arena.” In the episode of 9/25/21, which is the subject of this article, the positions expressed in favor of one argument or the other would seem to adopt different mechanisms for managing the epistemic mode of certainty/uncertainty, such as semantic-syntactic and rhetorical-pragmatic devices, as well as conversational moves. This paper is aimed at describing the management of certainty/uncertainty in a media context through the qualitative fine-grained analysis of the interactional exchanges between host and representatives of opposite views in the dual theoretical framework of classical rhetoric and conversational analysis (CA), which, although starting from different scientific paths, share the vision of the centrality of speech in human action. The CA analysis indicated that, whilst the interviewer maintained a neutral stance in conducting the interview, he showed a position of affiliation toward the doctor who recommended therapies not in line with the Italian medical guidelines. This was evident through the space provided to him to explain his expertise, as well as through the repetition and emphasis of the evaluative elements expressed. The rhetorical analysis, focusing on the participants' ethos , reveals that the interviewer deliberately intervened in the construction of the epistemic authority of the representatives of the two positions. The rhetorical analysis, focusing on the ethos of the three participants in the interaction, shed light on selected strategies and argumentative chains used to gain credibility and to prevail in the discussion. The linguistic-rhetorical mechanisms used do not pertain to the field of dialectical discussion and aim at a dir","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"67 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136062144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel Possler, Nicholas David Bowman, Rowan Daneels
{"title":"Explaining the formation of eudaimonic gaming experiences: a theoretical overview and systemization based on interactivity and game elements","authors":"Daniel Possler, Nicholas David Bowman, Rowan Daneels","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1215960","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1215960","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past years, scholars have explored eudaimonic video game experiences—profound entertainment responses that include meaningfulness, reflection, and others. In a comparatively short time, a plethora of explanations for the formation of such eudaimonic gaming experiences has been developed across multiple disciplines, making it difficult to keep track of the state of theory development. Hence, we present a theoretical overview of these explanations. We first provide a working definition of eudaimonic gaming experiences (i.e., experiences that reflect human virtues and encourage players to develop their potential as human beings fully) and outline four layers of video games—agency, narrative, sociality, and aesthetics—that form the basis for theorizing. Subsequently, we provide an overview of the theoretical approaches, categorizing them based on which of the four game layers their explanation mainly rests upon. Finally, we suggest the contingency of the different theoretical approaches for explaining eudaimonic experiences by describing how their usefulness varies as a function of interactivity. As different types of games offer players various levels of interactivity, our overview suggests which theories and which game layers should be considered when examining eudaimonic experiences for specific game types.","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136060353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Suzan D. Tokaç-Scheffer, Seçkin Arslan, Lyndsey Nickels
{"title":"Insights into the time course of evidentiality processing in Turkish heritage speakers using a self-paced reading task","authors":"Suzan D. Tokaç-Scheffer, Seçkin Arslan, Lyndsey Nickels","doi":"10.3389/fcomm.2023.1070510","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1070510","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction Studies with heritage language speakers (HLS) have often used offline measurements, investigating the post-interpretive effects which emerge after processing has been completed. Relatively few studies have investigated heritage language processing using time-sensitive methods that allow the collection of evidence regarding real-time language processing rather than post-interpretive judgments. Using a self-paced-reading paradigm, we aimed to expand our understanding of HLS language processing by investigating evidentiality-the linguistic marking of information source, which is grammatically expressed in Turkish, but not in English. Method Participants were 54 bilingual speakers of Turkish and English: 24 HLS (English onset: 0-5 yrs) and 30 emigrant Turkish speakers (ES) who grew up in Turkey before emigrating to Australia (English onset = 6-17 yrs). Participants read sentences with evidential-marked verb forms that either matched or mismatched to the information source context. Word-by-word reading times and end-of-sentence acceptability judgment speed and accuracy were measured. Results The results showed that although the HLS' responses were slower and less accurate than the ES in both reading times and end-of-sentence acceptability judgments, they showed similarities in online processing patterns. Both groups were faster at reading the mismatching sentences compared to the matching sentences; however, this pattern emerged during the time course of reading first for the indirect condition for the ES, and only later for the direct condition and for the HLS for both evidential conditions. Only HLS read faster in the target region with the direct evidential that is shown to be acquired earlier in childhood, than they did for the indirect evidential which is mastered later. In contrast, the end-of-sentence judgment data showed that while the ES group responded faster to matching direct sentences than matching indirect, this effect was missing for the HLS. Nevertheless, there were similar patterns for accuracy across evidential conditions: both groups were more accurate with the direct evidential. Discussion Overall, the use of the self-paced-reading paradigm allowed insights into HLS' evidentiality processing above and beyond their generally slower and less accurate processing compared to the reference group. This study provides further evidence for differences in the patterns observed using online vs. post interpretive measures in HLS, reinforcing the importance of combining these methodologies for further understanding of HLS competence and performance.","PeriodicalId":31739,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Communication","volume":"69 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136058985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}