Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Symbolic Meanings (symbolic + meaning)
Selected AbstractsThe Architecture of Repeated RitualsJOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2008Tel Aviv's Rabin Square This paper examines the relationship between architecture and civil participation by specifically looking at the formal attributes of Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, its development as a public urban space, its nationally symbolic meaning, and its civic role. A major conclusion of this study is that public assembly and the physical space in which it occurs are indivisible, revealing architecture's unique contribution to the shaping of citizenship. [source] Higher Education Classroom Fail to Meet Needs of Faculty and StudentsJOURNAL OF INTERIOR DESIGN, Issue 2 2000Lennie Scott-Webber Ph.D. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were (1) to determine differences between faculty and student opinions about university classrooms when the User's Environmental Interaction Framework (UEIF) model's quadrants were considered together, (2) to determine the positive, negative, and different effects between these populations within each UEIF quadrant, and (3) to determine faculty and student use. RESEARCH DESIGN: The User's Environmental Framework (UEIF) guided the research at a large university. This framework has four quadrants: environmental/value dimensions, and behavioral/internal responses, prox-emics concepts, and interactional influences. The study had two parts: (1) a 48-question questionnaire, and (2) behavioral observations surveying both faculty and students (120 subjects) who used 15 general purpose classrooms. ANALYSIS: Stepwise Discriminant Analysis determined which subset of questions best separates student from faculty responses. Canonical Discriminant Analysis further explained relationships. KEY FINDINGS: Return rate was 67% and four observations of each classroom were conducted. Faculty and students agreed on the majority of the items. Subjects felt lighting, air quality, maintenance, equipment, and general comfort were adequate. There was a lack of commitment to the classrooms and subjects had little desire to stay in these rooms. Faculty and students disagreed on 10 questions. Faculty felt the classrooms did not convey a positive experience relating to noise control, seating flexibility, and lacked provision for social interaction. Students found signage inadequate and felt classrooms were uninspiring, nonanticipatory, and lacking symbolic meaning. Behavioral observations supported these concerns. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that general purpose classrooms on this campus do not meet all needs of faculty or students. Problem areas can be addressed through thoughtful knowledge-based interior design solutions. "I have to use a lecture format because I can't change the seating around to include group discussion." "I have to send students out into the hallway if I want to utilize a team approach in my teaching, because the seating is fixed." "I have to move the furniture at the front of the room out of my way as it looks like a used furniture store." "Technology is not integrated, nor easily accessible. It is provided ad hoc, and looks it." [source] Organizational Differentiation through Badging: Investors in People and the Value of the SignJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 8 2002Emma Bell This paper explores the meaning of the state,sponsored initiative for people management, Investors in People (IiP), through deconstruction of the signifiers that represent its articulation. Semiotic analysis is employed in order to consider the sign,value that is associated with IiP and to explore the symbolic meaning of cultural artefacts, such as ,the badge' and ,the flag', which feature in the experience of managers and employees in six case study organizations. This post,structuralist approach enables us to focus on the discursive construction of textual meaning surrounding IiP as a ,readerly' as well as a writerly project. It is suggested that organizations are subject to a process of image production and consumption. This process requires them to seek differentiation from other organizations by acquiring quality initiatives that constitute a system of objects. In particular, the meaning of IiP signifiers as emblems of achievement is explored and the extent to which these become simulacra is considered. It is argued that there is a significant gap between writerly intentions as to what quality initiatives ought to signify and their organizational, context,bound, indeterminate meanings. By elucidating the conditions of IiP's signification it is shown that this discourse has the potential to undermine the very philosophy it asserts. Finally, drawing on this analysis, we outline the way that badge acquisition develops over time through processes of accumulation and adaptation. [source] Martha Stewart behaving Badly: Parody and the symbolic meaning of style1JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 5 2009Jennifer Sclafani This study addresses the issue of how to correlate social meaning with linguistic style through an investigation of the parodic speech genre. The analysis examines two parodies of lifestyle entrepreneur Martha Stewart and compares linguistic strategies used in parodies of Stewart to her own linguistic performance on her talk show. Features considered include phonological characteristics, lexical items, politeness strategies, and voice quality. A comparative quantitative analysis of aspirated and released /t/ as employed by Stewart and her parodist reveals that a variable feature of Stewart's style is rendered categorical in the parody. It is demonstrated that both parodies exploit elements associated with Stewart's ,Good Woman' image in order to expose Stewart as a ,Bad Woman', a reputation she earned for her 2003 insider trading conviction. This study suggests that parodic performance may serve to strengthen and even iconize indexical connections between stylistic variants and their social meaning in particular contexts. [source] Violence and Temporal SubjectivityANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM, Issue 1 2009Eric J. Haanstad SUMMARY Perceptions of temporal malleability and subjectivity are experienced by many perpetrators, victims, and witnesses of violence. Are perceptions of the slowing down, speeding up, or heightened awareness of time, which accompany violent moments, indicative of broader cultural and humanistic phenomena? In this article, I explore accounts of temporal perceptions surrounding violent encounters as a methodologically useful field of intersection between theories concerning the cultural construction of reality, the anthropology of time, simulation, and an emergent holographic physics. If, as a growing number of physicists assert, the universe can be described as a hologram where "time" is illusory and simultaneous, violent events that are perceived as temporally ambiguous offer sites of particular interest for the humanistic examination of these physical models. In other words, the temporal subjectivity often experienced by those who encounter violence can be interpreted as directly perceivable holographic encounters. The perpetrators, victims, and witnesses of such encounters can be viewed not only as interpreters of particular cultural temporal systems but also actively manipulating space,time and socially constructed reality. Interpreting violence through the experience of human agents could lead to greater insight into not only the symbolic meaning generated by acts of violence but also its hyperreal, desensitizing, and dissociative effects. Furthermore, the amplification of these effects by mass media and modern state ideologues becomes more penetrable under such an interpretive model. I draw from ethnographic research with police and "security" personnel in Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States, as well as from media and performance analysis. [source] ,No goats in the mother city': using Symbolic Objects to help students talk about diversity and changeENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 1 2007Dr Arlene Archer Abstract This paper reports on a first year project in a South African engineering foundation programme which attempted to bring a cultural studies perspective to teaching academic literacy. Students identify and investigate everyday objects that have symbolic meanings in their communities. Objects are seen as catalysts for enabling student narratives to emerge, and are a way of exploring the tensions between convention and change in cultural practices. A project such as this breaks disciplinary frames, working across diverse contexts such as engineering and cultural studies. The aim is to begin to explore some of the complexities around ,development' in contexts of diversity and change, globalization and relocalization. [source] Human values, utilitarian benefits and identification: the case of meatEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2003Michael W. Allen The present studies explored the associations among food's utilitarian benefits, the human values symbolised by meat, individuals' endorsement of those values, and individuals' meat identification, attitudes and consumption. A preliminary study revealed that participants perceived that meat, particularly red meat, symbolises the endorsement of inequality and hierarchy values more than other basic foods. Studies 1 and 2 found that the endorsement of inequality and hierarchy formed the basis to the meat attitudes and consumption of high meat identifiers. Study 2 found that the meat attitudes of high meat identifiers were also founded, though to a lesser extent, in the endorsement of Conservation and rejection of Openness values. Study 1 also showed that food's nutritional benefits did not form the basis of meat consumption among high meat identifiers. Moreover, Study 3 found that informing individuals (in the treatment group) of the nutritional deficiencies of meat did not alter the meat attitudes of high meat identifiers, meat identification per se, or the meat attitudes of individuals who have a predisposition to attend to the symbolic meanings of products. In contrast, the negative nutritional information did produce unfavourable meat attitudes among low meat identifiers and those who have a predisposition to attend to the utilitarian features of products. The formation of meat identification is discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Message in a Metro: Building Urban Rail Infrastructure and Image in Delhi, IndiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006MATTI SIEMIATYCKI The world over, infrastructure mega projects have become more prevalent, even as evidence suggests that such projects often experience significant cost overruns while failing to fully deliver on their projected benefits. In this light, this article will argue that continued support for infrastructure mega projects stems from the way that such projects are presented to the public. Using the case of the development of a metro railway in Delhi, India, it shows that galvanizing public support and attracting patrons to a public transit system stems from creating an all-round positive image that combines tangible variables with an intangible set of symbolic meanings. Of course, image is only an impression, and does not necessarily reflect reality. In this light, the final section of this article examines the broad physical and societal implications of the metro development in Delhi, and uncovers the driving forces behind the project. The article concludes that, in spite of the cultivation of a positive image, the specific metro form that was developed in Delhi to satisfy each of the special interest groups involved in its production might be specifically one that fails to suit the transportation needs of the city. [source] A qualitative study of adaptation to the euro in the Republic of Ireland: I. attitudes, the ,euro illusion' and the perception of pricesJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2005Rob Ranyard Abstract This is the first of two reports of a study using semi-structured, in-depth interviews to explore the current and recollected experiences of Irish people for the period before, during, and after the introduction of euro notes and coins (1 January 2002). Twenty-four adults, 12 males and 12 females, covering a range of ages and educational attainment, were interviewed between October 2002 and February 2003. We found that most had welcomed the new currency initially, though some had felt less positive about it, whilst current experiences were more mixed. People's explanations for their attitudes seemed to focus more on the economic and practical aspects of currency change rather than symbolic meanings. Initially, most had experienced a euro illusion (prices in euros seeming to be more expensive than in punts). However, for most, the strength of the illusion appeared to diminish quite quickly. Nonetheless, current prices were believed to be higher, and many respondents attributed this either directly or indirectly to the change of currency. Although independent evidence found that there had been price increases in certain sectors, it was concluded that perceived price rises were, in part, illusory, and driven by expectations and selective price monitoring. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Places and Spaces: The Role of Metonymy in Organizational TalkJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 8 2004Gill Musson abstract Cultural meaning making as reflected in, and constituted by, organizational talk is an established field of interest in organizational analysis. However, the discursive mechanics of the process whereby this cultural meaning making is created and maintained are less well understood. The premise of this paper is that taken-for-granted assumptions embedded in organizational talk can be explored through the analysis of metonymy, a trope which is under explored in the linguistic turn in organization studies. This lack of focus on metonymy is, we believe, related to the fundamentally conventional nature of the trope in use, which expresses ideas, values and relationships that seem natural, normal and routine but which are culturally bound. We address this gap and carry out a metonymical analysis of organizational talk about physical places and spaces in one organization, to show how cultural norms and meanings are reflected, maintained, and potentially changed in these figures of speech. We show how metonymic chains based on buildings can reflect, reify and simplify the symbolic order of the organization, how these symbolic meanings can be transferred on to other inanimate objects and the constructions thereby spread, how people can be constructed within this symbolic chain, and how these metonymic chains can be invoked to potentially confirm, challenge or change the organizational order. [source] The Circulatory System: Blood Procurement, AIDS, and the Social Body in ChinaMEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2006Kathleen Erwin The market for blood thrived in China for more than a decade, preying on rural villagers desperate for cash. Profit motives and unhygienic collection created an AIDS epidemic, where now up to 80 percent of adults in some villages are HIV infected. Today, illegal blood banks continue to operate in some areas. Moreover, better screening and blood testing do little to address the underlying cultural reluctance to give blood. This article examines what is at stake for blood donors in the circulation of blood through both the physical and the social bodies in China today. I argue that public health and social policy solutions require consideration of the symbolic meanings of blood and the body, kin relations, and gift exchange. China's HIV-contaminated blood procurement crisis demands a critical reexamination of the hidden processes embedded in a "circulatory system" that has inseparably bound the "gift of life" and a "commodity of death." [source] THE DOUBLE-AXE: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF A CRETAN SYMBOL IN THE NEOPALATIAL PERIODOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2010MATTHEW HAYSOM Summary The Double-Axe has always been considered as one of the most important religious symbols in Minoan Crete. This paper reassesses the significance of the Double-Axe and puts forward a new interpretation for it. It recognizes the great potential for change in symbolic meanings during the Bronze Age and seeks to understand the Double-Axe in as narrow a period as is realistically possible by filtering out evidence from other periods. Central to the argument is the principle that the meaning of symbols is contextually dependent. It builds, therefore, a new interpretation of the Double-Axe on the basis of as wide a range of contextual associations as possible, both within iconographic sources and in the wider material record. From these contextual associations, it suggests that in the Neopalatial period the Double-Axe was a symbol primarily associated with a social group which exercised power in the economic, military and religious realms and that it became a solely religious symbol only later. [source] The ethnoprimatological approach in primatology,AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2010Agustin Fuentes Abstract Recent and long-term sympatries between humans and nonhuman primates (hereafter primates) are central to the behavioral ecology, conservation, and evolutionary trajectories of numerous primate species. Ethnoprimatology emphasizes that interconnections between humans and primates should be viewed as more than just disruptions of a "natural" state, and instead anthropogenic contexts must be considered as potential drivers for specific primate behavioral patterns. Rather than focusing solely on the behavior and ecology of the primate species at hand, as in traditional primatology, or on the symbolic meanings and uses of primates, as in socio-cultural anthropology, ethnoprimatology attempts to merge these perspectives into a more integrative approach. As human pressures on environments continue to increase and primate habitats become smaller and more fragmented, the need for a primatology that considers the impact of human attitudes and behavior on all aspects of primate lives and survival is imperative. In this special issue, we present both data-driven examples and more general discussions that describe how ethnoprimatological approaches can be both a contribution to the core theory and practice of primatology and a powerful tool in our goal of conservation action. Am. J. Primatol. 72:841,847, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Theory as metaphor: clinical knowledge and its communicationTHE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Warren Colman Abstract:, This paper investigates the relationship between clinical knowledge and psychological theory and considers the implications for clinical writing. I argue that clinical knowledge is a way of understanding rather than a body of facts and compare clinical material to ,texts' that generate multiple and indeterminate meanings. Analytic theories, which represent the crystallization of ways of understanding clinical phenomena, have an inherently metaphorical ,as if' quality since they are derived from and adapted to the clinical process of making meaning by representing psychic states in symbolic form. Thus good clinical writing demonstrates an integration of theory and clinical material into a unified network of symbolic meanings. Redfearn's paper, ,The captive, the treasure, the hero and the "anal" stage of development' (1979), is discussed as an exemplar of such integration. It is suggested that clinical knowledge is equivalent to the skill of making effective interpretations. Translations of Abstract Cet article traite du rapport entre savoir clinique et théorie psychologique ainsi que des répercussions de leur articulation sur l'écriture clinique. Je soutiens que le savoir clinique est un mode de compréhension plutôt qu'un ensemble de faits et je compare du matériel clinique et des ,textes', qui génèrent des significations multiples et indéterminées. Les théories analytiques représentent la cristallisation de modes de compréhension des phénomènes cliniques. Elles possèdent une qualité métaphorique inhérente ,as if' (,comme si') car elles découlent et s'adaptent au processus clinique de fabrication de sens via la représentation symbolique de formes psychiques. Ainsi, une écriture clinique de qualité intègre-t-elle théorie et matériel clinique en un réseau unifié de significations symboliques. L'article de Redfearn ,The captive, the treasure, the hero and the "anal" stage of development' (1979) est ici discutéà titre d' illustration d'une telle intégration. Dieser Artikel untersucht die Beziehung zwischen klinischem Wissen und psychologischer Theorie und betrachtet dessen Implikationen für das Schreiben über klinische Sachverhalte. Ich behaupte, daß klinisches Wissen eher eine Weise des Verstehens ist als ein Corpus von Faktenwissen und vergleiche klinisches Material mit ,Texten', die vielschichtige und unbestimmte Bedeutungen generieren. Analytische Theorien, welche die Kristallisation der Verständnisweisen von klinischen Phänomenen repräsentieren, haben eine inhärente metaphorische ,als ob-Qualität', da sie aus dem klinischen Prozeß der Bedeutungsgewinnung durch Repräsentation von seelischen Zuständen in symbolischer Form deriviert und an diesen adaptiert sind. Demnach demonstriert ein guter klinischer Bericht eine Integration von Theorie und klinischem Material in ein vereinheitlichtes Netzwerk symbolischer Bedeutungen. Redfearns Aufsatz ,The captive, the treasure, the hero and the "anal" stage of development'(Der Gefangene, der Schatz, der Held und die ,anale' Entwicklungsstufe) wird als Beispiel einer solchen Integration vorgestellt. In questo lavoro si esamina la relazione tra la conoscenza clinica e la teoria psicologica e si considera quali implicazioni ci siano per gli scritti clinici. Sostengo che la conoscenza clinica è un modo di comprendere piuttosto che un corpo di fatti e confronto il materiale clinico a quei ,testi' che danno origine a significati multipli e indeterminati. Le teorie analitiche, che rappresentano la cristallizzazione del modo di comprendere fenomeni clinici, hanno una qualità intrinsecamente metaforica'come se' dal momento che derivano da e sono adattate al processo clinico di costruire significati rappresentando stati psichici in forme simboliche. In tal modo un buono scritto clinico mostra una integrazione di teoria e di materiale clinico in una rete unificata di significati simbolici. Come esempio di tale integrazione viene discusso il lavoro di Redfearn (1979),Il prigioniero, il tesoro, l'eroe e lo stadio "anale" dello sviluppo'. En este documento se investiga la relación entre los conocimientos clínicos y la teoría psicológica y considera las implicaciones clínicas de la escritura. Yo sostengo que el conocimiento clínico es una manera de entender, más que un conjunto de hechos y compara el material clínico de ,textos' que generan e ideterminan múltiples significados. Las teorías analíticas, que representan la cristalización de formas de entender los fenómenos clínicos, tienen inherente a ellas la calidad de naturaleza metafórica del ,como si', ya que se derivan de y se han adaptado al proceso clínico de elaboración y dar significado por medio de la representación de los estados psíquicos en forma simbólica. Así pues, la buena escritura clínica demuestra integración de la teoría y el material clínico en una red unificada de significados simbólicos. Se analiza El trabajo de Redfearn de ,El Cautivo, el Tesoro, el Héroe y la Fase"Anal"del desarrollo (1979) como un ejemplo de esa integración. [source] | ||||||||||||||||