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1 – 10 of 160Sabrina Chong, Mahmood Momin and Anil Narayan
This paper aims to propose a theoretically informed and analytically rigorous research framework that sustainability researchers could use or further develop to examine visually…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a theoretically informed and analytically rigorous research framework that sustainability researchers could use or further develop to examine visually persuasive messages in photographs.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the theoretical constructs of Peirce’s (1991) visual semiotic system of icon, index and symbol and Aristotle’s (1984) persuasive appeals of ethos, pathos and logos, the authors propose a research methodology that provides an explicit step-by-step guidance to examine visually persuasive messages in sustainability-related photographs. The sustainability-related photographs in The Coca-Cola Company’s 2018 Business and Sustainability Report are examined to illustrate the application of the framework.
Findings
This paper develops a research framework and provides empirical evidence of the use of the framework to enhance the understanding of visually persuasive messages depicted in photographs.
Practical implications
The proposed framework serves as a springboard for further research into visually persuasive messages.
Originality/value
The research framework of visual persuasion is novel and can be used by sustainability researchers to analyse photographs in corporate reports. It can be extended/modified to capture visual representations in different contexts and other disciplines as well.
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Maria Isaksson and Mona Solvoll
The purpose of this study is to examine the identification and collaboration rhetoric of the Norwegian government and public health authorities during the pandemic. The aim is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the identification and collaboration rhetoric of the Norwegian government and public health authorities during the pandemic. The aim is to show whether and how actors use strategies and themes of identification, and whether they build identification with their publics.
Design/methodology/approach
The study combines qualitative and quantitative methods. Six identification strategies were identified through manual text analysis of press statements; word counts of each strategy were registered electronically to access quantitative data of individual actors.
Findings
The three strategies reflecting values, the two strategies reflecting division and disagreement and the strategy reflecting change showed almost equal frequencies. The strategy of shaping community, serving the function of change, and the division strategy, demonstrating identification through dissociation, were the most frequent strategies. Politicians preferred the collaboration strategy, while health experts preferred the strategy of concern and recognition.
Originality/value
The six identification strategies extend the understanding of leadership crisis communication and contemporary rhetoric as community-building discourse aiming for speaker–audience collaboration. The study demonstrates that division and disagreement are equally essential components of crisis communication as values and change. When actors differ in choice of strategy, themes and publics, they may still come across as coordinated and unified in their calls for solidarity, collective efforts and common understanding.
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Annye Braca and Pierpaolo Dondio
Prediction is a critical task in targeted online advertising, where predictions better than random guessing can translate to real economic return. This study aims to use machine…
Abstract
Purpose
Prediction is a critical task in targeted online advertising, where predictions better than random guessing can translate to real economic return. This study aims to use machine learning (ML) methods to identify individuals who respond well to certain linguistic styles/persuasion techniques based on Aristotle’s means of persuasion, rhetorical devices, cognitive theories and Cialdini’s principles, given their psychometric profile.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 1,022 individuals took part in the survey; participants were asked to fill out the ten item personality measure questionnaire to capture personality traits and the dysfunctional attitude scale (DAS) to measure dysfunctional beliefs and cognitive vulnerabilities. ML classification models using participant profiling information as input were developed to predict the extent to which an individual was influenced by statements that contained different linguistic styles/persuasion techniques. Several ML algorithms were used including support vector machine, LightGBM and Auto-Sklearn to predict the effect of each technique given each individual’s profile (personality, belief system and demographic data).
Findings
The findings highlight the importance of incorporating emotion-based variables as model input in predicting the influence of textual statements with embedded persuasion techniques. Across all investigated models, the influence effect could be predicted with an accuracy ranging 53%–70%, indicating the importance of testing multiple ML algorithms in the development of a persuasive communication (PC) system. The classification ability of models was highest when predicting the response to statements using rhetorical devices and flattery persuasion techniques. Contrastingly, techniques such as authority or social proof were less predictable. Adding DAS scale features improved model performance, suggesting they may be important in modelling persuasion.
Research limitations/implications
In this study, the survey was limited to English-speaking countries and largely Western society values. More work is needed to ascertain the efficacy of models for other populations, cultures and languages. Most PC efforts are targeted at groups such as users, clients, shoppers and voters with this study in the communication context of education – further research is required to explore the capability of predictive ML models in other contexts. Finally, long self-reported psychological questionnaires may not be suitable for real-world deployment and could be subject to bias, thus a simpler method needs to be devised to gather user profile data such as using a subset of the most predictive features.
Practical implications
The findings of this study indicate that leveraging richer profiling data in conjunction with ML approaches may assist in the development of enhanced persuasive systems. There are many applications such as online apps, digital advertising, recommendation systems, chatbots and e-commerce platforms which can benefit from integrating persuasion communication systems that tailor messaging to the individual – potentially translating into higher economic returns.
Originality/value
This study integrates sets of features that have heretofore not been used together in developing ML-based predictive models of PC. DAS scale data, which relate to dysfunctional beliefs and cognitive vulnerabilities, were assessed for their importance in identifying effective persuasion techniques. Additionally, the work compares a range of persuasion techniques that thus far have only been studied separately. This study also demonstrates the application of various ML methods in predicting the influence of linguistic styles/persuasion techniques within textual statements and show that a robust methodology comparing a range of ML algorithms is important in the discovery of a performant model.
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Walter Masocha and Pauline Weetman
This paper seeks to explore in depth the ways in which the rhetoric of the standard setter responds to comments received during development of a standard.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to explore in depth the ways in which the rhetoric of the standard setter responds to comments received during development of a standard.
Design/methodology/approach
Previous research has explored the use of rhetorical strategies in accounting standards to construct and persuade as to what is “good” and to silence potential criticisms and alternative proposals. The exploration is extended to the development of an auditing standard and is strengthened by relating the opinions of lobbyists to the rhetoric used in the response.
Findings
The analysis shows that, in a situation where the standard setter's position changed significantly during the exposure of proposals to comment, rhetorical strategies in the exposure draft or standard were adapted to match the changing direction of persuasion, with silencing of potential counter‐argument evidenced in the surrounding explanatory material.
Research implications/limitations
The research demonstrates that those using standards should be aware of the normative nature of these documents and the subjectivity inherent in the nature of the text.
Originality/value
The paper builds on Young's 2003 paper by exploring the dynamics of the ways in which the rhetoric of the standard setter responds to comment during the consultation process.
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Victoria C. Edgar, Niamh M. Brennan and Sean Bradley Power
Taking a communication perspective, the paper explores management's rhetoric in profit warnings, whose sole purpose is to disclose unexpected bad news.
Abstract
Purpose
Taking a communication perspective, the paper explores management's rhetoric in profit warnings, whose sole purpose is to disclose unexpected bad news.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a close-reading approach to text analysis, the authors analyse three profit warnings of the now-collapsed Carillion, contrasting the rhetoric with contemporaneous investor conference calls to discuss the profit warnings and board minutes recording boardroom discussions of the case company's precarious financial circumstances. The analysis applies an Aristotelian framework, focussing on logos (appealing to logic and reason), ethos (appealing to authority) and pathos (appealing to emotion) to examine how Carillion's board and management used language to persuade shareholders concerning the company's adverse circumstances.
Findings
As non-routine communications, the language in profit warnings displays and mimics characteristics of routine communications by appealing primarily to logos (logic and reason). The rhetorical profiles of investor conference calls and board meeting minutes differ from profit warnings, suggesting a different version of the story behind the scenes. The authors frame the three profit warnings as representing three stages of communication as follows: denial, defiance and desperation and, for our case company, ultimately, culminating in defeat.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to the study of profit warnings in one case company.
Originality/value
The paper views profit warnings as a communication artefact and examines the rhetoric in these corporate documents to elucidate their key features. The paper provides novel insights into the role of profit warnings as a corporate communication vehicle/genre delivering bad news.
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The paper criticises the dominant paradigm of public relations theory for lack of interest in discursive and rhetorical dimensions of public relations. An alternative theoretical…
Abstract
The paper criticises the dominant paradigm of public relations theory for lack of interest in discursive and rhetorical dimensions of public relations. An alternative theoretical approach to public relations is identified that does treat discursive and rhetorical dimensions of public relations, but it is indicated that at present it has not been sufficiently integrated into dominant public relations theory. The paper explores the points of convergence between rhetoric and public relations. The narrow and broad conceptions of rhetoric are presented, the first characterising rhetoric with persuasive and argumentative discourse, the second with different types of discourse. It is suggested that elements of the broad conception of rhetoric could provide heuristics for analysing public relations techniques as “genre repertoire” of public relations discourse. In the second part, an enquiry into the narrow conception of rhetoric as persuasive and argumentative discourse is made. Positivistic understanding of “truth” and “objectivity” as normative criteria of public relations discourse is criticised on the basis of the so‐called “rhetoric as epistemic” view. It is argued that in corporate discourse, especially in situations of confrontation with active publics, key managerial decisions have to be justified in argumentation. In the last part of the paper, Toulmin’s model of argumentation is suggested as especially suitable for analysis of the argumentative nature of corporate discourse.
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The centrality of emotions to all significant social, indeed human activities is now broadly acknowledged. Nevertheless, discussion of emotions in core activities of science, as…
Abstract
The centrality of emotions to all significant social, indeed human activities is now broadly acknowledged. Nevertheless, discussion of emotions in core activities of science, as distinct from the motivation of scientists, is undeveloped. In reviewing the role of emotions in science the paper shows that emotions provide consciousness of objects of scientific relevance. It is also shown that emotions necessary to scientific activities are typically experienced nonconsciously. These two issues, of emotional consciousness and nonconscious experience of emotion, raise a number of questions for the study of both consciousness and emotions.
Shirley Druker Shitrit, Smadar Ben-Asher and Ella Ben-Atar
At times, a traditional minority group that opposes a change in the patriarchal structure is violent toward women who wish to adopt modern lifestyles. This study aims to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
At times, a traditional minority group that opposes a change in the patriarchal structure is violent toward women who wish to adopt modern lifestyles. This study aims to examine online comments regarding a shooting at a café in an Arab-Bedouin city in Israel, where women were employed as servers. The event was framed in Israeli media as an act of backlash by young men, who call themselves “The Modesty Guard.”
Design/methodology/approach
In this qualitative study, the authors collected 916 online comments that were published on five main online news sites. A thematic and rhetorical analysis of online comments was conducted.
Findings
The findings uncovered five main themes: the expression of support for Bedouin women; ideas for dealing with the Modesty Guard; blaming Bedouin tradition for the shooting; comparison of the violent behavior to a parallel phenomenon among Charedim; and criticism of the lack of treatment by Israeli security forces. The responses reflected a supportive stance toward Arab-Bedouin women, who were open to progress. Conflict discourse, however, expressed alienation and increased social-national schism between the Jewish majority and Arab-Bedouin minority groups in Israel.
Originality/value
This study sheds light on the backlash phenomenon in Negev Bedouin society. Moreover, it exposes the lack of significant supportive actions and a lack of understanding of the deep processes unfolding in this traditional society.
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Mahmood Ahmed Momin, Zahir Uddin Ahmed and Renhe Liu
The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of visuals in communicating symbolic sustainability information by the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) listed companies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of visuals in communicating symbolic sustainability information by the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) listed companies through their standalone sustainability reports.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the impression management theoretical framework and Barthes' conceptions of denotation and connotation, the study seeks to examine the way visuals, such as photos, tables and figures, are used to convey symbolic sustainability messages and information. The content analysis method was used to analyse 1,064 visuals from 20 New Zealand Stock Exchange listed companies' standalone sustainability reports for 2017.
Findings
The authors observe variations in the use of visuals to convey messages about sustainability and the appeal of these visuals to readers in the process of creating a symbolic sustainability message. While photos focus on emotions as their main method of impression management, tables and figures focus on the logical link between readers and a positive sustainability message.
Research limitations/implications
The study adds to the impression management theory work that companies use a combination of photos, tables and figures in communicating symbolic positive sustainability messages. The insights inform the corporate culture of the use of visuals and the effect of future reporting practices regarding sustainability information in New Zealand and globally.
Originality/value
Unlike other studies on sustainability reporting, we contend that a company uses a combination of visuals to create impressions that include not only positive but also negative and neutral sustainability messages.
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The study aims to explore WikiLeaks' worldwide impact amongst readers of three online newspapers, as expressed through reader comments. There are three primary research questions…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to explore WikiLeaks' worldwide impact amongst readers of three online newspapers, as expressed through reader comments. There are three primary research questions: are there differences between the three online newspapers concerning the factual information in the comments, the linguistic characteristics of the comments, and the rhetorical and style elements of the comments?
Design/methodology/approach
The study focused on three online newspapers: The New York Times in the USA, The Guardian in the UK and Ynet in Israel, all popular channels of communication in their countries. The researcher examined the comments relating to WikiLeaks and conducted a content analysis on a sample of the comments.
Findings
The main findings suggest that most of the comments were written in an emotional style and with pathos. However there are major differences between comments written to The New York Times and to Ynet.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited by the extent to which it can be generalised, as it focuses only on WikiLeaks comments written before 1 December 2010.
Originality/value
This paper is the first known exhaustive study that concentrates on WikiLeaks comments. The research findings may encourage further exploration into the nature of the relationship between media texts and reactions to them.
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