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The process of elaboration of the symbolic universe leads to important insights into the role of symbols in understanding human reasoning. Symbols become explanatory axes of universal global realities. Myths were constructed on these explanatory paths forming a superstructure of all belief systems with paraconsistent logic for the symbolism and a symbolic syntax. Myths and symbols are to be found in all cultures. Some of the most powerful and influential ones occur in popular culture since these often have the greatest immediate social impact.

Semiotic and logical development of the symbols is in mythical systems. The dissolution of the myth and the degradation of the myth's symbols constitute a long-drawn-out process in modern Western society and wherever s influence reaches. Myth is a story that may contain symbolic elements, but compared to the symbols or images of the exceptional, myth is characterized by a “story.”

Starting from a minimal definition to define myths and propose the following definition: Myth is a traditional tale that relates memorable and exemplary actions of extraordinary personages in prestigious and distant times, and myths have various forms and functions, perhaps some more clearly defined with a signifier than others, and different approaches can be combined for a better understanding of the myths. Dispensing with such simplistic assertions, and starting from a minimal definition to define myth, myth is a traditional tale that relates memorable and exemplary actions of extraordinary personages in prestigious and distant times.

Any symbol F originates in a unit that has two aspects and functions when the unit is restored. Thus, the symbol is rather “for something” than “of something” and the symbolic objects express the objects' correspondence in one unit or hendiadys. One semantic characteristic of symbols is “recognition”. The symbol F reveals a reality by means of the homogenous association of the signifier and significance in the symbol's constitution; although reality is separate, there is a homogeneous relation between the symbolizing and symbolized in symbolization.

Through examination of the Library Reference Model (LRM) specifications for nomen and the potential challenges visual nomen might present for their description and use in information systems, the purpose of this study was to investigate two questions: (1) how do nonlinguistic or nonalphanumeric signs or symbols act as nomen to identify entities? and (2) what details or attributes are relevant to describe and classify such nomen to integrate them into information systems?

This research was built on an exploratory, qualitative instrumental case study design using multiple (or comparative) cases. Using the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions LRM conceptualization of nomen as the basis, this research explored the similarities and differences between the LRM definition, its attributes and the use of nonlinguistic and nonalphanumeric “strings” for visual nomen to represent a res, moving iteratively between the LRM documentation, visual nomen identified in previous research and additional examples. This study used a constant comparative method to conduct a structured, focused comparison across different cases found in the source survey.

A close review of the history of the development of the nomen entity was made to understand the semiotic relationship between entities and their symbolic representation, how those symbols are then reified to be further classified and described and how such definitions in the LRM offer a path forward for better understanding the role and function of visual nomen. Based on the foundation of the nomen entity and its attributes established in the LRM, this research then looked at visual representations of concepts and entities to suggest a nascent framework for describing aspects of visual nomen which may be relevant to their use and application

This exploratory study of the use of supralinguistic ways of referencing entities delineates novel insights into a potential framework for describing and using visual nomen as a way of labeling or naming entities represented in information systems. By examining the specifications of the nomen entity and its attributes as delineated by the LRM, this study reinforces the applicability of LRM-defined attributes in the use of visual nomen in addition to offering other attributes or dimensions.

Given the historical legacy of policing Black bodies, this research focuses on the structures of anti-Blackness within school policing and the strategies students of Color activists use as they work to defund or abolish police departments in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Specifically, this article looks to Twitter as a counter-storytelling space for students of Color activists to organize and build movements to end anti-Black school policing. Through the frameworks of critical race theory (CRT) and Black critical theory (BlackCrit), this research applies inductive coding to analyze 42 Twitter posts from three students of Color-led organizations based in Los Angeles.

This document analysis presents four themes, which describe four dominant strategies students of Color activists use in their campaigns to defund or abolish school police in the LAUSD: (1) centering Blackness and Black student experiences, (2) making demands for the elimination of funding and support for school police, (3) calling for a shift in funding to support Black students and (4) employing multiple tactics concurrently.

These findings demonstrate the importance of developing and centering a critical understanding of anti-Blackness to achieve racial and educational justice within social movements.

Moreover, the demands of students of Color activists reflect visions of public schools free from anti-Black school policing.

This study aims to discern medieval information literacy (IL) practices through scrutiny of medieval manuscripts: both the content and the “marks of usage” evident therein.

Analysis of the writing of scribes. Engagement with selected primary texts (manuscripts) and prior scholarly investigations.

Ample evidence exists of the practice of IL in the medieval era, and how it was transmitted and negotiated across time and space. Popular guides for scholars, including Hugh of St. Victor's Didascalicon, and the marks of usage left on manuscripts by readers/scribes, are evidence of how members of scholarly communities engaged in collaborative metacognitive work, helping each other with tasks such as understanding the ordinatio (organisation) of texts; cross-referencing; locating information; and making judgments about relevance, amongst others. New practices were stimulated by key historical transitions, particularly the shift from ecclesiastical to secular settings for learning.

This is a preliminary study only, intended to lay foundations and suggest directions for more detailed future investigations of primary texts. The scope is Eurocentric, and similar work might be undertaken with the records of practice available elsewhere, e.g. the Arab world, South and East Asia.

Some previous work (e.g. Long, 2017) has investigated medieval scholarly communities by retrospectively applying notions from practice theory, but no prior work has specifically focused upon IL as the practice under investigation.

Branded merchandise and licensed apparel comprise a substantial portion of revenue for many organizations and public figures that choose to employ such an endeavor. Endorsement deals with apparel manufacturers have historically been utilized for athletes looking to supplement their salaries and establish greater brand awareness. However, as some athletes establish ownership of their logo and become less reliant on companies such as Nike and Adidas for merchandise distribution, assessing the influence of various entity's logos on the athlete brand has become worthy of analysis. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence that cobranded merchandise has on consumers when the athlete logo is displayed next to another team or manufacturer logo.

Using an online panel and survey, a final sample of 127 participants completed a questionnaire to examine their attitudes towards various athlete brand elements. ANCOVA's and MANCOVA's were utilized to assess significant findings, holding the variable of identification constant.

The results revealed that only the perceptions of merchandise quality significantly varied between an athlete brand and an apparel manufacturer (i.e. Nike) co-brand. The findings indicate that athletes should look to co-brand with high brand awareness manufacturers, and that there is no significant difference between consumers' perceptions of athlete brands when co-branding with team brands.

This is one of the first studies to evaluate the relationship between the athlete brand and external entities from a consumer perspective.

Despite corporate communications having an immense impact on corporate success, there is a lack of dedicated techniques for their management and visualization. A potential strategy is to apply business process management (BPM) approach with business process model and notation (BPMN) modeling techniques.

The goal of this study was to gain empirical insights into the cognitive effectiveness of BPMN-based corporate communications modeling. To this end, experimental research was performed in which subjects tested two modeling notations – standardized BPMN conversation diagrams and a BPMN extension with corporate communications-specific concepts.

Standard conversation diagrams were demonstrated to be more time-efficient for designing and interpreting diagrams. However, the subjects made significantly fewer mistakes when interpreting the diagrams modeled in the BPMN extension. Subjects also evolved positive perceptions toward the proposed extension.

BPMN-based corporate communications modeling may be applied to organizations to depict how formal communications are or should be performed consistently, effectively and transparently by following and integrating with BPM approaches and modeling techniques.

The paper provides empirical insights into the cognitive effectiveness of corporate communications modeling based on BPMN and positions the corresponding models into typical process architecture.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the internationalization characteristics of companies from an emerging market (internationalized company stage and presence of a sales subsidiary abroad) moderate the influence of country of brand origin positioning over the companies' financial performance.

The authors performed an ex-post-facto study of internationalized companies from Brazil spanning 16 years. Generalized estimating equations in panel data revealed the results with market share, return on assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q as dependent variables.

The result revealed that country of brand origin positioning is worth doing for internationalized companies from an emerging market, especially for multinationals with sales activity in the destination country. It positively affects all three financial metrics. For exporters, it is effective in increasing market share and returns on assets.

The research demonstrates the effectiveness of the image positioning of exporting and multinational companies that have internationalization initiatives and allocation of external sales activities.

In emerging markets, country of brand origin positioning is a branding strategy used by companies seeking to internationalize. This research shows that the contexts of the characteristics of internationalization strategies change the results, and therefore the need to be considered for testing the effectiveness of country-of-brand-origin positioning.

This paper aims to center on the analysis of corporate recovery from internal ethical failure with the examination of Wells Fargo and Company. To move beyond self-inflicted reputational damage and regain sales traction, successful turnaround companies have embarked on a four-step corporate recovery process centered on four key words: Replace, Restructure, Redevelop and Re-brand. Wells Fargo is one recent addition to these recovery stories.

This paper uses Wells Fargo and Company as a case model to examine corporate recovery. Wells Fargo is just one example of multinational companies that found themselves victims of internal impropriety, poor leadership supervision and unethical strategic decision-making resulting in significant financial losses, drastic declines in stock price and damaged reputation. Using Wells Fargo as an example from the banking industry, the case study approach is an effective way of assessing the viability of the corporate recovery model in various industries.

The corporate recovery model has served Wells Fargo well over the past few years as the stock price climbed nearly 60% in 2021. In addition, increasingly less public discussion about the account fraud scandal has allowed the reputation of the bank to recover as well. By the last quarter of 2021, the bank saw a 15% increase in revenue and an 86% increase in net income over the previous year. It appears that CEO Scharf is well on his way to turning around the prospects for Wells Fargo and the recovery model has proven again that there is a way through self-inflicted corporate damage.

The recovery story of Wells Fargo and Company adds to the litany of successful corporate recoveries where companies have achieved unprecedented turnarounds by following the model of replacing the leadership, restructuring the organization, redeveloping the strategy and re-branding the product. Implementing this four-pronged recovery strategy can help a company not only survive their specific scandal but also move away from reputational harm and get back on a growth trajectory.

Avatars, which are used as a technology and marketing tactic, can embody consumer-facing employees and mimic their real-life roles on companies' websites, thereby playing a key role in enhancing the relationships between consumers and brands in the online environment. Academics and practitioners have increasingly acknowledged the significance of the consumer-brand relationship in both traditional and online contexts. However, the impersonal nature of the online environment is considered to be a hindrance to the development of these relationships. Despite the importance of this technology, little attention has been paid to the investigation of the avatar concept from a marketing perspective. This paper explores the nature of the avatar concept, including its main characteristics, dimensions, and conditions as well as the attitudinal and behavioural consequences of avatar users.

Adopting the qualitative design, a taxonomy was developed from interviews. In total, 42 interviews were conducted with current university students. 30 participants participated in the exploratory interviews. A total of 12 interviews were conducted during the in-depth stage based on findings in the preceding research.

Based on the qualitative data analysis, a taxonomy was developed. The idea of the taxonomy is summarized in that different dimensions of the avatar are considered the main base (first phase) of the taxonomy. There are consequential three parts: the attitudinal consequences related to the website; the attitudinal consequences related to the brand; the behaviours towards the brand. These behaviours represent the final phase of the taxonomy.

By developing a taxonomy of using avatars on brands' websites, the authors advance the understanding consumer-brands relationships. Using avatars' verbal interactions helps in shaping consumers' cognitive, affective, attitudinal and behavioural responses and add vital empirical evidence to the increasing body of research and practices involving avatar usage in the interactive marketing area.

Emojis are quickly becoming a popular new language in social media and marketing. The capability to express emotions and make message understanding easier is one of the primary reasons for using emojis. The aim of this research was to determine the influence of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, and involvement on customer engagement due to emojis used in digital marketing communications among Generation Z (Gen Z) in South Africa.

Following the descriptive research approach, quantitative research was used in this study. A questionnaire (self-administered) was utilized to test the effectiveness of using emojis among 1,000 young consumers. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

The findings of the study yielded positive relationships between the variables, namely between trust and involvement; involvement and the perceived ease of use; involvement and perceived usefulness; perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness; trust and customer engagement; perceived usefulness and customer engagement; involvement and customer engagement; customer engagement and intention to purchase; trust and intention to purchase; and perceived usefulness and intention to purchase.

This study can help organizations in emerging markets use emojis in their digital marketing communications to engage customers and stimulate intention to purchase among young people, especially the Gen Z cohort, who seek organizations and brands that understand and connect with them.

By investigating the effects of emojis in digital marketing communications, this study contributes to the customer-centric process and the literature on emoji usage while also involving a credible digital language when communicating with members of Gen Z. By extending TAM, the findings of this study contribute to the TAM literature by demonstrating that emoji usage in digital marketing communications positively influences various attitudinal associations among Gen Z consumers.