Becoming a commercial semiotician

Semiotica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (213) ◽  
pp. 345-363
Author(s):  
Chris Arning
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractIn this paper, the author sets out a brief account of how you become a semiotician, breaking it down in terms of motivations and competences. This is a paper written from the personal experience of the author. It is not meant to be prescriptive or to offer any sort of orthodoxy. The catalyst for the paper was frustration with the dearth of writing on this topic. The paper argues that the process of becoming is not just about acquiring knowledge or cognitive ability but also involves personal values and self-identity. It also seeks to dethrone the place of theory as predominant, arguing that interpretive practice relies as much upon a repertoire of aptitudes and techniques of reading and other soft skills. Theory acquisition in itself is simply not enough. In terms of its structure, the paper starts with a definition of what commercial semiotics is, continues with a section defining its scope, validity, and applications. The meat of the paper is devoted to laying out the different aptitudes and techniques mentioned above. The final section discusses the semiotic enterprise as a quest for knowledge and argues that there is no single trajectory in becoming a commercial semiotics practitioner. The paper argues that it is an odyssey of constant learning. It includes some comments on the institutionalization of the field. The hope is that this paper will give insight to interested parties into the craft of commercial semiotics.

¿Quién soy yo? Reflexiones teórico sistémicas acerca de la indentidad individual

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-31
Author(s):  
Francisco Xavier Morales
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Moral Communication ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual

The problem of identity is an issue of contemporary society that is not only expressed in daily life concerns but also in discourses of politics and social movements. Nevertheless, the I and the needs of self-fulfillment usually are taken for granted. This paper offers thoughts regarding individual identity based on Niklas Luhmann’s systems theory. From this perspective, identity is not observed as a thing or as a subject, but rather as a “selfillusion” of a system of consciousness, which differentiates itself from the world, event after event, in a contingent way. As concerns the definition  of contents of self-identity, the structures of social systems define who is a person, how he or she should act, and how much esteem he or she should receive. These structures are adopted by consciousness as its own identity structures; however, some social contexts are more relevant for self-identity construction than others. Moral communication increases the probability that structure appropriation takes place, since the emotional element of identity is linked to the esteem/misesteem received by the individual from the interactions in which he or she participates.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Calculative Trust

This Introduction to the book does three things. First, it introduces the concept of trust and develops a definition of trust as the ‘expectation of no harm in contexts where betrayal is always a possibility’. Next, it identities two conceptions of trust that guide the book, ‘calculative trust’ and ‘trust as suspension’, which provide very different explanations for how actors form expectations that another will be trustworthy. It then shows how trust as suspension opens up a new theory of accurate signal interpretation and demonstrates how this theory is superior to costly signalling-based theories of accurate signal interpretation. The final section of the Introduction sets out the rationale for the case studies and the key assumptions.

Removing the Nationality Paradigm from Herodotus’ Histories

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 306-323
Author(s):  
Salvatore Tufano
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Test Cases ◽  
Persian Wars ◽  
Classical Definition ◽  
Mixed Language ◽  
Archaic Greece ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract The present paper suggests that the recurring appeal to kinship diplomacy undermines a fixed idea of ‘nation’ in Archaic Greece, especially in the first two decades of the fifth century BC. It aims to present a series of test cases in Herodotus that explain why contemporary patterns and theories on ancient ethnicity can hardly explain the totality of the historical spectrum. Blood ties could sometimes fortify ethnic relationships, as in the case of Aristagoras’ mission to Sparta (Hdt. 5.49.3), since the common Greekness could elicit the Spartan to help to the Ionians. In other times, the same blood ties were applied to divine genealogies, and they could also be used to show the feeble devotion of cities like Argos to the Greek cause (7.150.2: Xerxes expects the Argives to join the Persian cause, since they descend from Perses). Habits and traditions, often taken as indicia of national feeling, could be thought of as clues of ancient migrations (so the Trojans became Maxyes in Lybia: 4.191). Even language might not help in justifying ethnic relationships: for instance, the Greeks living in the Scythian Gelonus spoke a mixed language (4.108). These few case studies may shed a different light on the classical definition of Greekness (to hellenikon) in terms of blood, language, cults, and habits, all given by Herodotus (8.144). Far from being a valid label for all the Greeks of the fifth century, this statement owes much to a specific variety of the language of kinship diplomacy. The final section argues for the opportunity to avoid the later and misleading idea of nation when studying Herodotus and the age of the Persian Wars, which are instead characterized by various and contrasting strategies. Greek groups and ethne can be better described as networks of lightly defined communities.

"What God hath joined ...": Religious perspectives on marriage and divorce in late Victorian Canada

2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-25
Author(s):  
Marguerite Van Die
Keyword(s):  
Final Section ◽  
Community Networks ◽  
Lived Religion ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Religious Perspectives ◽  
Recent Debate ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Folk Tradition

Prompted by recent debate and legislation in Canada about the definition of "marriage," this article explores the impact of socio-economic change and stress upon marriage as an institution among the middle class in Victorian Canada. It does this through the lens of "lived religion" as defined by Robert Orsi and others, taking the form of a case study of a marital scandal involving a respected Presbyterian minister in Brantford, Ontario in 1883. This is placed within the wider context of competing definitions of marriage as found in folk tradition and community networks, in various ecclesiastical marriage liturgies, and in marriage, divorce and property law. In its final section it examines the contradictions, tensions and anxieties that surrounded these definitions in late Victorian Canada as a result of changes in people's experience of space and time. It concludes by briefly drawing attention to the nature of "lived religion" and its implications in redefining marriage within a society that today has become highly urbanized, secular and pluralistic.

scholarly journals The Prejudicial Effects of "Reasonable Steps" in Analysis of Mens Rea and Sexual Consent: Two Solutions

2018 ◽  
pp. 933
Author(s):  
Lucinda Vandervort
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Criminal Code ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Sexual Consent ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Is Failure

This article examines the operation of “reasonable steps” as a statutory standard for analysis of the availability of the defence of belief in consent in sexual assault cases and concludes that application of section 273.2(b) of the Criminal Code, as presently worded, often undermines the legal validity and correctness of decisions about whether the accused acted with mens rea, a guilty, blameworthy state of mind. When the conduct of an accused who is alleged to have made a mistake about whether a complainant communicated consent is assessed by the hybrid subjective-objective reasonableness standard prescribed by section 273.2, many decision-makers rely on extra-legal criteria and assumptions grounded in their personal experience and opinion about what is reasonable. In the midst of debate over what the accused knew and what steps were “reasonable,” given what the accused knew, the legal definition of consent in section 273.1 is easily overlooked and decision-makers focus on facts that are legally irrelevant and prejudice rational deliberation. The result is failure to enforce the law. The author proposes: (1) that section 273.2 be amended to reflect the significant developments achieved in sexual consent jurisprudence since enactment of the provision in 1992; and (2) that, in the interim, the judiciary act with resolve to make full and proper use of the statutory and common law tools that are presently available to determine whether the accused acted with mens rea in relation to the absence of sexual consent.

scholarly journals Ki vagyok én? - Szárnyas fejvadász 2049

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (21) ◽  
pp. 307-312
Author(s):  
Pál Gerdesits
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Ferdinand De Saussure ◽  
Blade Runner ◽  
Jean Paul ◽  
Proper Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Philosophical Questions

My essay focuses on the ontological crisis articulated in the film Blade Runner 2049, the sequel for Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. This film is based on the conflict between humans and androids called replicants who would like to live equally to humans. In my opinion the root of their opposition lies on the inability to give a proper definition of what we normally call ‘human’. In this writing I present and analyse the nature of this conflict and also the philosophical questions (representation, freedom, self-identity etc.) arising from it based on the ideas of philosophers like Michel Foucault. Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida and Ferdinand de Saussure.

scholarly journals The Functionality of Color Terms in Antarah IBN SHADAD's Poetry

2018 ◽  
Vol 214 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-74
Author(s):  
M . Raad Abdul Jabbar Jawad
Keyword(s):  
Personal Experience ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
The Other ◽  
Color Terms ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Poetic Image ◽  
Explicit Reference ◽  
Poetic Diction ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Poetry Collection

     To start with, a definition of the term 'color' in Arabic language is presented.  Then, a study of colors implications in Al-Jahili poetry is proceeded; the poet's creativity in using color terms and incorporating these terms in Jahili poems explicitly or implicitly in forming up the topics of their poetry, then outlined. Color figures and images are dominant in Al-Jahili poetry to its extreme so as to propagate an oasis of environmental emulations, on one hand, and an outlet for personal experience on the other. In his poetry, Antara followed his ancestors' poetic traditions and closely textualized their inspirations and fantasies in his versification.  Partly, his poetic diction was personalized; whereas, the semantic contents tackled by ancestors were mediated and de toured astray in some instanses.  Reviewing his poetry collection one can infer his typical attitudes of using colors: the black, the white, the red, the green, the blue, and the yellow. Excessive use of these colors can be cited along with multiplicity of presentation in creating a quantum of color implications especially those of the white and the black, he used a decorated mosaic of colors in forming his poetic image; whereas he incorporated a corona of colors in restoring his poeticity.  Color contrasts are foregrounded in building up perceptible imagesof his poems. Colorful images, he used, asa loverand as a knight are merged with his passion and bravery; though gloomy in his macabre. The paper concludes that Antara used an excessive influx of colors terminology and semantic sheds in entailing his topics, focusing on the red, black and white.  The black was his favorite; whereas the red and the black are used excessively in his expressions.  Explicit reference to the red and black was the highest in number in the selected poems.  Essentially, some node that the notability of the black was a symptom of suffering and degrading he suffered as a black.

scholarly journals Talent and Talent Management: Definition and Issues

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Novera Ansar
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
General Problem ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Talent Management ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Corporate World ◽  
Uniform Definition ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Definition Of

Talent' has become a popular term amongst academicians and practitioners during the last two decades. A general problem, despite this increased interest on “Talent”, is that the construct of Talent and Talent Management lack theoretical vigor and standardized definition. The aim of this paper is to make a contribution to the literature on “Talent” and “Talent Management” by a critical review of the construct of “Talent”. The evolution of the definition of the term “Talent” was traced through different time periods starting from the Biblical Times when talent was used for a very large sum of money to the present times when it is considered as a cognitive ability. A philological perspective was also taken to identify the roots of different approaches towards “Talent” in speakers of different languages and terms, that are interchangeably used in lieu of Talent were also explored. Different definitions of the term “Talent Management” were analyzed to understand the different approaches taken by the authors. The dominant approach used in the definitions of Talent Management was found to be exclusive. The study concluded that it is important to develop a uniform definition of Talent and Talent Management for a shared understanding for both academic work on the topic and its practical implication for the corporate world.

scholarly journals Training requirements for agro-food industry in Portugal

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro D. Gaspar ◽  
Rita Pinheiro ◽  
Cláudia Domingues ◽  
Celestino Almeida ◽  
Teresa Paiva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Business Performance ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Training Strategy ◽  
Food Industries ◽  
Training Requirements ◽  
Market Trends ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency ◽  
Definition Of

Agro-food companies are aware that the technical and soft skills of their employees directly influence business performance and, consequently, improving those skills will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their companies. This paper presents the main results of the AgriTraining project “Training requirements for the agro-food industry". Activities in pursuit of the objectives of this project involved: (1) analysis of the training needs in the agro-food industry in Portugal; (2) analysis of the training provision and the training organizations; (3) analysis of market trends; (4) definition of a training strategy; and (5) adjustment and development of training strategies for the agro-food sector. This last activity comprised the development of training curricula, suitable for the food sector as a whole and adjusted for the specific needs of some traditional industries, in order to promote the development and competitiveness of the agro-food industry in Portugal. Such training curricula aimed to promote the uptake of innovative technologies and methodologies, increase the ability of agro-food industries to invest and take risks, and enable adoption of European Community standards for production and marketing. Gaps in training supply were identified and the training provision was updated according to the needs of the agro-food companies. It was determined that companies need and demand knowledge and innovation to increase their competitive position for internationalization purposes. It was possible to define a training strategy based on market-orientation for agro-food differentiation.

The quality of institutions: Problems of definition and evaluation

2021 ◽  
pp. 49-67
Author(s):  
V. L. Tambovtsev
Keyword(s):  
Final Section ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Quality Of Institutions ◽  
Definition Of

The article is devoted to the analysis of modern ideas about the quality of institutions concept, and the development on this basis of its generalized and operational understanding. The interpretation of the quality of the institution as its legitimacy from the point of view of stakeholders of the institution’s performance is grounded. Starting from the understanding of the object or process legitimacy as a recognition of its right to exist, an approximate question is proposed for conducting sociological surveys to assess the quality of institutions. In the final section of the article, the evolutionary definition of the concept of quality is proposed, and it is shown that the identification of the institutions quality with their legitimacy is fully consistent with this definition.

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