METAPHOR AND MULTIMODALITY IN MEANING-MAKING

When talking with people face to face, we usually complement verbal language with gestures, facial expressions and sometimes images and sounds present in the speech scene, which constitutes multimodality. When we write to absent people, we can recover multimodal resources employing what Greeks called “didaskalía”. We, human beings, are the only creatures in the planet able to refer in absence. We can talk about a horse – which lives in a farm – in our living room. In doing so we trigger pre-existing multimodal senses from our addressee’s long-term memory, related to its shape (image), its whinny (hearing), its strength (touch). When we use a metaphor as my cousin is a horse with his girlfriend, we intend to focus mainly on the horse strength, blending this aspect to the way he acts (physically or psychologically) towards his girlfriend. Our aim is, therefore, to discuss multimodal resources for metaphorical meanings, multimodal constructions in advertising discourse and multimodal metaphors of concepts in embodied mental sense simulation.  All these assets have the functional objective of framing the way the audience should build in their minds the world we are talking about according to our conscious or subconscious intentions. Language is part of the way we construct the world within our and our addressee´s minds

Young consumers online and offline channel purchase behaviour

Consumers purchase path has become increasingly fragmented, as consumers now shop across various online and offline channels to complete a single transaction. Certain aspects need to be taken into consideration, to understand how consumers choose between these online and offline channels during their purchase journey to fulfil their requirements. The main aim of this study was to understand young consumers online and offline channel purchase behaviour. This was done by evaluating channel usage from three different directions, 1) channel influencers, 2) purchase journey, 3) value dimensions. The empirical part of the thesis was based on quantitative research method. Primary data for the thesis was collected through survey questionnaires in two phases. The research revealed that young consumers preferred online channel for information search and offline channels for product acquisition. Due to channel evolution, it was possible for them to switch between online and offline channels effortlessly through search and acquisition. It seemed obvious for the young consumers to prefer the circular journey, as this journey narrows down the purchase path significantly compared to the other journeys. Value dimensions play a very important motivating role in channel purchase behaviour among young consumers and an important deciding factor on their channel specific usage during their purchases

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

The role of customer inspiration and relationship quality in engaging the online experience: insights from Kuwait and Portugal

The main research objective of the current thesis is to analyse the relationship between the online experience and customer engagement considering moderators and mediators and compare between Kuwait and Portugal. The thesis provides a systematic literature review on the online experience, customer inspiration, relationship quality, customer engagement, e-commerce, and national culture. Next, we conducted in-depth interviews with seven participants from Kuwait and Portugal, which allowed us to understand similarities and differences in online customer purchasing experience perceived by Kuwait and Portuguese customers and contributed to creating the conceptual model to be analysed in the quantitative approach. We used two Qualtrics panel samples for the qualitative research, one with 210 participants from Kuwait and another with 240 from Portugal. Major findings reveal that (i) customer empowerment strengthens the relationship between customer perceived value and online engagement, (ii) cooperation, e-commerce, and cultural perceptions are three relevant factors contributing to form three clusters of participants from Kuwait and Portugal, (iii) both online relationship quality and customer inspiration act as mediators in the relationship between the online experience and customer engagement, (iv) and finally there are differences between Kuwait and Portugal in engaging online, based on cultural differences. Managers can benefit from our research by offering an immersive online experience to their customers. Through stimulating online experiences, firms can inform customers about their products and services, educate their stakeholders about various subjects and, above all, manage a collaborative and participatory digital environment.O principal objetivo de investigação desta tese é analisar a relação entre a experiência online e o compromisso do cliente, considerando diferentes moderadores e mediadores e comparando entre o Kuwait e Portugal. A tese oferece uma revisão sistemática da literatura sobre a experiência online, inspiração do cliente, qualidade de relacionamento, compromisso do cliente, e-commerce e dimensões culturais. Em seguida, realizamos entrevistas em profundidade com sete participantes do Kuwait e de Portugal, o que nos permitiu compreender semelhanças e diferenças na experiência de compra destes clientes e contribuiu para a criação do modelo conceptual a ser analisado na abordagem quantitativa. Utilizámos duas amostras de painéis da plataforma Qualtrics para as pesquisas qualitativas, uma com 210 participantes do Kuwait e outra com 240 participantes de Portugal. As principais conclusões revelam que (i) o fortalecimento do cliente reforça a relação entre o valor percebido do cliente e o compromisso online, que (ii) a cooperação, o e-commerce e as perceções culturais são três fatores relevantes que contribuem para a formação de três grupos de consumidores, que (iii) tanto a qualidade da relação online como a inspiração do cliente atuam como mediadores na relação entre a experiência online e o compromisso do cliente, e finalmente, que (iv) existem diferenças entre o Kuwait e Portugal no envolvimento online, com base nas diferenças culturais. Os gestores podem beneficiar da nossa pesquisa oferecendo uma experiência online imersiva aos seus clientes. Através do estímulo de experiências online, as empresas podem informar os clientes sobre os seus produtos e serviços, educar os seus "stakeholders" sobre vários assuntos e, acima de tudo, gerir um ambiente digital colaborativo e participativo

Koulutus Suomen kuumimpana vientituotteena? : Monitahoinen tapaustutkimus Suomen kansallisen koulutuksen vientipolitiikasta

This doctoral dissertation is a multi-faceted case study producing qualitative insights into Finland s education export policies. Drawing on education, anthropology, and critical intercultural studies, the dissertation is embedded in an interdisciplinary theoretical framework. The major contribution of this research is a critical approach that enhances understanding of Finland s newly emerging education export sector. The dissertation consists of a research summary and three original refereed studies (Schatz, 2015 and Schatz, et al., 2015, and Schatz, 2016). Conceptually and empirically, the research responds to the following research questions: RQ1: What is the context for the emergence of Finnish education export? RQ2: What are the motives and objectives of Finnish education export policies? RQ3: What is the Finnish education export product? RQ4: How do Finnish higher education institutions perceive their role as education exporters? RQ5: What kinds of ideologies underpin Finnish education export policies? The scope of the research concentrates on the Finnish education export context. In focus are two Finnish education export policy documents, published by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture in 2010 and 2013. The Finnish national education brand and empirical data gathered through questionnaires serve as supporting research data. The applied data analysis methods include Anderson s associative network memory model and Mayring s qualitative content analysis. Research literature on education export in other contexts is used to conceptually grasp the developments in Finland and to highlight differences and similarities between Finland and the international education export sector. Taken together, the findings suggest that Finland s education export ambitions are embedded in international tendencies towards the commodification of education. It is demonstrated that current Finnish education export policies are closely intertwined with public discourses on PISA rankings, Finland s national education brand, and structural changes in the Finnish higher education landscape. The data reveals a large gap between the education export policy goals and their implementation. Based on the findings, several challenges relating to the Finnish education export product and the role of Finnish higher education institutions as education exporters are highlighted. The dissertation problematizes the sustainability of Finland s education export sector and emphasizes the need for a critical debate on education export policy and practice. ________________________________________ Keywords: Education export, Finnish education, education policy dynamics, education branding, commodification of educationTämä väitöskirja on monitahoinen tapaustutkimus, joka tuottaa laadullisia näkemyksiä suomalaisen koulutuksen vientipolitiikasta. Ammentaen koulutuksesta, antropologiasta ja kriittisistä kulttuurienvälisistä tutkimuksista, väitöskirja on sulautettu poikkitieteelliseen teoreettiseen viitekehykseen. Tämän tutkimuksen merkittävä panos on kriittinen lähestymistapa, joka vahvistaa ymmärrystä Suomen nousevaa koulutuksen vientisektoria kohtaan. Väitöskirja koostuu tutkimuksen tiivistelmästä ja kolmesta alkuperäisestä, vertaisarvioidusta tutkimuksesta (Schatz, 2015, Schatz, ym., 2015, ja Schatz, 2016). Käsitteellisesti ja empiirisesti tutkimus vastaa seuraaviin tutkimuskysymyksiin: TK1: Millainen tausta on Suomen koulutuksen viennin synnylle? TK2: Mitkä ovat Suomen koulutuksen vientipolitiikan motiivit ja tavoitteet? TK3: Mikä on Suomen koulutuksen vientituote? TK4: Miten Suomen korkeakoulut käsittävät roolinsa koulutuksen viennissä? TK5: Millaiset ideologiat tukevat suomalaisen koulutuksen vientipolitiikkaa? Tutkimus keskittyy suomalaisen koulutuksen viennin taustoihin. Keskiössä ovat kaksi suomalaisen koulutuksen vientipolitiikka käsittelevää asiakirjaa, jotka Suomen Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö on julkaissut vuosina 2010 ja 2013. Suomen kansallisen koulutuksen brändi ja kyselyissä kerätty tieto tukevat tutkimusta. Käytettyjä tiedon analysointimetodeja ovat Andersonin assosiatiivinen muistimalli ja Mayringin laadullinen sisältöanalyysi. Tutkimuskirjallisuutta koulutuksen viennin taustoista käytetään havainnollistamaan kehitystä Suomessa ja korostamaan suomalaisen ja kansainvälisen koulutuksen vientisektorin yhtäläisyyksiä ja eroja. Yhdistettynä tulokset osoittavat, että suomalaisen koulutuksen viennin tavoitteet ovat yhtäläisiä kansainvälisten suuntausten kanssa kohti koulutuksen tuotteistamista. Tulokset osoittavat, että suomalaisen koulutuksen vientipolitiikka on sidoksissa julkiseen keskusteluun PISA-sijoituksista, suomalaisen koulutuksen brändiin ja Suomen korkeakoulutuksen rakennemuutoksiin. Data paljastaa suuren kuilun koulutuksen vientipolitiikan ja sen toimeenpanon välillä. Tulokset korostavat useita haasteita liittyen suomalaisen koulutuksen vientituotteeseen ja suomalaisten korkeakoulujen rooliin koulutuksen viejinä. Väitöskirja kyseenalaistaa suomalaisen koulutuksen vientisektorin kestävyyttä ja korostaa tarvetta kriittiselle keskustelulle koulutuksen vientipolitiikasta ja käytännöistä. ________________________________________ Avainsanoja: Koulutuksen vienti, suomalainen koulutus, koulutuspolitiikan dynamiikka, koulutuksen brändäys, koulutuksen tuotteistamine

Media and information literate citizens: think critically, click wisely!

Can we improve our societies by clicking wisely? Content providers such as libraries, archives, museums, media and digital communications companies can enable inclusive and sustainable development. However, they do not always live up to these ideals, which creates challenges for the users of these services. Content providers of all types open up new opportunities for lifelong learning. But at the same time, they open up challenges such as misinformation and disinformation, hate speech, and infringement of online privacy, among others. Media and information literacy is a set of competencies that help people to maximize advantages and minimize harms. Media and information literacy covers competencies that enable people to critically and effectively engage with: communications content; the institutions that facilitate this content; and the use of digital technologies. Capacities in these areas are indispensable for all citizens regardless of their ages or backgrounds. This pioneering curriculum presents a comprehensive competency framework of media and information literacy and offers educators and learners structured pedagogical suggestions. It features various detailed modules covering the range of competencies needed to navigate today’s communications ecosystem. This resource links media and information literacy to emerging issues, such as artificial intelligence, digital citizenship education, education for sustainable development, cultural literacy and the exponential rise in misinformation and disinformation. With effective use of this media and information literacy curriculum, everyone can become media and information literate as well as peer-educators of media and information literacy

Cultural Diplomacy of a Different Kind: A Case Study of the Global Guggenheim

This thesis explores the online dimension of non-state cultural diplomacy, as a new form of contemporary cross-cultural communication in a highly globalized and multilateral environment of contemporary international politics. By looking at the Guggenheim museum, this thesis investigates how this powerful cultural institution with a world recognized global brand engages international audiences and exerts strong cultural impacts. Focusing on one of the Guggenheim’s online global communication activities, the YouTube Play project, implemented in cooperation with Google in 2010, this thesis analyzes a new form of cultural diplomacy exercised in an online environment through social media channels. Understanding the Guggenheim as a non-state actor in the international arena and its YouTube Play project as an example of digital diplomacy, the research demonstrates that the new epoch of neoliberal globalization and digital forms of human interactions have given birth to a completely new phenomenon in the field of cross-cultural communication. This type of communication, unlike governmental forms of cultural diplomacy between nation states, projects cosmopolitan messages and values, going beyond a traditional promotion of national cultures and traditions. Furthermore, this new form of cultural diplomacy has a strong economic component. On one hand, this component ensures the autonomous character of the international activity, distancing it from the direct control of the government. On the other hand, the economic component brings new corporate politics into play. However, like state forms of diplomacy, online manifestation of contemporary cultural diplomacy has two dimensions: cultural projection and public relations. On the level of cultural projection, the YouTube Play exerts a powerful influence upon international audiences, pushing forward global forces of cultural and linguistic homogenization. On the level of cultural relations, the project brings together people from different countries for productive cross-cultural exchanges with strong educational impacts leading to better understanding and respect between participants

Liaison interpreting from theory to practice: a project to help students develop their interpreting skills

The aim of this thesis is that of discussing the studies of scholars and researchers in the field of interpreting, first through an analysis of the definitions that they have given of ‘interpreting’, followed by an analysis of the different modes of interpreting and the skills and competences an interpreter should possess in order to become a professional in this field. Finally, the role of the liaison interpreter is analysed and the specific challenges he/she has to deal with. Then the thesis explores how interpreting training involves the development of language competence, focusing therefore on the description of the four basic skills of a language, namely speaking, writing, listening and reading. The theoretical part will be followed by a final practical part which consists in a project aimed at helping students practicing some liaison interpreting dialogues in order to improve their skills in interpreting.The aim of this thesis is that of discussing the studies of scholars and researchers in the field of interpreting, first through an analysis of the definitions that they have given of ‘interpreting’, followed by an analysis of the different modes of interpreting and the skills and competences an interpreter should possess in order to become a professional in this field. Finally, the role of the liaison interpreter is analysed and the specific challenges he/she has to deal with. Then the thesis explores how interpreting training involves the development of language competence, focusing therefore on the description of the four basic skills of a language, namely speaking, writing, listening and reading. The theoretical part will be followed by a final practical part which consists in a project aimed at helping students practicing some liaison interpreting dialogues in order to improve their skills in interpreting