Advances in Brand Semiotics & Discourse Analysis

Edited by George Rossolatos

This volume addresses some of the most important conceptual, methodological, and empirical challenges and opportunities with which the sister disciplines of semiotics and discourse analysis are mutually confronted in the context of considering new avenues of cross-disciplinary application to distinctive branding research streams. In continuation of the collective volume 'Handbook of Brand Semiotics' (Kassel University Press, 2015), which sought to consolidate relevant scholarship and to identify the main territories that have been established at the cross-roads between branding and semiotic research, the current 'Advances in Brand Semiotics & Discourse Analysis' aims at accomplishing further strides in critical areas, such as the exigency for reconsidering the aptness of existing semiotic theories in the face of the radically shifting co-creative landscape of digital branding, the benefits of systematically micro-analyzing brand communities’ discourses by drawing on CAQDAS programs, the combination of big data analytics with discourse theory in corpus analysis, and the epistemological issues that emerge while combining discourse analysis with time-hallowed marketing qualitative and quantitative research methods. At the same time, the volume hosts a resourceful blend of empirical studies and novel conceptual frameworks in burgeoning streams, such as place, heritage, culinary, personal, and political branding.

Re/Thinking Chickens: The Discourse around Chicken Farming in British Newspapers and Campaigners’ Magazines, 1982 - 2016

Elena Lazutkaite, University of Nottingham

"Re/Thinking Chickens: The Discourse around Chicken Farming in British Newspapers and Campaigners’ Magazines, 1982–2016" has major social relevance as it focuses on one of the most forgotten and yet most exploited farmed animals, chickens, who now have a combined mass exceeding that of all other birds on Earth. Dr Elena Lazutkaitė demonstrates that the planet’s most numerous birds, with a population of 23 billion at any one time, are trivialised in public discourse. This book applies the analytical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis in combination with corpus linguistics tools to present a detailed empirical case study. In total, the study corpus comprises 1754 texts published over the period of 34 years in broadsheets The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, tabloids the Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail (including their Sunday editions Sunday Mirror and Mail on Sunday) and magazines produced by animal advocacy groups Compassion In World Farming and Animal Aid. This book will be of particular interest to university students of critical animal studies, human-animal studies, discourse studies, cultural studies, communication studies, sociology, (eco)linguistics, in addition to animal advocacy groups and media practitioners.

The Playbook of Persuasive Reasoning

Everyday Empowerment and Likeability

Gavin F. Hurley, Ave Maria University

'The Playbook of Persuasive Reasoning: Everyday Empowerment and Likeability' provides an easy, practical guide to the strategies of persuasive reasoning, which Gavin Hurley argues is crucial to all effective communication. Helping professionals and students to become better and more likeable communicators, this fundamental “playbook” outlines numerous eye-opening communicative maneuvers for readers of all levels and backgrounds. It offers a unique approach to argumentation and persuasion and moves away from the more conventional methods which are often overtechnical, unnecessarily complex or too science oriented. Hurley demonstrates how to successfully apply these strategies of cooperative argumentation to your life in order to succeed professionally, socially and cerebrally. This he argues, will allow you to empower your messaging and increase your social magnetism. 'The Playbook of Persuasive Reasoning' is a down-to-earth guide on effective rhetorical strategizing. It is written for everyday application, based on everyday examples, and embedded in everyday language. Today, successful communication is a highly sought-after trait by international employers, clients, and customers alike. Gavin Hurley shows how a wide range of people can benefit from learning how to deliver more abstract material in an effective manner: both verbally and written. This guide is particularly appealing for professionals, including business managers, as well as academics and students, including public intellectuals. 'The Playbook of Persuasive Reasoning' is a useful book for anyone wanting to enrich their skills and strengthen their powers of communication in order to have a social and professional advantage.

Reporting from the Wars 1850 – 2015

The origins and evolution of the war correspondent

Edited by Barry Turner, University of Lincoln et al.

From the foundations of the world’s first great empires to the empires of today, war has preoccupied human civilisation for as many as 4000 years. It has fascinated, horrified, thrilled, confused, inspired and disgusted mankind since records began. Provoking such a huge range of emotions and reactions and fulfilling all the elements of newsworthiness, it is hardly surprising that war makes ‘good’ news. Modern technological advancements, such as the camera and television, brought the brutality of war into the homes and daily lives of the public. No longer a far-away and out-of-sight affair, the public’s ability to ‘see’ what was happening on the frontline changed not only how wars were fought but why they were fought. Even when a war is considered ‘popular,’ the involvement of the press and the weight of public opinion has led to criticisms that have transformed modern warfare almost in equal measure to the changes brought about by weapon technology. War reporting seeks to look beyond the official story, to understand the very nature of conflict whilst acknowledging that it is no longer simply good versus evil. This edited volume presents a unique insight into the work of the war correspondent and battlefield photographer from the earliest days of modern war reporting to the present. It reveals how, influenced by the changing face of modern warfare, the work of the war correspondent has been significantly altered in style, method, and practice. By combining historical analysis with experiences of modern day war reporting, this book provides an important contribution to the understanding of this complicated profession, which will be of interest to journalists, academics, and students, alike.

Memes of Misinformation: Federal Spending

Unraveling the controversial, socio-economic and political issues behind those annoying social media memes

Julio C. Castañeda Jr.

In this first installment of the Misinformation series, the author tackles complex socio-economic and political topics related to the economy of the United States, such as the federal budget, wasteful spending, the national debt, unemployment and social security. By breaking down each subject into layman’s terms, the author clearly and concisely presents, in an unbiased manner, the facts behind the fake news, half-truths and general misinformation from the annoying headlines and memes cluttering social media on these volatile subjects.