Current Issue

Hashtag: An experiment in the domain of morphological realisations

https://doi.org/10.31178/SC.16.1.01

Taofeek O. Dalamu

Abstract. Building upon earlier studies and contributions to knowledge, this research examines the lexemic formation processes and terminologies marked by hash tags. The goal is basically to demonstrate the modus operandi of formulating hash tags, as linguistic edifices, influencing people to act in a particular direction. To achieve this goal, the author consulted websites to harvest hash tag constructs at random in business, discrimination-cum-crime, culture, politics, and natural disaster spheres. The researcher further represents both hash tags and the formation recurrent patterns in statistics using tables and graphs. Besides the common constructs of imperative (#OccupyWallStreet as in # + Occupy + Wall + Street), declarative (#BlackLivesMatter as in # + Black + Life + s + Matter), and nominal (#eqnz as in # + e + q + n + z) elements, this study reveals that #LRNY depicts acronym in their morphological domains of # + L + R + N + Y. #McDStories explicates a word formation blending as in # + Mc + D + Stori + es to understand consumers’ perceptions. Very obvious are formations such as interro-declarative structures (#WhatPantherMeansToMe as in # + What + Black + Panther + Mean + s + To + Me,), verbonominal constructs (#AskObama as in # + Ask + Obama), and nominalised fabrications in a compounding pattern (#BringBackOurGirls as in # + Bring + Back + Our + Girl + s). Upon these fascinated liberty-constructions, the hashtag participants do not only have confidence to express their thoughts in the global terrain, users have the capacity to influence linguistic practices with novel formation ideas, illustrating things that people could do with words.

Satellite television technology in Socialist Republic of Romania: Between grassroots and grass routes approaches

https://doi.org/10.31178/SC.16.1.02

Alexandra Tatar

Abstract. This research analyses the role of the state sponsored publication Tehnium in connection to the grassroots movement of accessing western satellite television, during the communist regime in Romania. The article starts from the broader perspective of viewing the magazine as an intermediary between the capabilities of the socialist state and the popular aspirations for accessing Direct Broadcast Satellite television transmission technology in the 1980s decade. It will then delve into the grassroots level of examining specific strategies for receiving satellite broadcasts, as they surface in Tehnium. The article provides a qualitative content analysis of the magazine dealing with grassroots approaches to satellite television during socialism, which are grouped in thematic categories, established by the use of inductive category formation. The article proposes a reading of the magazine as a defining platform for the movement and provides important tools for tracing its history, material constitutive parts and main actors. Tehnium’s role is positioned as intermediary between the state and grassroots approach to technology, analyzed through the lens of technostruggles..

Perceptions on AI creativity in the pre-generative AI era. Insights from computer scientists and artists

https://doi.org/10.31178/SC.16.1.03

Ioana Iancu, Bogdan Iancu

Abstract. Whether it is about literature, music, painting, graphic design, advertising, or other creative domains, Artificial Intelligence (AI) finds its way in. The present study aims to offer a pre-generative AI overview on AI creativity perception. It serves as a benchmark that enables future researchers to compare earlier and recent AI advances so to explore the profound technological shifts currently occurring. Focusing on domain comparative empirical dimension, the paper exploratory investigates perceptions on AI creativity, on AI-human co-creation potential, and AI creativity’s ethical and authorship considerations. A set of comparative semi-structured expert interviews with Romanian computer scientists and artists (N=33) is conducted. The data is analyzed using Atlas.ti software. As common grounds for computer scientists and artists, the results show that AI can provide original artworks due to its capacity to manage large amounts of data. However, it is deeply dependent on them. Within the creation process, AI is perceived as a partner or a tool that can augment human abilities. Ethical aspects should be considered both before and after the creation process. Artists, in comparison with computer scientists, emphasize more on the trivialization of the AI creation act and on the unfair and threatening competition. Although they believe that machines should not create, they also agree on machine-centric authorship.

Legitimating CSR discourse on Facebook during the pandemic: A comparative analysis of Romanian food retail companies

https://doi.org/10.31178/SC.16.1.04

Raluca-Ioana Nistor

Abstract. Crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, determine organizations to reshape their way of communicating with stakeholders. Facebook is one of the communication channels used by food retail companies to transmit CSR messages during the pandemic. Approaching the quantitative content analysis, the current paper reveals the themes and legitimation that emerged from Facebook posts about corporate social responsibility made in the first year of the pandemic by the food retail companies Carrefour Romania, Kaufland Romania and Lidl Romania. The analysis is centred on 289 posts from the Facebook pages of the three companies, published between March 2020 and February 2021. According to the results, the most common communication topic used by Lidl and Carrefour was responsibility towards customers. In the case of the Kaufland company, the most frequent topic was that of responsibility towards medical personnel, patients and health institutions. The findings additionally reveal that Kaufland and Carrefour, the companies that outline the objectives and methods for implementing CSR initiatives, primarily employed the strategy of rationalization legitimation. Lidl employed authority legitimation as its most common strategy, citing authorities in the fields of public health and corporate social responsibility.